I believe in UFOs

[MrScorpio]

However, I don't know what they are.

Because, they're... well... uh, UNidentified.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. But do you think the aliens driving them should get licenses?

Do you? DO YOU?!?!

[varkam]

2. They should. But they shouldn't be allowed to smoke while driving!

:rofl:

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. Smoke WHAT?!?!

Are you suggesting that extraterrestrials are proponents of mind-altering substances??!?

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDRENZ?!?!

[MrCoffee]

16. camels with the filters torn off

[NoodleBoy]

4. finally, a straight talking person we can all get behind-- you're the real deal

good thing we have you on DU or those reptoid luddites who want us to think UFO's are piloted by little green men might have their way.

[Indi Guy]

8. They're not green!

;)

[EST]

5. There are lots of things that are still unsatisfactorily explained

in the world, let alone the larger universe.
Even fairly simple things, like my mother's clock.

When I was a kid, the clock on my mother's stove quit working--all at once and during lots of local lightning strikes. Five years later, during another electrical storm, it took off working fine and continued to perform flawlessly for many years afterward.

There were many things we didn't understand in the 1950s that we now do, and the case of the clock--inexplicable then--is now pretty understandable.
Same with ufos, imo: when we have dependable data and have filled in enough holes so that the pattern recognition we call thinking is satisfied, all will be clear.

In the mean time, they serve as a delicious thrill for some and source of contempt for others. (sigh) We humans just keep on insisting on being human.

[Richard Steele]

6. Exactly so. nm

[southerncrone]

7. Me, too. I've seen one.

But maybe we Scorpios are special like that! ;)

I've also heard on the news that there have been Unidentified Individuals Fleeing the Scenes of Crimes.
Why are those Unidentifieds any different than what's in the sky? Both are examples of things Unidentified. What don't people get about that? :shrug:

[undergroundpanther]

10. anything

that is ambiguous,creates uncertainty or cannot be controlled,explained, repeated on cue or 'predicted' or 'proved' in a lab,will threaten the hell out of some people .Especially those who do not allow themselves to ever admit they might not know it all...or why things are as they are.People cling to world views /paradigms sometimes because it seems they invest too much into them,and accepting a new idea into their world view /paradigm would shatter the cultural lenses they see their view of reality through and that may threaten to undermine who they think they are.

[Lilith Velkor]

9. That's because you are not intellectually lazy

...and you don't have the mentality of a fifth-grade bully, or an acidhead.

[undergroundpanther]

11. yep

Because being willing to say I don't know and entertain what if's can be a sign of a person's intellectual freedom and willingness to question authority and stray past the "safe" opinions.

Look, other world governments have different official positions on UfO's:

Brazil: UFOs are a matter of national security. The media are forbidden to divulge UFO reports without the prior censorship of the Brazilian Air Force.

China: UFOs are a real, unsolved important mystery. Members of the Chinese air force participate openly and in a cooperative manner with Chinese UFO organizations.

Indonesia: The government studies UFOs seriously for reasons of sociology, technology and security. Officials admit they were obliged to open fire on them at least once.

Japan: UFOs are considered to be a genuine concern. Japanese officials cooperate very closely with the U.S. Government.

New Zealand: The Ministry of Defense takes an active interest in all UFO reports.

Zimbabwe: The government believes implicitly that the unexplained UFOs are from some civilization beyond our planet.There are countries that officially admitted UFO's exist.
And..so has...Jimmy Carter

“I don’t laugh at people any more when they say they’ve seen UFOs. It was the darndest thing I’ve ever seen. It was big, it was very bright, it changed colors and it was about the size of the moon. We watched it for ten minutes, but none of us could figure out what it was. One thing’s for sure ... I’ll never make fun of people who say they’ve seen unidentified objects in the sky. If I become President, I’ll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists.”

At a Southern Governors Conference describing an alleged UFO sighting he had in October of 1969 to reporters while campaigning in 1976.

“I am convinced that UFOs exist because I have seen one.”

Former U.S. President and five-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

[Lilith Velkor]

13. Seems like basic common sense to me

Flying objects should be identified to determine if they are a threat, and going "wooooo" at people who see them may be gratifying, I guess...unless your country gets hit by a comet.

[Basileus Basileon]

12. Please, do explain to me

how the unending process of continuous research, analysis, and critical thought that allows one to balance possibility against probability is evidence of "intellectual laziness."

In order to have a truly open mind, you have to be able to fairly consider all possibilities--but you also have to have a strong, active noise filter that allows you to discount most all possibilities as unsupported. Otherwise, you're simply bound by your whims and locked by cognitive bias.

[Swamp Rat]

14. Straw Man

:D

[Lilith Velkor]

15. Sure

As soon as you explain how the hell you inferred all that from my post.

Most of yours seems to consist of noise. A higher ratio of signal would be most helpful.