I am a lifelong skeptic, trained in the methods from early analytic traditions all the way up to scientific methodology and even pop literature (which is where I place Sagan's input on the subject). Two years ago, I came into this very topic thinking I would quickly come up to speed and thoroughly discredit it as easily as I had before. Not only was that not the case, but curiously I found the deeper I looked, the harder it was to explain away. This was very unusual for which I have no corollary in my history of critical analysis on these 'fringe' topics.
I have paid attention to your thoughts, and although I identify a similar understanding as myself in relation to the underlying skeptical literature, I think you are reacting very much without looking deeply. I say that no only because of your overall tone (there is a very serious issue at play even if it is not alien in origin) but also, more glaringly, your consistent lack of getting the facts right in the most crucial details.
There is a comment below where you even sweep aside pilot testimony because the video(s) (which at best is ambiguous and inconclusive) do not back the testimony. Assuming you're referring to the "Tic Tac" incident, that was 4 pilots at once observing odd movements. The video was taken by a 5th pilot who was sent out right after those 4 pilots came back. So the accounts are not going to be of the same object. But of course, even if this was from those original 4 pilot's accounts a short video is not tantamount to the whole experience. Also, it has been established that determinations are coming from multi-censor systems, not just a grainy video.
You also have swept aside claims that physicists have gleaned information from the entire data collection. The department that analyzed the videos employed several scientists from various disciplines including physicists.
While I don't think it's fair to view this subject through a binary lens (aliens || nothing important), I also don't think it's fair to assume there is nothing to any of this when you have repeatedly displayed a lack of familiarity.
You certainly can come up with deep criticisms (which I have) but that requires a very careful and thorough reading. Although the idea that this is alien in origin might not be publicly verified in the near future, I doubt your analysis will reflect well. I think this topic will only get bigger and come to a boiling point and as a civilization we will have to change our tune on this topic. Even if it's because we'll all be speaking Chinese. Whatever the case, this is not a good look for skepticism by purported skeptics as much as it's not a good look for anyone else right now.
Dammit! I'm a lifelong skeptical sort, but I was actually starting to think there might be something to this latest crop of UFOs/UAPs. I mean, the mainstream media is treating them seriously, and they're usually really, really reliable and trustworthy!!!
Just some random lights in a city filled with them - probably spots on the camera or it’s a moving reflection from somewhere else. I’ve seen weirder things out of airplane window than that. Not evidence of aliens
What about the public intellectuals who are openly espousing the theories? Like Sam Harris on Lex Fridman the other week. I haven't followed Sam Harris very closely for years, so I don't know how surprised I should be, but still, that was a yikes.
So you like the idea of humans being the smartest and most advanced species in the universe, I get that, it is appealing to the ego, but it is hardly scientific, and surely not rational given all the evidence we have available now.
What are your thoughts on the recent congressional hearings about so called "UAP-s" and "UFOs"?
It is official, individuals in high levels of institutions we have been raised to trust and respect are telling us that interstellar craft (space craft that were occupied by extraterrestrial biological beings) have not only been recorded by multiple high end military sensors (in many instances recorded by several sensitive instruments simultaneously) but covert military and corporate operations have been involved in downing of these craft, the retrieval of the downed craft and the retrieval of the extraterrestrial biological entities that piloted said craft for further study (and back-engineering of their technology).
I especially found this quote from the transcript to be very apt, illuminating and true with regards to what I have observed in many being confronted by this aspect of our reality (the thriving interstellar community that is all around us) recently:
“People have a natural defense mechanism to protect themselves from shell shock. They’ll just either flat out deny it, they’ll label it as conspiracy theory, or they’ll just put it in a separate bin of their mind that says, yeah, that’s just an anomaly, whatever, I’m not going to think about it.. ..we have to recognize that this adaptation to new information does take time, it requires a kind of a readiness. And that readiness also is a function of other aspects of the story that people carry about who they are and what is real and how the world works. So people become a lot more receptive to information about UFOs, for example, when other aspects of their reality picture have started to disintegrate. Maybe they were full believers in everything orthodox, and then, maybe they were damaged by a certain medical product, but I don’t know if I’m allowed name anymore. Because I don’t want you to be censored, but just say, suppose something outlandish like that happened, and everything that they thought about medicine and progress and science now lies in shambles. And then naturally, you think well, okay, what else have I taken for granted as reality itself that is just a story. What else? Where else have I been lied to and gaslit and deceived. So people then begin questioning everything, including things that probably are true. It’s not like every single thing we’ve been told is a lie. That is another kind of fundamentalism…
… I think another reason people are resistant is because it is an assault on their identity. Because who we think we are is related to what we believe about the world. And our role in the world makes sense, given the reality that we hold. So when that reality comes into question, then, who am I, that comes into question as well, which is why people take it personally, when you question their beliefs. It feels like you’re being assaulted. And in a sense, you are.”
So while we have no evidence of ET "craft” behaving in “hostile” ways (as was alleged by some in the congressional hearing) and we have no evidence that these visitors pose humans (or any other beings on Earth) a threat, some will perceive the very fact that they are here as a sort of “assault” (regardless of their behavior). Charles has a good point in his comments on how being confronted with this aspect of our reality can feel like a sort of “assault” on one’s sense of self and identity, as, in a way, it is. Being faced with this reality (a thriving interstellar community filled with intelligent life and some of those life forms being here now visiting Earth) forces us to relinquish our hubristic and childish anthropocentric ideas that we were conditioned to adopt (whether through dogma pushed by religious institutions and/or through the fallacious story of human supremacy taught in darwinistic theories of “evolution”), it is like having our baby blanky pulled away from us and being forced to move on without the psychological comfort it provides.
Well, I've got to admit, this swamp gas post made me pull back from subscribing. Well, momentarily, I'm still quite interested in your migration from academia, and an admirer of the quality of your writing generally.
I can agree with you on this much. The attempts to explain the UFO phenomena do seem to be mostly wild speculation. The UFO community seems to have a special gift for undermining the credibility of it's claims. No particular report is proof of anything. It's human nature to love drama, and when it doesn't exist, we often make it up out of nothing. Scammers are everywhere, and so on.
All that agreed, I'll admit to being somewhat uncomfortable with what seems a kind of snotty dismissal of sincerely offered reports from a great many intelligent qualified observers. Could many of these reports be misunderstandings? Of course. Are _every single one_ of them a misunderstanding? Doesn't seem too likely.
It seems to me there is a ton of credible evidence for the existence of UFOs, and where the train goes off the track is in the attempts to explain this phenomena. For example, the common assumption that UFOs automatically equal aliens.
Even in the unlikely event that every single UFO report ever made is a case of mistaken identity, this would still be a fascinating human phenomena which deserves more respectful attention than you've given it.
Finally, as a scientist you would seem to have a special interest here. If undeniable evidence of UFOs should emerge, if it turns out that the "UFO kooks" were basically right all along, while the science community typically turned up it's nose while making condescending dismissals, such a development could have profound implications for the public's relationship with science.
If it is the intention of the science community to place it's bet on UFOs being bunk, just know that you are placing a very big bet. If you turn out to be wrong, the damage to the reputation of science could be huge. If UFOs are real, and if that is proven, that would be one of the biggest stories in human history. If the science community should wake up one morning to find itself on the wrong side of that story, heads will roll.
I have the UFO evidence. UFOs are real, of course.
Here it is:
UFO Video:
One of the World’s Best UFO Videos
(Aerial Footage) –
Tokyo, Japan – Unknown Date
(Recorded by NHK, Japan’s State Broadcaster)
Source: TV UFO Footage (my YouTube Channel)
This is one of the world’s best UFO videos, in my opinion.
The unknown object (white light) which flies slowly over Tokyo – is first seen in the upper left corner of the screen.
When the UFO is closest to the helicopter camera, one can see the body of the large elongated (or circular) UFO, and that it has large red and white pulsating lights (4 lights). The colours of the three blinking/pulsating lights varies between white and red. The largest light (white) does not pulsate.
The UFO seems to stop near the Tokyo Tower for a short while. It appears that the NHK camera operator notices the UFO, because the camera follows the UFO for a short while.
The fact that the video comes from Japan’s state broadcaster means that it is unimpeachable.
The footage comes from NHK World TV’s Aerial Tokyo channel, aired on 13 April 2022, at approximately 7:00 p.m. CET. This channel can be found in the German TV app, TV PRO.
Hi Erik, these are reasonable and I directionally agree with your sentiment here. 99% of UFO stuff is total nonsense and bunk.
However, I wouldn't be so quick to throw away the more credible pieces of evidence that are very hard to explain away, unless you severely violate occams razor over and over again.
Once again, I'm agreeing with your overall tone, but disagreeing with your conclusion that UFOs are all completely ridiculous and in the same realm as bigfoot.
Id recommend you spend 30 mins of your time watching the following Hal Puthoff video to get a scientists perspective on credible UFO evidence, and then I think if your mind was unchanged to whether this was worth your time, you could walk away from the whole thing as ridiculous.
To me, this is potentially one of the biggest developments in human history so even if unlikely to be true, it's expected value makes it worth it for me to invest a couple hours of my time into it.
You’ll probably think I’m a freak but I’m ok with that. The sightings are indeed aliens, sort of, more specifically demons or fallen angels. How else will the media and government which under the control of Satan, the god of this world system explain it when millions of people disappear of the face of the planet during the rapture. Obviously they’re not going to admit that those who didn’t have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ missed the boat so to speak, so they’ll have to come up with an alternative explanation. It is a deception that has been in the process of being set up for over five decades now. It sounds ridiculous I know but remember Satan will go to any lengths to take our eye of the ball, i.e. Christ Jesus and His free gift of eternal salvation because Satan desires to be god.
I am a lifelong skeptic, trained in the methods from early analytic traditions all the way up to scientific methodology and even pop literature (which is where I place Sagan's input on the subject). Two years ago, I came into this very topic thinking I would quickly come up to speed and thoroughly discredit it as easily as I had before. Not only was that not the case, but curiously I found the deeper I looked, the harder it was to explain away. This was very unusual for which I have no corollary in my history of critical analysis on these 'fringe' topics.
I have paid attention to your thoughts, and although I identify a similar understanding as myself in relation to the underlying skeptical literature, I think you are reacting very much without looking deeply. I say that no only because of your overall tone (there is a very serious issue at play even if it is not alien in origin) but also, more glaringly, your consistent lack of getting the facts right in the most crucial details.
There is a comment below where you even sweep aside pilot testimony because the video(s) (which at best is ambiguous and inconclusive) do not back the testimony. Assuming you're referring to the "Tic Tac" incident, that was 4 pilots at once observing odd movements. The video was taken by a 5th pilot who was sent out right after those 4 pilots came back. So the accounts are not going to be of the same object. But of course, even if this was from those original 4 pilot's accounts a short video is not tantamount to the whole experience. Also, it has been established that determinations are coming from multi-censor systems, not just a grainy video.
You also have swept aside claims that physicists have gleaned information from the entire data collection. The department that analyzed the videos employed several scientists from various disciplines including physicists.
While I don't think it's fair to view this subject through a binary lens (aliens || nothing important), I also don't think it's fair to assume there is nothing to any of this when you have repeatedly displayed a lack of familiarity.
You certainly can come up with deep criticisms (which I have) but that requires a very careful and thorough reading. Although the idea that this is alien in origin might not be publicly verified in the near future, I doubt your analysis will reflect well. I think this topic will only get bigger and come to a boiling point and as a civilization we will have to change our tune on this topic. Even if it's because we'll all be speaking Chinese. Whatever the case, this is not a good look for skepticism by purported skeptics as much as it's not a good look for anyone else right now.
THANK YOU
Dammit! I'm a lifelong skeptical sort, but I was actually starting to think there might be something to this latest crop of UFOs/UAPs. I mean, the mainstream media is treating them seriously, and they're usually really, really reliable and trustworthy!!!
Anyway...thanks a lot, man. 😤
Party pooper. 👎
Just some random lights in a city filled with them - probably spots on the camera or it’s a moving reflection from somewhere else. I’ve seen weirder things out of airplane window than that. Not evidence of aliens
What about the public intellectuals who are openly espousing the theories? Like Sam Harris on Lex Fridman the other week. I haven't followed Sam Harris very closely for years, so I don't know how surprised I should be, but still, that was a yikes.
So you like the idea of humans being the smartest and most advanced species in the universe, I get that, it is appealing to the ego, but it is hardly scientific, and surely not rational given all the evidence we have available now.
What are your thoughts on the recent congressional hearings about so called "UAP-s" and "UFOs"?
"UFO hearing: Eyewitnesses describe encounters with "non human" entities to Congress " : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwSkXDmV6Io
It is official, individuals in high levels of institutions we have been raised to trust and respect are telling us that interstellar craft (space craft that were occupied by extraterrestrial biological beings) have not only been recorded by multiple high end military sensors (in many instances recorded by several sensitive instruments simultaneously) but covert military and corporate operations have been involved in downing of these craft, the retrieval of the downed craft and the retrieval of the extraterrestrial biological entities that piloted said craft for further study (and back-engineering of their technology).
Now for another perspective on this topic see: https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/ufos-planetcide-and-the-maturation?
I especially found this quote from the transcript to be very apt, illuminating and true with regards to what I have observed in many being confronted by this aspect of our reality (the thriving interstellar community that is all around us) recently:
“People have a natural defense mechanism to protect themselves from shell shock. They’ll just either flat out deny it, they’ll label it as conspiracy theory, or they’ll just put it in a separate bin of their mind that says, yeah, that’s just an anomaly, whatever, I’m not going to think about it.. ..we have to recognize that this adaptation to new information does take time, it requires a kind of a readiness. And that readiness also is a function of other aspects of the story that people carry about who they are and what is real and how the world works. So people become a lot more receptive to information about UFOs, for example, when other aspects of their reality picture have started to disintegrate. Maybe they were full believers in everything orthodox, and then, maybe they were damaged by a certain medical product, but I don’t know if I’m allowed name anymore. Because I don’t want you to be censored, but just say, suppose something outlandish like that happened, and everything that they thought about medicine and progress and science now lies in shambles. And then naturally, you think well, okay, what else have I taken for granted as reality itself that is just a story. What else? Where else have I been lied to and gaslit and deceived. So people then begin questioning everything, including things that probably are true. It’s not like every single thing we’ve been told is a lie. That is another kind of fundamentalism…
… I think another reason people are resistant is because it is an assault on their identity. Because who we think we are is related to what we believe about the world. And our role in the world makes sense, given the reality that we hold. So when that reality comes into question, then, who am I, that comes into question as well, which is why people take it personally, when you question their beliefs. It feels like you’re being assaulted. And in a sense, you are.”
So while we have no evidence of ET "craft” behaving in “hostile” ways (as was alleged by some in the congressional hearing) and we have no evidence that these visitors pose humans (or any other beings on Earth) a threat, some will perceive the very fact that they are here as a sort of “assault” (regardless of their behavior). Charles has a good point in his comments on how being confronted with this aspect of our reality can feel like a sort of “assault” on one’s sense of self and identity, as, in a way, it is. Being faced with this reality (a thriving interstellar community filled with intelligent life and some of those life forms being here now visiting Earth) forces us to relinquish our hubristic and childish anthropocentric ideas that we were conditioned to adopt (whether through dogma pushed by religious institutions and/or through the fallacious story of human supremacy taught in darwinistic theories of “evolution”), it is like having our baby blanky pulled away from us and being forced to move on without the psychological comfort it provides.
Well, I've got to admit, this swamp gas post made me pull back from subscribing. Well, momentarily, I'm still quite interested in your migration from academia, and an admirer of the quality of your writing generally.
I can agree with you on this much. The attempts to explain the UFO phenomena do seem to be mostly wild speculation. The UFO community seems to have a special gift for undermining the credibility of it's claims. No particular report is proof of anything. It's human nature to love drama, and when it doesn't exist, we often make it up out of nothing. Scammers are everywhere, and so on.
All that agreed, I'll admit to being somewhat uncomfortable with what seems a kind of snotty dismissal of sincerely offered reports from a great many intelligent qualified observers. Could many of these reports be misunderstandings? Of course. Are _every single one_ of them a misunderstanding? Doesn't seem too likely.
It seems to me there is a ton of credible evidence for the existence of UFOs, and where the train goes off the track is in the attempts to explain this phenomena. For example, the common assumption that UFOs automatically equal aliens.
Even in the unlikely event that every single UFO report ever made is a case of mistaken identity, this would still be a fascinating human phenomena which deserves more respectful attention than you've given it.
Finally, as a scientist you would seem to have a special interest here. If undeniable evidence of UFOs should emerge, if it turns out that the "UFO kooks" were basically right all along, while the science community typically turned up it's nose while making condescending dismissals, such a development could have profound implications for the public's relationship with science.
If it is the intention of the science community to place it's bet on UFOs being bunk, just know that you are placing a very big bet. If you turn out to be wrong, the damage to the reputation of science could be huge. If UFOs are real, and if that is proven, that would be one of the biggest stories in human history. If the science community should wake up one morning to find itself on the wrong side of that story, heads will roll.
I have the UFO evidence. UFOs are real, of course.
Here it is:
UFO Video:
One of the World’s Best UFO Videos
(Aerial Footage) –
Tokyo, Japan – Unknown Date
(Recorded by NHK, Japan’s State Broadcaster)
Source: TV UFO Footage (my YouTube Channel)
This is one of the world’s best UFO videos, in my opinion.
The unknown object (white light) which flies slowly over Tokyo – is first seen in the upper left corner of the screen.
When the UFO is closest to the helicopter camera, one can see the body of the large elongated (or circular) UFO, and that it has large red and white pulsating lights (4 lights). The colours of the three blinking/pulsating lights varies between white and red. The largest light (white) does not pulsate.
The UFO seems to stop near the Tokyo Tower for a short while. It appears that the NHK camera operator notices the UFO, because the camera follows the UFO for a short while.
The fact that the video comes from Japan’s state broadcaster means that it is unimpeachable.
The footage comes from NHK World TV’s Aerial Tokyo channel, aired on 13 April 2022, at approximately 7:00 p.m. CET. This channel can be found in the German TV app, TV PRO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBVkgxy5yqU
Hi Erik, these are reasonable and I directionally agree with your sentiment here. 99% of UFO stuff is total nonsense and bunk.
However, I wouldn't be so quick to throw away the more credible pieces of evidence that are very hard to explain away, unless you severely violate occams razor over and over again.
Once again, I'm agreeing with your overall tone, but disagreeing with your conclusion that UFOs are all completely ridiculous and in the same realm as bigfoot.
Id recommend you spend 30 mins of your time watching the following Hal Puthoff video to get a scientists perspective on credible UFO evidence, and then I think if your mind was unchanged to whether this was worth your time, you could walk away from the whole thing as ridiculous.
https://youtu.be/pOxcUKzrY_U
To me, this is potentially one of the biggest developments in human history so even if unlikely to be true, it's expected value makes it worth it for me to invest a couple hours of my time into it.
Actually here's Neil deGrasse Tyson's take about aliens, posted 1 day after this article on YT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u0VDFppCI4
You’ll probably think I’m a freak but I’m ok with that. The sightings are indeed aliens, sort of, more specifically demons or fallen angels. How else will the media and government which under the control of Satan, the god of this world system explain it when millions of people disappear of the face of the planet during the rapture. Obviously they’re not going to admit that those who didn’t have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ missed the boat so to speak, so they’ll have to come up with an alternative explanation. It is a deception that has been in the process of being set up for over five decades now. It sounds ridiculous I know but remember Satan will go to any lengths to take our eye of the ball, i.e. Christ Jesus and His free gift of eternal salvation because Satan desires to be god.