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My favorite conspiracy theory (emphasis on theory, this is pure speculation) is they're Chinese drones. The logic basically goes that 3M accidentally created a

My favorite conspiracy theory (emphasis on theory, this is pure speculation) is they're Chinese drones. The logic basically goes that 3M accidentally created a force field[1] in a factory[2], factories are mostly in China now, so if "running a factory" leads to antigravity tech, China would be the ones to develop it. As much as "I want to believe", if it's true they're not American, it's quite possible they're not alien, just foreign. I've noticed a weird kind of racism in some folks who talk about China: they simultaneously think they'll conquer the world and that they can't invent technology on their own. It's certainly interesting logic to conclude "If it's not American, it must be alien". [1] https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-plastic-sheets-and-their-invisible-force-fields/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-plastic-sheets-an... [2] http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/e-wall.html http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/e-wall.html

ethelward 8y ago
> I've noticed a weird kind of racism in some folks who talk about China: they simultaneously think they'll conquer the world and that they can't invent technology on their own. China is the new USSR :)
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  The US - both the general public and the state itself - vastly overestimated the capabilities of the Soviet armed forces. I don’t think that’s true for China, at least not today.
  - gspetr 8y ago
    The Soviets had vast presence in Europe and were credible ideological opponents. China is contained in South East Asia and poses no ideological threat to the West.
    - instantwhat 8y ago
      Are you unaware of China's Belt and Road initiative? Confucious Institutes at U.S. universities?
      - dontbenebby 8y ago
        Plus, countries like Korea are nervous with all this talk of closing bases. China is a likely new ally if they feel they can't rely on the US.
themagician 8y ago
“I've noticed a weird kind of racism in some folks who talk about China: they simultaneously think they'll conquer the world and that they can't invent technology on their own.” That’s just normal racism. Mexicans are too lazy to work, but come here and steal our jobs. Muslims come here to force Sharia Law on everyone, but fail to integrate and keep to themselves. Illegals are using public services for free, but pay taxes using fake information and are criminals. Obama was incompetent, but also managed to build complex shadow government. You can just keep going. By using a dichotomous framework of stereotypes you can easily make a case against an entire population because if one negative stereotype doesn’t fit a given individual you simple apply the other one.
- everdev 8y ago
  Any blanket criticism of millions or billions of people is bound to be highly inaccurate and also have some non zero degree of accuracy just due to the sheer numbers of people and how common these traits are in any population. Racism is taking the non-zero existence of a complaint and extrapolating it to the broader population without caring to get to know the individual people. Unfortunately, it was probably an evolutionary survival technique that worked thousands of years ago but has pretty disastrous consequences today.
  - pasquinelli 8y ago
    Why do you think it is a biological trait rather than a politically useful tool? What do we know about racism outside the context of complex mass societies with highly stratified classes of members? Maybe it's an effective con and not a natural instict.
    - darepublic 8y ago
      Don't we know that chimps engage in large scale tribal warfare. And that our ancestors killed off the Neanderthals
      - pasquinelli 8y ago
screenbeam 8y ago
Assumption: the military is in control of this narrative and the narrative is meant for the consumption of our adversaries. Conclusion: the intended narrative is that we are testing advanced systems against our own battle groups. Beware. I don’t know what the tech is or if it’s as sensational as being reported by the “witnesses” but the intent is to give the impression that we have highly sophisticated tech waiting in the wings
- dontbenebby 8y ago
  >the intent is to give the impression that we have highly sophisticated tech waiting in the wings Interesting theory. Considering all the hubbub I've heard about "anti carrier cruise missiles[1]" lately, it could make sense there's an incentive to project strength. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-ship_ballistic_missile#China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-ship_ballistic_missile#Ch...
Havoc 8y ago
Pretty big gap between static elec fields and what's being described in the article.
gspetr 8y ago
The problem with that is, there are credible sightings from quite a while ago, before drones really took off, not to mention the speed, acceleration and size of the "drones" are far superior to any drone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27Hare_International_Airport_UFO_sighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27Hare_International_Ai... Airport employees, pilots and bystanders have all reported seeing it, but it was dismissed. I remember seeing an interview with a retired Air Force officer who said that nothing's being done about the supposed UFOs is because once you start working on something people will demand results, and if you say we can't do a damn thing about these, your career will be in jeopardy.

ethelward 8y ago

> I've noticed a weird kind of racism in some folks who talk about China: they simultaneously think they'll conquer the world and that they can't invent technology on their own. China is the new USSR :)

LyndsySimon 8y ago
The US - both the general public and the state itself - vastly overestimated the capabilities of the Soviet armed forces. I don’t think that’s true for China, at least not today.
- gspetr 8y ago
  The Soviets had vast presence in Europe and were credible ideological opponents. China is contained in South East Asia and poses no ideological threat to the West.
  - instantwhat 8y ago
    Are you unaware of China's Belt and Road initiative? Confucious Institutes at U.S. universities?
    - dontbenebby 8y ago
      Plus, countries like Korea are nervous with all this talk of closing bases. China is a likely new ally if they feel they can't rely on the US.

themagician 8y ago

“I've noticed a weird kind of racism in some folks who talk about China: they simultaneously think they'll conquer the world and that they can't invent technology on their own.” That’s just normal racism. Mexicans are too lazy to work, but come here and steal our jobs. Muslims come here to force Sharia Law on everyone, but fail to integrate and keep to themselves. Illegals are using public services for free, but pay taxes using fake information and are criminals. Obama was incompetent, but also managed to build complex shadow government. You can just keep going. By using a dichotomous framework of stereotypes you can easily make a case against an entire population because if one negative stereotype doesn’t fit a given individual you simple apply the other one.

everdev 8y ago
Any blanket criticism of millions or billions of people is bound to be highly inaccurate and also have some non zero degree of accuracy just due to the sheer numbers of people and how common these traits are in any population. Racism is taking the non-zero existence of a complaint and extrapolating it to the broader population without caring to get to know the individual people. Unfortunately, it was probably an evolutionary survival technique that worked thousands of years ago but has pretty disastrous consequences today.
- pasquinelli 8y ago
  Why do you think it is a biological trait rather than a politically useful tool? What do we know about racism outside the context of complex mass societies with highly stratified classes of members? Maybe it's an effective con and not a natural instict.
  - darepublic 8y ago
    Don't we know that chimps engage in large scale tribal warfare. And that our ancestors killed off the Neanderthals
    - pasquinelli 8y ago

screenbeam 8y ago

Assumption: the military is in control of this narrative and the narrative is meant for the consumption of our adversaries. Conclusion: the intended narrative is that we are testing advanced systems against our own battle groups. Beware. I don’t know what the tech is or if it’s as sensational as being reported by the “witnesses” but the intent is to give the impression that we have highly sophisticated tech waiting in the wings

dontbenebby 8y ago
>the intent is to give the impression that we have highly sophisticated tech waiting in the wings Interesting theory. Considering all the hubbub I've heard about "anti carrier cruise missiles[1]" lately, it could make sense there's an incentive to project strength. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-ship_ballistic_missile#China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-ship_ballistic_missile#Ch...

Havoc 8y ago

Pretty big gap between static elec fields and what's being described in the article.

gspetr 8y ago

The problem with that is, there are credible sightings from quite a while ago, before drones really took off, not to mention the speed, acceleration and size of the "drones" are far superior to any drone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27Hare_International_Airport_UFO_sighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27Hare_International_Ai... Airport employees, pilots and bystanders have all reported seeing it, but it was dismissed. I remember seeing an interview with a retired Air Force officer who said that nothing's being done about the supposed UFOs is because once you start working on something people will demand results, and if you say we can't do a damn thing about these, your career will be in jeopardy.