Orionblamblam said:
sublight is back said:
Well if uncle Sam would brush off the cobwebs and punt some of the old stuff over to the National Archives, we'd have a lot less "believers"....
No, you wouldn't. If the DoD declassified every damn thing and posted 'em online, we'd probably be disappointed at the lack of Really Neato Black Projects What Actually Flew. And then... the "believers" would go right on believing. Because the declassification was clearly not complete, and the really neato stuff is stuck behind Double Secret Classification. Obviously.
Reality is, for many people, terribly boring. And thus it's important for some to believe in Bigfoot and Flying Saucers, because it makes the universe more interesting to them. And when confronted with thus who deny their beliefs in the irrational, those people can jack up the interestingness by transferring it to *themselves.* They are now in on the action, part of the special elite of those who are wiser and better informed than the sheeple.
Relevant:
Orionblamblam, I assure you that for me the universe is fascinating enough, aliens or no aliens. And, I'm sorry to say, it is your attitude that is irrational, when you deny the possibility of alien visits. It reminds me of the views of one 18th or 19th century French academic, who was ready to bet that meteorites do not come from outer space because it's simply impossible: you can't have rocks flying across the cosmos, anybody who thinks otherwise is a dimwit.
If you care to find out about the latest in space exploration, you will learn that several hundred exoplanets have already been discovered, and, statistically, our galaxy alone could have millions of planets( latest news: even 400 BILLION extrasolar planets, source: wikipedia). If just a fraction of them developed life, and there is no reason to question this assumption, and another fraction of that developed intelligent life, we are still left with hundreds/ thousands of places where spacefaring civilizations could develop, ergo might have/ might be visiting us. This is not theorizing but a logical extrapolation with regard to astronomical data.
You know, while we are at it, the problem with academia, but also with any highly-qualified professionals, is of a psychological nature: it is the fear of the unknown, the fear of knowledge that could undermine many scientific/technological achievements or even ruin careers; hence the hostility, derision, and ostracism on the part of many experts when they are faced with information they can't readily categorize( or they do:misinterpretation, hoax, delusion, swamp gas, etc.) It is only human, but this conservatism hampers progress, cloaking itself in rationalism and empirism, otherwise an absolute necessity in science and most desirable in any cognitive process. In short, while we retain our scepticism, it is also worth keeping an open mind. Difficult as it sounds, it is possible.
As for the cartoon you posted, did you notice the bit about science being based on observation and adjusting itself accordingly? We are talking about observations here. And what about the line saying life is full of mystery? Even the most arrogant scientist will refuse to claim that we already know everything.