Sceptic offers hot air theory on UFOs

Sceptic offers hot air theory on UFOs

www.ntnews.com.au

IS THIS bloke kidding? An American boffin has told a Darwin audience that UFOs and aliens don't exist.

World-famous sceptic Michael Shermer said the strange sightings in Territory skies were more likely to be weather balloons or aircraft.

"Sometimes it can be the planet Venus on the horizon," he said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, we had another sighting and photo the other day of yet another UFO. It was on the front page of the paper a few days back (still searching for the article), and today this was on the front page

I dont know about the weather balloon theory, I am one of the seven people up here that launches them

www.ntnews.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Here's a couple more UFO things from my local newspaper, the first looks ver similar to a weather balloon

www.ntnews.com.au...

www.ntnews.com.au...

www.ntnews.com.au...

I swear, only UFO's and crocodiles make the NT News front page these days

This guy is certainly not a skeptic. This guy is spewing rubbish for the sake of it. Trying to derail years of research, scientific study, video, and eye witness testimony with the same tired lines is just hard to swallow..Even by some of the most staunch in the role of devils advocate.

Ridiculous.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I am a skeptic, but this guy is an idiot. Balloons and venus...blah.....these are the skeptics I can't stand, give the rest of bad names.

reply to post by projectvxn


Maybe he is

Interesting that he believes in the possibility of life on other planets

I just know that they (well maybe)arent always my weather balloons, but I have had a few calls from the public asking where my balloons are sometimes, to rule out that possibility

reply to post by OzWeatherman


What? No mention of swamp gas, Mr. Shermer?

What, is that not rediculous enough for you now?

Originally posted by asmeone2
reply to post by OzWeatherman

 

What? No mention of swamp gas, Mr. Shermer?

What, is that not rediculous enough for you now?

Lol, no chance of that, all our swamps are dry. Its the dry season up here, been dry for 3 months and no rain til late next month

Understandable. His stupidity lies in the assertion that UFOs "Don't exist".
That's like saying space debris, birds, planes, satellites, missiles, blimps and other airships, weather balloons, and all other forms of commonly mistaken objects don't exist. Nor do the other 10 to 5 % that are completely unknown in shape and size scales to what we can compare to on Earth, as well as signs of intelligent control, which can be ascertained through credible testimony, video, radar detections, and other data that is out there for anyone to find and read.

To claim that UAP(Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) UFO's(Unidentified Flying Object) don't exist, by definition, is stupid when you consider the context he put it in(Alien craft). He basically subverted his own point by making such a damned stupid statement without considering his own motivations, or why he sticks to such assertions. Unless he was considering this...But I suppose that is a different thread now isn't it?

dont you know? the whole skeptic think is his cover-story, he IS an alien

Lol

I know its from the opposite end, but lately my town (and state) has become obsessed with UFO's. Its quite bizzare, and Im sure that many of these sightings are not what they seem. You have to remember that a lot of people just assume that a UFO is a spaceship from a distant planet, which is just as bad as a sceptic ruling it out automatically

It does go both ways. Would like to see more scientific investigation up here....I could even consult, based on weather balloon knowledge and atmospheric conditions

yes, i think the phonomenon has grown significantly, ever since i was litle i loved the old pictures of ufo's i found them fascinating, and would often look out for them, but it was only within the last few weeks i have seen one

Originally posted by monkeybus
yes, i think the phonomenon has grown significantly, ever since i was litle i loved the old pictures of ufo's i found them fascinating, and would often look out for them, but it was only within the last few weeks i have seen one

Yes the phenomena has grown worldwide, and quite significantly.

Unfortunantly the credibility of some sightings is poor lately

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Needs more of an australian slant like every time a croc eats a tourist they let out an explosive gas. Works for me.

Its good to see that theres more UFO activity here in Aus, however this guy is just trying to blatantly throw it back in our faces. I would love to see what he had to say if there was an ATS member present there thats for sure !

I pretty much agree with the above posts. I really liked the "spewing rubbish" line. Watching Shermer reminds me of watching a whitehouse press conferance.
OZ your 3rd post is great support for the Shermer story. In your local area alone people are photographing and reporting all sorts of things in the sky. I know I've seen local reports here, in So. Cal., that have never gotten any national play. How long can this subject be ignored?

He's a highly educated man and I've read several articles by him that I agreed with. It's unfortunate that he's takes such an absolutist stance on this one. It undermines his reliability as a skeptic. Furthermore, he's guilty of commiting his own type 1 error. He states that UFOs don't exist when the definition merely means 'unidentified'. He can't seriously believe that

So we are left with the legacy of two types of thinking errors: Type 1 Error: believing a falsehood and Type 2 Error: rejecting a truth. ... Believers in UFOs, alien abductions, ESP, and psychic phenomena have committed a Type 1 Error in thinking: they are believing a falsehood. ... It's not that these folks are ignorant or uninformed; they are intelligent but misinformed. Their thinking has gone wrong. — Michael Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things, 1997, 2002, Introduction

I'd say he's fallen way beneath his own standards on this one

Michael Shermer is a fraud AND an idiot! He BELIEVES Bush's official conspiracy theory and wrote an article calling anyone who is skeptical of Bush's 'official conspiracy theory' LIARS! Shermer is rapidly losing any credibility whatsoever. He is most certainly NOT a true skeptic as he claims to be.

For him to say they outright don't exist, asif its a fact, shows his narrow minded illogical idiocy.
Because in reality logically no one can say 100% if anything really exists or doesn't exist.
And any decent scientists will tell you well its what we have calculated from our studies however nothing can ever be 100% proven.
The point is many sightings of UFO's can be explained.
But just as many that can be explained cant be explained.
The following video for example.
www.youtube.com...
You have educated qualified trusted ex military men who were in charge of nuclear weapons.
Showing film and talking about a UFO that disabled there missiles and flew around there missiles shining some light at it.
These men do not lie.They still have no idea what it is.
But it was most definitely an Unidentified Flying Object.
This proves UFO's do exist so this guy is full of it.
It doesn't prove what they are, no, but they certainly aren't balloons or hot air.

Meh. The only thing that's been debunked is Michael Shermer by the one, and only, Stanton Friedman. If you've never listened to that Coast to Coast show, go YouTube it now... it's a classic. Shermer went to the show unresearched, unprepared, and ultimately resorted to strawman arguments as Stanton Friedman tore him apart.