# 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:** 22
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/421 "2026-08-03T23:23:44Z")
When I don’t know yet, _my_ default is “I don’t know yet”. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/422 "2026-08-03T23:30:58Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > It means nothing because there is no evidence for any paranormal ‘’‘’‘phenomenon’‘’‘’. sloppy grammar on my part, obviously. (but not as sloppy as my logic, right, guys?!) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/423 "2026-08-03T23:43:34Z")
No, not sloppy grammar. You’ve now adopted a burden of proof for “many things, including UFOs” under a banner of “paranormal phenomena”. I look forward to you providing even a single piece of evidence for anything that can honestly be called “paranormal phenomena”. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/424 "2026-08-03T23:57:06Z")
Using unicorns to explain the existence of Sasquatch is a bad idea, generally. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/425 "2026-08-04T00:04:37Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > sloppy grammar on my part, obviously. (but not as sloppy as my logic, right, guys?!) You know, I honestly don’t know what you’re arguing. Could you please summarize? It’s possible I’ll sympathize once I know what you’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/426 "2026-08-04T00:14:16Z")
I think Crypto is saying we have a shared dream collective that includes all things paranormal, which covers UFOs, ghosts, fairies, Bigfoot, chupacabras, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/427 "2026-08-04T00:45:04Z")
Please let’s not drag Jung into this. We’re already up to our necks in woo. That would take to the hairline. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/428 "2026-08-04T01:16:51Z")
> [@Grand Unified Theory of the paranormal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-unified-theory-of-the-paranormal/325710): > > You know, all the weird things that have been reported: UFOs, the occult, ghosts, government conspiracies, monsters of every size, shape & description, ancient astronauts, etc. Has anyone ever tried to propose a coherent (if that’s possible) explanation for ALL of these things?\* Or do the Velikovsy people consider the Bigfoot people to be “those nuts”, and vice-versa? \*Beyond the obvious “there are lots of schizos out there”. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2026, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/429 "2026-08-04T05:21:35Z")
> [@Cryptoterestrial](#): > > I did not mean the kind of dreams that you have when asleep in bed. I mean the sort of experience that happened to Travis Walton. Wait a tick, are you suggesting that what he experienced was a waking dream? Because that is not what Walton declared, in any case the lack of evidence and what serious investigations looked at, point at his and other testimonials (from his buddies) as a hoax. > **[A Moment of Truth (or not) for the most famous UFO abduction case in history? -...](https://archive.skeptic.com/archive/eskeptic/12-08-15/#feature)** > > In this week’s eSkeptic: | In this week’s eSkeptic, Michael Shermer recounts his 2008 appearance on Fox’s game show The Moment of Truth, in which he got to ask Travis Walton a question about his alleged abduction by aliens on the evening of November... ---
**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:** [August 4, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/430 "2026-08-04T12:14:03Z")
Here’s a very good blow-by-blow analysis of the Travis Walton case by Three-Dolla- Kit, which seems to demonstrate conclusively that it was all a hoax. > **[Travis Walton](https://threedollarkit.weebly.com/travis-walton.html)** > > TRAVIS WALTON CASE ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/431 "2026-08-04T12:33:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Regarding faster-than-light travel, there are two possibilties: FTL is impossible, whihch allows for other extraterrestrial civilizations without us yet knowing about them or, > > FTL travel is possible, in which case we are utterly alone in the universe or at least in this galaxy. That is very presumptuous because it indicates how we truly cannot encompass how vast interstellar space is. TV signals have been reaching beyond our solar system for about 75 years, which means they have travelled 75 light years. That is nothing in terms of distance. Unless another advanced civilization is sitting literally on our galactic doorstep, there is no way any alien civilization can know we even exist. In a galaxy of, give or take, 100,000,000,000 suns, it would be the wildest chance that an alien civilization can discover us. If they somehow have, they are probably appalled at how barbaric we truly are and, wisely, are keeping their distance. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/432 "2026-08-06T05:52:07Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Please let’s not drag Jung into this. We’re already up to our necks in woo. That would take to the hairline. Hehe, I like to not think of Jung as woo. I prefer to think the similarities he found in our subconscious as basically a side effect of humanity running on a bunch of variations of the same hardware. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/433 "2026-08-06T22:43:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Using unicorns to explain the existence of Sasquatch is a bad idea, generally. you misunderstand what I mean to say. I mean that, to use your example, unicorns and Sasquatch belong to the same class of creature. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/434 "2026-08-06T22:47:30Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > [Travis Walton - Three-Dollar Kit](https://threedollarkit.weebly.com/travis-walton.html) good. I appreciate an informative link, one way or another. the big proof for Travis Walton, for me, comes down to 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:** [August 6, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/435 "2026-08-06T23:45:48Z")
Non-existent A belongs to the same group as non-existent B. Got it. And yet again I ask: Are any of your non-evidenced suppositions falsifiable? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/436 "2026-08-07T10:10:31Z")
What puzzles me is UFO enthusiasts concentrating on sightings instead of interviewing folk who have been abducted and can actually describe aliens and their craft… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/437 "2026-08-07T14:30:44Z")
Possibly because such testimony is far more doubtful? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/438 "2026-08-07T14:54:24Z")
> [@glee](#): > > What puzzles me is UFO enthusiasts concentrating on sightings instead of interviewing folk who have been abducted and can actually describe aliens and their craft… > [@Lumpy](#): > > Possibly because such testimony is far more doubtful? Of course there’s literally no physical evidence for either. Nevertheless a sighting has **way** less detail than an abduction. Why don’t folk who claim sightings are ‘relevant’ concentrate on abductions instead?! ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/439 "2026-08-08T12:33:07Z")
Back when I cared about UFO s I had a theory that involved multiple dimensions. When we sighted a UFO it was because the craft had entered our time-space dimension and then retreated back into it. I never could explain how multiple dimensions can exist in the same physical space, and so i dropped the whole idea. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoterestrial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Cryptoterestrial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoterestrial)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108/440 "2026-08-12T22:08:47Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Of course there’s literally no physical evidence for either. > Nevertheless a sighting has **way** less detail than an abduction. > Why don’t folk who claim sightings are ‘relevant’ concentrate on abductions instead?! not all entity encounters involve abductions. most don’t, I think. with that said, the reasoning goes that while normies would find it tough to accept the reality of UFOs that they would find it tougher to accept entity encounters. entity encounters also have less hard proof, whereas UFOs have photographic and video proof. the stereotypical entity abduction encounter also, at least during the 19’90s, involved hypnotic retrogression, which I think messed up things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-ufos-if-theyre-not-alien-spacecraft/998108.md?page=23)