Ufology

[Beowulf]

Although I'm not specifically a believer in crop circles being made by aliens I did see one, photographed it and my film disappeared from the store I put it into. Men in black?

My husband and I went to a recommended fishing hole by our plumber (stop laughing).

It was way deep through a woods up by Flagstaff Arizona. We went on this dirt road into a woods that led us at last to an open marshy field. Grasses three feet high. Through a little path that opened to the field between two trees we stepped out into the marsh to look for Marshall Lake, and realized straight in front of us was a crop circle. Grasses bent around in a spiral, of no classic design like the crop circles in the photographs you see.

We kind of thought the Northern Arizona college students did it as a prank, but...?

[Scorpio]

The Witnesses 2

One of the first and best UFO witnesses was Kenneth Arnold.Arnolds report is interesting as an independent witness and as a socialogical phenomenon; it would unleash a flood of similar reports that is regarded by some as the start of the UFO craze. On June 24th 1947, Idaho businessman Arnold reported nine metalic objects moving rapidly close to the horizon whilst flying his private plane across Washington state.Contrary to popular belief, Arnold did not see flying saucers but used the image as an analogy:like saucers skipping across a pond. Arnold was a good witness; he was an experienced pilot, was rational, and had a valid reason to be in the area. Perhaps as important as these points is the fact that UFO mythology had not yet developed; such folklore can effect the interpretation of aerial phenomena and color recall of the event. Besides the odd configuration of the craft high speeds, there is nothing particularly outlandish in Arnolds report; he would infact adjust his original velocity estimates because he thought they sounded ridiculous. This mild anxiety influencing recall, an example of cognitive dissonance, speeks well of Arnold: cognitive dissonance is pychological reality.

[Scorpio]

The Theories 1

It has been suggested that the Rendlesham case was an example of covert testing program, or psy-ops. Perhaps it is not as far fetched as it sounds; the base housed cold war facilities,making it a high risk; it is based on British soil, not American, so questions of info and juristician make it difficult to investigate properly should the authorities make a big deal of it. To test security measures and study reactions may have been the motivation.
But how could they fake such things?,you may ask.
I suggest that sightings from the original reports may not have been as impressive as you might think.

[Phil H]

I think the whole thing was over-blown.

so questions of info and juristician make it difficult to investigate properly should the authorities make a big deal of it.

US bases on British soil remain RAF establishments and have an RAF commander. The agreements under which the US uses sites in the UK are quite clear.

On the other hand, I think many UFO sightings of fast moving craft were actually the US testing new sorts of technology against British air defences without notice, to the advantage of both. Hence why the UK government could repeatedly assert that there was no threat from whatever was happening.

Phil H

[Scorpio]

It seems that Stealth aircraft were deposited in this country and probably flown prior to the first Gulf war; this was a time when their existence was officially denied.

[Scorpio]

Hessdalen

The citizens of Hessdalen, a remote valley in Norway, have been reporting UFO activity since the 1940's. Amateur UFO and science buffs attracted to the area have provided limited data of inevitably debatable quality but can categorising the strange lights phenomena into three rough categories: Rapid sparkles, balls of lightning drifting around for hours at a time, and several lights grouped together. The local population have also claimed solid objects have been encountered;Loaves, cigars, bullets, zeppelin and hats have been employed as similes by bucolic locals. Clearly, these reports have been influenced by UFO lore,digested consciously or unconsciously, and subjected to derision elsewhere. Nevertheless, the evidence has attracted the scientific community, and a observatory was constructed in 1988. With the aid of more sophisticated equipment, observers confirm that the phenomenon is real; radar returns record velocities of 8 kilometers per second; spectral analysis suggests a superheated mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and silica, which constitute the local dust; but also present is the much rarer Scandium: a hard material used in the production of fighter planes. There is a wealth of data on Hessdalen out there for the interested; it is considered a UFO laboratory and will continue to produce data. But Hessdalen is interesting as a natural experiment for social science also; the qualitative differences in the observations of different stratas in society should provide a lesson for wary investigators.

[MajorParts]

What IF (note the big IF), a few thousand years into our own future, we have somehow managed to develop technology to allow time and/or inter-stellar travel and we are visiting ourselves from wherever we set up home after this place went proper tits up?

I like to believe that there are many intelligent civilisations out there, but I haven't come across any evidence whatsoever to say that it is a fact.

Unless you witness it yourself, you can never be sure of any of the stories truth and to a certain extent, can't be sure of your own experience.

[Phil H]

There have been sightings which appear to be possible "future tourism" - I'll try to dig out my references.

But they seem to be distinct from visiting aliens/

Phil H

[MajorParts]

I saw a film a while back involving "future tourism" but can't remember what it was called. Some bloke was visiting historical disasters.

The other "what IF" to go with my future technology may be what IF humans have evolved too by then to resemble what we assume today to be "aliens".

Where our evolution is taking us is just as fascinating as how it got us here.

[MajorParts]

I thought I'd have a look for "future tourist" sightings and I came across this...

"TET (Terrestrial Extra Theory) does not challenge the possibility of extra-terrestrial life; what it does is challenge the idea that reported 'alien' sightings are sightings of beings foreign to this earth. The probability that these beings traveled light years, arrived on earth, and look as similar to humans as reports portray is not as probable as the theory that these beings are native to earth, but living in a future era."

From here...

http://www.terrestrialextras.com/

[Scorpio]

I thought I'd have a look for "future tourist" sightings and I came across this...

"TET (Terrestrial Extra Theory) does not challenge the possibility of extra-terrestrial life; what it does is challenge the idea that reported 'alien' sightings are sightings of beings foreign to this earth. The probability that these beings traveled light years, arrived on earth, and look as similar to humans as reports portray is not as probable as the theory that these beings are native to earth, but living in a future era."

From here...

http://www.terrestrialextras.com/

The probability of humanoid stellar tourists increase if you accept the premise of pan spermia. The logistics of Darwinian evolution limits has left many biologists unconvinced .

[Scorpio]

Why is there so much UFO stuff on the internet?;
Some sites have literally millions of hits, and the footage is obviously hoaxed.
;the need to believe must be strong, and the need to deceive possibly stronger.
Has anyone ever hoaxed anything like that ?.

[Phil H]

Each generation seems to have its fixation - in the past, ghosts, witches, demons - today UFOs.

[kensei]

Each generation seems to have its fixation - in the past, ghosts, witches, demons - today UFOs.

There are still plenty of ghosts, witches, demons etc. today just as in the past. UFOs appear to have been added to the mix (in large part, not entirely) as a response to the begining of the nuclear age.

[Scorpio]

Ufology is definitely a major part of post nuclear mythology, which is such an interesting subject. Nuclear wastelands,artificial and malicious intelligence, bio plagues ,cyborgs,cloning. I am going to extend this thread to deal with them all.