Tartalmi kivonat
Alien Visitations “The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by such learned dunderheads [priests and pedants]; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe -- that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power, and hence a fraud. One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.” HL Mencken xkcd.com/718 Space Travel As we discussed: • Space is big • Space travel is slow Barring unknown physics, it is unlikely that alien beings are flitting around our planet in flying saucers Close Encounters • I: Visual sighting of aerial object (UFO) • II: Observation plus physical effects • • • • Heat Electrical interference Paralysis; frightened animals Physical damage • III: Direct observation of extraterrestrials • Little green men •
Tall grey aliens • IV: Abductions How to Serve Man UFOs What is a UFO? • All are indeed unidentified. • Most are Venus. • Almost certainly none are alien spacecraft Picture from Robert Sheaffer: http://www.debunkercom/ufohtml Fata Morgana (mirage) Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence Do (did) they walk among us? Dogu figurine, Japan, 1000-400 BCE Oannes Spacemen? Ecuador Robot or Astronaut? Kiev, ~4000 BCE Medieval spaceship? Kosovo Ancient Aircraft? Ceiling Beam, Temple of Seti I, Abydos, Egypt Ancient Astronauts? Woodcut: Arabia, 1479 Summers Triumph,1538, Bayerisches Museum Evidence for Visitations? Nazca Lines Nazca Desert, southern Peru Created 450 BC - 600 AD 10-30 cm deep depressions in desert Dark soil removed to reveal lighter subsoil Nazca Lines: Breaking News New York Times, 11/21/19: • More Than 140 Nazca Lines Are Discovered in Peruvian Desert • Up to 2100 years old Crop Circles
Crop Circles • Mostly found in southern England • Have gotten more complex with time • Doug Bower and Dave Chorley have admitted to making hundreds, and demonstrated how on BBC Cereologists still maintain that not all crop circles can be hoaxes If you had physical evidence of UFO visitations, Could you keep it a secret? Could the government? Area 51 Groom Lake Nevada Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dayton Ohio Roswell Something happened in Roswell NM in June 1947 • Yes, there was a cover-up • No, flying saucers were not involved Roswell: Anatomy of a Coverup • July 1947: Top secret Air Force balloon payload (project Mogul) crashes • Military rushes in to clean up evidence; • Plants cover story of crashed “flying disc” • USAF retracts story next day and shows debris • Nobody cares until 1980s • Pentagon releases top secret reports in 1994 Reports by Pilots • Jan 7 1948: T.F Mantell chases UFO in P51. Crashes Chased top secret
high altitude Skyhook balloon. • Nov 17 1986: K. Terauchi flying JAL 1628 over Alaska reports UFO (2 lights) following for 50 minutes. 2 other planes fail to confirm. Saw Jupiter and Mars Close to Home The Southaven Park (Shirley) UFO crash, Nov 24 1992 https://www.ufocasebookcom/southavenufohtml https://hendrazzone.blogspotcom/2015/04/the-fall-of-ufo-incident-in-southavenpark-new-york-1992html • Reported by John Ford • “after extensive interviews of witnesses, that military helicopters shot down a UFO over the bay, killing 17 aliens that were later taken to Brookhaven.” • Shot down by quark-gluon plasma beam from BNL? • Ford claimed other UFO crashes on LI – Moriches Bay 1988 – Pine Barrens 1992 Ford was later charged with conspiracy to assassinate local politicians by “doctoring their cars and toothpaste with radium”. Ruled incompetent to stand trial Evidence for Visitations? If they are surveilling us, they have been sloppy • Equivalent of
anthropology grad students? The 2004 Navy FLIR video • IR video – Released by US Navy / USS Nimitz • Also seen visually, and on radar • Apparent rapid accelerations – outflew F18 SuperHornet • Possible secret government technology? • Alien? • Unexplained – a UFO UFOs are now UAPs UAP Report • 9 pages in length – Title page – Scope – Executive summary – 2 appendices • Conclusions – AVAILABLE REPORTING LARGELY INCONCLUSIVE – UAP PROBABLY LACK A SINGLE EXPLANATION – UAP THREATEN FLIGHT SAFETY AND, POSSIBLY, NATIONAL SECURITY – EXPLAINING UAP WILL REQUIRE ANALYTIC, COLLECTION AND RESOURCE INVESTMENT Skeptical Views • M. West: I study UFOs – and I don’t believe the alien hype. Here’s why https://www.theguardiancom/commentisfree/2021/jun/11/istudy-ufos-and-i-dont-believe-the-alien-hype-heres-why • Experts Weigh In on Pentagon UFO Report https://www.scientificamericancom/article/experts-weigh-in-onpentagon-ufo-report/
Is UFOlogy a science ahead of its time? Consider • Scientific study of Witchcraft • Phrenology • Fairies • Homeopathy • N-rays • Orgone • • cf. Shaeffer 1980 (http://www.debunkercom/historical/SmithsonianUFOtalkhtml) UFOs are • • • • • • Usually Venus Or lenticular clouds Or insects Or weather balloons Or bolides/rockets Or hoaxes The Mystery of the Dogon Inhabitants of Mali Legends written down in the 1930s speak of • Sirius B (faint white dwarf star) • 4 moons of Jupiter • Saturn’s rings • Elliptical planetary orbits How could they have known this? cf. James Oberg in http://wwwdebunkercom/texts/dogonhtml The Mystery of the Dogon Inhabitants of Mali Legends written down in the 1930s speak of • Sirius B (faint white dwarf star) • 4 moons of Jupiter • Saturn’s rings • Elliptical planetary orbits How could they have known this? Christian Missionaries in the 1880s cf. James Oberg in http://wwwdebunkercom/texts/dogonhtml
Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence Who Needs Ancient Astronauts? Who Needs Ancient Astronauts? • Human beings 10,000 years ago were just as intelligent as we are today. • Given time, labor, and state-of-the-art technology (inclined planes, pulleys, rollers, chisels, slaves), pharaohs built the pyramids Don’t sell your ancestors short! Who Needs Ancient Astronauts? • We need to save ourselves – help will not come from the skies