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Ask HN: What is your opinion on UFO phenomena?

1 points by coleifer 12y ago

What is your opinion on UFO phenomena? Do the sightings represent physical objects of unknown origin, or can they be attributed to misidentification/hoaxes/etc?

duncan_bayne 12y ago
Both. Clearly, some UFO sightings have been of objects that are physical and unknown. Many (most?) were misidentification and hoaxes. If you're actually asking whether they're alien spacecraft, well, there's a million dollar prize for anyone who can prove that they are, and it's yet to be successfully claimed: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fakers_and_innocents_the_one_million_dollar_challenge_and_those_who_try_for http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fakers_and_innocents_the_one_m...
anigbrowl 12y ago
Mostly the latter, than I think there's a few cases where it might be some undiscovered natural phenomenon. I seem to remember people rejected the existence of ball lightning at one stage. But alien spaceships, most unlikely, though it disappoints me to say so. I don't think we live anywhere special in galactic terms, or that our technology or environment is so interesting enough as to attract extraterrestrial attention.
mathattack 12y ago
If unknown includes the military, yes. I wouldn't extrapolate that to aliens. Too much else would be going on. (Technological advances, invasions, who knows what?) As much as I loved the X-files, Snowden would have outed this secret project. :-)
eip 12y ago
Dr. Ben R. Rich former Lockheed Skunk Works CEO: 1. There are 2 types of UFOs — the ones we build and ones ‘they’ build. We learned from both crash retrievals and actual “hand-me-downs.” The Government knew and until 1969 took an active hand in the administration of that information. After a 1969 Nixon “purge”, administration was handled by an international board of directors in the private sector… 2. Nearly all “biomorphic” aerospace designs were inspired by the Roswell spacecraft — from Kelly’s SR-71 Blackbird onward to today’s drones, UCAVs, and aerospace craft… 3. It was Ben Rich’s opinion that the public should not be told [about UFOs and extraterrestrials] . He believed they could not handle the truth — ever. Only in the last months of his decline did he begin to feel that the “international corporate board of directors” dealing with the “Subject” could represent a bigger problem to citizens’ personal freedoms under the United States Constitution than the presence of off-world visitors themselves.”
- maxharris 12y ago
  I searched for "Ben R. Rich" on Google, and I can't find any non-UFO sites that substantiate your claims.

1 points by coleifer 12y ago

What is your opinion on UFO phenomena? Do the sightings represent physical objects of unknown origin, or can they be attributed to misidentification/hoaxes/etc?

duncan_bayne 12y ago

Both. Clearly, some UFO sightings have been of objects that are physical and unknown. Many (most?) were misidentification and hoaxes. If you're actually asking whether they're alien spacecraft, well, there's a million dollar prize for anyone who can prove that they are, and it's yet to be successfully claimed: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fakers_and_innocents_the_one_million_dollar_challenge_and_those_who_try_for http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fakers_and_innocents_the_one_m...

anigbrowl 12y ago

Mostly the latter, than I think there's a few cases where it might be some undiscovered natural phenomenon. I seem to remember people rejected the existence of ball lightning at one stage. But alien spaceships, most unlikely, though it disappoints me to say so. I don't think we live anywhere special in galactic terms, or that our technology or environment is so interesting enough as to attract extraterrestrial attention.

mathattack 12y ago

If unknown includes the military, yes. I wouldn't extrapolate that to aliens. Too much else would be going on. (Technological advances, invasions, who knows what?) As much as I loved the X-files, Snowden would have outed this secret project. :-)

eip 12y ago

Dr. Ben R. Rich former Lockheed Skunk Works CEO: 1. There are 2 types of UFOs — the ones we build and ones ‘they’ build. We learned from both crash retrievals and actual “hand-me-downs.” The Government knew and until 1969 took an active hand in the administration of that information. After a 1969 Nixon “purge”, administration was handled by an international board of directors in the private sector… 2. Nearly all “biomorphic” aerospace designs were inspired by the Roswell spacecraft — from Kelly’s SR-71 Blackbird onward to today’s drones, UCAVs, and aerospace craft… 3. It was Ben Rich’s opinion that the public should not be told [about UFOs and extraterrestrials] . He believed they could not handle the truth — ever. Only in the last months of his decline did he begin to feel that the “international corporate board of directors” dealing with the “Subject” could represent a bigger problem to citizens’ personal freedoms under the United States Constitution than the presence of off-world visitors themselves.”

maxharris 12y ago
I searched for "Ben R. Rich" on Google, and I can't find any non-UFO sites that substantiate your claims.