Has being on ATS changed your mindset?

reply to post by diamount





In fact ATS has confirmed for me that man is to primitive cognitively to even begin to comprehend the cosmos, but in his arrogance he thinks he can with his clumsy science and philosophies.

Unfortunately, hanging around here can lead you to only one conclusion - the so-called UFO and alien phenomenon is pure bull#.

the only antidote is to frequently go back and re-read Vallee and Dolan so you can say "oh yes, now I remember: there really is a phenomenon....!"

[edit on 27-10-2009 by Longchenpa]

Yes, it has most definetely for me. When I came here I was a huge believer, now... not so much. Although I do believe ET life is possible, though, and to be perfectly honest my first post here was to share my UFO sighting on broad daylight, for which I haven't found an explanation even to this day. But now I acknowledge there's a lot of crap on this field.

Diamount. I can safely say I agree with you. yes I believe this phenom. but I do not believe them in our solar system moon, mars what have you. maybe they are but I doubt it. I do not believe in the contactee tripe, and I dont buy into the people that talk to the aliens any more than I believe priests who "speak in tongues" by screaming gibrish at the ceiling fans. Basically We present what we think of as evidence. You will never see proof from either spectrum of the truth seeking community so its up to you to decide for yourself whether its worthy or not of your personal investigation. So in short, Yes. ATS has helped me broaden my perspective 2 fold. When I first started this site a while ago, I was always screaming they're real they're real much like christians scream about the hippie, and elvis. Now after seeing hoax after hoax, and nut job after nut job, and the five or six things that in my mind are worth further investigation, I have turned from extremist to truth seeker. Some times I am right there with the nut jobs defending them through the points they missed, and others i am with the "Show me's" in points they forgot to make. You can either criticise every one in here for stupidity, ignorance, and defamation (usually of self) or make use of the tools offered.

reply to post by whaaa
show me wax the floor

reply to post by diamount


Well, I sure as heck was not naive about anything especially UFOs and "aliens." I've been a member of many UFO forums beginning in the '90s and there was one person that I always ran into and had fun with him and that's Jim Oberg. We don't always see eye to eye but we respect each other and he is not shy about calling a spade a spade. Same with me. A lot of members of all forums, past and present, can't handle opposing POVs to theirs. Every forum has its residents who act as if they own the forums, ATS included.

But what makes coming here fun for me is that while I draw a lot fire, bounces off me, I enjoy posts and replies by "free-thinkers" such as IgnoreTheFacts and others like him/us.

Once in a while someone posts something of interest and tha makes it worthwhile puttin up with the "unwashed."

I have always been interested in the UFO Phenomenon. I have lurked this place for a long tine now.

It is strange but I have found myself become more of a skeptic since coming here. I guess it is because I have always searched for tangible evidence, but some believers seem to bite into everything thrown their way, which in turn makes me question myself.

As we go through the years, we notice different bandwagons. UFO's at one time were saucer shaped, cylinder, triangle and now points of light. I believe there is real evidence out there, but it gets incredibly watered down by many who want so hard to believe everything they see, that it is hurting the cause more than helping it.

I joined ATS as a believer, but one that tried hard to apply critical thinking & skepticism to that belief.

ATS has helped me with that, nothwithstanding some members who seem to be allowed to run unchecked with rampant, relentless BS.

Originally posted by IgnoreTheFacts
It has only confirmed what I already know, and that is there are people out there that will believe in anything, facts be damned.

Yes,by that same token there are also other folks who beleive nothing is a UFO (facts be damned) and have a near pathological aversion to addressing certain UFO incidents.

Perhaps these people are the mirror image of those who think 'everything' is a UFO and have far more in common with each other than they like to think.

Originally posted by IgnoreTheFacts
Never mind logic, reason and common sense.

Funny how certain folks never bring these talents to bear on specific cases and instead just prefer to concentrate on the vague 'easy to explain away' ones.

Some unknown objects are visualy corellated on (sometimes multiple) radar screens displaying completely unprecedented flight characteristics/ aerial manouverability/ rates of speed - they have also been known to exhibit electromagnetic effects on actual aircraft.

Whatever these objects actualy are is, of course, up for debate but for armchair cynics to just flatly deny they exist is the height of wilfull ignorance and lazy prejudice.

Originally posted by IgnoreTheFacts
Those are the most dangerous people I know

Yes,I'd say the people who think the UFO subject is 'just a silly nonsense' are also quite dangerous (and woefully misinformed).

To my mind there exists credible government documentary evidence, credible radar/sonar evidence, credible electromagnetic interference evidence, credible ground trace evidence and credible (circumstantial) evidence in the form of sworn eyewitness testimony from 1000s of credible individuals.

I'd also say there are credible grounds to beleive that many United States Air Force 'explanations' for specific UFO incidents are deliberately concocted falsehoods.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Cheers.

[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

I find that ATS is mostly useful if its used like another news source, ultimately you have to come to your own conclusions, which I think is the spirit in which the website was originally started anyways.

Of course with UFO's and aliens I have believed most of my life, but that's due to my childhood experiences.

[edit on 2009/10/27 by Seventhdoor]

On aliens no, maybe with 911. But on the alien stuff no, as there is only so much you can know on it.

With 911 i was interested for a while in those forums, but i am only interested in what they can prove, not things like the pentagon, which i totally avoid.

SO the answer is yes and no.

On spiritual stuff, i have learned most of that stuff myself, as every one lives in there own world, and each will experience it all differently.

For me, this website HELPED me realize that all the "Smart" people out there, really arent that smart. Just a bunch of morons running around rampant on this rock. people THINK they are smart, but really, what are they guaging that from? dumbasses?
If people are so damn smart, then why are we still stuck behind traditions and beliefs that were used hundreds, or thousands of years ago?

ATS has also taught me that you can never win. Even if you make a point to validate your reasoning or someone elses reasoning, theres always someone else that is going to come back with an angle that makes your point moot(or vice versa).

One more thing ATS has taught me, the flashier the avatar, the more stars you recieve.

The most important moments, the most precious resource i got here has been whenever i've been proven wrong. Yes, in that instant it hurts, but then it makes you grow.
When i was ten, i saw some spectacle that yet i find difficult to share, but that definately convinced me that we are NOT alone in the universe. Sharing is the first step to do in order to know better yourself: ATS is so big that you will always find someone able to understand your thoughts and if necessary to prove to you why you are wrong, if you are.
I believe in the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial forms of life, i didn't change my mind during these years, but of course i've realized that the meaning of the word "proof" is different from "claim", from "evidence", from "whistleblower", from "disclosure" and so on.
Perhaps i am wrong, and perhaps we are alone in this immense nothing called universe. But still believe that there's something out there and NOTHING will ever change my mind.

I've been lurking here for a few months. At first I was blown away at some of the stuff I found on ATS; I was convinced we were not alone. Now I'm slipping more and more into the non-believer camp. Too many hoaxers and crackpots trying to make a fast buck. The world is filled with con men and swindlers, unfortunately.

The only thing I have left to hold onto is eyewitness testimony from credible sources (astronauts, scientists, pilots, etc.), but even that could be a bunch of bull.

I'll keep looking up in hopes to see something truly unexplainable, but in 31 years I've seen nothing.

One thing ATS has done is reminded me that there are ETH UFO believers that are interested in actually investigating things, and that their beliefs are no barrier to their critical thinking. Which, given the constant drip drip of charlatans, quite reaffirmed my faith in humanity, and is pretty admirable that they don't let their personal biases get in the way of trying to be objective. Myth busted on all ETH believers being idiots.

I was sceptical to begin with, but I think I've gotten a little more sceptical. The reason I've become more sceptical is that a thread here made me question the closest thing I've had to seeing a UFO. It was a thread with a video from a guy who'd filmed a diamond shaped UFO. It really did look diamond shaped and was possibly huge. As the thread went on someone made stacked image from the frames. Some of us played with the gamma setting, looked at the colour channels etc. and found that actually it was an illusion. It was likely to have been a plane. After someone on here stacked the images a plane shape leapt out and the lighting pattern was similar to some planes.

The guy that filmed it wasn't an idiot, he probably wasn't hoaxing, but it looked like a diamond shaped craft, and it wasn't:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

(Actually looking at it now, given the video maker's response later in the thread, now I'm not sure if they were hoaxing, and he could be an idiot. Missed all that first time around).

A few years ago I thought I saw something similar (but triangular). But I'm not sure I did now. The diamond UFO thread was a reminder that despite my sceptical beliefs I'm as susceptible to getting it wrong as anyone else.

Being in the UFO forum has hardened my attitude towards arguing over beliefs rather than evidence, and so I try to limit taking part in threads where belief is the core issue. I don't see the point. Seems to me ATS is best when arguing evidence.

[edit on 27-10-2009 by jackphotohobby]

reply to post by IgnoreTheFacts


Agree!

Being here has made me MORE skeptical actually. People here believe everything that allready fits in with their world view, without asking questions.

I also think there are a LOT of people here with serious mental problems. This site seem to attract basket cases like moths to a light bulb.

I have been interested in this subject as long as I can remember. Like you, op, I have run into some wild theories that I have found hard to believe, even with my open mind. My extent of belief is pretty much that I believe ufo's are real and that beings from other planets have had more involved in history on this planet than is being let on, although im not sure about government deals with races from otherb planets. I think the extent of government interaction is reconnaisance and research kept under wraps, but that's pretty much it. Not so sure about bases on every planet and a reptillian/ET agenda mixed with elites and leaders of the planet lol.

Regarding Aliens/UFOs, I don't think ATS has changed my mindset at all. I'm open to the possibility of extraterrestrials, but I don't think any have been to Earth, despite what I've read in this forum. I probably won't believe in aliens until I see one or hold a piece of alien tech in my hand.

Some of the other forums on ATS have changed my mindset a *lot* though, particularly the historical and political ones. I'm convinced some of the conspiracies in those areas are real.

I read a lot of UFO books growing up, and I was pretty convinced we were being visited, and that we're not alone in the universe. But since I started doing my own research on UFOs I found out the authors of the UFO books don't look at the incidents from all perspectives, and they often tend to be biased toward a particular interpretation of the evidence. Eventually my research led me to ATS where I found some comprehensive sources of references to UFO information, and better yet, instead of just one author's biased point of view, we get to look at the evidence through the eyes of different people with different points of view. We can't just accept what anyone says, but yes it's been helpful to get those different viewpoints as a starting point to do further research to determine what the truth really is.

So has ATS changed my mindset? Well it's been a valuable resource, and I still think we are not alone in the universe, and in fact I think there are very few people who believe otherwise. The question is, are those other intelligences really visiting Earth or not? I think a lot of people like myself come to ATS looking for the real proof or "smoking gun". Yes we have interesting sightings, and some even with radar confirmation, but what are they? The 5% unexplained, nobody really knows. Does the fact that we don't know what they are make them alien? I can't say it does and I can't say it doesn't. After all they could just as easily be time travelers as aliens if we don't know what they are, right? Or maybe even something else. But I would say ATS helped sway my opinion from we probably are being visited, to we probably are not being visited, but it's hard to be sure. You certainly have to keep an open mind about the other intelligence that likely exists. But until we have an experience like the movie "Independence Day" (which we probably don't really want) or a similar encounter with a more friendly alien species, I think people will be debating fuzzy dots in the sky for a long time.

I read ATS for years before joining. Sometimes I think I should have just stayed in Lurkville because immersion changes the perspective.

For instance, files.abovetopsecret.com... the ATS blurb scrolled across the top of the thread that says, "Welcome ... alternative ... that also happens to be intelligent and civil."

I just found out last week that "alternative" news isn't allowed in "Breaking News" and that the source must be mainstream. DUH!

As far as the site being "intelligent and civil", on the whole I disagree. While there are a few intelligent and civil threads now and then, overall I see superstition, gullibility and hostility on ATS most often.

Further, I have watched and waited, and watched and waited even more and have seen NO proofs or evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial entities on earth.

Last, the sheer "Me-Ness" of many of the posts combined with extreme anti-social statements have convinced me that I don't even want to be on the same planet with ATSers if ever the SHTF.

So yes, my mindset is changed for the worse.