The evolution of a skeptic

[PredFan]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

 

[jan]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

So basically, what I hear you saying is that you don't believe in the mysteries of the universe?

 

[PredFan]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

So basically, what I hear you saying is that you don't believe in the mysteries of the universe?

Not at all.

There are many mysteries of the universe, seeing as how we know little about it.

 

[Dajjal]

You may have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. I for one, have had some experience of esp.

 

[PredFan]

You may have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. I for one, have had some experience of esp.

I don't know you, and with the respect given in general to another person even without knowing them, I'll simply say I doubt it.

ESP doesn't exist.

 

[Swagger]

I don't believe in ghosts, either, Predfan. I experienced something paranormal-ish - recorded a clear voice on a voice recorder that wasn't my own, as I was completely alone - but put it down to something unexplainable.

Yetis/sasquatch? Nah. What with all the sophiscticated thermal imaging equipment available on the open market, I find it difficult to believe that ten foot ape men live undisturbed in Nepal and the Pacific North-West. Same goes for the Loch Ness Monster.

I find it hard to believe that extra terrestrials would traval halfway across the galaxy to sexually assault lone hikers in New Mexico; but I firmly believe in the existence of sentient beings beyond our solar system.

 

[PredFan]

I don't believe in ghosts, either, Predfan. I experienced something paranormal-ish - recorded a clear voice on a voice recorder that wasn't my own, as I was completely alone - but put it down to something unexplainable.

Yetis/sasquatch? Nah. What with all the sophiscticated thermal imaging equipment available on the open market, I find it difficult to believe that ten foot ape men live undisturbed in Nepal and the Pacific North-West. Same goes for the Loch Ness Monster.

I find it hard to believe that extra terrestrials would traval halfway across the galaxy to sexually assault lone hikers in New Mexico; but I firmly believe in the existence of sentient beings beyond our solar system.

I'm a proponent of the Rare Earth theory. I believe that life is abundant in the universe, the vast vast majority of it is simple one-celled extremophiles living in barren and inhospitable environments. Sentient life is so rare that it is almost non-existant outside of our planet. There is no possible way that any being could travel faster than light, and therefor wouldn't be able to get here.

 

[TNHarley]

I agree with most of this. Dont really disregard sasquatch. As far as aliens go, I dont doubt it one bit. As big as the universe is, it (to me) seems ignorant to think this is the only planet with intelligent life. Faster than light? Maybe. Our knowledge of the universe is slim, and based on calculations that we understand. We dont know shit. Just because we are carbon based does not mean that it has to be carbon based everywhere

 

[mamooth]

I'm of the opinion that intelligent aliens exist, but that they're justifiably paranoid, hence all the survivors are laying low and hiding their radio emissions. If an alien race is willing to take centuries delivering the weapon, they can create planetkiller asteroid/comet weapons by aiming them at another planet and slowly accelerating them to near lightspeed. No defense against it, as by the time you can see it, it's already there. And it only takes one such paranoid "get everyone else before they get us" race to wipe out all the naive and friendly races.

The good news for us is that our radio noise fades below background after about 10 light-years, so it's likely we're still hidden. And we should keep it that way. The silence that SETI has found should instill some wariness, like you'd feel if you drove into a strange town and there wasn't a single other person to be found anywhere.

 

[PredFan]

I agree with most of this. Dont really disregard sasquatch.

Oh well. Believe that nonsense if you want to.

As far as aliens go, I dont doubt it one bit.

Doubt what? That there is alien life? That we've been visited by alien life forms?

As big as the universe is, it (to me) seems ignorant to think this is the only planet with intelligent life.

Why is that? Why can there not be only one?

Faster than light? Maybe. Our knowledge of the universe is slim, and based on calculations that we understand. We dont know shit.

It's true that we don't know it all but we know a lot. And with what we do know we can explain most things that we see occurring in the universe. The reason is that other celestial bodies act in a manner that is easily explained by and strictly obeys the laws of physics. One of the laws of physics says that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

Just because we are carbon based does not mean that it has to be carbon based everywhere

True of course but even if there was life forms that were composed of light itself, they still cannot travel faster than that speed.

 

[PredFan]

I'm of the opinion that intelligent aliens exist, but that they're justifiably paranoid, hence all the survivors are laying low and hiding their radio emissions. If an alien race is willing to take centuries delivering the weapon, they can create planetkiller asteroid/comet weapons by aiming them at another planet and slowly accelerating them to near lightspeed. No defense against it, as by the time you can see it, it's already there. And it only takes one such paranoid "get everyone else before they get us" race to wipe out all the naive and friendly races.

The good news for us is that our radio noise fades below background after about 10 light-years, so it's likely we're still hidden. And we should keep it that way. The silence that SETI has found should instill some wariness, like you'd feel if you drove into a strange town and there wasn't a single other person to be found anywhere.

Wow! Just...wow!

 

[rdean]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

So what you are saying is that you are so simple minded it only takes a few bright lights and people talking and you will believe anything?

 

[rdean]

I'm thinking this should have been called, "Evolution of a septic".

 

[PredFan]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

So what you are saying is that you are so simple minded it only takes a few bright lights and people talking and you will believe anything?

Dismissed.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

It's time to start a late night talk show...maybe have a few of ya'll on as guests

 

[PredFan]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

It's time to start a late night talk show...maybe have a few of ya'll on as guests

Lol, have your show tape in NYC, give me a free flight and night's stay and I'll be glad to talk on your show.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Back in the 70s, a movie came out called "The Chariots of the Gods". as a young man I watched this movie and was mesmerized. It all made sense to me. The pyramids, the Easter Island Statues, the Nasca Lines, the Miracles of Christ, it was Aliens. I even expounded on the theory and believed that Aliens impregnated Mary artificailly (The Virgin Birth) and Jesus was the spawn of an Alien Race and that was how he could perform his miracles.

I believed this for about 5 years.

The one day when I was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina and a completely broke newly married sailor, i had nothing to do on a saturday and was watching PBS, when a special came on that showed a group of scientists, going over all of the claims in the movie and showed how they were complete non-sense. What struck me was how simple then answers were to many of the questions asked by the movie.

I vowed never to be fooled like that again. That vow has served me well in life and it is not very hard to find explanations to many of the so-called mysteries claimed by people.

I don't believe in Alien Visitation or abduction, I don't believe in ESP of any kind, not sasquatch, not the Yeti, or ghosts, or demons. I won't be fooled again.

It's time to start a late night talk show...maybe have a few of ya'll on as guests

Lol, have your show tape in NYC, give me a free flight and night's stay and I'll be glad to talk on your show.

the pay scale is coffee/tea and donuts and maybe and

 

[PredFan]

It's time to start a late night talk show...maybe have a few of ya'll on as guests

Lol, have your show tape in NYC, give me a free flight and night's stay and I'll be glad to talk on your show.

the pay scale is coffee/tea and donuts and maybe and

BEER? Book it!

 

[Steven_R]

I'm of the opinion that intelligent aliens exist, but that they're justifiably paranoid, hence all the survivors are laying low and hiding their radio emissions. If an alien race is willing to take centuries delivering the weapon, they can create planetkiller asteroid/comet weapons by aiming them at another planet and slowly accelerating them to near lightspeed. No defense against it, as by the time you can see it, it's already there. And it only takes one such paranoid "get everyone else before they get us" race to wipe out all the naive and friendly races.

The good news for us is that our radio noise fades below background after about 10 light-years, so it's likely we're still hidden. And we should keep it that way. The silence that SETI has found should instill some wariness, like you'd feel if you drove into a strange town and there wasn't a single other person to be found anywhere.

Why would aliens come here in the first place? The most abundant elements on Earth are the most abundant anywhere (Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, Aluminum, Nitrogen), so there's nothing special physically. I doubt they'd come to stay considering how lethal the place is. Even assuming they can cope with the temperature and air pressures, they couldn't live here without serious engineering. I'm from here, my family has been here for 4 billion years, and yet 70% of the planet is lethal to me if I'm exposed to it for more than a few moments and that's before we look at places that are too hot, too cold, too dry, too rocky, etc. Just about everything alive can kill us, from bacteria to viruses to fungi to animals. Even the planet itself goes out of its way to kill us. Earthquakes, tornados, volcanos, mudslides, blizzards, etc. Physically any alien would be better off building on a lifeless and geologically dead body like the moon.

But even if all that doesn't put off the aliens, what about the dominant species? There's this hairless ape with an appetite for violence that has made entertainment out of killing each other off. They claim they don't want to kill each other, but do it at the drop of a hat and over reasons like which mythological being is the right mythological being or ownership of shiny rocks. Given how much these apes delight in killing each other, is there any doubt they won't do the same to an alien traveler?

Any alien species with the technological ability to go through interstellar space should have the technology to do whatever they need without coming to Earth. Need iron? They can mine an asteroid belt. Have DNA problems? We're already engaging in genetic engineering and even if they had some genetic flaws, there is no reason to think our DNA is anywhere close to compatible with their without tons of engineering, so why come here in the first place? Food sources? Think of how many plants and animals are poisonous to eat. It seems unlikely aliens can digest a pork chop or piece of bread. Onions can kill my dog; why would it be reasonable for an alien to be exempt from those problems?

 

[007]

Everyone has a soul, and there are those who's soul still inhabits the space around us after they die, and yes, they're commonly referred to as ghosts, and yes, they do exist. There's overwhelming proof of it. You can poo-poo it and ridicule it as you see fit, but the indisputable proof will remain.

Aliens from outer space, I think we'd be incredibly ignorant to think we are alone in the universe.