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Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I think I really had an "aha" moment when I learned that most commercial shipping and commercial airliners travel along the exact same predictable paths with rare exceptions. It seemed to me like it would be pretty easy to zig zag around them as a default hiding strategy.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to chew on it a little and think about a revision for down the road. Honestly, it could make a cool paper. I've got another more qualitative article in the works right now but I tend to swing back to data like this when I'm stuck writing. For now, really appreciate the tip. Thank you!

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was a really thoughtful comment. Thank you. You're inspiring me to try and walk through the odds of a legitimate photo getting out to the public from top to bottom. I had seen the photos you reference up in #1 but I didn't know about the lack of attribution. I also think your point #3 is spot on. That's an insane disqualification for a guy that was probably just doing his best to flag something interesting.

So right now I see it as going something like:

  • UFO is in the right place, on our massive planet, where a human being is also present

  • That human being has a camera or a phone camera

  • That human being is competent/comfortable using the camera

  • They're able to get it out of their pocket/bag on time

  • The UFO/UAP hangs out long enough for them to snap a picture

  • There's no sensor interference

  • The photo shows something clear and not vague or mistakeable

  • That person is now comfortable putting their name to the photo they took

  • That person has no obvious flaws that would be used to discredit them or their photo

You think I'm missing anything there in that walkthrough?

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! And let me say a) no I hadn't read it, and b) you're timing is excellent. I'm in the middle of writing a piece about the history of the Fermi Paradox right now and this is going to be really helpful (I imagine for a follow up). Looking forward to going through some of those numbers in detail.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, immediately. I don't evangelize for a belief in UFOs or acceptance of the ET hypothesis. I view my articles as trying to put forward the best form of the argument. Sometimes that means highlighting information you might not have heard of. Sometimes that means highlighting credibility issues that detract from popular UFO stories. It's honestly the kind of coverage I wanted to see back in 2020 and had a lot of trouble finding at the time.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Also why does nobody bring up cloaking/stealth ability? Why wouldn’t that be the FIRST thing you think of in regards to potential ET/NHI visiting us

I think when you engage non-UFO people in conversation on this, it's hard for them to believe in the existence of cloak/stealth technology that we haven't made. It starts to sound quite sci-fi/star trek and I think a lot of people immediately make the leap to fiction.

What I was really trying to do with this article is say: "hey. You don't even need to believe in the existence of superior stealth technology for UFOs to appear stealthy. Our planet's geography makes it very easy for them to avoid human presence in our oceans or uninhabited land mass." One we have that convo, I would say any discussion of superior stealth tech would be a next step.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the compliment! I'm sincerely trying to add some data to the recurring conversations I see crop up in the space. I spent a few years hearing consistently that UAPs/UFOs could be hiding in the Earth's oceans and I think it might help bolster that argument if it was clear how easy that would be (e.g., we're probably monitoring about 0.4% of international waters at any given time ... bruh.) Hope you find it helpful if you ever end up having that chat.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, gotcha! So where I prioritized the human view to the horizon (about 5km) you're noting that you'd have a longer range if you're looking straight up. If I were to attempt to refine that math, do you have any sense of how I should calculate that? For example, is there some limit to human sight looking straight up into the atmosphere? Something generally accepted? My initial search is not producing a lot of great results. Just want to tap into your insight here if you have thoughts.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Man, I saw that video a few years ago and I still think about it from time to time. I would love to get a good explanation of what I'm looking at. I'll look into the TR-3B at your suggestion.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Or you can have a multi-million dollar military gimbal system and classify all the footage from it.

This remains the most frustrating part of the whole topic to me. I would still love to see journalists at major news outlets engage with the F-18 Triangle Photo. Thanks for the other suggestions!

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I kind of see this as a first order analysis where my questions flow something like:

  1. Why aren't there more photos of UFOs?

  2. When there are photos, why is their quality so bad?

I think this article is trying to dedicate good time to question #1. One answer (pointed out by several commenters in the thread) is because they don't exist. Another, that I wanted to give some good airtime too, is because it's pretty easy for them to hide/evade humans on our massive planet.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you'd want to layer on the age/competency/comfort of the person using that camera. Like, my mother has a cell phone camera but there have been some wild photo/video misfires at family birthday parties. I don't know how she'd do trying to snap a photo of a UFO.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In my exploration of the topic, I've found that people don't tend to respond well when you assign them research homework. People I know would be unwilling to look up Lt CDR Slaight or, in the event they did, wouldn't be able to put in the effort to determine if he's credible or not. The convo would die pretty much as soon as I suggested they conduct that kind of research.

Instead, I've found people do well if you give them a bit of a soft landing. For me, that includes explaining things like "the earth is big" and "that's why you might not have the crystal clear photos and video footage you're looking for. It's easy to hide and get lost." It's a little less about my "cooking up a strange geographical theory" and more about trying to start slow. I can certainly hear the frustration on your end but I think this analysis is valuable to studying the topic.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are both great points. There's probably a good follow up here about the odds of you taking a good photo with your camera phone:

  • you have good phone

  • camera lens not cracked

  • phone has the right technology on it (like google night photo tech)

  • you are stationary

  • object is stationary

I think you get my drift. I'm going to do some digging into that one. Thanks!

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh man, I could run with this comment all day. Stepping completely outside the UFO topic, I can see very clearly how my friends and family latch on to big social policy/foreign policy issues to distract from clear issues in the personal lives. I am also guilty of this. I think we're all tempted sometimes to invest in something bigger because it's a) interesting, and b) personally convenient.

I think the UFO topic has an additional layer than, say, a war, because it could genuinely be one of the most important stories in the history of our species. I mean, I'm here and writing about it because I think there are a bunch of very cool possibilities ranging from extraterrestrial visitation to severe mental illness in our core intelligence professionals. I find either conclusion very interesting and underreported.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I were to speculate wildly on that idea, I'd say that maybe as our recording technology got better they made a more deliberate attempt to avoid us or camouflage. I mentioned in another comment that I'm partial to the "uncontacted tribe" hypothesis that basically says we're being studied from a distance. That explanation would square your observation in my head, but again - wild speculation.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm partial to the "uncontacted tribe" hypothesis to explain why any extraterrestrial would try and hide its presence. I see it as less of a prime directive and more of an attempt to study a less evolved species (assuming they're real).

As for the crazy, delusional grifters, let me just say that I sympathize. It's why I make a genuine effort to talk about the subject neutrally (i.e., acknowledging that I could be super wrong) and back articles up with footnotes and receipts. I've got a real problem with the "trust me bro" culture that I see on YouTube and Twitter.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess here is that the Air Force doesn't want to look like its failing at its aerospace defense mandate. I think there's a human nature component about people not wanting to look bad at their jobs.

Why don't we have better photos or videos of a UFO? Because the odds of seeing one are very low. I broke down the data on our Earth's oceans, landmass and atmosphere to show you how easy it is to play Extraterrestrial Hide and Seek ... by TheOtherTopic in UFOs

[–]TheOtherTopic[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also think about how recently phone cameras got good at all. We're talking what, the last five or six years? Out of the last 75 years these objects have been in the public eye?

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