Ancient Aliens

[willowdreams]

I am in agreement, although I'll add that if they're showing fascinating artifacts but are lying through their teeth about the artifacts, the show is worthless from start to finish. What's the point of showing interesting things if they're presented in a blatantly fraudulent manner? The answer is simple: ratings. The dimwits who appear on Ancient Aliens don't care a whit about honesty or integrity—or about contributing to our knowledge base on ancient civilizations. They care only about ratings so they can be more famous and, for some of them, so they can sell more of their witless books.

As other shave voiced, the worst part is the gullible and naive adults who watch this flotsam and cannot exercise critical thinking, because many of them invariably end up believing Ancient Aliens is factual. I have met such people in the Egyptian exhibit where I work as a docent. They'll ask me if think the Egyptians had "help" when they made pyramids and such, the word "help" of course meaning aliens. They saw it on TV, right? So it must be true. I will honestly and flatly state no, they did not have "help." More often than not as they walk away I can hear them saying, "Well, I think they had help."

For the most part the History Channel has become a vortex of stupidity and vapidity. It is nearly entirely devoid of academic merit. Much the same is true for the Discovery Channel and other cable networks that were once of high quality. (Remember when TLC actually used to be about learning? I do.)

It's quite sad. That's why I stick to networks like PBS and the BBC for documentaries, and shows like NOVA. They still offer quality.

Nods, ancient aliens takes 'opening your minds' to a whole new level.. and like i said, it is the after effect of the show that bothers me... it takes factual history/science 10 steps backwards for those people who buy into the shows teachings, and those people raise their kids to believe it.. and so forth and so forth..

I would like to say 'only hicksville rednecks' will buy into it, but truth be told *I* am a redneck raised out in hicksville, and most of us have enough dirt sense to know better.

I find myself spending more time watching youtube, i love listening to Neil Degrasse Tyson, I listen to Carl Sagab (want wait to see the new cosmos), Brian Cox, Michio Kaku (hope i spelled it right) and yes Bill Nye! and others.

When watching tv, I will usually watch simple shows now, like Big Bang Theory (funny), and BBC (i am so addicted to Doctor Who! And naturally I love pbs, and I do watch science channels and discovery, I am selective though.. very selective.

My son likes to sometimes say 'ok, I want a night of becoming dumb for a while', then he turns it to History CHannel and sometimes Animal Planet channel (they put the hauntings and other shows on that channel)

Edited September 2, 2013 by willowdreams

[spacecowboy342]

Nods, ancient aliens takes 'opening your minds' to a whole new level.. and like i said, it is the after effect of the show that bothers me... it takes factual history/science 10 steps backwards for those people who buy into the shows teachings, and those people raise their kids to believe it.. and so forth and so forth..

I would like to say 'only hicksville rednecks' will buy into it, but truth be told *I* am a redneck raised out in hicksville, and most of us have enough dirt sense to know better.

As one "Hicksville redneck" to another I have to agree with the points you make. The fact that it is on something called "The History Channel" would seem to lend legitemacy to these things making it easier for some to be deceived. I think if they are going to show these things they should change their name

[willowdreams]

There are other shows that make one feel dumb just watching them.. I do not remember the names of them all, but one of them had 'sheepsquatch' on it, my daughter laughed so hard she almost hurt herself!

And there was this big foot show, we do not go into the big foot belief thing, but O M G, this family from texas is hunting for bigfoot.. not to prove he exists by capturing alive and showing him off.. but to KILL him, they claim it is to protect the big foot species... they are going to kill him to help the rest of his people

*winces*

Ancient Aliens are just one group of pple who dumb down those who watch it, but sometimes it feels good to watch dumb..

[willowdreams]

As one "Hicksville redneck" to another I have to agree with the points you make. The fact that it is on something called "The History Channel" would seem to lend legitemacy to these things making it easier for some to be deceived. I think if they are going to show these things they should change their name

You know, I was raised in the Mountains of West Virginia, literally.. we lived on the side of a mountain.. winter time we had to tie ropes from tree to tree, sink in fencing posts.. and tie knotted ropes so that when I walked to school, I could use the ropes to get up the side of the hill till I was home, I could use a sled to go down the side when going DOWN.. my grandmother who raised me would take the sled back up when she came down to get the mail (she refused to ride it going down, insisting that she would not be able to stop at the bottom before you got into the creek and she did not want to fall into a half frozen creek

I once asked her if she believed in UFO's and Aliens and she said bluntly, 'what do they want to come here for? to mine coal with the rest of the men?', then she went back to peeling vegies for our stew, and she tossed me a few extra tators and turnips and told me to peel and cut up some extras in case they do exist, she wants to make sure we have enough stew to go round..

As crazy as we rednecks could be (and believe me.. we are nutters.. heck we had a still in the back yard as well as a marijuana patch.. ) we all seem to have this down to earth blunt attitude.. and so when i see those shows that show us redneck woods pple talking of sheepsquatch and all, i keep thinking that after the film crew leaves the redneck hillbillies in the show go to their kitchens our out by the wood pile and laugh their heads off at how they spread another tall tale we passed off as the gospel.. since we cant fool ourselves anymore.. we gotta fool others

(thats what i think of anyways, which is probably why my daughter and son laugh their heads off at some of those shows).

I remember tall tales told, my granddaddy used to tell tall tales of the woods behind our house being haunted by the pple who lived in the house that burned down over 100 yrs ago (there was an old root cellar and burned material by it, so the truth of the story is that there was a cabin that had burned down).. the pple who lived there died and was haunting the woods.

Now the reason he told these tales is because us kids would often hike in the woods and he didnt want us trampling the pot he had growing there or to mess with the still

*grins*

[spacecowboy342]

My grandma was a Choctaw from Oklahoma but your's sounds a lot like her

[willowdreams]

My grandma was a Choctaw from Oklahoma but your's sounds a lot like her

you have to admit, redneck woman from the hicks have a very blunt.. earthy.. flavor about them.

Edited September 2, 2013 by willowdreams

[Harte]

As one "Hicksville redneck" to another I have to agree with the points you make. The fact that it is on something called "The History Channel" would seem to lend legitemacy to these things making it easier for some to be deceived. I think if they are going to show these things they should change their name

It's funny. When they first started that network, seemed like it was the All Hitler Network. That or nothing but constant WWII.

Now, that is history, I'll grant you that, and likely was quite accurate to boot.

But that didn't keep me from saying back then that they should change their name to the All WWII Network or the All Hitler Channel.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Harte

[spacecowboy342]

It's funny. When they first started that network, seemed like it was the All Hitler Network. That or nothing but constant WWII.

Now, that is history, I'll grant you that, and likely was quite accurate to boot.

But that didn't keep me from saying back then that they should change their name to the All WWII Network or the All Hitler Channel.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Harte

Good point but I do seem to remember a time when they had some interesting stuff that was actual history

[Toon Pimpinz]

AA is full of crap. there are so many true mysteries out there and they even showed a few of them of the show, yet they choose to linger on obvious lies. its ridiculous.

[Maars]

Herewith my previous response on a similar topic around the authors behind the series etc:

"I will not rely that much on Von Daniken. He seems to have been a fraud from an early age and seemingly admiitted in lying in his books -

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Von_Daniken

Some interesting film you may want to see:-

http://ancientaliensdebunked.com "

[stereologist]

I recall a nova show years ago in which they address AA. They show tourists in Washington DC pushing kids in strollers around the Washington monument. The narrator asks, "Could these lowly people have built this monument?" The camera pans up the monument. The narrator assures us that this is far outside of the capability of these lowly individuals. Then the narrator states, "but wait, the height of the monument in rods is exactly equal to the distance in light years to <forgot name of star>. Could this be left behind by aliens from <fill in any star or galaxy of your choosing>?"

Spoofing AA is way too easy.

Then again, any spoof is likely to be used on the show because it fits in so well.

Edited September 4, 2013 by stereologist

[seeder]

Oh no not another AA thread! My post count would be about 3000 posts less if not for arguing against it. So as per everything everyone else has said. Plus always bear in mind, its a semi fiction show, as in, an artefact or location may be real, but the stories and angles explored are embellished.

The show is about ratings, not about accuracy, and the ones who believe in what's being presented are, no doubt about it, simply GULLIBLE.

Its about as fas from the truth as 'The Jungle Book' is from a David Attenborough wildlife show

[seeder]

Spoofing AA is way too easy.

[seeder]

A nice short punchy review of AA (debunk)

Ancient Aliens - the shocking truth 1

Ancient Aliens - the shocking truth 1

[media=]

.

Edited September 4, 2013 by seeder

[The_Spartan]

SuperSoylent is/was a member of UM. Great videos.

[willowdreams]

I read this, and it pretty much says all that need says on AA and Van Daniken I got it from wikipedia

That writing as careless as von Däniken's, whose principal thesis is that our ancestors were dummies, should be so popular is a sober commentary on the credulousness and despair of our times.... I also hope for the continuing popularity of books like Chariots of the Gods? in high school and college logic courses, as object lessons in sloppy thinking. I know of no recent books so riddled with logical and factual errors as the works of von Däniken.

—Carl Sagan, Foreword to The Space Gods Revealed

[questionmark]

I read this, and it pretty much says all that need says on AA and Van Daniken I got it from wikipedia

That writing as careless as von Däniken's, whose principal thesis is that our ancestors were dummies, should be so popular is a sober commentary on the credulousness and despair of our times.... I also hope for the continuing popularity of books like Chariots of the Gods? in high school and college logic courses, as object lessons in sloppy thinking. I know of no recent books so riddled with logical and factual errors as the works of von Däniken.

—Carl Sagan, Foreword to The Space Gods Revealed

If it were only careless and sloppy. Most of it is right out fraud and were the finished product something but a book the manufacturer of the sorry effort would be in jail for precisely that.

[willowdreams]

If it were only careless and sloppy. Most of it is right out fraud and were the finished product something but a book the manufacturer of the sorry effort would be in jail for precisely that.

Here is what I want to know; The life and times of Van Daniken are riddled with illegal activity. He lies so badly, and we know it is badly, because we can google and find the facts in less than a minute after hitting send to see where he knowingly lies

These are facts about him

It is fact that his teachings/writings on ancient aliens is a lie

SO why is it that people who are smart, capable of researching online and finding the facts in less time then it takes to have a bowel movement, still believe him? Take him as fact and defend him?

THAT is what I find confusing. I understand kids/teens and those who are not afraid to show people that they do not want facts to get in the way of their delusional beliefs, but adults capable of thinking and researching who claim to want to know the truth?

What's up with that?

[questionmark]

Here is what I want to know; The life and times of Van Daniken are riddled with illegal activity. He lies so badly, and we know it is badly, because we can google and find the facts in less than a minute after hitting send to see where he knowingly lies

These are facts about him

It is fact that his teachings/writings on ancient aliens is a lie

SO why is it that people who are smart, capable of researching online and finding the facts in less time then it takes to have a bowel movement, still believe him? Take him as fact and defend him?

THAT is what I find confusing. I understand kids/teens and those who are not afraid to show people that they do not want facts to get in the way of their delusional beliefs, but adults capable of thinking and researching who claim to want to know the truth?

What's up with that?

Most people rather die than think: many do. Bertram Russel.

[cormac mac airt]

Here is what I want to know; The life and times of Van Daniken are riddled with illegal activity. He lies so badly, and we know it is badly, because we can google and find the facts in less than a minute after hitting send to see where he knowingly lies

These are facts about him

It is fact that his teachings/writings on ancient aliens is a lie

SO why is it that people who are smart, capable of researching online and finding the facts in less time then it takes to have a bowel movement, still believe him? Take him as fact and defend him?

THAT is what I find confusing. I understand kids/teens and those who are not afraid to show people that they do not want facts to get in the way of their delusional beliefs, but adults capable of thinking and researching who claim to want to know the truth?

What's up with that?

The short version: BS sells.

The longer version: Some would rather substitute the reality that is for some fantasy of what they wish it was.

cormac

[seeder]

SuperSoylent is/was a member of UM. Great videos.

yeh I remember and he had a great take/pov of the show too!

[seeder]

Herewith my previous response on a similar topic around the authors behind the series etc:

"I will not rely that much on Von Daniken. He seems to have been a fraud from an early age and seemingly admiitted in lying in his books -

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Von_Daniken

Some interesting film you may want to see:-

http://ancientaliensdebunked.com "

some choice quotes on V-D

"The ideas put forth in his books are largely rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology".

At the age of 19, von Däniken was given a four-month suspended sentence for theft.[6] Von Däniken withdrew from school, and became apprenticed to a Swiss hotelier.[7] After moving to Egypt, he was convicted for fraud and embezzlement.[6]

Von Däniken wrote his first book while working as manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos, Switzerland. He was convicted of several financial crimes, including fraud, shortly after its publication.[4] The revenue from the sales of his book allowed him to repay his debts and leave the hotel business. Von Däniken wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space, while in prison.

Previous to von Däniken's work, other authors had presented ideas of extraterrestrial contacts. Von Däniken failed to credit properly or at all, these authors, even when making the same claims using similar or identical evidence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_D%C3%A4niken

Just another mumbo jumbo merchant

[questionmark]

Previous to von Däniken's work, other authors had presented ideas of extraterrestrial contacts. Von Däniken failed to credit properly or at all, these authors, even when making the same claims using similar or identical evidence.

Otherwise also know as the quack quotes quack carousel.

[jaylemurph]

Otherwise also know as the quack quotes quack carousel.

...hey now, last time I saw recent footage of him, he had a clearing adoring (and hot) boyfriend some decades younger than him. He's not doing everything wrong.

--Jaylemurph

[spacecowboy342]

The thing that get me is he sold 64,000,000,copies. That just blows me away