Live data from Hacker News

A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

nbcboston.com

121–130 of 204 posts

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Avi Loeb is legitimately excited about this topic. He's also aware that the public is tremendously excited and inspired about the possibility of UFOs, alien flybys of the solar system, etc. I think he's achieved professional recognition, paid his dues playing the game of academia (very successfully), and is now pursuing things that he finds most exciting. The man has co-authored a thousand papers, literally,…

> That for sure is triggering folks who take themselves very seriously. I don't think anyone in the field is triggered by some guy pursuing his interest in aliens and UFO. What they get triggered about, is that guy using his relatively large platform to say that anyone not agreeing with him is part of the establishment or otherwise useless, or to say that there is no other possible explanation to a certain phenomenon…

If believing that there are more rocks in space than aliens is what makes you a part of the establishment then I'm The Man. :-)

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#122
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here I didn't even consider the chance that it was an elaborate ruse to grab a punch of rare-earth metals. Apparently my heavy diet of sci-fi and techno thrillers hasn't trained me well enough yet. ;)

Quoted post unavailable.

No post body was provided.

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#123
post #22

Can the title be revised to something like "Harvard Professor on Quest for Possible Alien Tech that Crashed in the Pacific Ocean"? Current phrasing makes it seem like the professor crashed into the ocean.

The actual article's title was "Harvard Professor Believes Alien Tech Could Have Crashed Into Pacific Ocean" which is more clear. Although to make it less woo-woo flying saucer-ish, I might have said: "Harvard Professor Believes Meteor That Crashed Into Ocean Was Alien Metal"

If it was real alien tech it could be anywhere doing anything by now.

If we're not going to just assume aliens 'non-terrestrial' might be more accurate.

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#124
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see anything in the original research that suggests it is "tech". I think the article completely made this up. It's because it's coming from Avi Loeb, the guy who suggested Oumuamua might be a Rama-style spacecraft. I don't think he's dead set on alien hypotheses, but he wants them to at least be taken seriously as possibilities.

Ah, I didn't know it was the same guy. It's not clear, at least to me, how extreme his original claims even were, considering how fast things get distorted with sensationalist media these days. He does seem to be a quite serious scientist and not a crank.

I don't think it's an unreasonable hypothesis. At this point we know that the government has been cataloging evidence of advanced craft in the air and ocean that behave intelligently and are far beyond the capabilities of any major world power. A small portion of that evidence has been released to the public and officials with clearance (including elected officials) have stated that the evidence they've seen is significant. Doesn't mean its aliens but unless there is some elaborate conspiracy there is compelling evidence of technology in our planet that violates our current understanding of physics.

Loeb is connecting dots and hypothesizing that there is a connection between that phenomena and extrasolar objects. It's not a completely unreasonable theory and I think it's worth examination.

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#126
post #22

Can the title be revised to something like "Harvard Professor on Quest for Possible Alien Tech that Crashed in the Pacific Ocean"? Current phrasing makes it seem like the professor crashed into the ocean.

Wouldn't that attract more readers?

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#127
post #15

I don't see anything in the original research that suggests it is "tech". I think the article completely made this up. To be pedantic, nearly all of the material that we are made of came from other stars, manufactured in their nuclear fusion and supernovae. I think what they mean is a macroscopic object that was formed in another star system, which they've inferred from its incoming trajectory.

Material is technology.

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#129
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine their disappointment if all they recover would be a few tons of platinum, iridium and such. /s

Or re-entry rocket boosters

Those would not be travelling at extra-solar speeds.

Re: A meteor or alien tech: Harvard professor plans UFO expedition

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Avi Loeb is legitimately excited about this topic. He's also aware that the public is tremendously excited and inspired about the possibility of UFOs, alien flybys of the solar system, etc. I think he's achieved professional recognition, paid his dues playing the game of academia (very successfully), and is now pursuing things that he finds most exciting. The man has co-authored a thousand papers, literally,…

> That for sure is triggering folks who take themselves very seriously. I don't think anyone in the field is triggered by some guy pursuing his interest in aliens and UFO. What they get triggered about, is that guy using his relatively large platform to say that anyone not agreeing with him is part of the establishment or otherwise useless, or to say that there is no other possible explanation to a certain phenomenon…

> to be insulting to another colleague during an online talk.

When did this happen? In the podcasts and interviews I heard, Loeb was often provocative towards the establishment, but I never saw him make negative comments about an individual.

Post reply on HN