Topic: The UFO thread
started by: Leisher
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 07 2014,13:47
Let's keep this as a catch all for UFO stories.< Chile rules on two UFO pictures. >
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The study concludes that "It is an object or phenomenon of great interest, and it can be qualified as a UFO."
In other words, "We don't know what it is, so yeah, UFO."
< Did Rover see a UFO? >
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"This is a hot pixel that has been around since we started using the Right Navcam," Maki told The Huffington Post in an email.
I don't know shit about hot pixels, and I'm sure he's not bullshitting, but can one of you photo experts explain why the hot pixel appears in the left cam, and also in a different spot?
You'd think he'd go out of his way to explain that.
Posted by TPRJones on Jul. 07 2014,13:51
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"We don't know what it is, so yeah, UFO."
Well, that's technically correct. UFO doesn't mean alien, it means anything that is 1) an object, 2) flying, and 3) unidentified.
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 07 2014,13:55
It is technically correct, and honestly, I applaud them for being so candid about it. The U.S. is pretty candid about such objects as well...just not publicly.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 07 2014,14:07
I think our scientists do a big disservice to science by being so concerned with ruling out "little green men" that they throw out crap theories and do no real investigating.Don't get me wrong, I don't think these things are little green men, but it's okay to say, "I'm not sure what this is" and do some actual scientific study.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 07 2014,15:14
Members of Congress are not apt to fund things they cannot profit from personally.
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 07 2014,15:18
I think the time has arrived where we need to stop being so arrogant and stupid to think that of the millions or billions of other Earth-like worlds that we know exist, no other intelligent life exists. Especially since we've already proven that life doesn't need Earth to exist.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 07 2014,15:30
Theory:The universe is the result of a drunken bet between two ultra-powerful beings to see if two intelligent lifeforms from different planets could make contact before space expands too much to make such a thing possible.
"I got a hundred bucks that says yes."
"You're on, asshole."
Further theory:
We will see a < kill screen > when first contact happens.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,03:31
(Leisher @ Jul. 07 2014,17:18)
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I think the time has arrived where we need to stop being so arrogant and stupid to think that of the millions or billions of other Earth-like worlds that we know exist, no other intelligent life exists.
Especially since we've already proven that life doesn't need Earth to exist.
Especially since we've already proven that life doesn't need Earth to exist.
We have to also be careful that we don't start making Frank Drake generalizations about how many earth like planets that can support life are out there, though.
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 08 2014,05:41
(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,06:31)
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(Leisher @ Jul. 07 2014,17:18)
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I think the time has arrived where we need to stop being so arrogant and stupid to think that of the millions or billions of other Earth-like worlds that we know exist, no other intelligent life exists.
Especially since we've already proven that life doesn't need Earth to exist.
Especially since we've already proven that life doesn't need Earth to exist.
We have to also be careful that we don't start making Frank Drake generalizations about how many earth like planets that can support life are out there, though.
Yeah because actually discovering proof that life has existed off this planet is negated by potentially inflated numbers.
Oh, and let's not forget that everything we "knew" about what life needs to exist has changed in the past 5 years. That means, you might not even need an Earth-like planet to sustain life.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,06:22
(Leisher @ Jul. 08 2014,07:41)
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Oh, and let's not forget that everything we "knew" about what life needs to exist has changed in the past 5 years. That means, you might not even need an Earth-like planet to sustain life.
But we aren't talking about life. We're talking about intelligent life and civilizations. And the requirements for those haven't changed much. To my point, in order to achieve civilization as near as we can tell a required component is the ability to make and control fire.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,07:22
(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,08:22)
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(Leisher @ Jul. 08 2014,07:41)
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Oh, and let's not forget that everything we "knew" about what life needs to exist has changed in the past 5 years. That means, you might not even need an Earth-like planet to sustain life.
But we aren't talking about life. We're talking about intelligent life and civilizations. And the requirements for those haven't changed much. To my point, in order to achieve civilization as near as we can tell a required component is the ability to make and control fire.
The Star Child at the end of 2001 needs fire?
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 08 2014,07:31
(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,09:22)
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(Leisher @ Jul. 08 2014,07:41)
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Oh, and let's not forget that everything we "knew" about what life needs to exist has changed in the past 5 years. That means, you might not even need an Earth-like planet to sustain life.
But we aren't talking about life. We're talking about intelligent life and civilizations. And the requirements for those haven't changed much. To my point, in order to achieve civilization as near as we can tell a required component is the ability to make and control fire.
I assume you don't believe there is any other intelligent life out there other than us?
I'm not being condescending when I ask this, but is this opinion based on science or religion? I just want to know how to debate it.
Because your whole statement there is anti-science. It's basically the same stance as Al Gore saying "the debate is over".
But hey, let's have fun and say you're right and our experiences here on Earth have to be matched EXACTLY for intelligent life to exist:
There are between < 8.8 > and < 40 > billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone. Now boost that number by the number of galaxies in the known universe, which is about < 100-200 billion >. (That measurement is just based on what we can see from Earth.)
The numbers are there. Each one representing another chance for life to evolve. That's indisputable, and it's a LOT of chances.
What, scientifically speaking, allows you to rubber stamp the whole "life on other planets" question with a big NO?
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,07:33
The Star Child did not need fire, but as near as I can tell from that acid tripping story, the Star Child was the next step (or down our line) of our evolution. So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,08:00
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So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
There's no way to go from brutal outdoor survival as animals to launching spaceships without fire? Absolutely none whatsoever? Hell of a crystal ball you got.
Posted by GORDON on Jul. 08 2014,08:02
(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:00)
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So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
There's no way to go from brutal outdoor survival as animals to launching spaceships without fire? Absolutely none whatsoever? Hell of a crystal ball you got.
Enlighten.
So to speak.
Posted by TPRJones on Jul. 08 2014,08:12
I can't imagine how to make space ships out of metal without fire. Although I guess maybe it would be possible for a species with weird DNA manipulating abilities to grow a rudimentary spaceship out of some local equivalent of a tree. But I sure wouldn't want to go to space in it.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,08:18
(GORDON @ Jul. 08 2014,10:02)
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(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:00)
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So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
There's no way to go from brutal outdoor survival as animals to launching spaceships without fire? Absolutely none whatsoever? Hell of a crystal ball you got.
Enlighten.
So to speak.
< Bioship >.
Posted by Leisher on Jul. 08 2014,08:22
(TPRJones @ Jul. 08 2014,11:12)
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I can't imagine how to make space ships out of metal without fire. Although I guess maybe it would be possible for a species with weird DNA manipulating abilities to grow a rudimentary spaceship out of some local equivalent of a tree. But I sure wouldn't want to go to space in it.
Brian K. Vaughn, the guy behind Y: The Last Man, has a new series running called Saga. In it, the main characters have begun traveling through space in the sentient tree below.
Posted by GORDON on Jul. 08 2014,08:44
(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:18)
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(GORDON @ Jul. 08 2014,10:02)
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(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:00)
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So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
There's no way to go from brutal outdoor survival as animals to launching spaceships without fire? Absolutely none whatsoever? Hell of a crystal ball you got.
Enlighten.
So to speak.
< Bioship >.
How's it getting escape velocity?
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,08:55
(GORDON @ Jul. 08 2014,10:44)
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(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:18)
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(GORDON @ Jul. 08 2014,10:02)
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(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,11:00)
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So in order to get from the monkey people at the beginning to the Star Child at the end, they needed fire in between.
There's no way to go from brutal outdoor survival as animals to launching spaceships without fire? Absolutely none whatsoever? Hell of a crystal ball you got.
Enlighten.
So to speak.
< Bioship >.
How's it getting escape velocity?
Hell if I know. Some other race has the innate ability to fuck with gravitons the same way we fuck with electrons. Or maybe the same way the Vorlons and Shadows got it.
Posted by TPRJones on Jul. 08 2014,09:02
biofuel?
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,09:33
(Leisher @ Jul. 08 2014,09:31)
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(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,09:22)
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(Leisher @ Jul. 08 2014,07:41)
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Oh, and let's not forget that everything we "knew" about what life needs to exist has changed in the past 5 years. That means, you might not even need an Earth-like planet to sustain life.
But we aren't talking about life. We're talking about intelligent life and civilizations. And the requirements for those haven't changed much. To my point, in order to achieve civilization as near as we can tell a required component is the ability to make and control fire.
I assume you don't believe there is any other intelligent life out there other than us?
I'm not being condescending when I ask this, but is this opinion based on science or religion? I just want to know how to debate it.
Because your whole statement there is anti-science. It's basically the same stance as Al Gore saying "the debate is over".
But hey, let's have fun and say you're right and our experiences here on Earth have to be matched EXACTLY for intelligent life to exist:
There are between < 8.8 > and < 40 > billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone. Now boost that number by the number of galaxies in the known universe, which is about < 100-200 billion >. (That measurement is just based on what we can see from Earth.)
The numbers are there. Each one representing another chance for life to evolve. That's indisputable, and it's a LOT of chances.
What, scientifically speaking, allows you to rubber stamp the whole "life on other planets" question with a big NO?
Sorry, I had written a long response that got eaten by the browser.
To recap what got eaten, the odds of there being other intelligent life out there does not conflict with my beliefs. It's just the more that I see that made life as we know it possible here on Earth the less common I end up believing we are. The astronomical odds of our magnetic field and our moon are quite staggering in and of themselves.
Not that I think it's impossible. I just think our entire race will likely have died out before we could come up with any proof of them, much less make contact.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,09:38
Might be an interesting exercise to come up with the most complex machine we've built without the use of metal or fired clay or anything requiring fire.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,09:47
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The astronomical odds of our magnetic field and our moon are quite staggering in and of themselves.
When I think of all the other places shit like that has failed, where some minor fuck up has destroyed the habitability of some globe, you figure that somewhere, some day, one of them will hit the jackpot. It won't be often. But as long as it's "about one out of every..." it doesn't matter how the second half of that is finished. Any finite number always means there's going to be more than one. A fraction of infinity is still fucking huge.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,10:27
True Malcom, but time and space are not infinite. That kind of screwed up a lot of scientists and led to a lot of reluctance to accept the big bang theory. They could always rely on "with infinite possibilities, it's inevitable that this would happen."With the big bang theory, that reliance disappeared. I still chuckle when the news stories come out saying "Scientists say the Universe not as old as previously thought". I just imagine a bunch of scientists saying, "son of a bitch."
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,10:35
The universe is expanding. There will be more space as time goes on. When time checks out of existence, we'll have long since vanished.
Posted by Troy on Jul. 08 2014,11:00
(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,10:35)
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The universe is expanding. There will be more space as time goes on. When time checks out of existence, we'll have long since vanished.
Wrong. The Imperium of Man, led by their God-Leader Emperor Troy, will continue on. Guided in navigating the cosomos by his ever present warp beacon, a testament to his silent sacrifice on his
golden Earth-throne.
Wait that's the plot to Warhammer 40k.
Posted by TPRJones on Jul. 08 2014,11:02
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True Malcom, but time and space are not infinite.
True about time, but not about space. Current most-popular theories posit an infinite expanding universe. We can only see a certain part of it due to the limited past time and the speed of light, but that doesn't mean the rest of the infinity doesn't exist. Because there are likely an infinite number of worlds that would be friendly to life, I don't doubt that there are an infinite number of intelligent alien races out there.
The question isn't are there aliens, it's are they common enough to have any others within a particular reasonably nearby portion of the infinity of the universe so that we might possibly one day have some hope of some sort of interaction. If intelligent life is unlikely enough that there's only one in a roughly 13 billion light-year radius sphere of space, then we will absolutely never have any contact. Might as well be one per universe, then. If the odds are more like one per parsec, then we'd have seen fossil radio broadcasts all over the place.
How to narrow that range of possibility down is the real problem.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,11:12
Some animal life on this planet could be intelligent, they're just choosing not to talk to us or are doing it in a way we're clueless about.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,12:31
(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,13:12)
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Some animal life on this planet could be intelligent, they're just choosing not to talk to us or are doing it in a way we're clueless about.
I've always loved that argument.
"Dolphins are as smart as us and could have their own language. We're just not smart enough to figure out their language."
"If they're that smart, why do we have to figure out their language? Why aren't they learning English?"
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,13:50
Maybe they don't want to talk with us because they've been able to listen to and understand us for a bit. Additionally, "intelligence" has no bearing on the sounds your vocal apparati are capable of producing.
Posted by GORDON on Jul. 08 2014,13:56
Maybe trees scream when we cut them down we just can't hear it.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,13:57
(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,15:50)
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Maybe they don't want to talk with us because they've been able to listen to and understand us for a bit. Additionally, "intelligence" has no bearing on the sounds your vocal apparati are capable of producing.
Then you'd think they would be smart enough to know what tuna nets were and stay the hell away from them.
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,14:05
(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,15:57)
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(Malcolm @ Jul. 08 2014,15:50)
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Maybe they don't want to talk with us because they've been able to listen to and understand us for a bit. Additionally, "intelligence" has no bearing on the sounds your vocal apparati are capable of producing.
Then you'd think they would be smart enough to know what tuna nets were and stay the hell away from them.
You'd think that human pedestrians would know that moving traffic is in the street and crosswalks are the approved spots to cross, too. Perhaps it's how the dolphins deal with their less clever brethren.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 08 2014,14:16
Good point."Shut up Peta. We're only weeding the stupid ones out of the gene pool."
Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 08 2014,15:48
(Vince @ Jul. 08 2014,16:16)
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Good point.
"Shut up Peta. We're only weeding the stupid ones out of the gene pool."
"Shut up Peta. We're only weeding the stupid ones out of the gene pool."
Hitchhiker's movie missed a golden opportunity.
Posted by Vince on Jul. 09 2014,13:00
I was talking about this with a coworker and "a dolphin caught in a tuna net" has become a euphemism for stupid people.
Posted by Leisher on Nov. 09 2014,00:18
< Abduction caught on tape. >I have not watched the video yet, but I'm certain it's not what they think.
Posted by TPRJones on Nov. 09 2014,09:19
Absolutely fake. Stupidly so. They weren't even trying.Most likely a very lame attempt to make a viral video that will end up being a promotion for some movie or other.
Posted by Leisher on Nov. 09 2014,09:48
WTF? Just watched it. Completely fake.Why the fuck was that a Yahoo headline last night?
I wonder if this is going to be a marketing thing.
Posted by Vince on Nov. 10 2014,03:24
You would hope a marketing thing would have more creativity and money.
Posted by Leisher on Nov. 10 2014,05:43
Have you seen some of the marketing videos lately that are supposed to be real? They're very much like this one. What was the one for the movie that had the witch or ghost or whatever in the intersection? It just came out over the summer...
Posted by Leisher on Jan. 18 2015,16:12
< Did NASA cut a live feed when a UFO entered the shot? >
Posted by Leisher on Apr. 19 2015,21:54
< UFOs love war. >