Science Ancient Aliens (the Series)?

[Hmuda]

Just remembered: with all this talk about science-documentaries going down hill lately (becoming more about pseudo-science), which one would you guys recommend?

For example, I want to know just how reliable 'The Universe' on the History Channel is. On a first glance, it seem to do a good job at explaining complex ideas in layman's terms.

 

[Urwumpe]

I quite like everything that has Harald Lesch inside... but that is German.

 

[Izack]

I quite like everything that has Harald Lesch inside... but that is German.

Das ist ziemlich gut. :thumbup:

 

[AirSimming]

So the next time anyone sees a video like that, remember: it's not because of where they are from. It's becasue they are human.

It depends. Stupid people do exist more or less depending on the educational systems I think. If you trust the PISA study for example, the USA is not on the top, well, not even in the international midfield (Finland is on top). But Germany also is not on the top by the way.

Not knowing the capital of Hungary for somebody who lives far away from Europe is not dramatic. Of course one can't know everything. A South American street kid for example certainly doesn't know much about Europe. But not knowing whether Europe or France is a country or not, is dramatic for an adult person of a modern industrial nation in the 21st century in my point of view. Even worse if it happens on TV. Let's not say stupid, but rather ignorant. At least it sounds better.

---------- Post added at 01:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 AM ----------

I quite like everything that has Harald Lesch inside... but that is German.

I liked when he talked about UFOs in one of his Space Night telecasts years ago. He sometimes likes to make fun of certain people subliminally. He said he never understood why alien species should travel unbelievable distances to just left behind a few crop circles or lights in the atmosphere for some seconds. He called that entirely wacky beliefs. He seemed to almost get upset :lol:

 

[ar81]

It is the proof the precursos were here.
If you do not believe me, ask the UrQuan Masters oracle. :lol:

 

[Andy44]

The Ur Quan? Forget ancient aliens, they were here as recently as 2008. For some reason the lame-stream media didn't cover the Master's presidential campaign. Had I known about this I would've changed my vote:

Read the interview here:

http://www.ur-quan08.com/

 

[jedidia]

now THAT was absolutely hilarious! :rofl:

 

[Tex]

I just saw this show myself... I was going to create a thread about it and post playlist links to You Tube where you can watch all 5 parts, but I found this thread after searching the forum. I thought the show was pretty interesting, but I wouldn't say I buy into it all. It was rather intriguing though and worth watching IMO, so if you're interested and haven't seen it, check it out below:

PART 1 - http://www.youtube.com/user/robbpico#grid/user/A2D52089A597FDF1

PART 2 - http://www.youtube.com/user/robbpico#grid/user/EEEF2ED069DC395F

PART 3 - http://www.youtube.com/user/robbpico#grid/user/06850BEF62526A04

PART 4 - http://www.youtube.com/user/robbpico#grid/user/71CB6800F7F54EF7

PART 5 - http://www.youtube.com/user/robbpico#grid/user/C0FE09E20BB5882A

 

[Turbinator]

I love watching these alternate view shows. It is very interesting to take a look at the every day usual objects in a different light. It doesn't mean I do or, do not believe these things, what it does mean is that I enjoy watching them; for the same reason I enjoy watching Star Trek.

 

[orbekler]

I don't believe almost in anything, but...
I'd want to believe.

Again, I would be happy to have a logical explanation for something like this:

---------- Post added at 09:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 AM ----------

Read the interview here:

http://www.ur-quan08.com/

:rofl::WTF:

 

[Turbinator]

[...]
Again, I would be happy to have a logical explanation for something like this
[...]


:rofl::WTF:

Obviously, a weather balloon.

 

[jimblah]

I am an alien, really.

I've seen the series and loved it. If it weren't for alien involvement I don't believe we'd be where we are technologically.

 

[T.Neo]

Just had the 'pleasure' of watching an episode of this Ancient Aliens stuff. Potentially one of the worst "documentaries" I've ever seen; they had legitimate scientists on, but tended to question them only on other things not relating to ancient aliens...

There is still no evidence for any alien interaction with ancient cultures (who were entirely capable of putting blocks on top of other blocks). The fact that said cultures have interesting myths and depictions of deities and suchlike, that can be interpreted as being depictions of extraterrestrial entities isn't evidence.

If anyone could find an alien wrench, an alien bottle cap, an alien lawn chair... but no. Nothing. I'd personally love for someone to find such evidence, but it's just not there.

 

[Urwumpe]

No. Instead aliens needed huge heaps of stacked bricks for landing properly on Earth...

 

[Ghostrider]

If it weren't for alien involvement I don't believe we'd be where we are technologically.

Why so? Humans happen to be quite smart animals (and a lot of animals are very clever). There are no big leaps in human technologies that cannot be traced back to the technology tree.

 

[Urwumpe]

I've seen the series and loved it. If it weren't for alien involvement I don't believe we'd be where we are technologically.

Which technological "leap" (if there was any) had to be explained by alien interaction, since humans have not been able to do it themselves?

 

[Sky Captain]

Even if there were a visit there is very little aliens could have done to cause large leaps in human technology. Stone age humans simply didn't have an infrastructure and industrial base to support advanced technology. At most aliens could have taught how to better refine metals, make better hand tools and similar minor improvements that don't recquire huge industry to pull off.

Even now if we were visited by expedition from civilization thousands of years more advanced and they simply dumped us all their knowledge of physics and technology it would likely take many dacades or centuries to take full advantage of it because at first we would have to train the personel and spend some long time to build the tools to build the tools... until we would have the neccesary infrastructure to build actual hardware. For example what if some key components of alien technology recquire capability to precisely manipulate matter on subatomic scale or huge zero g factories or large amounts of synthetic elements we haven't discovered yet and which recquire highly advanced fusion reactors to make or something so exotic we can't even think of.

 

[Urwumpe]

Why so great scales? Just try to make Iran build western quality fighter jets. They can't. Not because they can't understand how they work. But because a large deal of industry that is needed for it is missing. Iran can't even build modern radiation hardened CPUs for this, not because they are technologically unable to do so, but because this technology did not yet reach application in their chip industry.

You can make technological progress much faster, if you have knowledge, but still you would need to build up a complete industry. You need to train employees to fill the 100,000 jobs behind each such product, which is the main limiting factor. Just giving them the tools and assembly lines won't do it.

 

[Tex]

Just had the 'pleasure' of watching an episode of this Ancient Aliens stuff. Potentially one of the worst "documentaries" I've ever seen; they had legitimate scientists on, but tended to question them only on other things not relating to ancient aliens...

There is still no evidence for any alien interaction with ancient cultures (who were entirely capable of putting blocks on top of other blocks). The fact that said cultures have interesting myths and depictions of deities and suchlike, that can be interpreted as being depictions of extraterrestrial entities isn't evidence.

If anyone could find an alien wrench, an alien bottle cap, an alien lawn chair... but no. Nothing. I'd personally love for someone to find such evidence, but it's just not there.

I'm sure the scientists on the shows were never quoted talking directly about aliens because they don't want to go against mainstream history and archelogy and potentially lose their job. I'm not saying I buy into all the claims made by the show, but I do question how ancient civilizations were able to build these massive monuments at times when we did not have the technology we have today. Even today, building monuments of stone weighing as much as they do, as big as they are, would be a huge challenge!

Also, what about the ancient ruins found under the ocean in Yonaguni, Japan? It consist of massive blocks which do not remotely look like a natural formation. They also found tools and carvings on the rocks, clear evidence it was built by someone, but by humans? Perhaps, but how? Surely they didn't build it underwater, which means it had to have been built before the last ice age over 14,000 years ago. Humans were only cave people at that time according to main stream archiology. So, even though we don't have a space craft or some alien tools as clear evidence, it's still not adding up in my eyes that cavemen were capable of building something like the structure at Yonaguni.

 

[Urwumpe]

I'm not saying I buy into all the claims made by the show, but I do question how ancient civilizations were able to build these massive monuments at times when we did not have the technology we have today. Even today, building monuments of stone weighing as much as they do, as big as they are, would be a huge challenge!

That is still no question about aliens, but rather a question about dedication. The Egyptians actually left us precise records who was building the pyramids, with important details on the work organization, like people working in two day shifts. Some tools had also been depicted. The real scientific discourse is about details, like the kind of ramp used.

Humans have not been less smart 6000 years ago as they are today.

And don't forget: The majority of the Gothic cathedrals had been build in the 13th and 14th century - without steel, concrete or modern tools. If we had been able to do that with some technology, how much could we have done with just a bit of it?

Also, what about the ancient ruins found under the ocean in Yonaguni, Japan? It consist of massive blocks which do not remotely look like a natural formation.

Volcanic geology can look very little natural, just look at the "Atlantis" they had found near Bermuda, which also turned out to be very natural.

Also, even a human origin would not be that unbelievable:

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Yonaguni_Monument

It is in pretty shallow water, the structures had been on dry land 2000-3000 years ago.

Still, the geologic explanation is more sound, since the stairway shaped patterns continue even above the ocean there.