[ngcles]

Hi Bill and All,

Hmmm ...

In response to what you have posted Bill I won't mock (this time) but will reproduce a quote from Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer) in an email just the other day and it perfectly reflects my own attitude:


Now, let me make this as absolutely clear as possible (which will be to no avail, because I have been very clear before, and UFO proponents still manage to completely mangle what I’m saying): if you want me to think that UFOs are not just misidentified mundane objects, then all you have to do — and it really is this simple — is provide me with evidence.

Here, let me make this even clearer:

PROVIDE ME WITH EVIDENCE.

What do I count as evidence? Hard, physical data. Not eyewitness reports (because even the most highly-credentialed person in the world can misidentify something, or not understand what they are seeing, or may suffer from an episode, or decide to lie, or just be simply wrong). Not fuzzy photos. Not fuzzy video.

I want hard, physical data. I want an alien on the White House lawn. I want a piece of metal with clearly non-terrestrial isotope ratios of components, or be composed of some currently non-discovered element. I want some piece of predictive evidence — a map of an alien world that can eventually be verified, or an alien-given advance in physics that can later be verified with the LHC or some other cutting-edge technology. And nothing vague like "a unified field theory exists"; it has to be definite and precise, so that there is no controversy.

Do you think this is too demanding? I have news for you: you’re asking me to believe in something that will revolutionize all of human existence. I think demanding some actual evidence for such a thing is not only not too much to ask, but is to be demanded. (emphasis added)

I believe life in our Milky Way Galaxy is rare, and intelligent life is probably exceptionally rare -- I'd be surprised if there are more than say a dozen civilisations and it may be as few as one (ie us). Like so many here, I've been watching the sky very carefully for several decades -- many thousands of hours of observing with a (hopefully) objective eye, and I've never seen one thing I couldn't explain. I do not accept that there are alien space-ships visiting us, nor that there is a conspiracy(s) to cover it up.

The one other problem I have with the whole subject is this: They should not be called "UFOs". We have no proof on a vast number of occasions they are reported that they are "objects" nor that they are "flying". Instead, they should be called "Unidentified Ariel Sightings" or "UAS".

Best,

Les D