I'm insulted!! Boo Hoo Hoo.

I keep seeing people agree with, or disagree with, the 'sceptic' point of view - sometimes shooting either down as if it were a silly and stupid thing to consider in the first place.

Well - I'm a sceptic, at a fundamental level, and yet I don't see anyone protect my means of philosophy here.but see plenty of other outlooks being represented!

So what is it?

Am I allowed to look at a UFO and consider it sceptically or am I not?

I need to know because I have great material and want to share it with a community that wants to give genuine sceptical analysis to it.

-m0r

I post sceptical opinions on here most of the time and I don't get that much flack for it, so of course your allowed, others though are also allowed to criticise your view point.

Thats how forums work

reply to post by m0r1arty


I need to know because I have great material and want to share it with a community that wants to give genuine sceptical analysis to it.


Skeptical analysis..? How 'bout rational and diligent analysis..? Why the need to label it..?


Am I allowed to look at a UFO and consider it sceptically or am I not?


Do whatever the hell makes you happy, just show us the material...

reply to post by m0r1arty


sceptacism on ufos etc is basically what happens on a da to day basis on this site both sides of the argument are represented... what exactly are you getting at?

It should be noted that this thread should have been a reply - but done drunkenly, and so the fun now is to see how many folk now read the entire first page.

Or not as it may seem...

-r0m

reply to post by m0r1arty


I can only assume you are talking about the backlash from some users during the "UFO over Jeruselem" articles.

I can only agree with you m0r. I'm a fairly new user, slightly skeptical but always open for a challenge - I saw your previous posts on these articles and they were well thought out and clearly stated factual information, only to be thrown out of the window by the hardcore believers... a shame really.

I've been called ignorant for clearly pointing at some dubious "evidence" at the videos. I thought users are informed to DENY IGNORANCE? - although I'm deemed ignorant for pointing out indiscrepencies in the evidence, whilst others do no research what-so-ever and claim certain videos or pictures as 100% undeniable proof.

I don't take it to heart, its a little sad. It happens everywhere. You have your hardcore believers who will always challenge the skeptics and vise-versa. I just wish some people on the board would look past blind faith and look at the evidence. ONLY THEN will we start to fish out the facts.

Most of the problems I've seen here with sceptics (and otherwise) is not what you believe.
The problem lies in how your opinion is represented.

Too many posters will immediately jump to a "You're an idiot to think that." attitude.

A simple "I disagree." seems to be too much to ask. It always seems to come down to ultimatums and insults which simply prevent a reasonable discussion.

It's ok to be wrong. It's not ok to be insulted for being wrong.

I think this applies for all of us here but for some reason the aspiring sceptics seem to have a preponderance of insulting and arrogant interactions with other members.

Well some of us skeptics are quite reasonable about it but are met with cries of being close minded empty vessels. If something looks ridiculously fake we're gonna tell you. And sadly, each and everything I've seen here so far on the UFO subject fits into the hoax category quite well.

how does one intend to prove it's a UFO if people can't examine it skeptically? Anyone can upload a picture of anything and call it a UFO. If you are here to post pictures and have your ego stroked, keep looking. If you are here to present something so people can perform an intelligent analysis, you should be fine.

Also, toughen up, people are jerks, don't have a thin skin, it's the internet after all.

reply to post by m0r1arty

People use the term sceptic incorrectly all the time. A true sceptic is sceptical of both sides of a debate. A lot of so called sceptics on ATS (not all I hasten to add) are only sceptical of theories/arguments which differ from their own belief or viewpoint. That is basically what pseudo-scepticism is. It is an unscientific approach.

From what I have seen sceptics are as welcome as anyone else here. What matters is, being nice about it. If it is only your opinion, say so. If you disagree, best back it up with data. Be prepared to counter with more data as needed. Get out there and disagree! Power to ya

reply to post by Pimander


you are correct sir, many people here are self labeled "skeptics" that are merely here to convert people to their views. The other side of that coin is clearly shown in the 'UFO over Jerusalem' debacle. Those of us skeptical of claims of UFOs like this did analysis on the videos. We've noticed that the 3rd video is clearly a fake, a still shot with an effect added on top filmed from a screen to imitate camera movement. the faker obviously didn't know how to camera match properly so went the cheapo route.

The other 2 videos show enough discrepancies to say, while ignoring the questionable source, that they aren't 100% positively REAL.

Why did we say this, because we decided ufos aren't real? no, because after video analysis there is ample evidence to call it fake. And no, having several different angles of the same event is not proof.

Yes, some people are quite rude, that;s what the alert button is for.

I used to be a believer. Now I'm a skeptic because every shred of evidence ever produced to me was eventually shown to be a fake. I honestly believe in the possibility of Alien life, and with that, i'm open to them coming here for a visit. That doesn't mean I'm going to believe every random youtube post claiming to be a ufo, they are always fakes or easily explained.

It's not on the skeptics to prove a negative, it's on the people presenting evidence to prove it's real.

Originally posted by phishyblankwaters
I used to be a believer. Now I'm a skeptic because every shred of evidence ever produced to me was eventually shown to be a fake.

There is a lot of very good evidence out there that has not been shown conclusively to be fake. Very far from it. Here is a great thread by Isaac Koi to start you on your way.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is my point. Then you are not a sceptic, you are a UFO doubter.

And according to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, a skeptic is:
* "One who is yet undecided as to what is true; one who is looking or inquiring for what is true; an inquirer after facts or reasons."
www.debunkingskeptics.com...

If you are of the opinion that all of the evidence is fake, then you have not been sceptical of the debunkers and are not a sceptic at all. There is lots of bs and bad evidence. However, lots of the arguments claiming evidence is fake are just opinions.