Theories about aliens

[warpus]

What Al said was that it's impossible to prove "ufos" which means that it is not a falsifiable hypothesis. If it were possible to determine the truth of "ufos" in a yes/no fashion then it would be a falsifiable hypothesis. So we have the case of someone asking "Do you believe in "ufos" although they are not a falsifiable hypothesis" which is exactly what Russel's teapot was about.

The thread is about asking about the ufos visiting Earth, which is the same as asking if you believe in god, satan, Odin, invisible pink unicorns, life in the other end of universe, etc... It's not falsifiable, yet the poster is asking the reader to commit to an opinion.

The difference is that we already have evidence of one intelligent civilization existing. We don't have any evidence for gods existing.. or invisible teapots.

But that's really just a tangent. The main difference is that if aliens did visit the Earth, you'd hope to find some evidence of this. If gods exist, there might not be any evidence.. same with the teapot.

And still, what he said to me sounds more like he was equating invisible teapots, with gods, with aliens, with any other hypothesis without any proof as viable truths rather than dismissing them all as improbable possi-truths.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Aliens gave me an anal probe once; so of course they exist.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Simple probability would say they exist somewhere else in the universe.

If they have visited Earth, they probably would have done so in a manner we couldn't see them - given they'd have space travel, I wouldn't be surprised if they could.

We see lots of weird things, carvings, crop circles, etc. And it makes one wonder if there has been any cosmic visitors. Of course, how do we know these aren't just remnants of an ancient religion we don't know of? How do we know they aren't a publicity stunt? Etc.

When the day comes when the aliens view us as worth meeting and communicating with, rather than ignoring or destroying, we can ask them.

 

[NickyJ]

Spoiler :

My answer is: No.

 

[Antilogic]

I was hoping someone would have already made a South Park joke, but going straight to the History Channel is good too.

The "evidence" presented by believers is sketchy, circumstantial, incomplete, often wrong on scientific accounts, and reads like a bad scifi movie plot. I'm not convinced at all.

Given I think our species evolved via natural means, I am forced to conclude the possibility of life existing somewhere else in the galaxy, but our chances of actually meeting them is negligible. But there's a lot of room between that acceptance of the unknown and thinking a bunch of little green men in flying saucers are sodomizing Midwestern hillbillies.

 

[NickyJ]

Gaaah, I'm so stupid. Of course they exist! Proof:

Spoiler :

Link to video.

Aliens exist. Trufax.

 

[NedimNapoleon]

I heard theories that Aliens used the pyramids and other structures to find locate people on earth, but they crossed the universe, dont they have GPS or something?

 

[Kyriakos]

I am still waiting for the poll to be less one-sided :\ Anyway i voted "unsure", for what it is worth

 

[NedimNapoleon]

I think its an insult to humanity to think we couldn't have made such things alone.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

I am a firm believer in the theories of Zecharia Sitchin.

Yes, they have walked the Earth, but, IMO, they have been for far longer than what Sitchin claims.

 

[Antilogic]

I think its an insult to humanity to think we couldn't have made such things alone.

What, the pyramids?

 

[NedimNapoleon]

From the Pyramids to Nazis to the Bubonic Plague...

 

[NickyJ]

I heard theories that Aliens used the pyramids and other structures to find locate people on earth, but they crossed the universe, dont they have GPS or something?

I've heard of them flying pyramids, but not what you said.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

I am still waiting for the poll to be less one-sided

Ain't gonna happen.

 

[Kennigit]

It'd be stupid for aliens to bother coming in person and not make obvious contact; may as well send a probe or robot if you want to look at earth for some value. Which by all means Earth would be totally uninteresting, unless they needed resources to take. Then aliens should just take it.

Or if they wanted to meet us, that'd be cool. I'd be more inclined to believe aliens came to ancient egypt or something--not to help build pyramids but show up and meet humans, where people saw them as Gods-- than any modern day theories.

But we all know that's balderdash. also obligatory X-files link

 

[Smellincoffee]

I believe in the possibility of alien life out in the universe, but I don't think it probable that Earth has been visited. The distances between solar systems are too great to make interstellar travel practical, for the most part.

 

[Midgard Eagle]

Currently voting no. If we detect an extraterrestrial probe or they teleport a colonial/mining/scientific ship into our solar system or something, that'd change things entirely, but without that kind of evidence... no .

I heard theories that Aliens used the pyramids and other structures to find locate people on earth, but they crossed the universe, dont they have GPS or something?

Don't know how smart it is to base our theories on other species based on how we humans act. Remember how different our cultures can be across time and nationalities -- there's no reason to assume aliens would be anything like us when it comes to logic or customs or motives. There are certain questions that are flawed because that we don't know how an alien species would think in the first place.

I think its an insult to humanity to think we couldn't have made such things alone.

It's a kind of arrogance, really -- "I can't think of an answer, so I'm just going to give up and declare myself a believer in aliens/ghosts/God/Psychis. If I can't think of an explanation, surely there cannot be one".

 

[Silurian]

I heard theories that Aliens used the pyramids and other structures to find locate people on earth, but they crossed the universe, dont they have GPS or something?

Galactic Positioning System

 

[Narz]

The Earth's been around, what, 4/5 billion years? I wouldn't rule it out. Perhaps there exist alien organisms who's spores can survive in space & entering certain atmospheres perhaps via astoroid. Who knows? I wouldn't put money on it though.

 

[warpus]

The Earth's been around, what, 4/5 billion years? I wouldn't rule it out. Perhaps there exist alien organisms who's spores can survive in space & entering certain atmospheres perhaps via astoroid. Who knows? I wouldn't put money on it though.

There ARE organisms that can survive the coldness of space. I was actually just reading an article about something like that in.. a popular science I think (don't really read popsci anymore, but I was on a plane, etc.)

The Russians were going to send a space probe to Phobos (One of Mars' two moons) for a variety of reasons, one of them to bring a group of organisms from earth (the most resiliant ones), take them to Phobos, then bring them all back, all exposed to space.

The problem was that Chuck Norris didn't want to go, and the launch was a failure.. the probe that was launched is probably crashing back to the Earth soon But based on what the article I read said, there are a couple organisms that have been known to survive space.. accidently.. so no "real" science could be done.. under controlled conditions and all. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we discover that life doesn't need oxygen, or an atmosphere though.. and that forms of it can survive in space for long periods of time.

Also wouldn't be surprised if life sometimes gets catapulted around the Universe from planet to planet by collisions between planetary bodies. I think this is what scientists call Panspermia, which I think is funny.

 

[Quackers]

Well I've heard theories that tiny microscopic organisms lived on meteors flying through space which land on Earth and caused life. BUT they can't walk and so for that reason voting no