# Believe in aliens/UFOs?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 27, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170 "2006-10-27T21:05:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/61 "2006-10-30T13:32:43Z")
[QUOTE=glee]
Does the thousands who regularly attend Star Trek\* gatherings prove that the Enterprise exists?
[/QUOTE]
[_Enterprise_ **does** exist!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65))
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### Author:  [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/62 "2006-10-30T13:58:57Z")
[QUOTE=PBear42]
That’s been speculated [before](http://www.terrybisson.com/meat.html).
[/QUOTE]
[Soon coming to a motion picture theater near you.](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=they%27re+made+out+of+meat&search=Search)
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### Author:  [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/63 "2006-10-30T17:23:03Z")
[QUOTE=Creznor]
To be as nifty as possible - the naivity in question stems from people who ignorantly try to approach/explain the subject from the very basic levels of human understanding that they possess, or with the limited & everchanging knowledge attained through means of conventional science.
[/quote]
Umm, I am curious. I would be interested in learning how to observe and evaluate my enviornment using processess above and beyond the “limited” levels of knowledge and understanding (cognitive?) processes I am saddled with…
> [@](#):
>
> Again; the evidence exists - and in large quantities - however, not all of it is authentic. It really just comes down to it being one’s own job to deduce from the existing shreds and formulating logical conclusions.
There ya go. This has created a (healthy, IMO) self realisation that I need to think for myself, wherever possible.
> [@](#):
>
> Many science-types are sooo ridiculously close-minded when it comes to acknowledgement of the phenomenon, and this is primarily due to their arrogant ways of thinking, a la “if i haven’t been taught it at school, then it abso-fucking-lutely cannot exist!”
Anecdotally, it seems to me that the majority of “science-types” accept the _possibility_ of intelligent life existing elsewhere as very likely (given the sheer size of the observable universe). Implying that they are open minded to the idea of technologically advanced visitors and artifacts.
Problem is, the scientific methodology (observe, theorise, test, refine, retest, publish, get famous) adopted by the scientific community at large requires pretty exacting requirements for what constitutes “conclusive proof”.
It must be frustrating for a scientist to passionately _want_ to meet ET, but to continually be presented with dissapointedly out-of-focus photos and what not. I am no scientist, but I know it’s frustrating for me.
(Same with the Sci-Fi series “Ghost Hunters”. Hehe: “Omi-god! Did you hear that thump!? I have a high EM reading!”)
> [@](#):
>
> It however, is ALSO due to three very **rare** whims of intelligence that - unlike scientific knowledge attained through education - cannot be bought: common sense, deductive reasoning & the gift of pattern recognition.
True, I wish common sense was more common…
Deduction reasoning (logical thinking?) _can_ be taught, I believe.
And finally, pattern recognition is kinda finicky, and should not be the sole deciding factor. You see a cloud shaped like a dragon. It’s still a cloud. You can Google up all kinds of optical illusion tests just for fun.
> [@](#):
>
> Other science-types, like astronauts Edgar Mitchel, Gordon Cooper & Buzz Aldrin, or aerospace engineers like Dr. Robert Wood - and a plethora of other famous scientific characters - are well aware that the phenomenon is real & staring right at us. Infact, **over 400 government, military, and scientific officials** came forth on May 9, 2001 in a historic national press club conference conducted by Steven M. Greer, in what was known as the “Disclosure Project.” The purpose of this conference was to hear & record witness testimony offered by those 400+ top-ranking officials surrounding their personal knowledge/sightings of ufos/aliens ([disclosureproject.org](http://disclosureproject.org)).
Which only proves that a lot of very intelligent people _want_ to believe… But scientists need more than personal stories to state a positive opinion on the matter.
> [@](#):
>
> I’ll admit, my intial intention, as downright & dirty as it may sound, was to advertise the website on various forums, not to partake in long, drawn-out debates on the forums I advertised the site in.
How disappointing. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/64 "2006-10-30T17:43:00Z")
[QUOTE=mlees]
Umm, I am curious. I would be interested in learning how to observe and evaluate my enviornment using processess above and beyond the “limited” levels of knowledge and understanding (cognitive?) processes I am saddled with…
[/QUOTE]
[Here ya go!](http://www.timecube.com/)
> [@](#):
>
> Time is Cubic and not linear.
😉
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### Author:  [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/65 "2006-10-30T17:47:47Z")
[QUOTE=Squink]
[Here ya go!](http://www.timecube.com/)😉
[/QUOTE]
Good God! That site was in English, but hell-if-I-know what it was saying!
Maybe something from a less advanced “advanced thinking” course.
I need a drink…
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/66 "2006-10-30T21:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed]
At last! A member of the Conspiracy confesses!
😉
[/QUOTE]
The Evil Atheist Conspiracy **does not** exist!
It says that on page three of my EAC handbook, so it must be true.
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### Author:  [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/67 "2006-10-30T21:33:50Z")
it’s a cookbook!!!
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/68 "2006-10-30T21:48:51Z")
We only seek To Serve Man.
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### Author:  [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/69 "2006-10-30T22:02:23Z")
[QUOTE=Squink]
[Here ya go!](http://www.timecube.com/)😉
[/QUOTE]
Helluva way to treat a guest, **Squink**.
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### Author:  [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/70 "2006-10-30T22:10:55Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus]
Do I believe in aliens? Only by default, because it would be absurd to think Earth is the only planet harboring life.
[/QUOTE]
I hear and read this, or variations on it, pretty often, and I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on this line of thought. There’s definitely something attractive about it, but isn’t it equally absurd to think that life is something special that must have developed elsewhere? This viewpoint has always seemed very biased to me.
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### Author:  [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/71 "2006-10-30T22:41:54Z")
[QUOTE=lexan]
I hear and read this, or variations on it, pretty often, and I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on this line of thought. There’s definitely something attractive about it, but isn’t it equally absurd to think that life is something special that must have developed elsewhere? This viewpoint has always seemed very biased to me.
[/QUOTE]
You have things mixed up. The idea of life being only on earth makes life “special.” If life occurs on many planets then it **isn’t** special.
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### Author:  [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/72 "2006-10-31T04:23:00Z")
Thanks, **Contrapuntal**. Hadn’t seen (or even heard of) that before.
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### Author:  [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/73 "2006-10-31T14:08:42Z")
I don’t know why skeptics are always so “they aren’t real and that’s that” about things we can’t see or prove exist right away. Just because YOU haven’t seen one, doesn’t mean they’re not real and the people who believe or have seen one are crazy.
You can sputter off as much scientific babble and “facts” as you want, the true fact is, you don’t know if there is or isn’t another species out there that can defy the laws of physics.
Also, it’s pretty egotistical to think that we’re the only ones alive in the whole space system.
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### Author:  [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/74 "2006-10-31T14:29:34Z")
diggleblop, I haven’t seen anyone say that he thinks we’re the only ones alive in the whole “space system.” And by the way, if they’re laws of physics, then aliens couldn’t defy them either. That’s just a nitpick, I think you’re saying the laws as we understand them.
We skeptics don’t think the people who believe them are crazy (well, not all of them, because many are really crazy), but that they are not very good at evaluating evidence to reach conclusions.
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### Author:  [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/believe-in-aliens-ufos/378170/75 "2006-10-31T15:23:14Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop]
I don’t know why skeptics are always so “they aren’t real and that’s that” about things we can’t see or prove exist right away. Just because YOU haven’t seen one, doesn’t mean they’re not real and the people who believe or have seen one are crazy.
[/quote]
No, sceptics say ‘what evidence have you got?’.
**No scientist ever says ‘that’s that.’ The whole basis for science is that you continually reassess current thinking in the light of new evidence.**
I believe there is an invisible force that pulls matter together.
I am confident there is or has been or will be life elsewhere in the Universe.
I don’t believe that crop circles are the work of aliens, because I’ve seen them being made (by people with 2 planks and a rope 😃 )
All the UFO evidence over the last 5 decades or so boils down to some poorly observed lights in the sky.
Even UFO enthusiasts concede that 90% of ‘sightings’ are clearly aircraft / birds / planets / hoaxes etc.
[QUOTE=diggleblop]
You can sputter off as much scientific babble and “facts” as you want, the true fact is, you don’t know if there is or isn’t another species out there that can defy the laws of physics.
[/quote]
Ah we scientists with our babble and ‘facts’. What have we ever discovered? Apart from **computers, the Internet, spaceflight, the human genome, electron microscopes and post-it notes**. 🆒
Compare this to those who use their imagination instead of scientific method. They have **almost** discovered how to talk to the dead, how to predict the future, when all life will end, dowsing, telepathy and perpetual energy. Just give them \*\*more time and money \*\* and stop going on about the laws of physics, which they have **nearly** disproved.
Now let’s get serious. Although I appear to be a boring scientific type who likes evidence, I am in fact possessed of super-powers. :eek: I can determine when you will next use a computer (mmmmm … done), your location when you do (mmmmm … done) and teleport behind you (wheeeee!).
OK, I am now standing behind you! (You won’t have noticed any air current, because my method involves the complete replacement of matter at your location by me. 😉 )
Are you going to look round - or are you assuming I can’t defy the laws of physics?
[QUOTE=diggleblop]
Also, it’s pretty egotistical to think that we’re the only ones alive in the whole space system.
[/QUOTE]
Who are these people who think ‘we’re the only ones alive in the whole space system’? Have you got a cite for one of them? Or are you just making up quotes? 😕
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