Do I Believe in UFOs?

Neil deGrasse Tyson makes his points in very entertaining, storytelling ways.

( As a bonus, the guy knows of which he speaks. )

I love his comments.

I would guess that there is a statistical probability of other life somewhere in the universe but I have doubts as to whether they have visited us for various reasons. 

I enjoy Dr Tyson when he speaks. I particularly liked his narration on the updated Cosmos series several years back.

As much as I'd love to believe there will be a close encounter of the third kind in my lifetime, I doubt it.  At this point, I think it would more likely go along the lines of "The Day the Earth Stood Still", anyway.

I'm a big fan of "Ancient Aliens" on History Channel...but I watch it for the sheer entertainment value. Almost every episode features Chichenneya (forgive my spelling) or some other Mayan temple.

But I have to admit, when Buzz Aldrin speaks I tend to sit up a little bit straighter

But I have to admit, when Buzz Aldrin speaks I tend to sit up a little bit straighter

There was way too much selective editing and too many "artist's renditions" in that teaser for me to take it seriously.

What if there are factors in a society and culture which, when that civilization or world becomes advanced enough scientifically and technologically that it could send explorers across distant galaxies, that also bring about it's self destruction. Super weapons, something that could obliterate the "other side" in an instant perhaps. Maybe we don't see travelers from other worlds because they destroy themselves just when they are at the point of having the capability for long range (really long) space travel. 

I don't think we've seen any visitors from other worlds here on earth as of yet. There are too many sightings for it to be real, and most of them have been fairly easily dismissed. 

Speak for yourself. I discount the sightings of others but believe my own eyes.

I discount the sightings of others but believe my own eyes.

snicker

I have seen 2 UFOs in my lifetime. I can be a little skeptical of others sightings because I always try to explain it.

I discount the sightings of others but believe my own eyes.

Which line is longer?

They are equal.

Super weapons, something that could obliterate the "other side" in an instant perhaps.

Do you believe that violence is inherent in all life forms?

It would be reasonable to expect the same thing would happen to other life forms

Or they could be like ants, bats and even humans and realize the value of cooperation over competition.

Some snippets from an article how even we exist because of cooperation instead of violence.

greatergood.berkeley

Cooperation—where individuals work together in order to create a benefit for an entire group—seems at odds with what many people assume are the basic forces of evolution. After all, it’s a jungle out there, only the strongest survive, humans are selfish, etc.

But most scientists don’t share that view of evolution. “The role of unbridled violence in evolution is greatly overestimated,” says Danny Grunbaum, an oceanographer at the University of Washington and a pioneer in revealing the ways that ocean life cooperates in order to survive. “When we see animals like elephant seals fighting with each other—as we do in lots of nature documentaries—we’re really seeing only a very small sliver of time. Much more of the time they’re accommodating each other and respecting where the boundaries are—and that’s cooperation. There is a tremendous amount of cooperation in nature.”

Cooperation is part of nature, down to the cellular level. The reason why is simple, according to evolutionary biologists: Cooperation is one of the most important and beneficial behaviors on Earth. We literally would not be here without it.

Humans, plants, and animals are made up of cells that learned to cooperate long ago. Together they formed multicellular organisms, increasing each individual cell’s chances of replication and survival in the process.

From these biological blocks, cooperation prevails at every level of the animal kingdom. Ants that march to the same drummer move faster. Fish rid other fish of harmful bacteria for a free meal. Small birds protect each other from predators. Bats that share food survive.

In the following tour of the animal kingdom, we can see these and other examples of animals cooperating—and discover the underlying principles that can help humans embrace and improve upon their own cooperative instincts.

Ants

If and when you’re looking for it, you will never see an ant stuck in traffic.

Iain Couzin, a mathematical biologist at the University of Oxford, has spent years studying army ants and other swarming animals—like birds, fish, and locusts—that seem controlled by a single brain. Using video analysis to track the movement of ants on trails (and computer models of individual ants following a trail of pheromones), Couzin and colleagues have identified a few simple rules of ant group behavior—and they’ve laid the foundation for a computer simulation of army-ant highways.

These simulations show that ants have evolved a three-lane, two-way traffic system: As many as 200,000 ants a day pour out of their nest in search of food, splitting into two groups to form two outgoing lanes; they return in a single center lane, sometimes carrying more than 30,000 edible grasshoppers or other insects. Couzin theorizes that the ultra-cooperative ability of these simplistic organisms arises from living in large groups for millions of years.

Research like his has profound implications for robotics and transportation technologies. 

Fish

Among fish, cooperation is motivated by a simple trade off: food for cleanliness. “Cleaner” fish swim into the mouths of the bigger fish—called “clients”—in order to eat parasites and harmful bacteria. The cleaners get a meal, and the clients get a healthier mouth.

Bats

For some animals, cooperation seems absolutely essential.

Humans

Most human beings don’t share food that directly—at least not any more—but we do cooperate in plenty of ways, from writing Wikipedia articles to forming lines for the bathroom. Indeed, some research suggests   our first instinct   is to cooperate, not compete. Still, as is clear to anyone who’s ever been stuck in rush-hour traffic or tried to do some last minute Christmas shopping, human cooperation can break down, sometimes suddenly.

To foster cooperative success in human organizations, some scientist-philosophers believe that we should look to nature for inspiration. “Nature nurtures life through communities,” says physicist and best-selling author   Fritjof Capra . “This is a process that started with the first single-celled organisms. Life, from its beginning more than three billion years ago, took over the planet by networking, not combat.” To Capra, this calls for cooperative social organization that nurtures networks of communication, encourages sharing and experimentation, and fosters a climate of mutual support.

This doesn’t mean that cooperation eliminates conflict. “Cooperation never means the absence of conflict of interest,” notes oceanographer Danny Grunbaum. “It means a set of rules for negotiating conflicts of interest in a way that resolves them.” In the 21st century, argue both Grunbaum and Capra, learning to cooperate is more critical than ever before in human history. “That’s in part because our society is becoming so much more integrated and communication is happening much more quickly all over the world,” says Grunbaum.

It would be reasonable to expect the same thing would happen to other life forms

To me, it would be reasonable to expect exploration because of curiosity with a hope that our species is not something that is palatable to aliens.  Hopefully, we do not taste like chicken!  LOL!

I have been a firm believer in life forms from other planets beyond our own for many years. IMHO, it is foolish to believe that humans here on earth are the only life forms in all the universe and beyond. They may not look like humans, nor act like humans, but, to think humans are the only viable life forms is really a bit short sighted given the expanse of the universe and beyond. 

I also am a firm believer that there are those from other worlds that are living here among us that we simply do not choose to see, and have been for as long as our world began. They are not abominable creatures, but, have helped mankind develop advances in our world in areas of medicine, technology and science. As well as was to nurture Mother Earth and exploration of the universe to better understand how they impact our own lives. 

Humans like to see ourselves as a far advanced species, and yet, we are truly mere piss ants in view of the majesty of the universe. There are many things that humans alone could not have imagined, much less, brought to the fore with only their own brain capacity, no matter how brilliant some may be thought to be. 

However, I am not a big believer in UFO's, but, I maintain and open mind in that direction.

While I can't actually explain my thoughts and feelings of why I think and feel as I do, I have no reason to think they are without merit. And their aura does not lie.

Some tend to see me as being just a fruit and nut basket, with wayyy too many peanuts. Yet, they cannot prove me wrong. 

Just my own OPINION.

Humans like to see ourselves as a far advanced species, and yet, we are truly mere piss ants in view of the majesty of the universe.

I agree.  

Every now and then, Hollywood makes a decent movie about the "possibilities" in a non-threatening manner where our species is still at the top of the food chain.  LOL!

Indeed Hollywood and its minions have a great imagination and come up with all sorts of fantasies to stimulate our brains in the "What if's" of the unknown. 

It is my own belief that we are exposed to those of other worlds in many aspects of our lives and don't really know it, as we are not looking for the reality of what is before us, as we have been made by Hollywood and some authors to believe that those from other worlds are only demons and horrific monsters who only want to destroy or conquer humans here on earth, or use them as a food source.

Frankly, for me that concept went out with stuff like "The Body Snatchers" and "Children of the Corn" type horror movies. It tends to paint a picture of alien life in a way that may not be such at all, and can make us blind to what can be right before our own eyes that may be nothing like what they have been made out to look and act like in our minds eye. 

I am of the belief of "Never say never".....as it has been proved to be true throughout the history of our own planet. 

My opinion.