The Fortean/paranormal/conspiracy thread

[David]

I'm quite open minded about all this, whilst I'm not ignorant enough to think that we are the only living beings in the entire universe, I don't think we've had any visits extra terrestrial life. But I do believe that one day we could prove that life on other planets exist. One question that has been brought forward is if we do, should it be made public knowledge risking widespread panic?

 

How would you guys feel if the government announced that they have found existence of life (actual beings) on a distant planet?

I think the reasons that you've mentioned there are probably at the top of the list of reasons why we wouldn't be told.

 

It would alter life altogether for some people.

 

Sure, some (the majority some would say) wouldn't really give a toss, but the very idea of there being something out there could mess with a lot of minds.

 

It would also throw the religious types into a state of disarray, wouldn't it?

 

The effects would likely be more far-reaching than you may first think.

[Loki]

Ultimately, the important factor is not life on other planets - most scientists are in agreement that it's statistically a certainty. The key ingredient is the ability to travel faster than light. Without that, all intelligent beings in the universe will simply stare at million-year old reflections of each other through the vastness of space.

 

The tricky questions will come when they find microbaterial life within the solar system, probably sitting on top of some incredibly valuable mineral deposits. Then we'll see which species starts invading which other species' homeworlds.

[Kookoocachu]

Anyone else watching this???

[bringbackwrestling]

Ultimately, the important factor is not life on other planets - most scientists are in agreement that it's statistically a certainty.

 

I think the other life debate shows the arrogance of man in a massive way. Of the 1,150,000 generally agreed life forms on earth (excluding pant and vegitation) we are 1. There is therefore only a microscopic chance of finding humanoid life on earth, we are obviously a statistical anomaly. If you take an evolutionary view point we should be looking for arthropods which is the most common life form.

 

But then could NASA justify spending billions looking for spiders on other planets.

[Jonathan Ford]

Ultimately, the important factor is not life on other planets - most scientists are in agreement that it's statistically a certainty.

 

I think the other life debate shows the arrogance of man in a massive way. Of the 1,150,000 generally agreed life forms on earth (excluding pant and vegitation) we are 1. There is therefore only a microscopic chance of finding humanoid life on earth, we are obviously a statistical anomaly. If you take an evolutionary view point we should be looking for arthropods which is the most common life form.

 

But then could NASA justify spending billions looking for spiders on other planets.

Fuck me pal, have you not seen some of the spiders on this planet, posted on this very message board??? We categorically do not need to be looking for ET arachnids!

[Yoghurt]

I agree, it's one thing to have giant spiders on earth, but giant lazer wielding spiders from beyond the sun is beyond horrifying a contemplation.

 

 

[David]

Another batch of UFO files have been released by the Government.

 

They're only available to view online for a month from official sources though.

 

Thousands of UFOs have been spotted in the last 20 years around the UK, according to newly released documents.

 

More than 6,000 pages of reports describe people's experiences with unidentified flying objects between 1994 and 2000.

 

They include reported sightings over Chelsea Football Club and former home secretary Michael Howard's Kent home.

 

Details have been released under a three-year project between the Ministry of Defence and The National Archives.

 

The fifth instalment to be released consists of 24 files of sightings, letters and Parliamentary questions, which are available to view online.

 

The reports detail how objects of various shapes and sizes have been witnessed flying over a range of locations.

 

Some drawings by witnesses have also been released.

 

One man told police he was physically sick and developed a "skin condition" after an eerie "tube of light" enveloped his car in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, on 27 January, 1997.

 

In another case, a UFO sighted by Boston and Skegness police, in Lincolnshire, was captured on film.

 

The police reported the sighting to the coastguard, which in turn alerted ships in the North Sea, where a crew reported seeing more UFOs.

 

Simultaneously, an unidentified blip was picked up on radar over Boston.

 

Also included in the latest release is a letter from senior MoD official Ralph Noyes, in which he describes seeing a film of UFOs captured by RAF fighter pilots in 1956.

 

Mr Noyes claims the footage was shown at a secret underground screening arranged for air defence staff at the MoD in 1970.

 

And a memo reveals how former prime minister Winston Churchill expressed curiosity in "flying saucers" and requested a briefing from his ministers.

 

He was told in reply that following an intelligence study conducted in 1951, the "flying saucers" could be explained by "one or other" of four causes.

 

These were known astronomical or meteorological phenomena, mistaken identification of conventional aircraft, optical illusions and psychological delusions, or deliberate hoaxes.

 

Experts believe the records highlight how shapes of reported UFOs have changed over the last few decades, possibly explained by representations of UFOs in popular culture.

 

Many reports in this latest file describe aircraft as big, black and triangular in shape with lights along the edges, whereas the predominant form in the 1940s to 1950s was saucer or disc-shaped.

 

Dr David Clarke, author of The UFO Files and senior lecturer in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "In the 1950s the next big leap in technology was thought to be a round craft that took off vertically and it's intriguing to note that this is the same period when people began to report seeing 'flying saucers' in the sky.

 

"In the period the latest file release covers, triangular-shaped US stealth bombers and Aurora spy planes featured heavily on TV, such as The X Files..., and films such as Independence Day released in 1996, and the shape of reported UFOs corresponds.

 

"It's impossible to prove a direct link between what people are reading and watching and what they report as UFOs but one interpretation could be that the latest advances in technology may be influencing what people see in the sky."

 

The files are available to download for free for a month from the National Archives website.

Source:BBC.com

[David]

I've just watched a documentary about the Nazca Lines in Peru.

 

These things are a complete mystery as far as I can see. How the hell were they made?

[Loki]

Bits of string and some wooden stakes. Pretty much like any other giant construction before the 20th Century.

[David]

Bits of string and some wooden stakes. Pretty much like any other giant construction before the 20th Century.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the attention to detail, considering they were made before humans could take to the skies.

 

Not saying they were made by aliens or whatever, just saying that it's pretty nifty.

[SpursRiot2012]

http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/20100...e-in-India.html

 

Pretty cool.

[Yoghurt]

Masons, in conjunction with the RAND corporation, subcontracted by the reverse vampires.

[Famous Mortimer]

Bits of string and some wooden stakes. Pretty much like any other giant construction before the 20th Century.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the attention to detail, considering they were made before humans could take to the skies.

 

Not saying they were made by aliens or whatever, just saying that it's pretty nifty.

I think a lot of "wow, people from the past were too primitive to have made something awesome like this" comments don't take into account the actual truth of the situation. I was fortunate / unfortunate (depending on what day it was) to share a house with a history graduate for a while, and he would mention often that these groups not only had pretty smart people put in charge of making these things, but also had decades and decades to make them.

[David]

I think a lot of "wow, people from the past were too primitive to have made something awesome like this" comments don't take into account the actual truth of the situation. I was fortunate / unfortunate (depending on what day it was) to share a house with a history graduate for a while, and he would mention often that these groups not only had pretty smart people put in charge of making these things, but also had decades and decades to make them.

I guess so, but it's still pretty awesome considering they had no real way of seeing their work from the sky.

[Famous Mortimer]

I think a lot of "wow, people from the past were too primitive to have made something awesome like this" comments don't take into account the actual truth of the situation. I was fortunate / unfortunate (depending on what day it was) to share a house with a history graduate for a while, and he would mention often that these groups not only had pretty smart people put in charge of making these things, but also had decades and decades to make them.

I guess so, but it's still pretty awesome considering they had no real way of seeing their work from the sky.

Indeed it is.

 

On a related note, I watched a documentary a few weeks ago that was some sort of attempt to re-vitalise Von Daniken's standing. They had a few skeptics on, but they were quickly brushed under the carpet. I thought he'd been so thoroughly discredited that he'd never come back, but oh no, the believers don't care how much of a charlatan you are.