|
U.F.Os
Apr 6, 2009 7:54:35 GMT
Post by TheRollingThunder on Apr 6, 2009 7:54:35 GMT
We have a thread for ghosts, why not U.F.Os.
|
|
Warrior
Passenger Engine
Posts: 915
|
U.F.Os
Apr 6, 2009 20:32:03 GMT
Post by Warrior on Apr 6, 2009 20:32:03 GMT
Uuh... Because the common definition of U.F.O. is a spacecraft controlled by extraterrestrials, which is absurd?(No offense intended, I'm just voicing my opinion)
|
|
Little Engine
Goods Engine
"But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.""
Posts: 332
|
U.F.Os
Apr 6, 2009 22:20:58 GMT
Post by Little Engine on Apr 6, 2009 22:20:58 GMT
Well, actually, a U.F.O is simply an Unidentified Flying Object; anything one sees in the sky that can't be accounted for. Not necessarily a spacecraft controlled by extraterrestrials, though that is the general assumption. Actually, this thread could be very interesting... I've probably seen stuff in the sky I couldn't identify before, but never anything that made me think "aliens." But has anybody? Or, off what Warrior said, does anybody strongly believe/not believe in extraterrestrials? Personally, my mindset is that there's no proof they exist, but there's no proof that they don't exist either. Sure, it sounds absurd, but if you went back to Ancient Egypt and told them that someday people from all over the world could discuss U.F.Os with one another using machines called computers and something called the Internet, it'd probably seem pretty absurd to them, too.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 0:04:46 GMT
Post by FlyingScotsman on Apr 7, 2009 0:04:46 GMT
The major problem I have with a lot of UFO stories is that the aliens that appear invariably look broadly human - that is, two legs, two arms and a head on top with the eyes, mouth etc. If intelligent life does exist on other planets, I believe the chances are that it would be so different from us, both physically and mentally, that we'd find it almost impossible to relate to them.
Alien life is something that I believe could very well exist in one form or another - all you need for life to begin is a self-replicating chemical molecule of sufficient complexity to allow for mutation. We know there are several planets and moons with the kind of chemistry upon which such a molecule could arise - Titan's methane atmosphere suggests that it may be a likely candidate, and scientists are hopeful about Europa and Ganymede. And then there's Mars...
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 4:33:51 GMT
Post by CabForward on Apr 7, 2009 4:33:51 GMT
I swear, when I was 10 I saw a red craft in the sky. I told my friend but when I looked back it was gone.
And that is why I believe in UFOs!
|
|
Little Engine
Goods Engine
"But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.""
Posts: 332
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 4:44:22 GMT
Post by Little Engine on Apr 7, 2009 4:44:22 GMT
The major problem I have with a lot of UFO stories is that the aliens that appear invariably look broadly human - that is, two legs, two arms and a head on top with the eyes, mouth etc. If intelligent life does exist on other planets, I believe the chances are that it would be so different from us, both physically and mentally, that we'd find it almost impossible to relate to them. I completely agree with you... life that developed under different conditions than us would be radically different. If we ever did discover intelligent life, perhaps we wouldn't even identify it as life, because it would be alive in some way we can't comprehend. In fact, for all we know, intelligent life from other planets may have already discovered us! Perhaps we can't detect them because all we know how to locate is stuff we're familiar with, like spaceships and stereotypical Martian men, and whatever they're using is something so different from us that we can't comprehend it! How's that for a wildly speculative, yet fun thought?
|
|
SRapi
Main Line Engine
Pronounced: Ess-Are-Ay-Pie.
Posts: 1,543
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 18:14:33 GMT
Post by SRapi on Apr 7, 2009 18:14:33 GMT
The one problem I have with the whole conversation about UFOs is that this issue is really blurred into 2 distinct issues: do you believe in UFOS, and do you believe in extraterrestrial life? My answer to the second question, is yes. I find it hard to believe, that in a universe that is infinitely large, ever expanding, and filled with almost every conceivable form of cosmic activity, that our planet is the only one with life on it (be it intelligent or not). In fact, I once heard an expert call it down right selfish to think so! As for UFOs, I am not sure. Just because I believe in aliens, that doesn't mean they have come to Earth before. I think that a lot of the reports of UFOs could be explained with the usual facts (weather balloon, plane, etc.) as well a these abduction stories. My father, for instance, says that he doesn't believe in abduction stories because of one strikingly simple fact: nobody usually ever recalls, or mentions, what it smelled like, which would definitely be one of the senses you would remember. So, in answer to the question about UFOs: maybe. Some are explainable, and some are very mysterious, as in life.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 22:45:24 GMT
Post by FlyingScotsman on Apr 7, 2009 22:45:24 GMT
There is a type of experience - I forget the name - but basically it's when you're awake, but you're still dreaming. It can be a very frightening experience, because you're seeing things that seem unreal and you can't move. The article I read (long, long ago, but I think it was in Focus magazine) suggested that this could be the cause of "alien abduction" experiences.
One interesting possibility I read was that, as faster-than-light travel is impossible, maybe the kind of creatures that could travel long distances through space would have incredibly long lives, and would think of a five thousand year journey the way we'd think of a long-distance flight. As a side note, the article pointed out that it would probably be impossible to communicate with such creatures.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 7, 2009 23:31:43 GMT
Post by Kyle on Apr 7, 2009 23:31:43 GMT
The experiences your thinking of there Flying Scotsman are both Sleep Paralysis and Hypnagogia. These conditions are both very frightening to the sufferer, and the symptoms (which can include hallucinations, feelings of being touched, and and unexplainable sense of fear) are all often closely related to things abductees usually describe. That being said, there is another explaination (admittedly, just as mind-blowing) than aliens - time travel. There's a theory that says if you line up enough neutron stars (the most dense substance in the universe) and get them all spinning the same way you will warp space-time to create four zones. The outermost zone is forward-time, followed by null-time, negative-time and an unreachable (due to the extreme pressure and gravity) deadly-zone. Now, if you were to fly through the negative-time region it would end up taking you back in time, and due to the extreme gravity that would also be there, the best type of craft to withstand it would be a flattened disk. In other words: a Flying Saucer... Could the "aliens" we see simply be our very distant future selves (as a race)?
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 16, 2009 20:13:08 GMT
Post by FlyingScotsman on Apr 16, 2009 20:13:08 GMT
Thanks for the names - I couldn't think of them for the life of me, and Google isn't very helpful with the term, "that thing you know where its like you cant move and theres aliens and stuff and yore not asleep but you are".
Another reason time travel makes more sense than aliens is that the aliens people describe in abductions look pretty human - two eyes, one head, four limbs, bipedal. It seems odd that such a configuration should have arisen twice in the universe, particularly given the number of drawbacks to this arrangement in humans (for instance, we can choke on our food, our digestion is slower than it could be and we fall over easily). If the "aliens" are time travellers building on us, the arrangement makes perfect sense.
|
|
Tricky
Goods Engine
Posts: 157
|
U.F.Os
Apr 17, 2009 11:24:46 GMT
Post by Tricky on Apr 17, 2009 11:24:46 GMT
Time travel itself must have its drawbacks then? Think about the fact that if that is ourselves in 5 thousand AD, what is there to stop them other than there current technology, of going back just another 60 odd years and assinating Hitler? Or even further in time and starting another war etc? If they have traveled back in time then why couldn't they of just used a book or computer and read about how life was? Admittedly if i had the chance then i'd go back to sample life but that's me! I do like the relationship between time travel, our future selves and the fact that most people who describe aliens are describing us with a little difference. As for UFOs i can see why it is such an interesting subject. I have seen a ideo about four Russian MiG fighters that were scrambled to intercept an UFO that had appeared on radar. The film footage is also from the cockpit camera of the leading jet. It shows them climbing and banking to get behind the UFO to get a closer look at it. The UFO is a cigar shape but because of the angle it isn't clear whether it is a disc shape or not. As the leader starts to turn and accelerate to get closer the UFO then races away even faster and disappears off camera. The leader reported that he couldn't keep up and that it had gone. The MiG had accelerated to Mach 1.5 and was still increasing when the UFO moved away. He estimated that the UFO must of been touching Mach 3+ in such a short space of time that it couldn't of been man made or piloted by a human at least due to the extreme G force that would of been present. Interesting stuff.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 5:52:58 GMT
Post by Jim522 on Apr 18, 2009 5:52:58 GMT
I find the whole extraterrestrial life debate highly interesting actually.
My personal view on there being outer life is: Why not?
I mean, it's a big universe out there, and I feel that the chances of us being the only folk of sorts around is highly unlikely.
Space is infinite, and forever expanding. With all that, erm, space out there, I see our planet as possibly being a mere ink blot on an A4 paper, with thousands, maybe even more planets and such being out there,
There are just so many stories and accounts of UFOs and outer life, to simply not be nothing, in my view.
Yes, many have been hoaxes and disillusionments of sorts, but surely not EVERY account can be untrue?
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 9:35:27 GMT
Post by Knuckles on Apr 18, 2009 9:35:27 GMT
Am I permitted to speak my mind?
Because lets be clear here, when 'I' speak my mind about 'sensetive' subjects, 1-5 of my posts has a 90% chance of being banned.
Evolution vs Creation - Locked NWO - Locked
So I'm being serious, this could be considered a controversial thread, I want permission before I post in this thread because if it ends up getting locked because speak my mind or because I say something that I claim to be true either with or without evidence, and somebody doesn't like what I say because of personal conviction or any reason other than that which breaches the current rules of SiF then I'm going to blow up.
Some of the other things I have spoken about in the past are directly related to this thread, and thus if I mension anything it might be considered an excuse to post in the 'wrong' thread, not so.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 13:29:30 GMT
Post by Ci on Apr 18, 2009 13:29:30 GMT
Speak your mind, Knuckles -- but if you think that what you're going to say is controversial please take other member's feelings and beliefs into consideration and think clearly and openly before hitting the "Post Reply" button.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 13:43:29 GMT
Post by Knuckles on Apr 18, 2009 13:43:29 GMT
Cheers. I dunno though. Considering everything that happened before I feel unconfident things won't end up blowing up somehow, that's why I asked. If you believe or know something as a truth you speak it like that don't you? Everything I say seems to end up controversial, authough that doesn't bother me personally that's not the point. This thread, or rather, my knowledge and desired input links directly to the other things I spoke about before that ended up getting locked, and some of the things I wish to say will sound like an excuse to bring up everything else, but rather an excuse it would be a nessesity because of the related nature of it. I don't wish to cause trouble, it's just what I say isn't liked. I can't help that! And so, I'm unsure still.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 13:43:33 GMT
Post by Jarrah White on Apr 18, 2009 13:43:33 GMT
I personally find the idea of extraterrestrials visiting us to be far-fetched. But it has been revealed that both the US and USSR build disk-shaped hovercrafts for reconnaissance purposes.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 18, 2009 15:23:59 GMT
Post by Jim on Apr 18, 2009 15:23:59 GMT
I was a real UFO buff in my early teens and purchased all of the magazines that were around at the time. My interest gradually waned when the content became more tabloidish and unbelievable. "Aliens replaced the president with a clone" type fare. A lot of imaginative creative-writers on staff, no doubt.
In medieval times it was angels and demons or strange enlightened visitors from a far-off hidden Utopian country...
In the late 1800's it was exotic airships crewed by men with strange accents occasionally landing to effect repairs...
With the advent of the atomic age, space visitors possessing superior technology...
Same script, different actors?
I believe that there is sentient life out there in the remoteness of the universe, but I'm having a little trouble that we've actually been visited. Were this so, given humanity's track record, they'd be better off quarantining our solar system for our own good.
Imagine what the less-benign members of humanity would do upon discovering or having access to a world populated with beings at a tribal level of civilization, but one very rich in natural and mineral resources.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 19, 2009 0:00:01 GMT
Post by FlyingScotsman on Apr 19, 2009 0:00:01 GMT
I used to be a huge UFO buff in my early teens, too. Not just UFOs - ghosts, Bigfoot, Nessie, anything bizarro and mysterious. I seem to have swung to the opposite end of the spectrum now.
The point about UFOs through the ages is also interesting. I recall reading about so-called "dragon sightings" in medieval Europe, another ancestor of modern UFOs. It makes you wonder what we'll think they are two hundred years from now.
Re aliens visiting us and being appalled, I wonder if that really would be the case. As I've said before, I suspect aliens would have a mindset radically different from our own. They might have different attitudes to life and death, different lifespans, different morality or whatever. At the very least, it's not unreasonable to assume that they'd be centuries ahead of us in technological terms. They might view us in the same way that we view, say, ants - they're intelligent in their way, but it's not like we could be buddies with them.
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 19, 2009 0:24:37 GMT
Post by CabForward on Apr 19, 2009 0:24:37 GMT
I'm not certain aliens would have a radically different mindset. Of course, they would have a different mindset, but who is to say we would find them impossible to converse with?
This brings up alot of issues - how did this alien race come about, have they artificially furthered their evolution, and so on; but I don't really think they'd view us to be too radical. Surely, if they are visiting us, they must have visited other planets with life as well. And, perhaps they just see us as a little different?
|
|
|
U.F.Os
Apr 20, 2009 16:33:36 GMT
Post by Jim on Apr 20, 2009 16:33:36 GMT
Hard to say, we interpret things by seeing things in the visible spectrum through our gelatinous orbs, and by listening to recognizable sound vibrations in the air. They could have a touchy-feely or even an octopus-like color changing form of communication. I've heard of the 'these are visitors from our future' theory mentioned a few posts above. I've also heard that it makes more sense (to who exactly?) to travel sideways to a parallel universe than rather trying to go the full interstellar distance. Perfect way to spend a vacation if you ask me
|
|