nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (03/30/89)
UFO drivel is NOT welcome in sci.space [1], but there is no talk.ufos. Followups to sci.misc. [1] Fortunately, this isn't drivel. Yet. We're still operating in the sci.entific realm here. In article <7765@pyr.gatech.EDU> ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Matthew T. DeLuca) writes: In article <NELSON.89Mar29145346@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes: > In article <7751@pyr.gatech.EDU> ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Matthew T. DeLuca) writes: > > This is patently ridiculous, ... Most likely ... > > How do you know that? I counter your skepticism with my > skepticism. I will admit, the evidence for my conclusion is as skimpy as the evidence for the UFO theory, but let's be realistic. So why do you advance further guesses below? Your skepticism seems to be as hard a belief as the UFOnatics. Skepticism means looking at the facts, and if the facts say "we don't know", then we don't know. Astronauts have been seeing 'UFO's' since the dawn of the space age, and the vast majority, if not all, have been sightings of expended booster segments, ejected garbage, and frozen urine. So? Most lottery tickets aren't winners either. That doesn't mean that *all* lottery tickets are losers. Each time, the UFO crowd came running, and each time there was a very reasonable explanation for the phenomenon. Not true. There is always a small percentage of unexplainable occurrences. Whether you believe these are noise or genuine UFOs depends upon your beliefs. Each time, the UFO crowd then claimed that there was a massive coverup. Unfortunately for you, the coverup explanation fits many facts just as well as the no-UFOs explanation. For example, many of Philip Klass's objections to the MJ-12 papers can be answered by "of course that would happen if it were being covered up." Well, it's been a quarter of a century now since these sightings from space have started, and I find it difficult to believe that an event of such magnitude as contact with alien life or alien technology could be kept secret. Unfortunately, you can't prove a negative, so we're back to beliefs again. When alien life *does* contact us (and I am of the opinion that we are not alone in the universe, although I am not on the edge of my seat, waiting for them to come along), it will hit us like a ton of bricks. Two tons of bricks. More guesses. A very possible explanation of this occurrence comes to mind: since the frequency of the alleged transmission is in the middle of the commercial radio band, it is possible that someone with a radio set to that frequency broadcast the two items to see what happened, knowing that someone might be listening. A pretty good joke, if you ask me. More guesses. If you don't know, just say so. -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) If you can, help others. If you can't, | Leftoid and proud of it at least don't hurt others--the Dalai Lama |