It seems to me the government does alot of halfarsed double talking.. and misdirection when it comes to major UFO sightings or landings...

Why do they do this when they could simply cover their tracks by saying.. it was a recovery of a military satelite. That's simple... isn't it? Alot more innocent and more likely to be believed.

Could it be maybe their halfarsed method is the choosen method... leaving enough suspicion so that people do research.. write books and make documentaries... all gearing up to the eventual belief by the general citizen that aliens are real. And once they are sure we believe it and won't panic they'll reveal what is really going on?

Don't forget the possibility that the cultivation of the idea that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin may be useful in obscuring the particulars of the development and testing of aircraft and spacecraft that are entirely terrestrial in origin.

A great way to perpetuate the myth would be to pretend to try to cover up, but "fail" in conspicuous ways. Deception is as old as warfare.

When it comes to military secrets, nothing worth protecting is worth telling the truth about.

Why would they then continue to cover up projects over 50 years old?

One possible reason would be that there are ongoing projects in this field that themselves date back over 50 years.

I really can't see how any technology of 50 years ago would still be viable enough to be classified.

Then look more closely.

when u think about it, the research may be more than 50 years old. but who knows about the technology aboard the spacecrafts. they may still be working on that same technology. there are a lot of other reasons that they may still be working on the same stuff from back then but that is the most promident one in my mind.

A thought Ive had before, If you give an auto mobile to an ancient Summarian for example, what would they make of it? If they had seen it in action they would be very interested in it, but they would have virtually no physics to explain it. They wouldn't have the math, the materials sciene, the chemistry. To take it apart would they hammer at it, destroying many of it's functionalities and the information that might be gathered from it?

If we came across something held together with exotic and subtle physics principles how would we take it apart without damaging it? Would it have components so tiny we couldn't even see them with the aid of magnification and therefore weren't aware of them? Would there be circuits or structures so delicate they could be damaged by an x-ray? Without knowing the unseen aspects of something it is very hard to take it apart with out damaging it. The summerian wouldn't have wrenches, probably wouldn't initially understand the screw (threaded tap, bolt and nut). A summerian almost certainly wouldn't take an engine apart in quite the careful way we would. He also wouldn't have access to the fuels to make the machine operate.

To make the most of dis-assembling a craft you would need the tools, both physical and intellectual to do so with care. You would have most likely to create those tools.

[edit on 15-7-2004 by slank]

slank: Astute observations. A technician unaware of how machine screws work may interpret them as a very tight "friction fit" and destroy them while prying what they hold together apart. The lack of appropriate tool and mechanical paradigms is indeed a challenge for the xenotechnologist.

This might be particularly problematic if the item being examined is based on biotechnology founded on a form of life -- or physical principles -- unknown to the examiner.

The idea of nuclear power was virtually unknown to humanity at the beginning of the twentieth century. Now, a century later, almost everyone on earth knows of it, but few truly understand it. Without proper instrumentation, humans are incapable of detecting lethal levels of radioactivity, and most humans would die, unknowingly, in the presence of highly radioactive materials. What about other hazards undetectable to humans?

Add to that the problem of relative scale. Homo sapiens, for example, is probably huge compared to most intelligent life in the universe. We may be surrounded by intelligent life unlike our own, yet be completely oblivious to it. Or, more intriguingly, only partially oblivious to it.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

I tend to think what they are keeping classified is alien Tech. Everything from the 50's is practicaly public domain. Experimental aircraft, the atom bomb, the nuke, space tech.. we share with other superpowers.. since many of the larger space endevors are multinational. We have even shared out more recent Defensive satelites tech.. in the hopes of support from others to launch it. I mean really they even show geeks remotly controlling their new remote spy planes in recruitment commercials... how secret is that? It seems current stategy is actualy to share everyting with allied powers.. and flaunt it at the enemy. How many of you have seen scientific articles on the future of the soldier.. and non lethal combat?? It's practicaly a HOW TO.

Originally posted by Majic
One possible reason would be that there are ongoing projects in this field that themselves date back over 50 years.

There are some things the military is reluctant to let the populace know, certainly without more than 50 years past.

For example, an nuclear accident. Take the pacific islands the US military has polluted with atomic radiation. What happens now? The usual, people take the government to court for $$$. So, even though it isn't exactly new technnology, why divulge a nuclear spill near sometown USA?


Another hypothetical reason. What advantage would the US have in divulging that it has captured a russian satellite? Expose itself to international law? Why bother, keep it under wraps, gain what you can from it...

Originally posted by senshido
Another hypothetical reason. What advantage would the US have in divulging that it has captured a russian satellite? Expose itself to international law? Why bother, keep it under wraps, gain what you can from it...

They don't have to say anything incriminating... they could even claim it was their own downed satelite or crashed secret test craft... but they don't.