Tigress,
Aww, shucks - we were only playing! :o
Ball lightning is a proven phenomenon that has been replicated in laboratories, by having a huge current strike the surface of a plane of water. Another way to recreate the phenomenon is to burn a candle(or some other carbon based combustible) in a microwave(p.s. Do not try this at home) and bombard it with microwave radiation. Either way, it creates a swirling, glowing mass of plasma that floats around for a while. We call this kind of phenomenon ball lightning, because it is created naturally by lightning strikes.
Beinga crackpot, as yosemitebabe would say, who loves to believe in this stuff, I’ve looked very closely at the crop-circle phenomenon over the years with a very open mind. I think the evidence bears out the idea that the vast, vast majority of them are man-made.
Mainly, what you have to do is look at the things:
- They’ve only been around for twenty years in significant numbers, and the phenomenon has grown in direct proportion to public interest.
- They’ve been thematically similar as time goes on (ie, the circle of ten years ago were much different and more like eachother than circles are today).
- They only come out at night.
- They’re mainly a local affair (England), though they have been spotted all over the world (people catching on).
- They’ve gotten much, much better. Today’s circles are dazzling geometric shapes and motifs; they’re a sight to behold. Seems like if some natural phenomenon or alien intelligence were creating these things, they’d be just as good in design ten years ago as they are today. This is just not true: anybody remeber the Led Zeppelin box set? Those circles are pretty lame by today’s standards.
- They are always made of the same components: circles and lines. There aren’t many crop circle desgins that couldn’t be described on paper by using a pencil and a string; similarly, the circle makers typically use only a board and some rope. And you only see designs based on circles with straight lines: you won’t find The Last Supper in any field.
Still, they’re amazing. It really is an incredibe phenomenon. I suspect reports that it is hard to make a circle at night in England are exaggerated, as are reports that fields were watched and nothing was seen, except in some cases “balls of light.” I’ve read the reports at cropcircleconnector and Linda Howe’s reports: it’s still too hard to believe 99% of them aren’t manmade. But, even the circle makers report some very strange occurences in the fields at night.
I read that the really elaborate ones were deliberately done so that people would have to realise they were fake. But instead the fervour heightened as they postulated on the level of complexity of these ‘messages’.
You’d think aliens could learn an Earth Language somehow, or at least actually sow up in person instead of being so circumspect. sigh
There is no doubt that the complex ones are fake. They have only appeared as the publicity increased, and the original hoaxers have come forth.
Now, for may years before that, there have been small 'crop circles", however, these are simple circles, and usually small. They likely have a natural explanation. Dust devils, for instance.
Here’s one just for you (one of my favourites, actually)
;j
omni-not,
what are you up to ? 
Sequent,
You posted ‘Being a crackpot, as yosemitebabe would say, who loves to believe in this stuff, I’ve looked very closely at the crop-circle phenomenon over the years with a very open mind.’
If you love to believe in it, perhaps you haven’t got an open mind. 
and further ‘I think the evidence bears out the idea that the vast, vast majority of them are man-made.’
No, the evidence is that they’re ALL man-made.
Sorry!
We’ll have to put an end to this: we’re beginning to…run around in circles!
:wally
omni-not,
:wally … SNAP!
Perfectly put , Sequent!!
I can’t believe reasonable people could be so gullible.
The perfect test for any outrageous claim is to apply “Occam’s Razor”: The simplest and most reasonable explanation (that can address each issue) is usually the correct one.
Simplest: kids go into a field at night, when no one is looking, with some string and a board. They walk between the rows, and only flatten the crops necessary to produce the design (ever more complex for, boredom? notoriety?).
Pranks have existed since kids have existed.
** Wrath** said:
This is why crop circles serve a very useful purpose. They show exactly how gullible folks can be.
I disagree. I think the natural phenomena explanation holds some weight, too. There are less regular formations that people photgraph all the time that clearly seem nature-made to me. For instance: a wind vortex or mini-cyclone could easily make a plain circle formation. This has been demonstrated (but don’t ask me for a cite) in the effort to debunk circles. Both circle believers and circle makers (don’t take my word for it–they talk about it on their site–and they’re the ones out in the fields making circles every night, not you and me) both report witnessing something that sounds very much like ball lightning, which has also been demonstrated in a labratory (I could find a cite for this, but I’m lazy). Personally, I think it’s more likely than not that at least a very small percentage of circles appear via non-human means. “All” is a big word, glee–no fudge room. Even if just one circle out of thousands was made by a vortex, your assertion would be, well, incorrect. Sorry!
More clearly, I would say the overwhelming majority (let’s say 99%) are man-made, or at least that’s what the clear evidence points to. I could also say that there is no evidence they are caused by an “extra-human” intelligence. So many mysteries in the world, this doesn’t really even qualify.
And yes, I love to believe in crackpot stuff. It’s a rough time to be a crackpot, though: there’s a decided lack of evidence. And people are coming up with new explanations all the time, always talking about something they call “science.” It’s the crackpot’s worst enemy, I tell you…it’ll be the end of us!