Rick, here is my whacked out theory/hypothesis regarding "aliens". When I was in college, a professor actually gave us the topic "Aliens: fact or fiction" to write about. In general, here is what I said. I'm gonna give you the "executive summary" version. Give me your feedback.

My whacked out idea is based on the following assumptions:

1. While it is mathematically probable that life does exist on other planets/systems/etc, that life will not exist in a form that we are familiar with. Just as our physical makeup is not suitable for living on other planets, theirs will not be suitable for ours. Therefore, I dont think we are being visited. If life does exist, I think the odds are low that (a) they will care to travel (b) will have the means to travel (c) find us (d) have any desire to communicate with us.

2. The human species is more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. We arent going to "blow ourselves up" like some people think. Therefore, I think we will survive for an extremely long time and eventually evolve into a different species. The humans of today will become the early cromagnons of the past.

With the above thoughts in mind, here is what I think. A looooooooooooooong time from now (thousands and thousands of years), humans will eventually crack time travel. As a result, they will attempt to travel back in time to document all history and the genetic makeup of all organisms past & present. They will attempt to solve all the mysteries that we currently ponder. They will also find that the cure for future diseases can be treated with items from the past. If people really are seeing "UFOs" (I've never seen one before, so I'm skeptical) what they are really seeing is us from the future.

As for crop circles, I think they are a hoax perpetrated by a group of engineers and/or mathematicians.

puskarich

not wacked out at all. we are supposed to use our imagination.

everyone seems to think the wheel was one of the great inventions. perhaps it was. whoever imagined and devised the stationary axle made the wheel work.

as far as crop circles, the more i read about them, the more i believe hoaxers couldn't make all of them.

radiation measured on the ground, stalks bent without breaking, circles appearing in one night that are so complicated it would take hoaxers weeks to make.

not a complete sentence, but you get the idea and who said i have to use complete sentences.

Rick, it's OK if you use incomplete sentences as long as none of them ends in a preposition ...

Rick,

Comparing a 4 minute mile and light years is ridiculous. The varience in homosapiens you are talking about is non-existent when you compare that to cosmic terms. By the way, I did a 6 minute mile.

Plants do make their own energy, but they still need sun, water, and nutrients. They are not independent. Helium is too inert, so it would not be a good candidate for using in living system.

Under the laws of physics, nothing can travel the speed of light except light, therefore nothing can travel faster. I know there are tons, of things we can't hear or see, but when you are talking about light years and cosmic legths, they dwarf any comparison to high frequency sound waves or x-rays.

There is probably a planet somewhere in this vast universe that has life, but it is impossible for them to be able to travel that far given the laws of physic and chemistry of life.

And Virgins are the top choice in this universe.

And one more thing, I don't believe in God. I'm atheist. I know my physics, chemistry, and especially my molecular biology, that's what my beliefs are based on.

choner

Funny thing:
The better camcorders get, the less home movies of UFOs are filmed.


Are we to believe that beings from another time and/or galaxy has traveled a bazillion light years to earth, and they land on a farm in Nebraska rather than in NYC or Tokyo?

I heard that NBC is going to make that the new reality TV show next fall. It will be called, "Theres an alien living in my wheat field." It will detail the crazy antics of an alien making crop circles in a frustrated farmer's field. Check your local listings for time and channel.

Anna Nicole Smith stars as the alien. She lays on the ground and rolls around to make the crop circles.

tailgater

i have been to NY and tokyo. i've never been to nebraska, but i'll bet it's nicer.

where is nebraska anyway?

One thing that is certain, is that the laws of physics, mathmatics and chemistry apply throughout the cosmos. 2 molecules of hydrogen and 1 of oxygen will always make water; etc. If some entity is capable of these feats, it's through the application of those laws and perhaps some we haven't discovered yet. Sorry Rick, there is no magic.

THL

no magic? baloney, i once saw a guy pull a rabbit out of an empty hat.