Marduk
Banned
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- Apr 26, 2009
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- 10,183
these are generalities that might or might not be displayed in individual cases.
and you can't see what an oxymoron that statement is ?
really ?
these are generalities that might or might not be displayed in individual cases.
Apart from the energy requirements, which are, as you correctly state, enormous.Well, that is not true at all. Einstein’s theory does make it physically possible – the energy requirements are enormous - but physically possible nevertheless… As I stated, some argue against it – but they are all philosophical arguments – the Hawking CPA, the Grandfather paradox, even Reinganum’s economic argument – and none account for quantum mechanics. We are uncomfortable with time travel because of the paradoxes (like getting something for nothing) and “dangers for historians” it throws up, but we have yet to come up with any firm principles that prohibit it.
But there's a big difference. As you said, those people who said that heavier than air flight was impossible should have known better, because we have obvious, direct evidence that it is possible. We've been watching birds insects and bats fly around the skies since the dawn of man. However, all of our observations so far have confirmed that the energy requirements for interstellar flight in a reasonable timespan are huge. They're huge in Newtonian mechanics, and they just get worse with relativity. You offered a couple of "solutions" in the form of ion drives and wormholes. But ion drives produce tiny amounts of thrust, simply making the problem one of the time you need to get from one star to another, and they still require huge amounts of energy (and therefore fuel). And wormholes require even more energy than more conventional travel. Now you're suggesting time travel, with all the potential problems that involves, in addition to the enormous energy requirements.My point was that before aircraft, many eminent people (who should have known better) considered the prospect impossible – just as the UFO debunkers now consider the prospect of realistic interstellar travel impossible. You are simply arguing in hindsight here.
Only when there is no physical evidence, and just stories (which some call eyewitness testimony), about a claim that, if true, would be the greatest discovery in the history of the world.The UFO debunkers simply dismiss out of hand eyewitness testimony, without EVER investigating the veracity of that testimony!
Never been to L.A. in my life.You now have entered La La land.
No you haven't. You haven't presented any evidence that we could dismiss out of hand. Please do so and we will be happy to evaluate the evidence.A mysterious place where UFO debunkers check reality at the door. I have demonstrated that you dismiss the evidence out of hand...
No I haven't.YOU have admitted (!) to doing so…
You still don't get it, do you? All the physical evidence, AND THE OTHER EYEWITNESSES (caps lock is cruise control for cool) say the single eyewitness is wrong. No "out of hand" dismissal took place. The evidence was evaluated and other eyewitnesses interviewed. I realise that this is anathema to you, but you can't just accept the story you like most, you have to use the evidence. ALL of the evidence, not just the bits you pick and choose.Remember this statement of yours: “The rational response to the situation I outlined is to conclude the solitary eyewitness claiming murder is wrong”? …and it was YOUR story! YOU introduced us to a witness claiming murder was done! And YOU dismissed your OWN witness “out of hand”! And as if to prove the point you state… (in reference to investigating the veracity of a witness)
Saying "go look it up" is not an answer. I'm asking you, not Google. I want to know what insane methods you'd use, not what methods others use.When I had just stated in DIRECT reply to you earlier:
So it is CLEAR that you simply dismiss the evidence presented to you out of hand!
It's my hypothetical. I know what happened in it. A murder didn't occur. If you wish to construct one of your own, do so. It'll be ridiculous and continue to undermine your claims, but it should give us all a laugh.Besides, the story you gave was a hypothetical. I simply asked what IF a murder HAD occurred (ie; what IF your witness WAS correct?) … and you replied with:
They're not. And YOU, no one ("no one" is two words, no hyphen) else are being implacably obtuse in ignoring the other eyewitnesses. Is this sinking in? The murder didn't happen. UFOs aren't alien spaceships. Eyewitnesses are not flawless. Get it?But that is implacable obtuseness. YOU claimed there WAS a witness to murder! YOU, no-one else…YOU put that witness in YOUR story. All I am asking is: What IF that witness WAS correct?
Don't be silly. Can you not even read a simple sentence without making a gibbering arse out of yourself? You've presented no evidence. My sentence makes the point that we cannot have ignored evidence because there has been none. Present some and see what happens. Not the blatherings of people making something out of nothing, some evidence. As you yourself have shown the willingness to ignore eyewitnesses, we clearly both agree that something else is required. Do you have it?“You haven't presented any evidence for us to ignore.”? What more blatant demonstration of “Don’t bother me with the evidence, my mind is made up.” could there possibly BE? Clearly I have presented a great deal of evidence – and yet here you simply dismiss it all out of hand - as if it did not exist!
…and a “bunch” of people? Bananas grow in “bunches”. You can even have a “bunch” of flowers – but you cannot have a “bunch” of people…ughhh, you distort the language even when it is unnecessary to do so for your own purposes!
Not very good with this "English" thing, are you?dictionary.com said:bunch – noun
1.a connected group; cluster: a bunch of grapes.
2.a group of things: a bunch of papers.
3.Informal. a group of people: They're a fine bunch of students.
4.a knob; lump; protuberance.
Drivel.(you can even have a murder of crows… and this is neatly appropriate here given that we are talking murder and also UFO debunkers often fall for the “All crows are black” fallacy)
Liar.I have decided nothing.
People sometimes see something in the sky and don't know what it is. Glad I could solve that one for you.I don’t know what is going on with UFOs
Research which has been done and found nothing of interest. People sometimes see something in the sky and don't know what it is. The overwhelming statistical probability is that it's something perfectly normal. There is no evidence of anything else.…and that is precisely why I call for research into the subject.
We would acknowledge the evidence if there were any. And yet despite all the stories, there's nothing. No fragments of alien metal, no clear photos, no videos of aliens leaving a message, no first contact on the White House lawn. Just a bunch of people seeing stuff in the sky, or getting spooked by noises at night.I don’t care what fantasies other people might indulge in, all I care about is that people acknowledge the EVIDENCE – something clearly impossible in UFO debunker land.
And this supports anything you've claimed... how?In reference to Ireland and Andrews ignorance of the evidence:
Ireland and Andrews CLEARLY ignored the evidence of a 90 degree turn – to propose a 120 degree turn of their own. The FACT of a 90 degree turn was recorded in an interview with the pilot of the plane mere hours after the event and reiterated in a number of publications before Ireland and Andrews ever published their own account – and even the very source they used to construct their own account contained the 90 degree turn information! If THAT is not ignoring the evidence I don’t know what is.
According to you, they can't draw a circle. Sounds like pretty poor draftsmen.There is NO evidence that these people were “poor draftsmen”.
If the drawings are good, they're pretty good drawings of a blimp and OH MY GOOD GOD WOULD YOU STOP *RULE10*ING BLATHERING ON ABOUT THE BLIMPS. It was a blimp. They were near a blimp station, on a blimp route and they drew a blimp. Nothing you say will change that or change anyone's mind. You're so insanely, hilariously wrong that I'm amazed you're able to type it without your head exploding in an attempt to prevent your further humiliation.They created some well executed free-hand drawings of the “craft” they observed – certainly better than an average person could be expected to produce. So your accusations certainly DO represent and unfounded ad hominem attack. The drawings are CLEARLY very good drawings. No-one is claiming they are “drawings of circles”. The claim is that they are drawings meant to represent a circular craft – and in that the first is certainly a good drawing because it represents a 3-dimensional perspective – which the UFO debunkers of course ignore by making it into a 2-dimensional representation in order to support their “blimp” hypothesis! (again out and out ignorance of the evidence).
You seem to keep confusing "UFO debunkers" with yourself.…but I guess on the evidence I need to add some qualifiers. First UFO debunkers seem to adhere to the truism “Don’t bother me with the evidence, my mind is made up.”
We are in the face of a lack of rational, concise or logical argument. It's nice to see you admitting that. Maybe you should think about why you keep on with an argument that isn't rational, concise or logical. Do that after you've looked up "ad hominem" and found out why your usage is wrong.Second, in the face of a lack of rational, concise or logical argument they resort to ad hominem attack.
Let's face it, anything you added would just be more gibberish.There are a few other qualifiers I could add but I will show restraint to add only those evidenced in your own post Sledge.
LOLNo offense? But how am I to take falsehoods as not being offensive. I take offense at any assault on the “truth”.
You made an assertion: It was a "weather phenomenon".
You are a liar.
I then asked you whether YOU thought it was a UFO?
You are a liar again.
I asked if YOU thought it was a UFO.
And right back to being a liar again.
You are really making the claim that Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum (and Colby) and the USAF investigators and all the subsequent researchers are lying?
Do you simply enjoy being called a liar?
And back to square one: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5276766&postcount=2133
Go round in circles much?
Because their most rabid and frenetic proponents have never been able to produce one iota of credible evidence.
Have you read this thread at all, Rramjet? It's damning evidence that what I say is true.
And yet, it looks so much like a blimp drawing.
Interesting that we're now back on page 1 again.
.
//OT// Happy birth day long dead Pharaoh, you owe your priests an apology./ot/
Simple, we need a properly constituted and funded research program. The US “Air Force” did NOT “investigate” UFOs for 20 years. The following lists the major UFO Studies conducted:
Table 1.2 Major UFO Studies
Project Sign: January 22, 1948–December 30, 1948
Project Grudge: February 11, 1949–March 1952
Project Twinkle: February 1950–December 11, 1951
Project Blue Book Initiated: March 1952
Robertson Panel: January 14, 1953
O’Brien Committee: February 6, 1966
Congressional Hearing: April 5, 1966
Condon Study Contract signed: October 6, 1966
Congressional Hearing (Roush): July 29, 1968
Condon Report Completed: December 1968
National Academy Review: January 6, 1969
Condon Report Released: January 8, 1969
Project Blue Book Terminated: December 17, 1969
AAAS Symposium on UFOs: December 26–27, 1969
The US Army Air Force (and then the Air Force) was involved in four of them (Sign, Grudge, Twinkle and Blue Book). From the very beginning the attitude was to publically debunk UFOs, but to privately investigate. Soon however it became clear that even serious “private” investigation was not to be conducted and the whole mess devolved rapidly into one with two primary objectives – to “explain” every UFO report and then to announce how the Air Force had “solved” all the UFO sightings.
Now if you contend that there was actually a secret effort to study UFOs behind the scenes then you are in good company – but I am afraid you would be howled down by your fellow debunkers as a conspiracy theorist. Funny thing is that these same debunkers acknowledge “secret” (black) military projects – indeed they may from time to time appeal to them to “explain” UFOs - but still they cannot countenance the prospect that such projects might involve the study of UFOs…
But it's not research that Rramjet really wants.Calling for more research is a way to suggest science is not interested in what happens in the sky, which is false.
It does if you want it to, it doesn't if you don't.There appear to be some disagreement on whether a multitude of anecdotes equals evidence or not.
In other words, no.
There really is just one main point in all this: That is the “trap” of claiming interstellar travel is impractical (we KNOW it is possible) because of the energy requirements needed to accomplish it in reasonable time scales.Apart from the energy requirements, which are, as you correctly state, enormous.
As an aside, do you have any idea how enormous?
But there's a big difference. As you said, those people who said that heavier than air flight was impossible should have known better, because we have obvious, direct evidence that it is possible. We've been watching birds insects and bats fly around the skies since the dawn of man. However, all of our observations so far have confirmed that the energy requirements for interstellar flight in a reasonable timespan are huge. They're huge in Newtonian mechanics, and they just get worse with relativity. You offered a couple of "solutions" in the form of ion drives and wormholes. But ion drives produce tiny amounts of thrust, simply making the problem one of the time you need to get from one star to another, and they still require huge amounts of energy (and therefore fuel). And wormholes require even more energy than more conventional travel. Now you're suggesting time travel, with all the potential problems that involves, in addition to the enormous energy requirements.
No matter what you say, all of the evidence points to the energy requirements for interstellar travel being prohibitively high.
Energy requirements that you simply refuse to discuss, hiding behind the woo mantra of "you never know what we might discover in the future". Of course, it's completely true, but also completely beside the point. The mistakes of the past were predicated on a failure to foresee more efficient fuels or propulsion methods, but that just isn't the case here. The most efficient propulsion method possible is the photon drive, which turns matter into pure energy, with 100% efficiency. And you still require tons of the base fuel to accelerate a 100kg mass at 1g for 1 year, even ignoring the extra mass of the fuel you need to carry to do it!
Now, that's not to say that it isn't possible, because I've pretty much just stated that it is possible. But the energy requirements make it a hell of an effort just to hop from one star to its nearest neighbour, so we have to ask, if the aliens are expending so much energy to come here, and to keep coming here, why do they mostly piss about buzzing farmers and vacationers in remote areas of the countryside?
contends that “there is no physical evidence, and just stories”(...)
revisits Paul 2’s argument above (“You haven't presented any evidence” and “People sometimes see something in the sky and don't know what it is”) and makes a disingenuous claim (“Please do so and we will be happy to evaluate the evidence” and “We would acknowledge the evidence if there were any”). Demonstrably a hollow promise given all the evidence I have presented!(...)
(welcome to the fray!) comes in with: “So the constant observation and probing of space that's being done all over the world is not sufficient for you?” And of obviously the answer is of course a resounding “NO”. When you are looking for (for example) variations in microwave radiation, or studying black holes, or looking for extrasolar planets, etc, you are NOT focussed on looking for or investigating UFOs. The equipment and researcher attention has a completely different focus. UFOs need their own properly consituted and funded research program. It is as simple as that. You cannot say to an astronomer “Oh, by the way, when you are looking for cepheid variables tonight…keep an eye out for UFOs will you?” THAT does not constitute “UFO research” and to suggest it might do is patently ridiculous.(...)
returns with an assertion that what I am looking for is “confirmation” of a “religious belief”. But this has not been demonstrated. I simply present cases and argue in support of the evidence contained within those cases. That is a rational, logical, scientific approach. Stray Cat is simply making an unfounded assertion - a favourite UFO debunker methodology – throw some mud and see if it sticks!(...)
chimes in with “just tell us how many members of this forum you have convinced with your big pile of old anecdotes (waiting to magically transform into convincing evidence) so far?” showing two things at once…the first is of course an affirmation of “Don’t bother me with the evidence, my mind is made up” and second his failure to grasp that just perhaps JREF members are not the target audience here(...)
I'm sure it is quite obvious to intelligent people reading this thread that I was referring to the 'alien origin' attributed to the UFO's and not the UFO's themselves.…and then the next assertion of Stray Cat is a little perplexing given all that has come before about the UFO debunker’s public affirmation that UFOs exist. He states: ”Of course research into something that doesn't exist is always going to show…” Research into “something” that does not exist? UFOs do not exist? And so along with Sledge, Stray Cat has finally “outed” himself as a “true believer”. UFOs do not exist! …and in one short sentence from Stray Cat all the objections about my application of the term “UFO debunker” are shown to be utterly disingenuous (to be polite).
It does if you want it to, it doesn't if you don't.
I'm sure it is quite obvious to intelligent people reading this thread that I was referring to the 'alien origin' attributed to the UFO's and not the UFO's themselves.
But it's not research that Rramjet really wants.Calling for more research is a way to suggest science is not interested in what happens in the sky, which is false.
All he's looking for is confirmation of his religious belief and he expects other people to do that for him.
Of course research into something that doesn't exist is always going to show a bleever that we just haven't found what they bleeve in yet.
When do we call off the search?
In 100% of reported UFO cases that have been subsequently investigated and a conclusive indentification has been reached, the conclusion has been a misidentified mundane object or event. 0% have ever been conclusively demonstrated to be alien origin craft.
When do we call off the search?
Yes lets...Let us look at your whole post IN context then shall we?
It referred specifically to the part about you looking for confirmation of your religious beliefs. Which you have demonstrated throughout this thread.That was it. So where precisely were you talking about the “alien origin” of UFOs? Of course you were talking about UFOs! You meant UFOs do not exist! A moment of forgetfulness perhaps, a proverbial “slip of the tongue” if you like – but it is there now in black and white. You cannot now deny it. It is there for all to see.
No, it's a version of the "All crows are native species of this planet. Show me one that has flown across the universe (any colour really, I don't mind) but I dont see why we should waste time and money looking for an alien crow when there is no evidence that such a thing exists." piece of common sense.But this is simply a version of the “All crows are black” fallacy. That is, “All the crows I have seen are black, therefore all crows are black.”
The term “outer space” is itself an invention, (and promulgated by Hollywood movies – my all time favourite being “Plan 9 from Outer Space”). Again I do not, nor have I ever, used the term “outer space” – nor do I intend to begin doing so.
Both terms, IMO, are inaccurate misrepresentations.
Finally, we cannot “call off the search” before we have begun searching.