What do you think about UFO's?

[undeterred]

[parasim]

1. Unidentified Flying Objects? Sure...

I see objects flying in the sky all the time that I can't identify. Satellite or airplane? I dunno what it is...

As for aliens from other worlds? I doubt it. How the hell could they find us? I suspect more likely it would be and advanced version of us in the future traveling in time to come back and see what started the whole thing.

[pokerfan]

16. Finding us would be easy!

We included pulsar maps on the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft. :)

But seriously, if they have the technology to travel here (a huge if) then spotting our Oxygen atmosphere interstellar distances would not be difficult. We're already doing it on exasolar gas giants.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/extrasolar_atmosphere_011127-1.html
Our atmosphere is a clear indication of life. They might be curious.

There's also the fact that we've broadcast our radio and tv entertainment in all directions for a hundred light years. Maybe they want more Three Stooges.

Anything is possible but not everything is equally probable. I would need objective evidence first, not eyewitness evidence, not even my own.

[dysfunctional press]

20. radio/tv waves don't travel much more than two light years...

before breaking apart to the point that they are no longer viable/viewable.

[pokerfan]

22. Yeah...

Not much more than a light-year at best before the inverse square law drives the signal down below the noise floor. But there may be schemes to pluck out such signals that we have not yet even dreamed about.

[parasim]

21. Sure anything is possible. It's the probability thing I'm talking about.

Seriously, with billions upon billions of galaxies out there, what's the probability of another race stumbling upon us? It's seems to me much more probable that our own race would evolve to the point of developing time travel capabilities and come back in time to check us out.

But then again, there's that whole string theory, multiple universe thing to contemplate...

[JackRiddler]

25. Stumbling?

If we go by what we ourselves are doing, they would be looking systematically using the best technology they have available. Now imagine what we have for observing the universe, plus development over an additional 10,000 years (a cosmic blink) and maybe they don't need to "stumble." (And I bet in 10,000 years it will also be possible to receive TV signals at distances above 2 light years.)

My own answer is of course it's possible, but probably not. Would have to see for myself. Also, weird things we can't explain don't have to be extraterrestrial.

[parasim]

27. That was my point.

"weird things we can't explain don't have to be extraterrestrial". Oh yeah, I'm sure there are civilizations out there with even much more advanced tech than us and could possibly find us. But statistically speaking, it seems more likely that we would find us before they would.

But then again, I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about... really.

[pokerfan]

28. We are likely seperated in time as well as space

A couple thousand years of civilization (so far) out of a 13B year old universe. It's highly unlikely that they would be only a little ahead of us. Most likely they'd be thousands or millions of years ahead with and seem as god-like to us rather than little gray men flitting around in metal saucers. I think it's unlikely that it's going to be like Star Trek out there, with dozens of civilizations all at more or less the same level of technology. <insert Klingon-Uranus joke here>

And just because we are here, doesn't mean that so-called intelligent life is common. Evolution doesn't seem to favor intelligence at all. The more we learn about our origins the more we seem like a fluke and certainly not some kind of pinnacle of natural evolution. The world got along just fine without us for 99.99% of its existence. Heck, even the dinos were top dog for 150My. It may be possible that there's lots of life out there but no "intelligence."

It's interesting to think about.

[Greyhound]

39. The large numbers and incomprehensible time span makes that a remote possibility at best.

even infinitesimal percentages make thousands in this galaxy. Intelligence and self awareness are far too useful to be flukes, I think you're being too pessimistic.

And how many mythological super-beings can dance on the head of a pin?
:hi:

[pokerfan]

40. Perhaps

But it doesn't hurt to look (SETI)/ As far as the Drake equation goes, it's all guesswork and speculation at this point. We just don't have enough data. Maybe some of those infinitesimal parameters deserve to be even lower than current estimates. Wiki has a good article on the current estimates for whatever it's worth. They calculate N=2.3 civilizations in our galaxy at present. But it's all guesswork.

But it's fun to discuss. Either there is (another intelligence) in the universe or there isn't. Either way, the implications woudl be profound.

[papapi]

2. There may be other beings out there . . . wish they would come take me and . . .

my partner to the planet that doesn't have any hate, bigotry or war.

P.S. I want my pets to go too.

[parasim]

30. heh heh... you and me both.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. If there is life on other planets (probably), only egotists think they'd bother with us.

We amount to a mote of dust in the cosmos and are only important because we tell ourselves we are.

[Mythsaje]

7. We're sentient, war-like, and technologically savvy.

:banghead:

It doesn't take a genius to figure that we should be monitored closely.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

37. Compared to what?

Cockroaches? They been around a lot longer than we have and are far more likely to survive longer than we will.

We're a minuscule and unremarkable blip in time and space. An evolutionary happenstance with a short lifespan as a species.

Being sentient and technologically savvy doesn't make us any more liable, and far less likely, of survival than the average clam.

[Mythsaje]

45. Yeah, but you'd be wrong.

The blatant misanthropy and nihilism so pervasive here grows terribly tiresome after a while. What a fucking miserable way to go through life.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

50. What the hell are you talking about?

What does realizing our place in the cosmos have to do with "misanthropy" and "nihilism"?

I can't speak for anyone else, but facing reality has far from made me "miserable", quite the opposite.

[Kaleko]

41. LOL! Looks like we've been monitored for a very long time,

and have only recently become dangerous enough to be buzzed all the time in every part of the globe.

[hlthe2b]

4. How else to explain the all too frequent disappearance

of our Democratic Leadership's spines? :mad:

[rucky]

5. Any opinion I'd have on the matter would be uninformed.

not like that's ever stopped me before. I'm just keeping an open mind, because some of the people who say they've seen one/been on one are 100% positive they have. And the skeptics who've never seen one seem pretty obnoxious about it, but are equally convinced they're right - and neither one of them has slam-dunk evidence one way or another. I don't think it's harmful to believe, so why the hell not, eh?

[Mythsaje]

6. If there ARE aliens visiting Earth

(I have no particular belief either way) the folks that say "Why would they bother to visit US?" are, in my opinion, completely missing the point. There are any number of reasons they might, ranging from scientific interest to "humanitarian" concerns. I know it's hip to act like we're mud around here, but the fact is that any sentient species would be of some interest to others, particularly one in the precarious position in which we currently find ourselves. If we somehow succeed in getting off this great ball of dirt, we're could end up out there hobnobbing with the neighbors, and, considering our aggressive tendencies, that in itself should cause some concern.

[defendandprotect]

23. Agree ---

basically they seem very interested in whether we'll blow up the planet and
maybe pollute the universe . . . !!!

Also, they might think about the "visitors" as people who visited us long ago ---
we may be hybrids. That seems likely. These visitors may actually reside on this
planet --- just perhaps in a different dimension.

Lots to think about . . . for those who do think!

[pt22]

8. I think they are responsible for the huge numbers of extraneous apostrophes

in DU!

:evilgrin:

[frebrd]

29. Ahaa! I'll bet you're right!

:)

[TahitiNut]

9. Klaatu barada nikto!

:dunce:

[defendandprotect]

24. Love it--!!! And, the best solution I've ever heard to violence . . . !!!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. Space-faring beings may have already colonized nearby parts of the galaxy

Beings with tens of millions of years of evolution behind them probably would have branched out from their planet of origin throughout the stars in their neighborhood of the galaxy. Even if they haven't used speculative modes of rapid transport like worm holes, they are probably very long-lived, probably part or all machine, with a different sense of the passage of time in their space voyages. If they chose to visit Earth, they probably could take on any form, even the ashtray on my desk. They probably would have the technology to disguise themselves from us, if they choose to. Maybe, however, they wouldn't even care if we saw them. That's why I have no opinion on the subject. I believe that there are some genuinely serious rational people who believe they've seen UFOs and even been abducted by them. But I have no way to determine if what they believe to be real experiences are in fact real.

[Jim Sagle]

11. They suck.

[undeterred]

12. You can stop the abductions with a thought screen helmet:

http://www.stopabductions.com/

It prevents alien mind control.

[Chuggo]

13. They can't rap.

But I'm sure they've got jets.

[Swamp Rat]

14. I was abducted by aliens but they threw me back.

Not enough meat on my bones, I guess.

[undeterred]

15. You freaked them out with your artwork.

:hi:

[Quantess]

44. Gross! Please give a warning!

:rofl:

[Orsino]

17. There is probably life on other planets, but *how* would they visit us?

Much less why.

I'd like to believe in extraterrestrial visitors, but find the lack of physical evidence insurmountable.

[defendandprotect]

26. Not sure what you mean by "how" . . . except they seem to have

mastered anti-gravity --- and TIME TRAVEL . . .

Humans, of course, are unfit for space travel --- especially the way we're doing it!

And . . . "why?" . . .

First, you might wonder if these are repeat visitors -- that is people who visited this planet
hundreds of thousands of years ago --- we might actually be hybrids --- their relations!

Also, we may have "visitors" living among us --- just occupying a different dimension.
Like changing chanels on your TV.

Originally, it was thought there were 57 species of alien --- they used to call them the
"Heinz 57" varieties ....
Now it looks like way, way more --- I forget the figure I heard last --- more than 100 . . ?
less than 300 . . . ?

Some are billions of years ahead of us ---

Also, according to Bob Dean we seem to be on the outskirts of the universe/isolated and they're trying to connect us with the larger community. Evidently, one or more other planets in our area
also isolated.

As far as "evidence," there is evidence, including implants which have been removed from
abductees. However, let's face it . . . if there was physical evidence like a spaceship
or a living alien . . . the government would have it ---

[Orsino]

31. Or perhaps we simply see what we want to see.

Occam's Razor tells me not to waste time pining for aliens, no matter how badly I want to.

[Selatius]

34. Most likely, it is government aircraft using phenomenally advanced propulsion technology.

The kind of technology that wouldn't be commercially available for consumption.

[undeterred]

51. I wish I thought "the government" was that smart,

but I don't. We're never gonna be the "Jetsons".

[defendandprotect]

52. Yeah . . . since the early 1940's . . . they're waiting to perfect it . . . !!!

:eyes:

[L. Coyote]

18. I enjoyed watching strange lights in the sky once with lots of people.

It was interesting how they changed colors, then took off and disappeared, first some, then others.

Hey, life is a property of matter.

[Mojorabbit]

19. When I was younger I thought

it was a bunch of bunk. Then one night in the seventies I saw something. My fiance and I pulled over to the side of the road and watched it. I don't know what it was but it was not a plane nor helicopter.
Disc shaped with colored lights rotating around it. It silently hovered for a good while pretty low in the the sky then zinged off fast as lightening.
I have no idea what it was. So now... I have an open mind.

[Contrary1]

47. Sounds very much like what I saw...

It was in the late 50's or early 60's. Disc shaped with rotating colored lights that kind of blended into one another.
I watched it for maybe 30 minutes.

[Fox Mulder]

32. I believe.

[papapi]

33. Yes, we know Mulder.

[eridani]

35. Other

"Unidentified" means that you saw something and you don't know what it was.

[Occam Bandage]

36. Life on other planets, check. Alien spacecraft hanging around Earth? No.

[defendandprotect]

54. If there is life on other planets . . .

does it not occur to you that they may have moved "life" to this planet long, long ago?

The UFO's are often frequently seen around our military bases and seem to be concerned
with our use of nuclear weapons --- evidently, they are capable of shutting them down.

[deucemagnet]

38. Unidentified Flying Objects? Sure.

It's a pretty big leap of logic to look at unidentified lights in the sky and surmise it must be a result of extraterrestrial visitors, though. Yet, not only have some people jumped to this conclusion, but a whole mythology of alien visitation and government conspiracy has grown out of this conclusion. It's gotten to the point that the acronym "UFO" is virtually synonymous with the mythology of alien visitation.

Sure, there are objects in the sky that we can't identify. Some we will be able to explain, and some we won't, but the ones we won't be able to explain most likely of are earthly origin or, at least, somewhere in the neighborhood.

[galledgoblin]

42. 4, 5 and 8 (n/t)

[FloridaJudy]

43. I've seen one.

And that's just what it was - unidentified. Do I believe it was a visitor from outer space? Nope. It was just a "WTF was that?!!" huge ball of light that rapidly overtook my car on a deserted road. Ball lightning? Optical illusion? Experimental aircraft? Those are the most likely explanations.

So yup, I believe sober people can see those things. I was that night - at least until I got home.

[DainBramaged]

46. People always see flying saucers, why not teacups?

:shrug:

[defendandprotect]

53. :"People" include miliary pilots going back to the first days of flight . . .

and war years --- plus often seen from our military carriers ---

pilots of all kinds report such sightings ---

No mention of "teacups" though ---

[newmajority]

48. They were alright when Michael Schencker was playing guitar for them

Kinda went downhill fast after that though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qP_OqOJ8ug

[undeterred]

49. ...

:rofl: