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Posted on 1/12/18 at 8:38 pm to Cheese Grits
quote:
What are Cryptids?
"NOUN
An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti."
LIST OF CRYPTIDS
Posted on 1/12/18 at 9:12 pm to KSGamecock
No. None of it.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 9:16 pm to Perfect Circle
quote:
No. None of it.
But yet you believe a first century man was born of a virgin and a deity in the flesh?
Posted on 1/12/18 at 9:44 pm to KSGamecock
quote:
Kentucker, do you believe in any of that stuff?
I hope I don't sound arrogant when I say that I don't use the words belief or believe in reference to myself. To believe means to accept without evidence. That just goes against my nature. It probably comes my lifelong passion for all things science.
quote:
You're the smartest among us.
Hardly.
I equate intelligence with interest. All of us are very intelligent when it comes to our main interests.
All that said, no, I don't know of any evidence at all for any of the things you listed. The only listing that's plausible is aliens. The likelihood of their existence increases with every new discovery we make regarding stars and planets.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 9:53 pm to Kentucker
quote:
The likelihood of their existence increases with every new discovery we make regarding stars and planets.
It is as close to a certainty as you can possibly get.
And what's more is that they have been visiting Earth for quite some time. Probably had a hand in our creation, or at the very least helped us along our current path of high technology.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 10:13 pm to BoarEd
quote:
And what's more is that they have been visiting Earth for quite some time. Probably had a hand in our creation, or at the very least helped us along our current path of high technology.
Highly unlikely that any have visited given the unbelievable distances between stars. Plus, there'd have to be something interesting and unusual here to lure them to come.
The story of human evolution doesn't show any unusual blips that would indicate involvement by a superior intelligence. Our species evolved from a common ancestor of us, apes, monkeys, lemurs and tarsiers.
Humanoids branched into many subspecies just like any other species would. The main differences between humanoids and other early primates was our ability to walk upright and our big brains. It was further adaptive evolution of our brains that made us the only technological species ever to inhabit the earth.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 10:31 pm to Kentucker
quote:
Highly unlikely that any have visited given the unbelievable distances between stars.
Eh. This is faulty for a number of reasons.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 10:50 pm to BoarEd
quote:
This is faulty for a number of reasons.
Care to list some of them?
Posted on 1/12/18 at 10:51 pm to Kentucker
McNamara fallacy, for starters.
Posted on 1/12/18 at 11:38 pm to Globetrotter747
Are we going to start this again?
Posted on 1/12/18 at 11:40 pm to BoarEd
"The McNamara fallacy (also known as quantitative fallacy), named for Robert McNamara, the United States Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, involves making a decision based solely on quantitative observations (or metrics) and ignoring all others."
- Wiki
So, if I'm saying that only quantitative factors are affecting my conclusion about visits by aliens, what qualitative factors am I missing?
- Wiki
So, if I'm saying that only quantitative factors are affecting my conclusion about visits by aliens, what qualitative factors am I missing?
Posted on 1/12/18 at 11:57 pm to KSGamecock
I'll not be too concerned about the word "believe," but here goes.
Aliens (presumably meaning life forms originating somewhere other than Earth) seem to be pretty likely, even if they are only invertebrates who lived in some other galaxy a billion years ago. So, yes. I think it's much less likely that they frequently fly around in our atmosphere and kidnap folks.
Ghosts, yes. I don't think they are the souls of the departed, but too many reputable people have reported seeing things. Those things are called ghosts. I have no idea what they might be, but I'm willing to believe those people who say they have seen them and I'd love to see more serious study.
Cryptids, yes, in the most general form. Within the last hundred years, we have discovered at least one living animal (coelacanth) thought to have been extinct for millions of years, and there are recent credible reports of living thylacines. I think it's quite likely that there are some animals that we are not aware of, especially in the deep oceans. I don't think that Bigfoot is walking around in Yellowstone.
Paranormal, yes, but only because we don't have a complete grasp on what is normal. I read a book once which described a large range of "psychic" abilities, and I trained myself to actually be able to do one of them. No details, but I think it's an actual physical ability which anybody can do if they worked at it, but it would certainly be classified as paranormal by most people. It certainly does not defy any laws of physics.
As a physical scientist, I'm willing to "believe" that a wide range of things are possible if they don't violate any of the known laws of physics. I mean, are any of these less believable than the scenario of two objects 30 times more massive than the sun orbiting each other thousands of times per second before they collide and release energy at a power level higher than the total output power of all the stars in the universe combined? (Yes, I was watching PBS last night.)
Aliens (presumably meaning life forms originating somewhere other than Earth) seem to be pretty likely, even if they are only invertebrates who lived in some other galaxy a billion years ago. So, yes. I think it's much less likely that they frequently fly around in our atmosphere and kidnap folks.
Ghosts, yes. I don't think they are the souls of the departed, but too many reputable people have reported seeing things. Those things are called ghosts. I have no idea what they might be, but I'm willing to believe those people who say they have seen them and I'd love to see more serious study.
Cryptids, yes, in the most general form. Within the last hundred years, we have discovered at least one living animal (coelacanth) thought to have been extinct for millions of years, and there are recent credible reports of living thylacines. I think it's quite likely that there are some animals that we are not aware of, especially in the deep oceans. I don't think that Bigfoot is walking around in Yellowstone.
Paranormal, yes, but only because we don't have a complete grasp on what is normal. I read a book once which described a large range of "psychic" abilities, and I trained myself to actually be able to do one of them. No details, but I think it's an actual physical ability which anybody can do if they worked at it, but it would certainly be classified as paranormal by most people. It certainly does not defy any laws of physics.
As a physical scientist, I'm willing to "believe" that a wide range of things are possible if they don't violate any of the known laws of physics. I mean, are any of these less believable than the scenario of two objects 30 times more massive than the sun orbiting each other thousands of times per second before they collide and release energy at a power level higher than the total output power of all the stars in the universe combined? (Yes, I was watching PBS last night.)
Posted on 1/13/18 at 12:38 am to Kentucker
quote:
Plus, there'd have to be something interesting and unusual here to lure them to come.
Motive.
ETA: Also, your quantifiable factors may be false as well. Or at least, rendered moot with sufficient technology.
Surely you know we have an understanding of teleportation, for example.
This post was edited on 1/13/18 at 12:51 am
Posted on 1/13/18 at 3:04 am to KSGamecock
Yes, I listen to coast to coast am.
DO I need to start posting the threads on here?
DO I need to start posting the threads on here?
Posted on 1/13/18 at 5:48 am to Perfect Circle
quote:
Are we going to start this again?
Well, this is a different context and you seemed so staunch in your skepticism of the OP's examples. ("No. None of it.") About everyone who has replied to this thread at least thinks the odds are good that some kind of life exists elsewhere in the universe. And generally theists are more open to the existence of things like ghosts.
So why the skepticism?
Posted on 1/13/18 at 10:19 am to pioneerbasketball
Please do, I miss when the Rant’s OTB was more active.
Posted on 1/13/18 at 11:04 am to BoarEd
quote:
Motive.
Your response needs a few more words so that its context is clear.
quote:
ETA: Also, your quantifiable factors may be false as well. Or at least, rendered moot with sufficient technology.
Could be but so far they're acceptable. Science doesn't deal in absolutes. Everything is open to change via new discoveries.
For example the conclusion that aliens haven't visited earth would change if quantifiable evidence was presented that they had.
quote:
Surely you know we have an understanding of teleportation, for example.
Yes. First Object Teleported from Earth to Orbit
quote:
Teleportation has become a standard operation in quantum optics labs around the world. The technique relies on the strange phenomenon of entanglement. This occurs when two quantum objects, such as photons, form at the same instant and point in space and so share the same existence. In technical terms, they are described by the same wave function.
However, staying on the subject of the discussion, this is not evidence that aliens have visited earth.
Posted on 1/13/18 at 11:09 am to Kentucker
quote:
However, staying on the subject of the discussion, this is not evidence that aliens have visited earth.
No, but it renders your assertion that the distances between the stars are too great, moot.
It is faulty reasoning.
And there's plenty of evidence they have been visiting this planet. Circumstantial evidence, granted, but there's a damn mountain of it.
Posted on 1/13/18 at 11:17 am to KSGamecock
Statistically it's essentially impossible for there to not be life elsewhere in the universe.
All that other stuff is superstitious nonsense, though I'm sure there are crazy things in the ocean depths yet to be discovered.
All that other stuff is superstitious nonsense, though I'm sure there are crazy things in the ocean depths yet to be discovered.
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