Halloween is almost upon us. A scary poll on ghosts and UFOS

[The Straight Story]

If you were to sum up all of the humans that have existed on this planet since time began you would have a fairly large number.


Throughout history folks have seen UFO's (even before we could fly) and ghosts (whatever they may be).

So here is a poll using them all as a base.

[Occam Bandage]

1. 1 and 4.

Assuming that "in a lab" is shorthand for "under controlled conditions."

[Shell Beau]

2. I don't know. I think it is silly to think this whole entire universe

is out there and only life exists on earth. That doesn't mean I believe in aliens and UFOs, but I certainly don't know, and I would not be surprised at all if they are out there. And ghosts, well I have had my own experiences, so I think I believe. :shrug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. I am with you.

[Deep13]

4. While it is possible to perceive something falsely and that possibility...

...should never be excluded out of hand, the real issue is not that what people saw or experienced, but what inferences can be drawn from that.

If someone says he saw a V-shaped object in the sky, I would not necessarily doubt that he saw that. Nevertheless, that observation does not support the fantastical conclusion-jumping to space aliens. As an amateur astronomer, I spend more time looking at the sky than most people and I have never seen anything that was not at least likely to be a known, understood thing. While life probably exists out there somewhere, there is no reason to think it has ever been here. The transient nature of existence and the vast distances make it extremely unlikely.

When someone says she saw something that immediately vanished or found cold spots or experienced a weird coincidence; I don't necessarily doubt those experiences. Nevertheless, those experiences do not support the conclusion that disembodied spirits of the deceased are responsible for it. People see or hear ghosts because the imaging center of our brains are extremely good at making shit up. If common optical illusions like the moon near the horizon can fool us every single time, how can we be so sure that ghosts are the right answer to a weird experience? Because our eyes are wired backward (with the capillaries and nerves running in front of the retina instead of behind it) our brains constantly fill in the blank spots with hallucinations that are based on the rest of the image. So before we dismiss "you're just seeing things" as an explanation, remember how good we are at seeing imaginary things.

[Arctic Dave]

5. +1

[The Straight Story]

9. In other words

You keep an open mind. Something I respect a lot.

Being skeptical is one thing, dismissing things out of hand seems, to me, close minded.

I don't pretend to know it all or to have all the answers. What bothers me the most are those that claim to - whether they be rw fundies or people claiming to be scientists.

[TexasObserver]

6. Some had genuine experiences that warrant further scientific investigations

[Odin2005]

7. The fact that descriptions of these "aliens" are alway decribed as humanoid proves that it's BS

Another intelligent species would not look even remotely like us

[The Straight Story]

8. Why?

How can you be sure of that? Can you prove that they would not look like us?

[Odin2005]

10. The necessary convergent evolution is so extreme that the probability is extremely low.

By that I don't mean they can't be upright bipeds, but the fine details will be nothing like us. all these supposed "aliens" look like weird humans with big heads, gray skin, and huge, solid-color eyes. I call BS! They sound more like a modern update of pre-modern hallucinations of demons.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. At one point, the Earth was flat...except it really never was.

At one point, the Sun and planets revolved around the Earth...except that was never really true.

Just because something cannot be "done in a lab" (under controlled conidtions) doesn't mean that something doesn't exist. As we have progressed as a species, we have "discovered" many "truths" to be anything but.