Say what you want be we are screwed!!!

[ODBJBG]

Remember when everyone said the world was going to end in 2000? And then it didn't and suddenly nobody claimed to have ever believed that and all the fruits jumped on the 2012 train?

I'm sure when nothing happens next year, they'll find a new day, 10-15 years into the future and claim that was REALLY when the world is supposed to end. That was they can annoy us for another decade with non-science and nonsense.

[jwyblejr]

^The next date would be 2060,predicted by Sir Issac Newton.

[Joe90]

Forgive me if I'm asking the noob question - but wasn't the entire hubub around 2012 based on a false impression of the Mayan time keeping system to begin with? IE that their calendar system ended at that time - so the world must end, when in reality their system was just cyclical and that's just one of many recycle points?

Pretty much. But they had a fairly typical Astrological perception that the new age would bring positive changes.

Even in their yearly small count calendar they had a concept of "end times" and the five days at the end of the year were considered to be dire days. Of course the new year brought the lifting of those dark days.

We still have a concept of the fresh start when we make our New Year's resolutions.

[Joe90]

^The next date would be 2060,predicted by Sir Issac Newton.

Which many claim is the start of the Aquarian Age.

[LonnieFisher]

I don't think the world will end in 2012. I think we're going to have some of epic events because of a certain "comet" that was "recently" discovered. I find it's path has already affected us. I don't know if we'll have grand earthquakes or meteor showers, but I know we had a large earth affecting quake when we were aligned March 11th. I see the opposite alignment on November 22nd this year. I am worried about the alignment in September on the 25th or so. It seems that in late October we'll pass through the tail of the comet, as it crossed our orbit just before that. It isn't on the same linear plane that we are, so I don't know what to think exactly. It'd be nice if it was just a show show of lights and stuff. It may change path and pace from the gravity of the sun and planets it'll be passing, but as they predict now it'll be an exciting time to see. As for 2012, it's a galactic alignment and change of "ages" in the cosmos. I think we'll survive it if nobody starts dropping nukes to fulfill some stupid end of days prophecy.
Once again:
JPL Small-Body Database Browser
Just check the orbit yourself...

[Hector]

The world ends when we die...end of story...lol.

[Evel KMego]

Didn't the moon split apart in 1994, oh wait that was thundaar the Barbarian

[thunderbolt]

Then it flew out of orbit in 1999.

[jp1969]

I got all the answers anyone could ever want on any of these here subjects.
The first 1 to pm me saying he is sending his mint titans over here, express,gets full enlightenment.

Gauranteed.


(If You throw in a minty ss Batgirl,I'll even tell You where we buried Hoffa.)

[Brazoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pexxM3Uw80

The newscaster reactions perfectly demonstrates the weakness of alien visitation theory. People see something they think is weird, and they immediately try to explain it with something incredible. They're emotionally and logically blocking out all other possibilities to get a quick answer.

Filling our knowledge gaps with anything we can imagine - as a quick and ready explanation for information we can't immediately explain - is what I consider to be limited thinking.

People want to make looking for truth very easy, and explain things with "miracles" or fantastic ideas. Even if the theories are based on very little data beyond human perception - which is EXTREMELY fallible.

This is why we NEED science and a method for figuring out the truth or at least what's most plausible.

Centuries ago Aristotle use to decide what was truth by making up truth - we don't have to do that now - we've advanced.

[Brazoo]

I've never understood this perspective. By what metric are we "not important"?

As a measure of complexity, human beings, and the culture we collectively create, are one of the most dynamic systems in the known universe. (And no arrogance or vanity are required to make that observation.) Also, where does this assumption come from that vastly superior intelligence should somehow lead to deadened curiosity and apathy? The opposite is true about 100% of the time.

The idea that aliens wouldn't be interested in us is bizarre.

I think that the chances of aliens even knowing about us diminishes with the size of the universe, and the size of the universe is a primary fact that makes me accept the theory that alien beings probably exist in the first place.

I don't know that I have any strongly held beliefs about alien psychology - or what they would possibly think of us. It's pure speculation at that point either way, no?

[Brazoo]

In a nutshell, this is alien visitation theory scientifically speaking right now:



Barring us actually making confirmable contact - I think we need to figure out a few things. A more solid Unified Theory of the universe so we can make a better guesses about whether or not intergalactic space travel is possible would be nice - for one thing.

[Brazoo]

Darklord - I just want to quickly and crudely explain my arguments for two of your points.

Furthermore, the issue of tremendous distance would simply NOT be an obstacle IF the civilization in question were advanced enough to devise a technology that permits for inter-dimensional travel. This argument of distance is one that ONLY considers conventional, linear space travel. But our most respect physicists here on Earth (Einstein, Cavalos, Heisenberg) have long ago demonstrated that space is NOT linear, and that it is directly linked to time. Galactically speaking, traveling between two points using conventional linear transport is like taking the slow, scenic route. Saying that planet A is too far away from planet B for visitation is (galactically speaking) tantamount to saying that art cannot move beyond a flat cave wall painting. We know this to be untrue. Art began as 2-dimentional cave wall paintings, yes. But it advanced, and became 3-D sculptures, which in turn became architecture, etc. etc. Mainstream science here on Earth is now catching up to this stuff. it is no longer conjecture or science fiction. About 13 years ago, in a controlled laboratory experiment, scientists even succeeded in getting a single particle to occupy two different locations simultaneously. When considering these things, we must be careful not to place the limitations of our own technological knowledge on a hypothetically vastly advanced extraterrestrial civilization.

IF aliens exist...
IF aliens are super advanced...
IF the technology to travel across the universe exists...
IF the laws of the universe even work that way...

Those are some enormous IFs!! It's not that I don't think we should try to find the answers to these "IFs" or even write off alien visitation theory as a possible theory - but when a more practical reason might explain something we're confused by we should probably go with that first.

My problem is that someone sees something weird, and they go with the big wild theory first instead of last.

Occam's razor!

The "astonishingly weak" evidence for alien encounters which you point to, Brazoo, can only be described as such by a viewpoint that considers the entirety of the VAST number of encounters to be the product of imagination, mis-identification, hallucination, or intoxication. But I propose that even when you separate out the considerable number of the encounters that fall under those categories, you are still left with an astonishingly large number of alien encounter / evidence of alien visitation to Terra-Forma cases that defy those classifications with flying colors. You are still left with a sheer number of observers and observations (all with common details)... you are still left with astonishing physical evidence in the form of ancient artifacts and structures found on this planet that even mainstream science considers applicable as a "extraordinary evidence"... but that pundits and skeptics will ALWAYS deny.

Ultimately, this comes down to one's basic belief system.

There are those who are prone to accept the overwhelming number of reliable cases that have been presented over the decades as evidence of bonafide paranomal events... just as they would if any other (less sensational) phenomenon were as extensively reported.

And then there are those who are pre-disposed to IGNORE ALL presented evidence as "un-reliable" and/or false (regardless of its integrity) merely because of its extraterrestrial implication.

Clearly, I fall into the first camp.

I'm not trying to write off ALL presented evidence - I'm saying it's all based on human perception which is incredibly fallible. I'm not trying to ignore it either.

I hope you'd agree that the vast number of encounters reported are not all of equal merit. And I hope you'd think that at least SOME of the encounters have plausible and everyday explanations.

To me all the reported cases fall on a spectrum. On one side we have super-confirmable 100% mistaken people being fooled or hoaxed or whatever - on the other we have claims with absolutely zero confirmable data. There are less cases at either end of that spectrum - most fall somewhere along the middle.

So to me it's far from a vast amount of baffling data that can only have "aliens" as an explanation.

And I honestly think that they UFO side is the side that's throwing out data. ALL the major "sightings" that have been debunked by scientist, military and/or government are predictably get dismissed as "cover".

The Russian "spiral", the "Lights" over Phoenix, Roswell... When there's an attempt to explain things or figure things out the UFO folks only want to accept aliens as the answer. At least Alien Visitation is on my list of possibility - just very low on that list - but it seems that the people who want to believe in Alien Visitation are more willing to accept that explanation above all others for almost every claim.

[LonnieFisher]

What if all the recent UFO sightings are fake and holograms. No aliens, but technology tricking the masses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbA-FbeNtqw
We're seeing some of these things now. The video is four years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuuTVLS6eVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGQW-fw2Gew

[jwyblejr]

I'm wondering if someone has such irrefutable proof,why haven't they gone and claimed The Amazing Randy's reward? I know I would.