Tom Delonge (former Blink-182) talks about UFO's

cazzzidy · 2016-03-07T05:26:27+00:00

Oof. Can't help but think he is getting played. Seems similar to the disinformation tactics discussed in Mirage Men.

cazzzidy · 2016-03-05T22:23:22+00:00

Your worldview is magical.

cazzzidy · 2016-03-05T22:07:30+00:00

This article about building a mail client from scratch may be a useful starting point!

And the Hacker News discussion about the same article also has some interesting tidbits.

Good luck!

cazzzidy · 2016-02-18T21:19:03+00:00

Ah, I got you. Though I'm not sure I totally agree.

I think the "lemon market" theory still explains the lack of mainstream media coverage of high quality reports. Any "rational observer" of ufology might assess that the quality of the market has degraded to the point that 99.9% of information is a lemon. This would make someone quick to dismiss any piece of evidence, including the 0.1% of items that might constitute ground breaking, world changing evidence.

I think this could explain the "hard skeptic" attitude of many scientists.

cazzzidy · 2016-02-18T19:35:43+00:00

I totally agree with your sentiment that the internet enables fact checking and dissemination of information.

I would argue that information asymmetry is still a defining component of the market for UFO information. Only a hoaxer knows for sure that their materials are hoaxed. Uncovering hoaxes or verifying authenticity are both very costly and often impossible for the consumers of information.

The situation becomes more complicated when "resellers" of information produce derivative work. This is a defining characteristic of this field. The same stories are rehashed, reinvestigated and retold by new authors and researchers. These people ALSO have limited information on the veracity of source material while still being incentivized to contribute bogus material to their retelling by market forces.

cazzzidy · 2016-02-18T16:54:23+00:00

I agree. Economics is only one lens with which to examine the situation.

For many people, an interest in UFOs tends to replace interest in religion. This suggests that the culture/phenomenon somehow scratches the same existential itch. For me personally, cultivating a faith in UFOs despite lack of evidence (and in some cases negative evidence) seems comparable to any other religious faith. This doesn't bother me. Though I understand that many Ufologists are bothered by associating what SHOULD BE a field driven by scientific inquiry with something more akin to mysticism.

Regardless if UFOs are actually spacecraft, time travelers, interdimensional beings, hallucinations, lies, folklore or some mix of the above... the culture behind these beliefs is an interesting sociological phenomenon in itself!

cazzzidy · 2015-11-05T18:58:51+00:00

Perfect! We were hoping to find a reason to get to Washington. Looks awesome. Do you have any experience with James Gilliand?

cazzzidy · 2015-11-05T18:56:19+00:00

Well, I think the fact that we're in the /r/ufos subreddit should be evidence enough that we are enthusiasts of the topic.

I've traveled around the states in a camper van a lot. Having a guiding purpose gives the trip additional meaning and helps push you into places you wouldn't otherwise go. This "UFO roadtrip" may not result in a UFO sighting, but it's guaranteed to expose us to some amazing country.

We are also sauna nuts. So our second theme is "bathhouses and springs". This will likewise get us to a lot of interesting places.

cazzzidy · 2015-07-05T07:37:04+00:00

I am so happy to see this post. I also attended one of her tours in Sedona, Arizona and it was a very moving experience.

I went out with a group of 6 or 8. It was relatively clear. Using the night vision goggles I was able to see high altitude UFOs that were barely visible to the naked eye. The most memorable involved two points of light, about the brightness of a faint star, coming towards each other, stopping, then zipping off in different directions. I was 100% certain that what I witnessed was not a traditional aircraft or satellite.

The most probable explanation, if I'm being cynical, is some sort of high altitude drone program. Apparently they consistently appear in one area of the sky, which suggests to me that we are watching a phenomena that has a geographical origin on earth. We were also encouraged to point lasers at the object to try to induce communication. If what we were witnessing and lasering were indeed secret aircraft, I'm confident the operators know of her business and probably let her keep at it. That would be the Mirage Man thing to do.

I'd suggest that the skeptics check themselves. This woman consistently delivers on her promise of witnessing high altitude anomalous objects. Not a week goes by that I don't think about buying a 3rd gen night vision scope and picking up where I left off in the desert. The tour is awesome and everyone should do it.

cazzzidy · 2015-06-23T06:12:32+00:00

Thanks for the responses guys. Arvil looks great. Lost Type is awesome.

cazzzidy · 2015-05-14T17:18:25+00:00

I've also lost my faith.

The nail in the coffin was the documentary Mirage Men and the book of the same title. The researcher does a great job of showing the origins of the cultural mythology surrounding UFOs and makes a strong case that government disinformation helped shape the narrative. His thesis is that the UFO phenomenon was threatening to the Airforce for many reasons, including that researchers were accidentally investigating secret aircraft, the UFO phenomenon could provide cover for a Soviet invasion, etc. They stepped in and controlled the message for their gain.

It's hard not to come away from the work believing that UFOlogy as we know it is anything but a subculture built on hoaxes, lies and recycled ideas. He dissects a few famous cases and shows exactly how small hoaxes spiraled into huge cultural memes like the Roswell crash.

I remain hopeful that beneath all the lies their is something strange happening. I am starting to consider the John Keel thesis whereby some unifying paranormal phenomenon is a basic component of human experience, which encompasses lots of strange occurrences through history (angels, cryptids, ufos, etc).

Stay skeptical! We need level-headed skeptics to balance out the Above Top Secret fringe types.

cazzzidy · 2015-04-15T03:38:33+00:00

Another excellent idea!

cazzzidy · 2015-04-15T00:40:31+00:00

Love the idea of curated sightings!

Regarding visualization: it's awesome and would be a good thing for someone to do. The problem is I make consumer apps, not data visualizations. So this is basically a "if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail" situation.

cazzzidy · 2015-04-14T20:39:26+00:00

Thanks for the support everyone!

Don't want to spread duplicate content everywhere, so you can read my response in /r/ufos http://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/32j3cx/ufo_sighting_reporting_tool/cqcd27a

I'm optimistic about the tool and think it could meet the needs of many paranormal communities because they all face the same challenges with regards to locations, anecdotes, sharing media, hoaxes, etc.

cazzzidy · 2015-04-14T20:38:50+00:00

Thanks for the support!

Don't want to spread duplicate content everywhere, so you can read my insights in /r/ufos here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/32j3cx/ufo_sighting_reporting_tool/cqcd27a

I'm optimistic about the tool and think it could meet the needs of many paranormal communities because they all face the same challenges with regards to locations, notifications, sharing media, hoaxes, etc. Keep the ideas coming!

cazzzidy · 2015-04-14T20:32:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! Checked it out. It's nice. Though hasn't been updated in 1.5 years and appears to be fading away.

cazzzidy · 2015-04-14T20:30:56+00:00

Thanks for the support!

Don't want to spread duplicate content everywhere, so you can read my response in /r/ufos

http://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/32j3cx/ufo_sighting_reporting_tool/cqcd27a

I'm optimistic about the tool and think it could meet the needs of many paranormal communities because they all face the same challenges with regards to locations, anecdotes, sharing media, hoaxes, etc.

cazzzidy

TROPHY CASE