Live data from Hacker News

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

arxiv.org

71–80 of 97 posts

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The linked paper on arXiv[1] starts off with: " We observe a significant number of objects whose nature is not clear. Flights of single, group and squadrons of the ships were detected" (emphasis mine) The word "ships" is a bit of a stretch to say the least without some really good evidence. What's their "scientific" evidence? In the synopsis they say: "Adobe colour system" which... umm... how can I put this politely.…

What if UFOs blur images taken from them? We already have similar technology that blocks cameras using laser.

Then detect the interference.

It's a similar problem to "jamming" in military radar systems. You might be half-blind while jammed, but you're aware that you are being jammed in the same way that you won't miss someone shining a torch in your face.

Multiple cameras across a wide range of wavelengths (UV-Visible-IR) would be fantastically difficult to hide from, for a range of parameters such as UFO size, altitude, speed, etc... To the point where it starts to become physically impossible, irrespective of technology level.

For example, various militaries have looked into tracking high-altitude spy planes via the disturbance they make in the air. You can camouflage the plane all you want, but you can't stop air from existing.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#72

Funny enough I was just reading the book "In Plain Sight" [1] before I flipped over to hacker news. It's a book about the serious investigation into UAPs by various governments, and is heavily sourced, with often times a half dozen references per page, many official and declassified sources. It's hard to come out of reading it without being strongly convinced that these UAP are not of human or natural origin. [1] htt…

> really curious if any of the downvoters could mention their rationale. Not downvoting, but I used to be a huge "UFO fan" around the ages of 8-11. I read book after book, all breathlessly outlining the "reams of evidence" available. I watched documentaries on television, saw UFO topics covered in the newspaper, and I had a shelf full of books all in agreement. Must be true, right? Except that even as young child I s…

I've been a UFO skeptic for quite some time, but the Ariel School Incident [1] is one that lives rent-free in my head. The eyewitness accounts make it even more convincing, because

1. They don't exactly agree with each other (which is to be expected since eyewitness testimony is extremely unreliable, it would be more suspicious if they id)

2. Many of these people repeat the story years after the incident, as grown adults. As far as I know, they haven't received a single cent for their troubles.

3. It's not like these kids had much exposure to the pop culture idea of UFOs - yet their drawings are very similar to what we think of when we think UFO.

[1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_School_UFO_incident

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#73
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of UFO videos seem to be some kind of optical effect. The object rotates exactly in tune to when the HUD shows that the camera is rotating. The object suddenly zips away as soon as the HUD shows that the camera has suddenly stopped rotating to track the object. You see these obvious things in some of the most famously regularly brought up videos like the Tic Tac and Gimbal UFO videos, and almost nobody picks up…

How do you explain the visual confirmation by the pilots as well as the objects showing up on radar? It's fine to be skeptical but don't be so dismissive when you yourself are leaving out important details that negate your claim.

Many of those videos with "eyewitness" corroboration have to be taken in context.

For example, the video clips typically show a small blurry splotch a few pixels in size. What's not always obvious is what level of magnification is used. In many cases its a digital zoom on top of a telephoto lens. The unaided human eye would see just a tiny speck, which could be anything, and may not even be the same "object"!

The other context is pilots rarely fly in empty skies, especially military aviators. Many "sightings" have been in the context of drills, war games, or similar. The pilots may not be aware of things such as small drones used by officers for monitoring, or secret testing of UAVs. E.g.: A question that designers would like to answer is: "Can this stealth drone be spotted in realistic scenarios by pilots not told about its presence?"

Etc...

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#74

There are a few interesting documentaries online. Check out unacknowledged, disclosure and close encounters of the fifth kind. What's interesting to me is that the ce5 protocol meditation is almost identical to some Taoist meditation I learnt 20 years ago. Of course there's also loads of bullshit too, but for me the UFO question was answered years ago. They're here. The AATIP/UAP angle is a good one to rebrand the su…

Where did you learn this taoist meditation? Do you recall the name?

Yeah it was in Mantak Chia's books. Healing Light of the Tao IIRC

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healing-Light-Tao-Foundational-Prac...

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#75
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blah, blah, blah. The usual rebuttal. Like climate deniers, debunkers gonna debunk. It's strange that these people are trusted to handle and launch nukes, but apparently when squadrons of UAPs show up simultaneously on the most advanced sensor systems in the world they suddenly can't be trusted.

At that level, trust and skill are specialisms, not generic statements. By analogy, I'm a skilled software developer, graduated 2006, learned to read from a Commodore 64 user manual etc., but I make iOS apps, put me on a Rust project and don't even know the syntax. I trust a fighter pilot to be really good at spotting potential hazards in the air, and also things which are not responding to the appropriate IFF signal…

No, but in aggregate, I trust them to be able to collectively say "something weird is going on". 100+ ex-service personnel testified in front of Congress about UFOs interfering with and disabling nukes in siloes over several decades. Can't find a link ATM but it's on Youtube somewhere I think.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#76
post #27
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that sets humans and animals apart is language. The ability to transfer abstract thoughts and ideas between individuals. Would you adopt an alien creature capable of reasoning and and expressing its thoughts as a pet? Or would you consider that enslavement?

It's all a matter of degrees. My cat certainly is able to communicate with me and there are smarter animals around that we keep in captivity (e.g. dolphins).

There is a clear line between "the cat says meow and you figure out what it wants based on the context" and "someone thinks something and says it out loud such that you now have the same thought". It's this process of transfer of abstract thoughts between people, and later the ability to preserve those thoughts on paper, that made our civilization possible.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#77

Funny enough I was just reading the book "In Plain Sight" [1] before I flipped over to hacker news. It's a book about the serious investigation into UAPs by various governments, and is heavily sourced, with often times a half dozen references per page, many official and declassified sources. It's hard to come out of reading it without being strongly convinced that these UAP are not of human or natural origin. [1] htt…

I think there is one very powerful argument against the idea that any alien life form has visited Earth since the humanity existed: the humanity still exists.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#78
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that level, trust and skill are specialisms, not generic statements. By analogy, I'm a skilled software developer, graduated 2006, learned to read from a Commodore 64 user manual etc., but I make iOS apps, put me on a Rust project and don't even know the syntax. I trust a fighter pilot to be really good at spotting potential hazards in the air, and also things which are not responding to the appropriate IFF signal…

No, but in aggregate, I trust them to be able to collectively say "something weird is going on". 100+ ex-service personnel testified in front of Congress about UFOs interfering with and disabling nukes in siloes over several decades. Can't find a link ATM but it's on Youtube somewhere I think.

"Weird" describes far more options than just ETs.

My dad worked in the defence sector, on IFF transponders; Plessy when I was young, Marconi bought them out, I think his division was bought by BA around the time he retired. Not sure who before Plessy.

But I digress: one of his stories was about a light in the workshop that would not switch off. Eventually they got a technician in, who saw the switch did nothing to the light, measured the thing with an ammeter and confirmed that the switch both worked and was connected to the light, traced the wires to the light and confirmed they were the only ones.

Nothing made sense. The light stayed lit even without power.

He took the light out of the fixture and the light stayed lit.

Weird story, right? Can you work out what was going on from that description? My only hints are that it's a true story and that it wasn't aliens.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#79

Funny enough I was just reading the book "In Plain Sight" [1] before I flipped over to hacker news. It's a book about the serious investigation into UAPs by various governments, and is heavily sourced, with often times a half dozen references per page, many official and declassified sources. It's hard to come out of reading it without being strongly convinced that these UAP are not of human or natural origin. [1] htt…

There's certain topics on HN you have to pay the karma tax for broaching. It wasn't always this way but it is where we are.

Re: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

#80
post #76
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's all a matter of degrees. My cat certainly is able to communicate with me and there are smarter animals around that we keep in captivity (e.g. dolphins).

There is a clear line between "the cat says meow and you figure out what it wants based on the context" and "someone thinks something and says it out loud such that you now have the same thought". It's this process of transfer of abstract thoughts between people, and later the ability to preserve those thoughts on paper, that made our civilization possible.

So were is the line? Is an Ape using sign language on our side of the line, or on the cat's side? At what age does a child cross the line?
Post reply on HN