# Does anyone else feel like their IQ drops 10 points when they tune in to Ancient Aliens **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500 "2012-02-11T05:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/1 "2012-02-11T05:40:47Z")
I was flipping through the channels tonight and noticed that History International - err, excuse me, H2 - had an Ancient Aliens and UFO Hunters marathon. It was quite sad to see this formerly reputable channel slide down the same path of irrelevancy as its sister network. Anyway I tuned in for a few minutes, just because there was nothing else on. The less said about what I saw the better, something about ancient stones in France. But I wish I’d had a doobie, just to up the entertainment value. Anyone here watch these shows regularly? If so what do you make of them? And, just how does one become an expert in ancient aliens? Do the commentators on these shows have legitimate academic credentials or work for serious historical organizations? Or is their “expertise” based on the fact that they’ve self-published a couple of books and gone too far down the rabbit hole in investigating their subject matter? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/2 "2012-02-11T05:44:34Z")
No advice, except to watch the military channel instead. ---
**Author:** ![Mole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/3 "2012-02-11T06:03:08Z")
Briefly (eventually on mute) just to watch Giorgio Tsoukalos’ hair. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/4 "2012-02-11T07:00:53Z")
It’s the only time when I’ve experienced both hilarity and rage simultaneously. An odd experience. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/5 "2012-02-11T07:11:55Z")
This show, and other bad ones in this format, remind me of my 5th grade essays- typed the night before they were due, Minimum requirement of 3 pages achieved by margins increased by a half inch, font size brought up to 13. Flashy sentences that sound coherent if you’re not paying attention, but none none of which work together to form any kind of actual _point_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/6 "2012-02-11T07:18:22Z")
Still a half step above the Ghost Hunter’s Scooby Doo channel. At least Scooby Doo always proved it was a scam. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/7 "2012-02-11T08:26:55Z")
Makes you wonder what is their ulterior motive for looking the way they do? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/8 "2012-02-11T11:26:42Z")
> [@Mole](#): > > Briefly (eventually on mute) just to watch Giorgio Tsoukalos’ hair. And here I thought Giorgio Tsoukalos’ hair was proof that humanity not only was manipulated by aliens in the past, but is currently being manipulated by the Centauri Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/9 "2012-02-11T13:25:25Z")
[Fark.com](http://Fark.com) has [this](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/743037/im-not-saying-its-aliens-but-its-aliens.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.offtackleempire.com/2011/10/10/2480941/big-ten-rankings-internet-meme&h=484&w=553&sz=31&tbnid=MiMw3Adsu-2_fM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=103&zoom=1&docid=PLlhnJbY0bsbRM&sa=X&ei=l2o2T9-9B-nw0gG0qvidAg&ved=0CDwQ9QEwAg&dur=733) meme that cracks me up every time I see it. But yes, I admit to watching this show. Not regularly, I’m at home a lot during weekday afternoons. Not a whole lot on the TV except for this. Which I watch only for comical value. Mostly it’s just background noise as I surf the net. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/10 "2012-02-11T13:54:17Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Makes you wonder what is their ulterior motive for looking the way they do? Well, ratings and $ comes to mind… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/11 "2012-02-11T14:14:55Z")
My IQ drops whenever those ghost hunting shows come on… my daughter loves them, but she still doesn’t really understand the concept of “editing” and “acting” well enough to realize that the shows are 10 pounds of bullshit in a 2 ounce bag. I’ll give her a pass as she’s 10… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/12 "2012-02-11T14:48:39Z")
I love my mother but when she comes to do a long visit she takes over the living-dining room TV, besides a regular diet of Spanish celebrity TV shows and yellow journalism news magazines that already drop your IQ, there are also several times when psychics and UFO hunters are interviewed. It is no wonder that I eat my dinner in my room, too many chances to throw up. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/13 "2012-02-11T15:13:16Z")
I get the same feeling watching _Decoded_ on the History channel. Great leaps in logic, connecting dots that aren’t in the same time zone, and rarely actually decoding the mystery they set out to solve. Very unsatisfying. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/14 "2012-02-11T17:04:30Z")
UFO Hunters features an “expert” who wears sunglasses constantly–probably even in the shower. He is clearly nuts, and would benefit greatly from pharmaceuticals to control his delusion of grandeur. He did an entire show on “The Men in Black,” and I was AMAZED that he had enough quasi-information to rage for an hour over alleged conspiracies by “The Men in Black.” ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/15 "2012-02-11T17:59:20Z")
I actually feel my IQ going up, along with my blood pressure. It’s 40 minutes of a logical falacy convention mixed with whipped eggs and woo, squeezed into a 2 hour basic cable show. I wish they would end each episode with two minutes of a scientist’s refute. It would start with him running out of time trying to cover every stupid thing, then move on to him facepalming and muttering, then him crying at the insanity. Finally, Gaham Hancock would replace the scientist, and Hancock would say, “OK, these people are crazy!” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/16 "2012-02-11T18:24:02Z")
There’s a show were they look for Bigfoot all the time. I don’t know how you can have a whole series about finding Bigfoot but there you go. They have this commercial that drives me nuts. A nightvision camera focused on a guy looking scared, whispering, 'I think we got us a 'sqatch!" in a sing-songy voice. Man, I HATE that commercial. I think at Giorgi person is in on the joke. It’s like he’s saying, “Can you take me seriously? Of course not-- look at my hair!” ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/17 "2012-02-11T18:34:50Z")
The frustrating thing is that it could be good. Not the ancient alien nonsense, of course, but the archaeoastronomy (anthropology) aspect, which is a fascinating subject. But then it would be a different show, ancient astronomy rather that ancient aliens. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/18 "2012-02-11T18:39:47Z")
I find it quite shocking that they can actually come up with enough material for a whole series about this sort of thing. Not quite as shocking as there are apparently so many women who didn’t know they were pregnant until they went into labor to support _four seasons_ of a show about it :eek: (and those are just the ones who are willing to talk about it on TV), but shocking nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/19 "2012-02-11T19:42:07Z")
I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant is one of my many guilty pleasures. “Oh no! Not in the toilet!” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500/20 "2012-02-11T19:49:13Z")
I love the bad science (history) channel. Well, at least if I’m really bored. When I was a child I really believed in monsters and UFOs and all that stuff. I stopped believing long ago, but I still find it fun. The ancient alien ones often have some fun ways of looking at things too, enough so that it will sometimes spark my imagination. But lordy, one cannot go in thinking he’ll get anything like reality. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-feel-like-their-iq-drops-10-points-when-they-tune-in-to-ancient-aliens/612500.md?page=2)