quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Chariots Of The Gods

It’s interesting to think back to that era. That book was one influential source that convinced me we had been visited by space aliens, and I remember some discussions I had with adults about the subject. The common mantra was that “Credible people are seeing incredible things.”

I no longer believe any of that, though.

I know, right?

"The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1980) with N!xau as Xi
gave me new perspective.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
In the vast, perhaps infinite, expanse of space, it is the height of human arrogance to believe that we are the only intelligent beings in the whole dang thing.

Who here is claiming such?

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It is also somewhat ridiculous to think that we have achieved the height of intelligence in the whole universe...

Again, I see no such claims here.

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No, we don't have it all figured out...not by a long shot.

How are we at math? What is the current calculation of the number of stars in the visible universe? What are the distances between stars and galaxies? Can we apply this data to the question, or are we cavemen just rubbing sticks?

What you're suggesting is that anything is possible, which, on its surface, is perhaps mostly true, but the way you're applying it is the idea that advanced technologies can defy the laws of physics, and by taking this approach, no argument can be mounted against this implication. "Hey, we don't know everything, so..." It's a trick, nothing more.

The time scale, the unfathomably vast distances, not to mention such advanced civilizations existing now, at the same time (the very narrow interval) of our civilizations. And, why? If they're so advanced, and exist at the same time as we, what can they learn from us? Stick-rubbing? It's preposterous and arrogant. We're a speck of dust in space

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Since reading Chariots Of The Gods as a youngin'

That book was debunked decades ago. If you need examples, I'll gladly cite some.

People believe this stuff because they want to believe this stuff. Video of little things zipping around the sky is not proof. Some of the crafts and their occupants would be proof.

We have neither (and, I'll add, there are no occupants), and I'll say once again that everything we experience except for the rocks that fall from the heavens, is terrestrial. Let me know when you have proof otherwise. It ain't happenin', though, because it's just us in this neck of the woods.

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Originally posted by parabellum:

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Originally posted by MikeNH:
Deep under the ocean.

Yes, in a pineapple under the sea.

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I have nothing concrete to back this..

You've got nothing, period, because it's pure fantasy and nothing more.

I expect this level of close-mindedness from the kind of person who believes Oswald acted alone...

It's funny you say that, because as soon as I saw your expressed Sponge Bob belief, I thought how it perfectly aligns with the debunked Kennedy Assassination theories you've embraced. You just love to believe the fantastic, simple as that. I get the impression that you decide you believe something, then work back from those suppositions, rather than processing the facts and then arriving at a conclusion.

You think little green men live under the ocean. You have no evidence of such a thing, but you believe it, and that's that- no possibility that it's mere fantasy.

You speak of close-mindedness. You need to take a look in the mirror. I started out in the 1970s as the most fervent of believers in all the wild Kennedy theories, and after examining the evidence, I came to the firm conclusion that in that instance, things are just as they appear to be, as boring as you may find that.

Keep the public guessing, scared, and depending on the government.

It’s another of those puzzles: If the “government” is just trying to keep people scared for some reason, couldn’t they pick a better method? I could offer advice if they wanted any.

Lest we forget, the release of this information was something that members of the public have been demanding for years. As I recall it was something that the President promised along with all the juicy stuff about the JFK murder. And now the release is a nefarious plot for some unfathomable reason?

We are absolutely alone.
Just from the sheer number of events that have to happen to produce cell that can store energy to a group of cells that cooperate.
there is, for all probability, some other forms of simple life.
The great filter sees to it that advancement is not easy.
Intelligence, the lifeform evolving to have some kind of environmental response processor, is a near impossibility.
For every one of those trillions of planets, it's trillions of events and leaps. And filters.

Anything to keep us dependent on an authority. First no such thing. Now here you go look at this.

I choose to live with joy and peace.

But I still marvel at real places from the past which no one can explain.

The Drake Equation suggests that the math looks good for some other forms of life. Probably not consciousness and advanced civilizations, but the simple life almost has to be out there. Even if another advanced civilization existed in the exact same timeframe as our own, the vast distances in space would preclude the visitation theory.

I think our greatest danger from aliens isn’t those from outer space.

Rather, it’s the aliens mankind has created: Artificial Intelligence.

Maybe we’ll get along well with AI…

And maybe not.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
It’s another of those puzzles: If the “government” is just trying to keep people scared for some reason, couldn’t they pick a better method? I could offer advice if they wanted any.

Lest we forget, the release of this information was something that members of the public have been demanding for years. As I recall it was something that the President promised along with all the juicy stuff about the JFK murder. And now the release is a nefarious plot for some unfathomable reason?

Yes, the release of this information is a good thing. The more transparency the better. We deserve to know what is in these files. The same with the JFK and Epstein files.

But, still, without anything concrete... it's pretty much a nothing burger. But that's OK. Inconclusive is much better than a cover-up.

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But that's OK. Inconclusive is much better than a cover-up.

okie dokie.