Comments on: Video Evidence

By: SARA

SARA — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:26:20 +0000

We are all the victims of our insatiable need to be entertained. Combine that with our need for validation and socialization and voila! We have conspiracies and silly videos.
The media reports these sorts of “human interest” stories – because we the public want entertainment.
The pranksters create the silly videos, etc to entertain and gain recognition either with peers and/or eventually the world.
The conspiracies are even a way to entertain and link with a group of like minded individuals.
The skeptics are also using the debunking of conspiracies to entertain ourselves and bond with like minded.
Just entertainment and socializing. Despite the many on both sides of the fence who will say that this is serious minded stuff, its ultimately not.
This is of course simplification. There are some conspiracy proponents who have a mental illness.
There are some conspiracies and the like that perpetuate real social concerns or even dangers.
But mostly not. I really do love conspiracies. Nothing is quite as funny.

By: Mlema

Mlema — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:19:02 +0000

i also found “A Pilot’s View on Why Today’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Cannot Explain Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” on the same page
http://www.narcap.org/technicalreports.htm
to be very interesting.
I’m thinking the author is not a U.S. pilot, to be so candid.

By: Mlema

Mlema — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:44:57 +0000

bachfiend,
I probably shouldn’t have used such an exaggerated example. I was just trying to make a point about how people interpret unfamiliar phenomenon.

BillyJoe7,
hey man, no worries! I’ve got you to keep me honest!
and I do believe in an objective reality. i just think that you and I see reality differently!

locutusbrg
I’m sorry, but I’m not the person who can convince you of anything regarding the existence/non-existence of aliens. I don’t know anything about any aliens. And I’ve never seen a UFO. As I say to bachfiend above, just trying to say something about the psychology of this. As you say – psychology definitely plays a role in the UFO phenomenon. It not only fuels sci-fi fantasies, but it squelches earnest reporting and research, from fear of ridicule, or even reprisal.

I have no stake in this game. But it is very interesting to me. And i certainly don’t have the credentials to judge what people say on either side of the issue.
i found the report done by the NARCAP on the O’Hare UFO sighting to be fascinating.
http://www.narcap.org/technicalreports.htm
(it’s#10)
but I don’t expect people to have the time to read something like that. It’s 150 pages. And I admit: the part I found most interesting was the witnesses testimonies toward the end. These were the witnesses that could NOT be verified. (of course) But I don’t care. It’s fun.

By: locutusbrg

locutusbrg — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:44:40 +0000

Mlema
I would like to point out that evidence and belief are not interchangeable. Lack of evidence is not evidence for a fantastical opposite. That is what you call a false dichotomy. Everyone can be wrong, I am open to new evidence. I would love to be able to finally say there is other intelligent life in the universe, my grandmother came back to talk to me, or there is life after death. Unfortunately there does not appear to be any reliable independent evidence that says otherwise. Last weekend I saw a very convincing spectacle where aliens attacked the earth and Los Angeles was in ruins, when I left the theater the city was still actually OK. No apparent lasting effects besides lingering disgust due to the horrible acting. Why should I believe another video, with much lower production credits, is showing me real spaceships. I do see that there is a psychological behavioral need to belief in these things. There is a good amount of evidence to support this as the primary reason. Please enlighten me if you have good reason to believe other wise. I am open please convince me.

By: Jim Shaver

Jim Shaver — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:20:55 +0000

Karl, yeah, that’s what I meant — gravity (along with other things, sure) makes the frictional force that stops the chair.

Which reminds me, I think if I were setting up a video camera to try to capture some alleged paranormal movement of my favorite chair, I would be careful to get the entire chair in the frame! But if I were making a cheap hoax…

By: Telephasic

Telephasic — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:49:09 +0000

When I was younger I think I believed in both ghosts and UFOs (well specifically it seemed likely to me that they might be aliens). The thing is, I wasn’t necessarily all that gullible, because I fully expected both phenomena to come into science at some point.

E.g. with ghosts, I thought there would turn out to be some genuine phenomena that would have real measurable effects, i.e. that science would ‘explain’ those kinds of phenomena in physical terms as well as establish their existence.

After a while the utter dearth of any good evidence all-but ruled all that out. In a way it’s a shame, but what’s ‘more interesting’ than the world? There are enough real mind-blowing creepy things to keep me going.

And as for the UFO guys… seriously. Get us a clear video of a vehicle, from multiple angles, multiple sources, some in appropriately high resolution, and then we’ll talk…. The funniest thing about the UFOlogists is that they think skeptics don’t WANT to see alien spacecraft flying around. Well, I for one think it would be incredibly awesome. But you have to grow up and ask yourself ‘is this real’.

By: SteveA

SteveA — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:18:33 +0000

Kawarthajon: “Unfortunately, my house is not “a bus stop for spirits”, as the family in UK claims, but suffers from an affliction known as “gravity”.”

Oh no. Not g…g…gravity!

Perhaps when they pull the rubber mask off the caretaker’s face he’ll turn out to be Isaac Newton.

By: BillyJoe7

BillyJoe7 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:49:57 +0000

Mlema,

I am bit worried about you.
Do you really think there is no way to objectively arrive at the most likely explanation?

By: bachfiend

bachfiend — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:41:18 +0000

Miema,

Knowing that people do lie and people often misinterpret what they see, I’d regard the scenario you describe as being an extraordinary claim that requires extraordinary evidence. If the witness hasn’t thought to video record the event, then I’d still expect to be able to find some supporting physical evidence, perhaps boot prints from the aliens (easily fraudulently produced though), soil impressions from the craft’s landing gear (which may give an indication of its weight), unusual fuel residues in the ground or perhaps abnormal radioactivity. There has to be some supporting evidence to support it, if it otherwise rests just on the credibility of the witness.

By: Mlema

Mlema — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 05:01:59 +0000

People see what they want to see, AND they DON’T see what they DON’T want to see.

if a space craft landed in the backyard and several small grey creatures climbed out, took some soil samples and gutted a cow, climbed back in their ship and sailed away,
one “believer” witness would say it was a real alien space ship. And no matter if someone produced the fake ship, the alien costumes, and explained how it was done, that witness would still insist that the evidence was conspiratorial
another “skeptic” witness would say it was a hoax. And no matter how profound the lack of evidence for a hoax and the convincing nature of the event, that witness would still insist the event was fabricated, and the explanation just hasn’t been found out yet.
Also, people who hear about the event second hand will believe one or the other witness, also depending on their own beliefs.

The more I interact with this web site, the more it becomes evident to me that, very often, we make our own reality.
We all deceive ourselves at least some of the time, and yet we defend our personal “truth” (most strongly when we band together with others who believe the same truth)