Are Aliens Visiting Us? (2 Viewers)

[ShamrockPride]

There’s one thing that just continually casts doubt in my mind:

These stories/accounts mean that there are non-earth sentient beings who have enough intelligence to create interstellar travel, but then are incompetent/in poor enough equipment that they are crashing all over the place? That is difficult for me to buy into.

They're simply higher intelligence beings. They're not robots. They're prone to fatigue, operator error, etc, just like we are.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

Exactly. We are looking at it from our current perspective of time and space.

We are the aliens

It’s us. Us from millions of years ago. They went underground when the asteroids hit.


That’s my new pet theory.

 

[HellToupee]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

Exactly. We are looking at it from our current perspective of time and space.

We are the aliens

It’s us. Us from millions of years ago. They went underground when the asteroids hit.


That’s my new pet theory.

This seems to be a popular theory as well as the Prometheus theory

 

[dkp993]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

Exactly. We are looking at it from our current perspective of time and space.

We are the aliens

It’s us. Us from millions of years ago. They went underground when the asteroids hit.


That’s my new pet theory.

This seems to be a popular theory as well as the Prometheus theory

There is a real and interesting theory out there about Octopus’ being alien.


*im not a subscriber to this belief but it fits nicely with the last few posts.

 

[Skipdog77]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

Exactly. We are looking at it from our current perspective of time and space.

We are the aliens

It’s us. Us from millions of years ago. They went underground when the asteroids hit.


That’s my new pet theory.

This seems to be a popular theory as well as the Prometheus theory

There is a real and interesting theory out there about Octopus’ being alien.


*im not a subscriber to this belief but it fits nicely with the last few posts.

If all the aliens have is Ink as a weapon, what are we so scared of? Bring 'em on, we'll blast those suckers back to Zrgon-7.

 

[Moonlight]

Noticing so many UFO, poisonous snakes, deadly diseases etc articles on the internet. In their desire for clicks they would keep us in a state of perpetual anxiety. I thought that it was sex that sells.

 

[dickey moe]

or lied under oath for some nefarious reason,

At great personal risk I might add. It’s one thing to go on a podcast or talk show and spin a tale. It a whole nother thing to do in in front of the world, under oath, to Congress.

I would love to hear what he would say in a secure room.

So would Congress. But that was denied. Which speaks volumes imo.

How was it denied? And by whom?

At the hearing it was brought up that a SCIF room was requested by the committee to speak with Grusch about his classified information knowledge. It was denied.

Who has the power to deny Congress on this?

 

[KarmaPolice]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

In other words, this.

If it's mathematically possible to (feasibly) achieve interstellar travel, we should assume that somebody, somewhere, has figured it out. In that scenario, the presence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before someone shows up.

Of course, if it's not mathematically possible to achieve near-lightspeed travel or whatever, then we can pretty much close the door on this. But I don't think we know that and we might never be able to rule that out for sure.

Even if we had lightspeed travel, how close do we think the first planet with advanced life actually is?

There are a few hundred stars within 25 light years of the Sun. That number jumps to about 60k stars within 100 light years. Multiple that by the average number of planets per each star.

Also, why only assume that advanced life has to be on a planet? Maybe they are so advanced they no longer need to be tethered to a planet.

Yep. Or assuming that our current thought of travel by distance and speed is the only method of travel.

All of that may be true and can be considered -- but there are SO MANY galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. out there, that to think that our one little planet is of any importance is just not likely.

How do we know there isn't an element or material here that makes the trip worthwhile?

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm pretty Sasquatches are aliens

Maybe the aliens dress as Sasquatch to throw us off?

 

[dkp993]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

In other words, this.

If it's mathematically possible to (feasibly) achieve interstellar travel, we should assume that somebody, somewhere, has figured it out. In that scenario, the presence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before someone shows up.

Of course, if it's not mathematically possible to achieve near-lightspeed travel or whatever, then we can pretty much close the door on this. But I don't think we know that and we might never be able to rule that out for sure.

Even if we had lightspeed travel, how close do we think the first planet with advanced life actually is?

There are a few hundred stars within 25 light years of the Sun. That number jumps to about 60k stars within 100 light years. Multiple that by the average number of planets per each star.

Also, why only assume that advanced life has to be on a planet? Maybe they are so advanced they no longer need to be tethered to a planet.

Yep. Or assuming that our current thought of travel by distance and speed is the only method of travel.

All of that may be true and can be considered -- but there are SO MANY galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. out there, that to think that our one little planet is of any importance is just not likely.

How do we know there isn't an element or material here that makes the trip worthwhile?

Great point. Never thought of that angle

 

[dkp993]

or lied under oath for some nefarious reason,

At great personal risk I might add. It’s one thing to go on a podcast or talk show and spin a tale. It a whole nother thing to do in in front of the world, under oath, to Congress.

I would love to hear what he would say in a secure room.

So would Congress. But that was denied. Which speaks volumes imo.

How was it denied? And by whom?

At the hearing it was brought up that a SCIF room was requested by the committee to speak with Grusch about his classified information knowledge. It was denied.

Who has the power to deny Congress on this?

Exactly

 

[HellToupee]

If anyone isn’t familiar with 2 of the witnesses that testified to congress this is some great background info . This is Ryan Graves , navy pilot , talking to David Fravor , navy pilot

Beyond the Stigma; a UAP (UFO) Call to Action - with David Fravor | Merged Podcast EP 11

===Cmdr. David Fravor is a graduate of the TOPGUN naval flight program. He was a commander of the F/A-18F squadron on the USS Nimitz when he experienced an U...

youtu.be

 

[beer 30]

Who has the power to deny Congress on this?

Them

 

[ghostguy123]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

In other words, this.

If it's mathematically possible to (feasibly) achieve interstellar travel, we should assume that somebody, somewhere, has figured it out. In that scenario, the presence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before someone shows up.

Of course, if it's not mathematically possible to achieve near-lightspeed travel or whatever, then we can pretty much close the door on this. But I don't think we know that and we might never be able to rule that out for sure.

Even if we had lightspeed travel, how close do we think the first planet with advanced life actually is?

There are a few hundred stars within 25 light years of the Sun. That number jumps to about 60k stars within 100 light years. Multiple that by the average number of planets per each star.

Also, why only assume that advanced life has to be on a planet? Maybe they are so advanced they no longer need to be tethered to a planet.

Yep. Or assuming that our current thought of travel by distance and speed is the only method of travel.

All of that may be true and can be considered -- but there are SO MANY galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. out there, that to think that our one little planet is of any importance is just not likely.

How do we know there isn't an element or material here that makes the trip worthwhile?

Great point. Never thought of that angle

Plastic?

 

[ChicoCat]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

In other words, this.

If it's mathematically possible to (feasibly) achieve interstellar travel, we should assume that somebody, somewhere, has figured it out. In that scenario, the presence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before someone shows up.

Of course, if it's not mathematically possible to achieve near-lightspeed travel or whatever, then we can pretty much close the door on this. But I don't think we know that and we might never be able to rule that out for sure.

Even if we had lightspeed travel, how close do we think the first planet with advanced life actually is?

There are a few hundred stars within 25 light years of the Sun. That number jumps to about 60k stars within 100 light years. Multiple that by the average number of planets per each star.

Also, why only assume that advanced life has to be on a planet? Maybe they are so advanced they no longer need to be tethered to a planet.

Yep. Or assuming that our current thought of travel by distance and speed is the only method of travel.

All of that may be true and can be considered -- but there are SO MANY galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. out there, that to think that our one little planet is of any importance is just not likely.

How do we know there isn't an element or material here that makes the trip worthwhile?

It all comes back to porn.

 

[massraider]

The guy under oath, Gursch, who said they recovered bodies---it was secondhand. He never saw them.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The vastness of space makes it so unlikely, fanciful, and narcissistic that some alien race is on our little planet.

It’s only vast to us as we are technologically limited. No different then the ocean once was to for early humans, it was impossible to get across and unfathomably big. Now we fly across it in a matter of a few hours.

The problem to me is we are often viewing it though the lens of today. We can’t possibly comprehend what a civilization a 1000 (or 10,000 or a Million) years more advanced has in the way of technology. Just like if you were to drop a smart phone down in front of an ancient Egyptian. They wouldn‘t even understand the materials much less the functionality.

In other words, this.

If it's mathematically possible to (feasibly) achieve interstellar travel, we should assume that somebody, somewhere, has figured it out. In that scenario, the presence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising. It's only a matter of time before someone shows up.

Of course, if it's not mathematically possible to achieve near-lightspeed travel or whatever, then we can pretty much close the door on this. But I don't think we know that and we might never be able to rule that out for sure.

Even if we had lightspeed travel, how close do we think the first planet with advanced life actually is?

There are a few hundred stars within 25 light years of the Sun. That number jumps to about 60k stars within 100 light years. Multiple that by the average number of planets per each star.

Also, why only assume that advanced life has to be on a planet? Maybe they are so advanced they no longer need to be tethered to a planet.

Yep. Or assuming that our current thought of travel by distance and speed is the only method of travel.

All of that may be true and can be considered -- but there are SO MANY galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. out there, that to think that our one little planet is of any importance is just not likely.

How do we know there isn't an element or material here that makes the trip worthwhile?

Great point. Never thought of that angle

Plastic?

Weed?

 

[Wildcat]

The guy under oath, Gursch, who said they recovered bodies---it was secondhand. He never saw them.

Even if you discount his testimony, the testimony of the other two is compelling enough. I feel David Fravor was a very credible witness and had first-hand testimony. His testimony, which the events were also witnessed by his entire squadron, should be enough to give everyone pause.

The story behind the "Tic Tac" UFO sighting by Navy pilots in 2004

Retired Navy pilot David Fravor said that in 2004 off the coast of Southern California, advanced radar detected what operators called "multiple anomalous aerial vehicles" descending 80,000 feet in less than a second.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

The guy under oath, Gursch, who said they recovered bodies---it was secondhand. He never saw them.

Yeah, I hear ya, but this dude is not some wacko pilot that was dishonorably discharged. He has a long career as an intelligence officer with zero misconduct, insubordination, etc.

But the big thing, IMO, is the novelty of what he is claiming. He was not alleging that Congress et. al. was keeping the "truth" about UFOs and aliens from the public. He is alleging that the executive branch and intelligence officials within our government are actually keeping that information from Congress.

I'm fully invested.

Also, I, for one, welcome, our visitors....

 

[Otis]

 

[massraider]

But the big thing, IMO, is the novelty of what he is claiming. He was not alleging that Congress et. al. was keeping the "truth" about UFOs and aliens from the public. He is alleging that the executive branch and intelligence officials within our government are actually keeping that information from Congress.

If we had a warehouse of alien tech and a morgue full of aliens who don't know how to operate their ve-hicles, I would assume the military would not tell Congress.

You watch any CSPAN? I wouldn't trust these people to keep my Netflix password to themselves, let alone this kind of news.

How long could Congress have kept this secret? 80 years of sightings, and no one from Congress spilled the beans? Someone thread this needle, please

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

You watch any CSPAN? I wouldn't trust these people to keep my Netflix password to themselves, let alone this kind of news.

Fair point here. It's still fascinating (and REAL!1!!) to me.

 

[massraider]

You watch any CSPAN? I wouldn't trust these people to keep my Netflix password to themselves, let alone this kind of news.

Fair point here. It's still fascinating (and REAL!1!!) to me.

Like I said, I hope it's true. World is more interesting with aliens

 

[HellToupee]

The guy under oath, Gursch, who said they recovered bodies---it was secondhand. He never saw them.

Fwiw Grusch’s 1st hand witness already testified to the IG , according to Ross Coulthart

 

[massraider]

You watch any CSPAN? I wouldn't trust these people to keep my Netflix password to themselves, let alone this kind of news.

Fair point here. It's still fascinating (and REAL!1!!) to me.

Also, props for the OG viral wrestling fan video reference.

 

[Orange&Blue]

But the big thing, IMO, is the novelty of what he is claiming. He was not alleging that Congress et. al. was keeping the "truth" about UFOs and aliens from the public. He is alleging that the executive branch and intelligence officials within our government are actually keeping that information from Congress.

If we had a warehouse of alien tech and a morgue full of aliens who don't know how to operate their ve-hicles, I would assume the military would not tell Congress.

You watch any CSPAN? I wouldn't trust these people to keep my Netflix password to themselves, let alone this kind of news.

How long could Congress have kept this secret? 80 years of sightings, and no one from Congress spilled the beans? Someone thread this needle, please

Not to make this political, but do you think Trump would have kept this quiet?

 

[dkp993]

The guy under oath, Gursch, who said they recovered bodies---it was secondhand. He never saw them.

Yeah, I hear ya, but this dude is not some wacko pilot that was dishonorably discharged. He has a long career as an intelligence officer with zero misconduct, insubordination, etc.

But the big thing, IMO, is the novelty of what he is claiming. He was not alleging that Congress et. al. was keeping the "truth" about UFOs and aliens from the public. He is alleging that the executive branch and intelligence officials within our government are actually keeping that information from Congress.

I'm fully invested.

Also, I, for one, welcome, our visitors....

absolutely. Also a key part of all of this is Gursch has only spoken about what he can. He has not violated his oath on classified info. There is quite a it more he knows and has seen that he hasn’t spoken about.

 

[rockaction]

Some people are awfully vested in having this be the truth, and it doesn't seem to be too hard to figure out why.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Some people are awfully vested in having this be the truth, and it doesn't seem to hard to figure out why.

care to unpack this a bit?

 

[rockaction]

care to unpack this a bit?

The Deep State hatin' Trump supporters really get fired up about this. Aside from dkp993, this is just the latest in anti-government sentiment. Not that I don't sympathize and share those sentiments, but the right used to frame this as a reason/unreason issue, whereas now it's a believe government/distrust government issue, with the predictable switch in the result of the framing.

 

[dkp993]

care to unpack this a bit?

The Deep State hatin' Trump supporters really get fired up about this. Aside from dkp993, this is just the latest in anti-government sentiment. Not that I don't sympathize and share those sentiments, but the right used to frame this as a reason/unreason issue, whereas now it's a believe government/distrust government issue, with the predictable switch in the result of the framing.

It’s hard not to stumble down that rabbit hole with very credible people like Grusch talking about what he came up against as a lead in a government created division to built to look into exactly this.

It’s those “roadblocks” and “hidden power” that lead Grusch to come forward, not the possibilities of ufo‘s or aliens, but the power acting behind the scene concealing things that he wants to expose.

If there truly are forces within our own government compartmentalizing and withholding life altering information I don’t believe those forces are right/left politically motivated. It‘s about power and control.

 

[rockaction]

It‘s about power and control.

And it's almost lockstep with those who have lost faith in all institutions, which is more common on the right these days but is certainly not something the left never dabbles in. It's just that this issue is pretty clear when you look at the posters who are giving this credence and those who are skeptical.

 

[rockaction]

I mean, really, this thread is a litany of posters who have lost trust in official institutions. I know them from the PSF. It's patently obvious that you have your third-party supporters, Roganites, and Trump Republicans out in full force with "questions" about the issues that indicate a loss of all trust in institutions and norms with little or no reverence for reason and rationality.

 

[Wildcat]

I mean, really, this thread is a litany of posters who have lost trust in official institutions. I know them from the PSF. It's patently obvious that you have your third-party supporters, Roganites, and Trump Republicans out in full force with "questions" about the issues that indicate a loss of all trust in institutions and norms with little or no reverence for reason and rationality.

Interesting take. I am not one of those. I voted for Biden in the last election for what it’s worth.I don’t care about the government distrust aspect of this. Zero interest. My interest is in the UFOs themselves and explaining what in the heck is going on. I question the motives of people turning a blind eye to this. This isn’t a partisan issue. Don’t make it one. Let’s keep politics out of this.

 

[massraider]

Heat map of alien sightings 1906-2014

I don't doubt anyone's sincerity or motivations. But the map can make you laugh a bit.

 

[rockaction]

This isn’t a partisan issue. Don’t make it one. Let’s keep politics out of this.

I think what is really the case is that almost everybody says that it's an issue that should be fully investigated and that the public should be leveled with. I'll bet ninety percent of the public believes that statement. After that, it becomes very partisan and predictable with the usual suspects coming to the fore.

If you want to keep politics out of it, I'm fine with that. But the people that keep asking "just questions" tend to be of a new ideological stripe; the type who don't trust our institutions. And really, why should they? Here's an interesting interview with Martin Gurri, former media analyst at the CIA, who has a whole prescient book about the topic of trust and institutions.

The elites have failed

We have lost faith in elites and public institutions. The problem is nothing has taken their place.

www.vox.com

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Some people are awfully vested in having this be the truth, and it doesn't seem to hard to figure out why.

I kind of agree with your impulse here. This is a really weird story. It's such a weird story, that it's natural to breeze past the surface-level issue of whether the alien story is true to not (I think it's something like 99% likely that the government does not have ETs) and start speculating instead about why we're talking about this all of the sudden. There's probably a sociological reason why people started taking this seriously in 2023 and would have laughed at the same story 30 years ago.

Part of it is probably what you said. It takes a certain level of cynicism about government to take any part of this seriously, and I think it's fair to say that cynicism toward the government is at a high-water mark right now.

But I also think that's only part of the story. There are a couple of other contributing factors that I would toss in there. One is that I think people increasingly find it difficult to separate tv shows and movies from real life. I've only ever seen people reference this anecdotally before, so I don't have any good cites, but I think there's something to the observation that more and more people just assume that crime scene investigation is really like what you see on CSI, and emergency rooms really run like they do on ER-type shows, and Contagion was their mental model for how the pandemic would work, etc. Obviously if you ask them out loud, everyone would correctly recognize that the X-Files was fiction. But there's a type of person who doesn't really draw that fiction/non--fiction distinction at a deep intuitive level. Those people get sucked in by things that look like they could be compelling tv plots.

Also, we live in an age where its fashionable to people to believe fantasy versions of reality of their own choosing. This isn't the forum for it, but it is easy to identify political cults (literally cults, not simply ideological schools) on both sides of the spectrum. If you squint at it the right way, this alien thing could be viewed as a way for non-political types to get in on some of the fantasy roleplaying that extremists have gotten to enjoy in recent years.

If aliens are real and the government is really sitting on flying saucers, I apologize for dismissing this out of hand and going to straight to the part where we psychoanalyze people for holding the views that they hold. But for now, I agree that the sociological analysis of where this story came from is more interesting than the story itself.

 

[Galileo]

Heat map of alien sightings 1906-2014

I don't doubt anyone's sincerity or motivations. But the map can make you laugh a bit.

What is the point of the timeline at the bottom of the map when there is nothing in this "heat" image that shows when the sightings were reported? Speaking of reported, reported to whom? Where is this data coming from? Who is collecting/compiling the stats?

 

[Wildcat]

This isn’t a partisan issue. Don’t make it one. Let’s keep politics out of this.

I think what is really the case is that almost everybody says that it's an issue that should be fully investigated and that the public should be leveled with. I'll bet ninety percent of the public believes that statement. After that, it becomes very partisan and predictable with the usual suspects coming to the fore.

If you want to keep politics out of it, I'm fine with that. But the people that keep asking "just questions" tend to be of a new ideological stripe; the type who don't trust our institutions. And really, why should they? Here's an interesting interview with Martin Gurri, former media analyst at the CIA, who has a whole prescient book about the topic of trust and institutions.

The elites have failed

We have lost faith in elites and public institutions. The problem is nothing has taken their place.

www.vox.com

I don’t feel the American public needs to know everything. As mentioned, I am interested in the UFO aspect of this. I feel it’s a threat to national security, and these things pilots have witnessed and that are recorded by military cameras and sensors creep me out a bit. They can’t explain them. Since the government has already acknowledged them and acknowledged they don’t know what they are, when they find out what they are, or, if they already know, they should give some explanation to the American public. But my investment is merely curiosity as it greatly interests me.

 

[massraider]

Also, we live in an age where its fashionable to people to believe fantasy versions of reality of their own choosing.

Not completely what you are referring to, but: I am The Main Character syndrome. Entire subreddits dedicated to this. Basically, fantasy versions of their own personal reality.

Getting teeny bit off course here (but s***, better than politics), but I often wonder if regular, non-extraordinary people from countries who have accomplished much (like say, England and the US) are more prone to being ready to believe.

What is the point of the timeline at the bottom of the map when there is nothing in this "heat" image that shows when the sightings were reported? Speaking of reported, reported to whom? Where is this data coming from? Who is collecting/compiling the stats?

We need more of this kind of skepticism, people!

 

[leftcoastguy7]

Has anyone watched the documentary "Moment of Contact." It's about the 1996 event in Varginha, Brazil

Interesting documentary, thanks for the suggestion.

Made me realize I never thought about an alien's odor. Spoiler - it aint good.

 

[rockaction]

Has anyone watched the documentary "Moment of Contact." It's about the 1996 event in Varginha, Brazil

You're kidding me. I am so immature, but **** it. Varginha?

 

[massraider]

Has anyone watched the documentary "Moment of Contact." It's about the 1996 event in Varginha, Brazil

You're kidding me. I am so immature, but **** it. Varginha?

That curry takeout from Andromeda 5.111.7 was a bad decision

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Has anyone watched the documentary "Moment of Contact." It's about the 1996 event in Varginha, Brazil

You're kidding me. I am so immature, but **** it. Varginha?

Remember: They made the Men in Black intentionally look and sound exactly like Alex Trebek so that nobody would believe people when they tried to tell the truth. Of course this took place in a town that makes you say "Oh, come on."

Edit: Link to the well-documented Alex Trebek sighting.

 

[The Z Machine]

Heat map of alien sightings 1906-2014

I don't doubt anyone's sincerity or motivations. But the map can make you laugh a bit.

Love how Puerto Rico has caught the UFO bug but hardly any of the neighboring Caribbean islands.

 

[dkp993]

There's probably a sociological reason why people started taking this seriously in 2023 and would have laughed at the same story 30 years ago.

I believe it’s far more straightforward than that. It’s simply about the quality of person(s) bringing obligations to light. For example, the three people that testified to Congress the other are impeachable in there resumes and backgrounds.

 

[WDIK2]

I agree that the sociological analysis of where this story came from is more interesting than the story itself.

Can you unpack this a little? You think the reason why this is a story is more interesting than if aliens are visiting our planet?

I could very well be misinterpreting what you are saying. I really don't care why this is becoming a story now. It would be fascinating if we ever get an official statement confirming aliens have visited. I get there would be a bunch of why it wasn't made public sooner questions, but that to me would be way down the list of what was interesting about it.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I agree that the sociological analysis of where this story came from is more interesting than the story itself.

Can you unpack this a little? You think the reason why this is a story is more interesting than if aliens are visiting our planet?

I could very well be misinterpreting what you are saying. I really don't care why this is becoming a story now. It would be fascinating if we ever get an official statement confirming aliens have visited. I get there would be a bunch of why it wasn't made public sooner questions, but that to me would be way down the list of what was interesting about it.

It's because I think it's extremely unlikely that aliens have visited our planet, the government knows about, and the government successfully covered it up for 80+ years. If the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA both came out tomorrow and said that yes, we have alien spacecraft in our possession, Bayes theorem tells me that it's more likely that those two guys simultaneously suffered strokes that coincidentally produced that one specific unique delusion than that they're telling the actual truth. This story is so vanishingly unlikely to be true that even a laughably implausible explanation for how people are getting it wrong is much more likely to be true than the story itself. So we can dismiss it out of hand and turn our attention to why this story is circulating in the first place.

Like @dkp993 said, it could be as simple as the fact that we have some seemingly normal-looking, sane people who are testifying on the record. But lots of otherwise-sane people believe crazy, delusional things. Which is more likely? That these guys are right and we have LGM in our possession? Or that these three people, in a country of 330M, happen to be crazy, delusional, or dishonest? Surely its the second, right?*

If aliens as depicted in the X-Files actually existed, it would be the biggest story of all time. (And the same over-educated mouth breathers who coordinated our pandemic response succeeded in hiding the truth from the entire world for generations apparently -- seems likely). But I'm assuming that that isn't the case.

This is definitely one of those "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" things. Don't tell me you know a guy who knows a guy who saw alien bodies at Area 51. Show me the bodies. Or at least show me the guy who saw them. Or tell me his name. I'm inclined to think that interstellar travel might be hypothetically possible, but I've been given essentially no evidence at all to think that it's actually happened -- not anything even close to moving any needles. I agree that this is the kind of story that captivates the imagination, but that's a good reason to make sure we keep our critical thinking shoes on.

* Maybe a different frame of reference would help. I'd apply about as much scrutiny to claims of aliens having visited earth as I would to claims of miracles made by people of a religion that I don't follow. If somebody tells me that they spoke to Zoroaster in a dream, I'd probably just figure that they dreamed of speaking to Zoroaster. It's a lot more likely that they're mistaken somehow than that they're right, even if I think that it's hypothetically possible that they might be right.

 

[dkp993]

But lots of otherwise-sane people believe crazy, delusional things. Which is more likely? That these guys are right and we have LGM in our possession? Or that these three people, in a country of 330M, happen to be crazy, delusional, or dishonest? Surely its the second, right?*

Sure, if there were no other supporting evidence, which is not the case here. You’re a rational guy, I believe I am too, so maybe you haven’t taken the time to tumble down the rabbit hole like I have and really look at the accompanying evidence (evidence that defies explanation from our own governments experts). While I wouldn’t classify the evidence as proof it’s certainly supports the testimony of very credible people and imo removes the crazy/delusional elements of their argument.

Or at least show me the guy who saw them. Or tell me his name.

This is exactly what Grusch is trying to do and is being blocked from doing. Hopefully with the headings the pressure is applied enough for him to do so, or at the very least get into a SCIF and tell members of Congress that information.

 

[dkp993]

@IvanKaramazov As I’ve stated upstreams a few weeks ago, prior to the 2017 NYE article I was squarely (maybe identically) in your camp. I believe it to be something theoretically possible but there was nothing compelling enough to have me believe it actually happened. I believed the governmental cover-up and accompanying number of people involved with it was simply tI great to hide. But that article started me down a path that has changed my mind, and while I’m certainly not in the camp that say this is a 100% certainty, I’ve moved to probably a 70/30 proposition. I also believe we reached a tipping point in this situation where the evidence is mounting, and the uncomfortability of highly qualified people who wouldn’t have spoken about this prior has been broken. The stigma about being labeled crazy or delusional is washing away and the general public as a whole is more excepting of this as a possibility.