Why are people so skeptical of UFO's?

[zeroapoc]

Yeah, better. Why didnt you just say that in the first place.

I dunno. I think I needed a BM. I feel better now. t:

 

[VictusMortuus]

My sister and I were walking back into town after plans fell through. We walked about five miles from the city we lived near, and it was around 12:30 am when we started the journey back. Around 1:15 we were walking through a park, no lamps were turned on, and it was very dark. We had stopped briefly near the edge of the park so I could smoke a cigarette behind the building that faces the street. We had been standing no more than a couple minutes when I looked up and saw what appeared to be a the outline of a tall figure behind her, its head slowly moving down as I noticed it. I felt a sense of dread quickly set upon me and I yelled at my sister to run. We ran across the street, behind the school on the other side, through a turf field. Once we were a considerable distance away we slowed down and I explained to her what I saw, at which point she said it was probably nothing, which I feel is probable. We continued walking, taking all the back roads to avoid any cops. About 1/2 mile from our house my sister told me to look into the sky to observe lights she had noticed. I dismissed her, and told her it was nothing but planes. But she argued about it and so I looked. At a quick glance they could have easily have been mistaken for planes, but upon further looking I began to notice their odd behavior. They were moving in sync with each other, one white light, and two reddish-orange lights. They were travelling in a straight line, the white light leading, and they were situated very close to each other. About 15 seconds later the light in the rear disappeared, the one in front of it blinked on/off really fast, then disappeared as well, leaving the one white light. The one light traveled solo for about 20 seconds, when suddenly the two reddish-orange light reappeared behind it, only now in the shape of a triangle, the white light the tip leading them. The lights continued on like that for half a minute before the two reddish-orange light moved back into the line formation behind the white light. At first they were spread out, and then they slowly started to move closer to each other. Again the light in the rear disappeared, and the other reddish-orange started to dim until it was gone, once again leaving the white light alone. In less time than before the reddish-orange light reappeared again in the triangle formation, before reforming the line, instead of disappearing the reddish-orange light were now alternating between the line formation and the triangle formation. They continued this for about 15 minutes, when they neared the area in the sky where my sister first pointed them out to me, they stuck in the line formation, white light constantly in front of the others. The light in the rear started to dim, until it was gone, the remaining reddish-orange light flew into the white one, which then exited the sky at a very very rapid speed. The times I put down are almost definitely off, because the entire time my sister and I were watching it, was like a dream. It wasn't until about 10 minutes after it that we started walking home again, and started talking about it. We realized in talking about it that the UFOs circled the sky, almost as if they were mapping the landscape or something. I might have even dismissed the entire event as dream, due to it being so surreal had my sister not have recorded it on a cheap cell phone cam, the quality is so bad that its not even worth showing, but if you are interested the video is on Youtube.

This happened to my sister and I in August 2007, we lived in Maine.

 

[Thundercrack85]

No. I'll go where I want. Don't need your permission.

I just now noticed this thread. That's why it's my first comment. It sucks that me having an opinion different from yours is a considered a "cheap shot" to stir up emotion. But I don't apologize for it. Wanting people to "go away" because they disagree with you isn't very mature.

All in all it's a sad state of affairs when saying you don't believe in UFOs is considered trolling.

For the record, I still think you were trolling, but you (whether you realize it or not) are speaking for a lot of people who make light of what should be a serious discussion.

You have thousands of people, including police officers, engineers, military personnel, pilots, both military and civilian, who are entrusted with the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people (including yours) telling you they are seeing crafts of unknown origin.

How arrogant (or ignorant) can you be to call all these people (many of them far more qualified and educated than you) liars or mentally "off"?

It's not just offensive, it's dangerous.

 

[C. Lee]

UFO's, Bigfoot, Nessie... it's all crap. Grow up and live in the real world is what I say to believers.

I don't want to hear about "reliable witnesses" either. People always bring up someone's profession (cop, doctor, etc.) as if that somehow makes them incapable of lying or being mentally off.

You can disagree with someone about an opinion without the name calling or rudeness...try that from now on.

 

[superpower]

My sister and I were walking back into town after plans fell through. We walked about five miles from the city we lived near, and it was around 12:30 am when we started the journey back. Around 1:15 we were walking through a park, no lamps were turned on, and it was very dark. We had stopped briefly near the edge of the park so I could smoke a cigarette behind the building that faces the street. We had been standing no more than a couple minutes when I looked up and saw what appeared to be a the outline of a tall figure behind her, its head slowly moving down as I noticed it. I felt a sense of dread quickly set upon me and I yelled at my sister to run. We ran across the street, behind the school on the other side, through a turf field. Once we were a considerable distance away we slowed down and I explained to her what I saw, at which point she said it was probably nothing, which I feel is probable. We continued walking, taking all the back roads to avoid any cops. About 1/2 mile from our house my sister told me to look into the sky to observe lights she had noticed. I dismissed her, and told her it was nothing but planes. But she argued about it and so I looked. At a quick glance they could have easily have been mistaken for planes, but upon further looking I began to notice their odd behavior. They were moving in sync with each other, one white light, and two reddish-orange lights. They were travelling in a straight line, the white light leading, and they were situated very close to each other. About 15 seconds later the light in the rear disappeared, the one in front of it blinked on/off really fast, then disappeared as well, leaving the one white light. The one light traveled solo for about 20 seconds, when suddenly the two reddish-orange light reappeared behind it, only now in the shape of a triangle, the white light the tip leading them. The lights continued on like that for half a minute before the two reddish-orange light moved back into the line formation behind the white light. At first they were spread out, and then they slowly started to move closer to each other. Again the light in the rear disappeared, and the other reddish-orange started to dim until it was gone, once again leaving the white light alone. In less time than before the reddish-orange light reappeared again in the triangle formation, before reforming the line, instead of disappearing the reddish-orange light were now alternating between the line formation and the triangle formation. They continued this for about 15 minutes, when they neared the area in the sky where my sister first pointed them out to me, they stuck in the line formation, white light constantly in front of the others. The light in the rear started to dim, until it was gone, the remaining reddish-orange light flew into the white one, which then exited the sky at a very very rapid speed. The times I put down are almost definitely off, because the entire time my sister and I were watching it, was like a dream. It wasn't until about 10 minutes after it that we started walking home again, and started talking about it. We realized in talking about it that the UFOs circled the sky, almost as if they were mapping the landscape or something. I might have even dismissed the entire event as dream, due to it being so surreal had my sister not have recorded it on a cheap cell phone cam, the quality is so bad that its not even worth showing, but if you are interested the video is on Youtube.

This happened to my sister and I in August 2007, we lived in Maine.

Crazy story.

I can't help but notice that this all began as you were smoking a "cigarette".

May I ask what type? And did you at anytime leave your cigarettes unattended?

Lol sorry but I couldn't resist.

 

[moviedoors]

If speculating is okay then so must assuming. Isn't an assumption very much like a speculation? Both are talking out of your butt.

No, they're not the same thing.

 

[zeroapoc]

You can disagree with someone about an opinion without the name calling or rudeness...try that from now on.

I didn't call anyone names. I admit my "grow up" comment went too far.

Honestly I just came to give my opinion on this subject. I realize it goes against the general consensus in this particular thread. But I really am not trying to offend anyone.

 

[moviedoors]

Yeah, which some of it can make you scratch your head...like the Puma Punku stones.

Precision stone cutting created in a primitive age where to this day would be hard to recreate

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4202

 

[zeroapoc]

For the record, I still think you were trolling, but you (whether you realize it or not) are speaking for a lot of people who make light of what should be a serious discussion.

You have thousands of people, including police officers, engineers, military personnel, pilots, both military and civilian, who are entrusted with the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people (including yours) telling you they are seeing crafts of unknown origin.

How arrogant (or ignorant) can you be to call all these people (many of them far more qualified and educated than you) liars or mentally "off"?

It's not just offensive, it's dangerous.

You went exactly where I was expecting with this one. As I said in my first post I fail to see how someone's profession or level of education can exclude them from being a liar. Or at the very least, mistaken.

I don't think all those people are making it up. I think a large percentage are. But I have no doubt others actually saw something that they couldn't identify. I don't however jump to the conclusion that it's extra-terrestrial.

Now alien abduction... Yeah I think all of them are lying and/or nuts.

 

[zeroapoc]

Also I can have a different opinion than you without the name calling. ie. "ignorant"

Just kidding.

 

[NickNitro]

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4202

Due to the complexity and regularity of many of Pumapunku's stone forms, a number of authors have suggested that they're not stones at all, but rather concrete that was cast into forms. We don't have any record that such technology was known to pre-Incan cultures, but that doesn't prove it wasn't. What can be proven, and proven quite easily, is that there is no concrete at Pumapunku or anywhere else in Tiwanaku.

woah

 

[zeroapoc]

One thing that bothers me about the Ancient Alien Theories or whatever you want to call it, is that it kinda comes across a little racist to me.

I mean nobody ever says the Romans didn't or couldn't build the Parthenon. It's always brown people that they say couldn't accomplish these works.

Curious what you guys think of that.

 

[DareDemon]

I love Ancient Aliens, the show, and think it asks a lot of interesting questions. I think it's grasping for straws more and more often as the series goes on, which is to be expected. But I don't think it's racist at all, because I don't think it's saying that "these Romans cant figure out technology for themselves" it's more "humans can't invent technology themselves".

 

[Baramos]

So to that extent, a moronic claim needs little to no proof?

Cooking a hotdog in sunlight is far better than on the grill. Go do it!

In this context his use of "extraordinary" claim could be seen as synonymous with "moronic" claim...

EDIT: How in the world would it be difficult to replicate the pumapuka stones with modern tools?

Also, for being made by highly advanced alien visitors, it seems to have deteriorated awful fast in the scale of things...

What I don't get is that humans presumably built skyscrapers on their own but these alien beings who developed presumably metal ships to travel across the cosmos wasted their time building or helping humans build a bunch of stone monuments such as the pyramids.

Aliens are apparently just actively trolling us.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I really, really hate that show.

 

[superpower]

No, they're not the same thing.

I never said they were the same. I said similar. According to dictionary.com anyway.

The first definition of assume and second deffinition for speculate have a similarity. Neither have proof.

So......

 

[moviedoors]

I never said they were the same. I said similar. According to dictionary.com anyway.

The first definition of assume and second deffinition for speculate have a similarity. Neither have proof.

So......

No, they're quite different. To "speculate" is to entertain a notion, to ponder it. To "assume" inherently assigns a thought the weight of fact or truth. Speculation does no such thing. Speculation can be a useful way to start working on a problem. Assumption is a poor one. In the context of this discussion, speculation about what alien life is like is fine. Making assumptions about them is unfounded and unsupported. So, they're not the same thing, nor are they all that alike.

 

[superpower]

I really, really hate that show.

The show itself or the idea of ancient aliens?

 

[Thundercrack85]

The show itself or the idea of ancient aliens?

The former more so than the latter.

I'm rather skeptical of both.

 

[superpower]

No, they're quite different. To "speculate" is to entertain a notion, to ponder it. To "assume" inherently assigns a thought the weight of fact or truth. Speculation does no such thing. Speculation can be a useful way to start working on a problem. Assumption is a poor one. In the context of this discussion, speculation about what alien life is like is fine. Making assumptions about them is unfounded and unsupported. So, they're not the same thing, nor are they all that alike.

I dont know what to tell you. Pick up a dictionary and read all the definitions of the words.

Source- dictionary.com

Speculate:

2. To indulge in conjectural thought.

Do I need to add the definition of conjecture?

Assume:

1. To take for granted or without proof.

I don't know. I accept that I'm not the sharpest. But they seem SIMILAR.

You can twist this into a battle of the definitions but you loose.

I've stated my case. Both words are related in their lack of evidence/proof which is why I equated both words to...... Something like blowing air out your butt.

 

[superpower]

No, they're quite different. To "speculate" is to entertain a notion, to ponder it. To "assume" inherently assigns a thought the weight of fact or truth. Speculation does no such thing. Speculation can be a useful way to start working on a problem. Assumption is a poor one. In the context of this discussion, speculation about what alien life is like is fine. Making assumptions about them is unfounded and unsupported. So, they're not the same thing, nor are they all that alike.

And what are you talking about "working on a problem"? This is an unknown.

In order to even entertain the idea of aliens for "speculation" you need to "assume" life is there to begin with. You have to take that fact for granted, forget about it, then proceed to speculate without proof. Notice what I did there?

 

[Alex_Spider]

One thing that bothers me about the Ancient Alien Theories or whatever you want to call it, is that it kinda comes across a little racist to me.

I mean nobody ever says the Romans didn't or couldn't build the Parthenon. It's always brown people that they say couldn't accomplish these works.

Curious what you guys think of that.

Actually the Parthenon was built by the Greeks in the heart of Athens and was designed by the sculptor Phidias.

 

[Thundercrack85]

While we obviously can't rule out aliens coming down to Earth in ancient times, I see no reason to believe that they helped humans erect stone monuments.

 

[Alex_Spider]

While we obviously can't rule out aliens coming down to Earth in ancient times, I see no reason to believe that they helped humans erect stone monuments.

How so?

 

[Thundercrack85]

What evidence do you have to the contrary?