2008/11/26 Ed Porter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > As we learn just how common exoplanets are, the possibility that aliens have > visited earth seems increasingly scientifically believable
I'm not sure that alien visitation logically follows from the discovery of exoplanets. > There have, in fact, been many > reportings of UFOs from sources that are hard to reject out of hand. Well I'm happy to report that I can dismiss all the reports which I've read about out of hand, since they don't really constitute good evidence in my opinion. Blurry photos or videos, and anecdotal claims wouldn't stand up to serious scrutiny in a scientific journal. > An > astronaut that NASA respected enough to send to the moon, has publicly > stated he has attended government briefings in which he was told there is > substantial evidence aliens have repeatedly visited earth. Unfortunately if you read the biography of this guy it seems that he's held outspoken views on such things for a very long time. Astronauts are not supermen - they're just ordinary people with the same biases and superstitions as everyone else. They're just as likely to believe in conspiracy theories and other wacky stuff. I should say that I do think there is a good chance that the universe is populated with life, but that we have observed no direct evidence of this at present. Also, the existence of life does not necessarily imply human-like life with an advanced technological civilization. Having a large brain is only one minority strategy for reproducing your genes. But, all of the above is off topic, so you can safely ignore it. ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=120640061-aded06 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
