I Want to Believe
I believe there is life elsewhere in the universe, but I’m not so sure it’s visited us - and I’m definitely not sure it’s ever interacted with us. I want to believe - I really do. I’m looking for reasons to believe. I’ve watched the videos, I’ve listened to the enthusiasts, I’ve done my best to keep an open mind about the whole thing…
- The newly-released CARET documents are quite compelling, and highly detailed. Moreover, he seems to be about the only source that doesn’t have something to sell. If Isaac’s images are photoshopped (or even models), then that’s the world’s most talented artist.
- The 2002 (sealed) affidavit of Walter G. Haut could be the “smoking gun” documentation believers have been waiting for - but is it incontrovertible proof or even more hogwash?
- While I’m sure character assassinations and general discredit have already made the rounds, I’ve been quite drawn to the stories from the Disclosure Project. Hell, people have gone out of their way to discredit me in the past - and the worst I’ve done was stand naked on my private balcony on a cruise ship! I guess that means I don’t know what I’m talking about… ever?
- I don’t think all the people at O’Hare were nuts. Statistically, that must be close to improbable - unless the phenomenon was recorded on the perimeter of some local sanitarium. Maybe I give 99% of Americans too much credit for knowing the difference between weather oddities and hovering craft (especially THAT close to the terminal).
- At least some people are trying - with perfect theories or otherwise. Creationism is a theory, as is evolution. Theories propel knowledge.
- Only part of the Phoenix Lights experience has been properly explained (the flares which dropped behind the mountain range). However, even the Governor of Arizona has recently stepped forward and ADMITTED to seeing the large craft that hundreds (if not thousands) of citizens had reported hours before the flares were dropped.
- The objects seen at the 27-minute mark of this video seem to be rallying around one another in a less-than-random fashion (NOTE: the recording was originally broadcast by NASA).
- Paul Hellyer - why did he do what he did? Is “fame and fortune” truly a valid motivator with him?
- There are a few historical points (as well a cavalcade of impressive professional titles) featured in this particular expose: “UFO: The Greatest Story Never Told.” My eyebrows raised more than once, though I’m not sure how much of this compilation is a conspiracy theory - and how much of it is a conspiracy fact.
Science doesn’t know everything. Religion doesn’t know everything. Governments definitely don’t know everything (and gee, do they prove THAT on a regular basis). These are merely institutions and studies designed to help us make more sense of the world around us. We all learn something new every day. Max Planck, the Godfather of Quantum Physics, has been quoted as saying:
A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.
The truth is out there - or maybe it’s already here?
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8 Comments
Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2
November 30th, 1999
at 12:00am
[IMG aliens1] Chris Pirillo wants to believe in “life elsewhere in the universe, and he’s looking for reasons to believe. Sounds like he’s been doing his research based on this post. My own theory is two-fold: The universe is an awfully big place to believe no other life forms are out there. I don’t deny the existence of anything unless you can prove to me it doesn’t exist.
Morningzoo
November 30th, 1999
at 12:00am
Less than 100 Seats Left I Want to Believe Free Desktop Wallpaper Sites My Wireless World The iPod does a Paris Hilton *** Video
The Chris Pirillo Show
November 30th, 1999
at 12:00am
[IMG] Chris Pirillo Less than 100 Seats Left I Want to Believe Free Desktop Wallpaper Sites My Wireless World The iPod does a Paris Hilton *** Video Free Sound Effects A Victim of eBay Fraud Harry Potter Gift Certificates on Amazon We are the Future of TV
Philip Plait
July 5th, 2007
at 8:41am
I watched a few minutes of that video you have on #7 of your list. The guy narrating it is, um, way, way wrong on some of his comments. The circular object with the dark spot in the middle going from tight to left is certainly a small piece of dust or ice outside the Shuttle. The shape, including the dark spot, is a characteristic of a small object that is too close to the camera and is out of focus. I’ve seen this a zillion times using my own digital camera. He is claiming it’s a spaceship! Right away, that calls his judgment into *serious* question.
I am not sure what the light are. One bright one is a thunderstorm on Earth for sure. Some of them appear to be marks on the camera lens or the Shuttle window: if you watch the transition between the scene of the view outside to a scene with the guy lecturing at a blackboard, you can see the Earth rotate a bit– this must be from the camera moving. This is literally the last second or two of that scene. Most of the lights move with the Earth, indicating they are outside, but some don’t indicating they are on the camera.
I thought the lights might be storms, but we still see them after they are above the limb of the Earth. I don’t *think* that’s a refraction effect from the Earth’s air, but you do get a lot of funny optical effects when you look toward the Earth’s horizon from space.
In general, the best thing to do is to get the mission number (like, “STS 118) and do a search on that plus the name “James Oberg”, who has done excellent analysis of such video.
Ernest N. Wilcox Jr.
July 5th, 2007
at 3:34pm
We know there is life in the Universe because we exist. Since the evidence we have gathered so far indicates the conditions needed to promote life may be uncommon I think that life in the Universe may be a rarity, but I can not believe it is exclusive to the Earth. There are so many stars in our galaxy alone that if even one in a million has a life supporting planet, there are a lot of them out there. Since the Earth has existed for some five billion years and the Universe is at least three times that age, I think there has been more than enough time for intelligent life to evolve and learn to travel the stars. Since the Universe is so incomprehensibly immense, and if life is as rare as I think it is, the possibility that we have been visited by any extraterrestrial intelligence has to be incredibly small although it still has to exist. I do not believe this is a mater of believing or disbelieving, of proving or disproving. If we have not been visited, we very likely will be at some point in the future. After all, we have about another five billion years before our star goes nova. If no one comes to visit us, we will probably go visit them.
Kevin Schofield
July 5th, 2007
at 4:07pm
Beware mixing the scientists’ and laypersons’ uses of the word “theory.” Using the scientific terms, creationism is a hypothesis, and evolution is a theory. A hypothesis is a statement of a possible descriptive model for how things work that can be tested against the evidance available. A theory is a statement of a possible descriptive model for how things work that is supported by overwhelming and convincing evidence.
There is overwhelming evidence in support of evolution. I’m not aware of any evidence that supports creationism that stands up to scientific rigor. Someone can still choose to believe a hypothesis, until the day arrives when for them the evidence contradicting their view becomes too overwhelming to ignore.
The value of the scientific community using the term “theory” is that it admits that we may still discover evidence that disproves or modifies the original statement. In fact, that happens on a regular basis.
Nima
July 6th, 2007
at 5:55pm
You know about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tehran_UFO_Incident
My father was one of the participants in this encounter and there are a few details that haven’t been made public, and probably shouldn’t be, that only make this more interesting.
Maybe one day I’ll get around to blogging about this.
alasdair
July 9th, 2007
at 7:07am
*cough* David Icke *cough*