# What are UFOs if they're NOT alien spacecraft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 26, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108 "2024-02-26T17:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/221 "2026-06-13T22:51:53Z")
Here is a really simple question, @Cryptterestrial. Is there a solid way to disprove any of the ideas/possibilities you have presented to us? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/222 "2026-06-13T22:53:51Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I haven’t read his work since the '80s. So what he has said more recently wouldn’t invalidate his earlier work More accurately, you have absolutely no idea if what he said recently invalidates in any way what he said over 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/223 "2026-06-13T22:54:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Yep, after someone says they saw something unknown of a certain shape, the wannabes come out of the woodwork saying they saw the same thing, then it dies down until someone else says they some other certain-shaped thing followed by another surge of wannabes. Rinse, repeat. I don’t think that many believed they could increase their social standing by claiming to have seen a UFO. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/224 "2026-06-13T22:54:16Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > Roughly four generations have passed since UFOs hit mass public consciousness. So not only a first generation of believers but several. That doesn’t seem too likely to me. You could say this about any religion. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/225 "2026-06-13T22:56:55Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > Roughly four generations have passed since UFOs hit mass public consciousness. So not only a first generation of believers but several. That only works if they all believe the same thing. It is like saying that all that are religious validate any religious beliefs that I may have. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/226 "2026-06-13T23:01:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Here is a really simple question, @CryptterestrialCryptterestrial. > Is there a solid way to disprove any of the ideas/possibilities you have presented to us? Not so far, but rejecting the idea out of hand won’t get us to the point where we can do that. Consciousness also remains unprovable (for now), more or less, but I have a pretty good idea that it exists. Also, I remembered a better proof for UFOs than radiation. May post it later. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/227 "2026-06-13T23:02:04Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > You could say this about any religion. Good point. This has to do with a specific sub-group of people, though, and not a mass that perpetuates itself institutionally. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/228 "2026-06-13T23:03:14Z")
Even if everything you say is true, who cares? These inhumans, or whatever they are, will reveal themselves whenever they want to and not a moment before, and nothing we do will change that. So just ignore them. I don’t like being teased. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/229 "2026-06-13T23:03:29Z")
We reject ideas out of hand every single day. I do. You do. We all do. You just won’t reject this one…no matter what. > [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > Also, I remembered a better proof for UFOs than radiation. May post it later. You may post it later?? If I had solid evidence for something this out of the ordinary, I would post it immediately before I did anything else! ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/230 "2026-06-13T23:12:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > We reject ideas out of hand every single day. I do. You do. We all do. > You just won’t reject this one…no matter what. I think I’d believe whatever explained the phenomena best. I accepted Albert Budden’s theory for a while, but I don’t currently buy it. Too simplistic. But even then, the Budden explanation shows some degree of understanding that I don’t get from Michael Shermer or Carl Sagan. > **[Electric ufos : fireballs, electromagnetics and abnormal states : Budden,...](https://archive.org/details/electricufosfire0000budd)** > > 286 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : 22 cm ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/231 "2026-06-13T23:18:25Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I think I’d believe whatever explained the phenomena best. As long as that explanation doesn’t involve mistakes and lies. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/232 "2026-06-13T23:40:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The military hides almost everything they do. > [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > Why would they have interest in the phenomena, though? Oh the military is interested alright, you miss the point about how UFOs appeared to many people in the past. If not frauds or mistakes, many times it was private or military flying crafts or devices that were going to be known decades later. Military tech is confused as extraterrestrial UFOs (or as in recent posts, terrestrial, but with different aliens), and for the military and authorities, it is better to keep the charade going. It has to appear as mysterious in origin because the real explanations are not so mundane, and they are dangerous to be known for other nations if they find out about what one’s military is toying with right now. And also: Many in countries like the US would wonder where our taxes are going, **and that would be dangerous for the current leaders.** 25 years from now, those “toys” that are confused as UFOs will by then be known. Just as we know now that a good number of people in the past thought that sightings of the stealth fighter and technology used to develop them were alien spacecraft. Alas, it was not. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/233 "2026-06-13T23:43:50Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I think I’d believe whatever explained the phenomena best. No, you wouldn’t, because here you are rejecting the explanation that explains it best. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/234 "2026-06-13T23:47:54Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Military tech is confused as extraterrestrial UFOs (or as in recent posts, terrestrial, but with different aliens), and for the military and authorities, it is better to keep the charade going. It has to appear as mysterious in origin because the real explanations are not so mundane, and they are dangerous to be known for other nations if they find out about what one’s military is toying with right now. And also: Many in countries like the US would wonder where our taxes are going, **and that would be dangerous for the current leaders.** The Ufology community has talked about these possibilities for years. By dismissing UFOs wholesale’, that only enables the US/contractors to keep on doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/235 "2026-06-13T23:51:00Z")
You are rejecting out of hand the possibility that “they” are not doing it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/236 "2026-06-13T23:52:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No, you wouldn’t, because here you are rejecting the explanation that explains it best. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are rejecting out of hand the possibility that “they” are doing it in the first place. “They”? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/237 "2026-06-13T23:53:21Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > The Ufology community has talked about these possibilities for years. By dismissing UFOs wholesale’, that only enables the US/contractors to keep on doing this. Yes, the UFO community has talked about these possibilities for years, what is clear to me is that they _ **do** _ dismiss those possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/238 "2026-06-13T23:55:32Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > Also, I remembered a better proof for UFOs than radiation. May post it later. How about now? ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/239 "2026-06-13T23:57:03Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Yes, the UFO community has talked about these possibilities for years, what is clear to me is that they _ **do** _ dismiss it. Nick Redfern and Jacques Vallée. Prominent in the scene. Both speculating about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/240 "2026-06-13T23:59:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How about now? Later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=13)