Do you believe in aliens and UFOs?

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  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)

    For one thing, it is flying (the object, not the underwear), and I don t see any flying going on here.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)

    For one thing, it is flying (the object, not the underwear), and I don t see any flying going on here.

    If anyone's undies have the ability of flying, they would be yours, @Thunderfinger. ;-)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)

    No, the term UFO merely refers to something that is unidentified and flying in the sky. It doesn't mean from that rather loose definition that we can then jump immediately to it being some kind of alien spacecraft. There are plenty of other more rational explanations that we could exhaust first before even considering alien craft.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)

    For one thing, it is flying (the object, not the underwear), and I don t see any flying going on here.

    If anyone's undies have the ability of flying, they would be yours, @Thunderfinger. ;-)

    It is a superhero thing.
  • Posts: 9,736
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I take it we all agree that a UFO, by definition, is not the same as an advanced alien civilisation coming to say hi or to steal @Thunderfinger's undies for further research? ;-)

    No, the term UFO merely refers to something that is unidentified and flying in the sky. It doesn't mean from that rather loose definition that we can then jump immediately to it being some kind of alien spacecraft. There are plenty of other more rational explanations that we could exhaust first before even considering alien craft.

    agreed and I will say I am a skeptical believer about ghost monsters and things that go bump in the night 99% is garbage and honestly I don't want to deal with the 1% that is real.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I have no belief in any of it like ghosts or UFOs visiting us, but I do think it's a fun subject to speculate about. :D
  • Posts: 9,736
    I have no belief in any of it like ghosts or UFOs visiting us, but I do think it's a fun subject to speculate about. :D

    I wish more skeptics would come to the table and actually you know investigate instead of saying its all BS taking the scientific approach would be really nice.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited June 2021 Posts: 23,449
    I have no belief in any of it like ghosts or UFOs visiting us, but I do think it's a fun subject to speculate about. :D

    Sure, I enjoy speculating about UFOs visiting us. I'm convinced we are not alone in the universe, there's bound to be other civilisations too, so if any such civilisation can overcome the overwhelming distance barrier, hell yeah let's talk about that! I enjoy that very much.

    Ghosts, on the other hand, is where I draw the line. That's just bollocks, make-believe, kiddy stuff. I'm well aware of America's obsession with ghosts and other forms of superstition, but since I have zero belief in a "crossing over" to an afterlife, in a hell or purgatory or whatever, ghosts are for me only fun in the context of a horror flick.
    Risico007 wrote: »
    I have no belief in any of it like ghosts or UFOs visiting us, but I do think it's a fun subject to speculate about. :D

    I wish more skeptics would come to the table and actually you know investigate instead of saying its all BS taking the scientific approach would be really nice.

    Science has no definition for ghosts. It isn't interested in ghosts. A scientific approach to ghosts is impossible because one can neither observe nor gather data nor subject anything ghost-related to experimentation. Hence... no "science of ghosts". Many have tried, none have ever returned anything useful, substantial or even remotely presentable as some kind of evidence of even the flimsiest hints of a realm of spirits, ghosts, poltergeist, demons, ... There's nothing we can even start our research with. Not even a definition that allows for testable hypotheses. So a scientific approach is out of the question because we are talking about figments of our imagination and little else.

    I'm not saying I don't like talking about ghosts but only in the context of fiction, of good horror flicks. But I know Americans believe in ghosts (Republicans more than Democrats). Then again, Americans also believe in vampires, at least according to this source:

    https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2019/10/21/paranormal-beliefs-ghosts-demons-poll

    I think we can safely say that this is a tragic leftover from the old times...
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I also think it's up to the belivers to prove its existence, to us non belivers..
    So far I've never seen any evidence that Ghosts are real and exist. The same with Aliens. I belive in Occam's razor, which states, the simplest explanation to a subject is almost always the correct answer.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I also think it's up to the belivers to prove its existence, to us non belivers..
    So far I've never seen any evidence that Ghosts are real and exist. The same with Aliens. I belive in Occam's razor, which states, the simplest explanation to a subject is almost always the correct answer.

    I agree, @Thunderpussy.

    The difference, as I see it, is that aliens are just another form of life, possibly another biology in a possibly different environment, technologically advanced or not. We can make predictions, we can develop models and we can even measure the odds, albeit with low accuracy.

    But we've got nothing on ghosts, nothing at all, except stories and "personal experiences" by narrators, some of whom have the best intentions and absolutely believe that they saw or heard "strange things" (even if there usually is a very good and simple explanation), some of whom are ridiculously unreliable, some of whom are just charlatans and frauds. Otherwise, nothing. No weird "force fields", no strange displacements, ... nothing measurable, reproducible, tangible. So, again, it's fun to talk about ghosts--heck, there's a whole session on ghosts in my horror films seminar at school--but not as a serious, real-life thing.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    @DarthDimi I do believe there is other life in space, just none coming to visit us if 95% of sightings can be confirmed as aircraft. Logically the other 5% is surely the same thing mistaken aircraft
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    You'd think that with allll the satellites up there, and all of the cell phones down here, we'd have captured some crystal clear visitations?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited June 2021 Posts: 17,729
    peter wrote: »
    You'd think that with allll the satellites up there, and all of the cell phones down here, we'd have captured some crystal clear visitations?

    Exactly, and the same could be said of ghosts and other paranormal phenomena. There's never been a time in history when taking photos is so easy and cameras are so easily available in the form of smartphones. So one would think that the amount of good photos of UFOs and ghosts would only increase. I'm not sure that that has really happened to any credible extent.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    @DarthDimi I do believe there is other life in space, just none coming to visit us if 95% of sightings can be confirmed as aircraft. Logically the other 5% is surely the same thing mistaken aircraft

    Completely agreed.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    giphy.gif?cid=790b7611b2a0c4ab63a9fd787fed98fe1fe95f02ff46f387&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g
  • Posts: 9,736
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    peter wrote: »
    You'd think that with allll the satellites up there, and all of the cell phones down here, we'd have captured some crystal clear visitations?

    Exactly, and the same could be said of ghosts and other paranormal phenomenon. There's never been a time in history when taking photos is so easy and cameras are so easily available in the form of smartphones. So one would think that the amount of good photos of UFOs and ghosts would only increase.

    I am not going to be dragged into the ghost debate because then we go into religion and then we are at each others throats and its all well you get the idea but what I will say is this


    My issue is there are so many good or at least passable hoaxes that any real footage of what goes bump in the night gets lost in the deluge of fake and misidentification. And for people who are skeptical believer like myself ( I wont just believe i any old thing) its hard to deal with.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I wonder if there are any haunted Flying saucers .
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I wonder if there are any haunted Flying saucers .

    I'm sure Ed Wood has made such a film at some point. ;-)
  • Posts: 9,736
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I wonder if there are any haunted Flying saucers .

    I'm sure Ed Wood has made such a film at some point. ;-)

    omg this is such a brilliant idea why hasn't


    Event Horizon never mind
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Risico007 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I wonder if there are any haunted Flying saucers .

    I'm sure Ed Wood has made such a film at some point. ;-)

    omg this is such a brilliant idea why hasn't


    Event Horizon never mind

    Event Horizon is a pretty scary film and one I've always enjoyed. Great plot too. I wish a sequel had been made. Weren't they planning something along that line, btw?
  • Posts: 9,736
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Risico007 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I wonder if there are any haunted Flying saucers .

    I'm sure Ed Wood has made such a film at some point. ;-)

    omg this is such a brilliant idea why hasn't


    Event Horizon never mind

    Event Horizon is a pretty scary film and one I've always enjoyed. Great plot too. I wish a sequel had been made. Weren't they planning something along that line, btw?

    You would think I would be more offended at you calling religion fiction but in reality the fact you think Event Horizons is scary is far more offensive lmao

    (I kid I kid I have a far thicker skin on both counts)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2021 Posts: 17,729
    Risico007 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    peter wrote: »
    You'd think that with allll the satellites up there, and all of the cell phones down here, we'd have captured some crystal clear visitations?

    Exactly, and the same could be said of ghosts and other paranormal phenomenon. There's never been a time in history when taking photos is so easy and cameras are so easily available in the form of smartphones. So one would think that the amount of good photos of UFOs and ghosts would only increase.

    I am not going to be dragged into the ghost debate because then we go into religion and then we are at each others throats and its all well you get the idea but what I will say is this


    My issue is there are so many good or at least passable hoaxes that any real footage of what goes bump in the night gets lost in the deluge of fake and misidentification. And for people who are skeptical believer like myself ( I wont just believe i any old thing) its hard to deal with.

    No, I agree. I speak from experience when I say that the Religion Thread was a very bad idea on my part. Yes, there are certainly plenty of fakes and hoaxes of ghosts and indeed UFOs as well, going right back to the beginnings of photographs and film. Photographic images and film have always been subject to manipulation, now more than ever with Photoshop and other such editing software readily available to anyone who wants to use it. Such democratisation of the availability and use of photo and film and editing techniques (once exclusively the preserve of the Hollywood basement) can only have led to the proliferation of fakes and hoaxes and so it has proven. Faking UFO photos and footage is nothing new either of course as the faked work of the discredited ufologist George Adamski shows:

    https://www.history.com/news/george-adamski-ufo-alien-photos

    Personally I think such fakes and hoaxes do nothing but discredit genuine photos and footage. Of course perhaps the motive in the case of Adamski was financial. It helped him sell his books and articles and stir up a mass hype at the time but at what ultimate cost to ufology? It's sad that people have to stoop to this level of manufactured sensationalism to write about their topic and sell good copy. If you have to resort to faking photographs, footage or first hand accounts to argue your case then you've already lost the argument.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Politics and Religion discussions always end in arguments, bad feelings . In my opinion always best avoided.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited June 2021 Posts: 17,729
    Politics and Religion discussions always end in arguments, bad feelings . In my opinion always best avoided.

    Yes, I've learned that to my cost. Still, we live and learn. Thankfully the policy here is that those topics are to be avoided and I'm in full agreement with it having witnessed what happens when they are allowed to roam free. I'm sure there are plenty of forums out there that deal with those topics exclusively if people feel the need to engage in them.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Politics and Religion discussions always end in arguments, bad feelings . In my opinion always best avoided.

    Yes, I've learned that to my cost. Still, we live and learn. Thankfully the policy here is that those topics are to be avoided

    Unless a mod wants to lecture people and brag about his own opinion. Then it s fine.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Politics and Religion discussions always end in arguments, bad feelings . In my opinion always best avoided.

    Yes, I've learned that to my cost. Still, we live and learn. Thankfully the policy here is that those topics are to be avoided

    Unless a mod wants to lecture people and brag about his own opinion. Then it s fine.

    5186952.jpg
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Politics and Religion discussions always end in arguments, bad feelings . In my opinion always best avoided.

    Yes, I've learned that to my cost. Still, we live and learn. Thankfully the policy here is that those topics are to be avoided

    Unless a mod wants to lecture people and brag about his own opinion. Then it s fine.

    5186952.jpg

    Ha ha! How did you guess?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I don't want to lecture people, I get paid for it. 😉
    I don't "brag about" my opinion, though. I have my views and I will defend them with arguments. As a mod, I'm sure I can still do that.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    So MODS really do exist ? I had heard stories but never believed......... ;)
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