58 replies to this topic

[Still Waters]

gizmodo.com said:

Do I believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors? Where shall I begin?

There's a fascinating frailty of the human mind that psychologists know all about, called "argument from ignorance." This is how it goes. Remember what the "U" stands for in "UFO"? You see lights flashing in the sky.You've never seen anything like this before and don't understand what it is. You say, "It's a UFO!" The "U" stands for "unidentified."

But then you say, "I don't know what it is; it must be aliens from outer space, visiting from another planet. " The issue here is that if you don't know what something is, your interpretation of it should stop immediately.

Read more...

[A Shadow]

Imo, it was full of ignorance, just some guy ranting away.

[PurpleStuart]

Great article, spot on.

[itsnotoutthere]

Yes, he seems to hit several nails squarely on the head.

[bmk1245]

Neil nailed it, indeed.

Edited by bmk1245, 26 April 2012 - 06:23 PM.

[badeskov]

A Silent Shadow, on 26 April 2012 - 04:03 PM, said:

Imo, it was full of ignorance, just some guy ranting away.

Anything in the article you would like to point out as being ignorant? I admittedly found it a rather well written article.

Cheers,
Badeskov

[bmk1245]

badeskov, on 26 April 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

Anything in the article you would like to point out as being ignorant? I admittedly found it a rather well written article.

Cheers,
Badeskov

Yeap. Calling Neil deGrasse Tyson as being ignorant is... ignorance.

[WoIverine]

Meh? Meh.

[Imaginarynumber1]

"where of course the aliens do their sex experiments on you"

[DONTEATUS]

Imaginarynumber1, on 26 April 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

"where of course the aliens do their sex experiments on you"

We all know where the Aliens do there sex experiments !  On the SOFA ! just Ask Bee !

[badeskov]

bmk1245, on 26 April 2012 - 07:03 PM, said:

Yeap. Calling Neil deGrasse Tyson as being ignorant is... ignorance.

Yeah, ignorant is certainly not a label I would pin on Neil deGrasse Tyson - for obvious reasons one would think.

Cheers,
Badeskov

[willowdreams]

made sense to me.. not sure what anyone would have issues with.

[Al-pha Trojanite]

A Silent Shadow, on 26 April 2012 - 04:03 PM, said:

Imo, it was full of ignorance, just some guy ranting away.

[Al-pha Trojanite]

'Unidentified'.You forget to include that it is visible (evidence) as a  'flying object' to a large number of people who have seen them-with physical organs called eyes....Therefore they become eye witnesses to it..since you haven't experienced it. You lack the understanding which the mind goes through as it sees something unknown to its reality ... The word 'unidentified is to satisfy the fact that we know nothing or less about it. Please be careful when you put judgments on such cases. A few experiments on the human Mind... Done by mere humans who have no appreciation to the fact that the fields they specialize in are actually of foreign(outer space/dimensional) knowledge about Us and that of the universe. Science Which has been both Mans progress and seemingly his downfall... Cannot accept a certain degree of reality that surpasses HUMAN thought... Its only strange due to the fact we have lost such accounts in history... The Egyptions Worshiped such beings of high intellect who are able to build such technologically advanced objects that piss on the laws of gravity. Using psychology to dismiss abductions is like using  science to explain philosophy? Philosophy created science... In return science created theory. Since philosophy has no limits of thought or perception. Science breaks it into a more scrutinized form... To explain phenomena but not permit it to transcend through sentient matters. I will end there for now. Disclosing my age is only me trying to appeal to you that I AM LEARNIG... So consider your ways of Judgment - 18 . Thank you oh lol so I guess if you were abducted. Realizing you seeing something you have never ever imagined before possible . Not only is it strange. It may cause harm.. At that moment your mind is adjusting to such scenes,,, tell me would you honestly have the time to steal evidence to satisfy the fact that you got abducted and used as experiment??? Really??? Lol than I think in horror movies when the guy sees the monster for the first time he should pick its eyes out for evidence... Cause nobody is gonna believe him if he runs away.... Gosh with NO EVIDENCE... Ah ahhh!

[lost_shaman]

I don't agree with Tyson on this issue.

For one thing the point of Science in general is to explain the observable universe that surrounds us, so if people observe UFOs then that really is the point of Science to explain what people are seeing.

He talked about how 'witness testimony' is soo bad. But is it when we are NOT talking about 'witnesses' to crimes in a Court setting? I've just been discussing that on another UM Thread.

See that discussion begining here... http://www.unexplain...dpost&p=4272881

He says amateur astronomers UFO sightings are lower, and this is true Surveys of REAL Astronomers over the last decades show that Astronomers report seeing UFOs as a percentage just slightly lower by a few percentage points than the General Public. He say's this is because of familiarity with the sky. OK so what's the point? They still see UFO's just at a slightly lower percentage. That might be explained by familiarity with the sky or maybe just a lower willingness to say they've seen a UFO or potentially other different factors or combinations of factors.It could be that a few percent of the Public are over eager to say they've seen a UFO; how does Tyson know what causes the slight difference?

Why does he go on about 'abductees' grabbing an "ashtray"? Susan Clancy showed 'abductees' were suffering from Sleep Paralysis years ago now, why doesn't Tyson know this? It's strange. I have to wonder what audience he means to reach here with this.

The whole article and Tyson's veiws are odd. In Hessdalen for example, there was a massive UFO flap in the early 1980's. Scientists said 'why don't we go see what all the fuss is about and take our instruments and study the Valley?'. They did. They found UFO's just as the witnesses there were reporting. Now three decades later they know that 95% of the 'unknowns' they found over this time seem to be a previously undocumented Atmospheric plasma phenomena! That is intersting, it shows Science works. That would not have happened if it were not for the 'witnesses' in the Valley reporting the UFO's. Again I ask is Tyson unaware of this?

Tyson seems like he has an Anti-UFO agenda and wants to make a point that somehow Science has no obligation to understand what people see. I completely disagree with that POV no matter who may hold it.

So yeah, I don't see eye-to-eye on UFO's with Neil Degrasse Tyson, otherwise I like him and tend to agree with him on lots of the other things he tends to discuss.