UFO/Paranormal Topics You Hate Reading About

[DaveM]

I was thinking about UFO and paranormal subjects that make me cringe when I see a post about them. What makes your stomach turn when you see a particular topic pop up? I have three that drive me crazy but I will wait until I see what others have posted.

 

[Han]

For me it is "Bigfoot is a Primate".
I am a firm believer in Bigfoot, but I just think people are barking up the wrong tree when they claim it is a Primate.

 

[Wade]

Kind of hard for me to say as I don't think I have that strong of a negative reaction to any ongoing arguments in the paranormal field perhaps your choices will inspire me but

1. in a variation of Hans post above when it comes to Bigfoot being flesh and blood or less corporal i ask why can't it be both. It seems many people have a strong opinion to one or the other but i have never heard anyone suggest both.

2. the narrative on many abduction accounts as they are mentioned today...i've mentioned this a multitude of times...don't seem logical as they are given. in that i am talking about the possible harvesting of dna or inputing of implants. If these really were occuring i see no reason why victims would be left in a state in which they can be recalled. If there was some interaction between us and them and there was an agenda to be carried out you'd either make it pleasant or not to be remembered at all it would make the procedure a whole lot smoother and quicker. Otherwise it makes for a jolly good read if one has a book to sell.

 

[Vimana]

I don't hate any topic, but I guess I'm prejudiced about Crop Circles. I can't seem to entertain the notion they are anything but artwork made by human hands. The subject doesn't give me an O'Brien Rash, or make my eyes bleed, but I recognize my inability to open my mind about this particular subject.

 

[DaveM]

When I see the word Roswell my stomach starts to turn. Make that Roswell and Slides to be one and two. Alien abductions are a close third. You can throw any UFO videos in there as well.

 

[Ron Away]

Missing 411.The more I've read and heard,the less credible Paulides becomes.

 

[Sue]

I felt pretty skeptical about the first round of 411 stories from Paulides - there wasn't quite enough there to make me willing to suspend my disbelief. However, I'm quite enjoying the second and third rounds of wilderness disappearances (recent interviews with Paulides in various fora and also a certain thread on reddit).

UFO stories always bored the socks off of me; my initial interests were in other realms of esoterica. The Paracast was probably the first place I was patient enough to listen to any UFO stories from because the topic was discussed analytically. The whole Slides thing made me love Roswell in a way I never had before, and Gulyas and Bishop taught me to love the contactees.

However, I can't read Streiber and I find him an excellent soporific as a speaker as well. I wish it weren't so, since so many people seem to be intrigued by his ideas, but there it is. The paranormal take on the Rh factor as exemplified in Nick Redfern's recent book nauseates me to no end. When it comes to bad science, willful ignorance and thinly veiled racialism, we've been there, done that and know what the consequences are. I find that kind of sloppy thinking inexcusable. I am willing to contemplate strange objects on the moon or elsewhere, but will not pay attention to anything about faked moon landings unless a good fight breaks out over the whole thing. I am pretty much up for any ghost story unless it's something posted at Creepypasta, because Creepypasta just plain sucks. Also, I tend not to pay attention to anyone who says, "and here's a fictional account of my real experience . . ."

 

[DaveM]

There are a certain group of paranormal books that annoy me to no end. Paulides' books are like this. He will tell story after story about missing persons but he won't speculate as to who or what is behind these disappearances.

I'm sure he has some thoughts about this. Is he afraid he will be made a laughing stock if he says that he thinks aliens or Bigfoot are kidnapping these people? He is already reporting bizarre stories as it is. You might as well go the whole way.

 

[Randall]

However, I can't read Streiber and I find him an excellent soporific as a speaker as well. I wish it weren't so, since so many people seem to be intrigued by his ideas, but there it is."

Strieber = Docufiction ( mostly fiction I would say ). In this context, I enjoyed "Secret School"

Secret School Intro

​

 

[Randall]

I was thinking about UFO and paranormal subjects that make me cringe when I see a post about them. What makes your stomach turn when you see a particular topic pop up? I have three that drive me crazy but I will wait until I see what others have posted.

Purveyors of New Agey spiritual nonsense combined with mythology, junk psychology, Quantum Woo and other "sceincey" sounding stuff that is used to support some claim or another that they have absolutely no convincing evidence for. I'll conjure up an example:

"Quantum physics tells us that we're all spiritual beings, vibrating in harmony with the universe, until some sort of negative energy disrupts our chakras, in which case we start to feel ill and get sick, but incredibly, when those quantum vibrations are restored back to resonance with your higher dimensional self by our ( insert product or method in book here ), you can start to feel well again."​

This kind of stuff drives me totally crazy. I have to turn it off. C2C is the worst for it.

 

[Ron Away]

I felt pretty skeptical about the first round of 411 stories from Paulides - there wasn't quite enough there to make me willing to suspend my disbelief. However, I'm quite enjoying the second and third rounds of wilderness disappearances (recent interviews with Paulides in various fora and also a certain thread on reddit).

UFO stories always bored the socks off of me; my initial interests were in other realms of esoterica. The Paracast was probably the first place I was patient enough to listen to any UFO stories from because the topic was discussed analytically. The whole Slides thing made me love Roswell in a way I never had before, and Gulyas and Bishop taught me to love the contactees.

However, I can't read Streiber and I find him an excellent soporific as a speaker as well. I wish it weren't so, since so many people seem to be intrigued by his ideas, but there it is. The paranormal take on the Rh factor as exemplified in Nick Redfern's recent book nauseates me to no end. When it comes to bad science, willful ignorance and thinly veiled racialism, we've been there, done that and know what the consequences are. I find that kind of sloppy thinking inexcusable. I am willing to contemplate strange objects on the moon or elsewhere, but will not pay attention to anything about faked moon landings unless a good fight breaks out over the whole thing. I am pretty much up for any ghost story unless it's something posted at Creepypasta, because Creepypasta just plain sucks. Also, I tend not to pay attention to anyone who says, "and here's a fictional account of my real experience . . ."

Originally I felt like you about Paulides.However looking into his background a bit more you see his less than honourable exit from the police force which questions his integrity.His completely dismissive attitude to the question of hypothermia in some of the cases raises big questions for me.As does the number of things he leaves out of his narrative if they do not fit his parameters.For example the couple who went missing who's vehicle contained thousands of dollars.There is a whole other story about them that he barely mentions.Finally his missing in the city scenarios are a massive leap for me.
I really thought he was onto something now I'm much less convinced.

 

[Randall]

.... I really thought he was onto something now I'm much less convinced.

I guess the question for me would be: Are you less convinced of his claims alone, or are you less convinced of the general idea that people go missing under weird unexplained circumstances? Personally I'm not sure about the former, but I tend to think that there is truth in the latter. Not sure why exactly. From my reading on the subject, it's true that a lot of people get reported missing, but nearly all of them get found or explained in some mundane fashion. The bizarre cases are in the tiny minority, and I don't know enough of the details to be sure just how bizarre they really are. But they're intriguing nevertheless.

 

[Ron Away]

I guess the question for me would be: Are you less convinced of his claims alone, or are you less convinced of the general idea that people go missing under weird unexplained circumstances? Personally I'm not sure about the former, but I tend to think that there is truth in the latter. Not sure why exactly. From my reading on the subject, it's true that a lot of people get reported missing, but nearly all of them get found or explained in some mundane fashion. The bizarre cases are in the tiny minority, and I don't know enough of the details to be sure just how bizarre they really are. But they're intriguing nevertheless.

Your right,I suspect something may be going on but not to the extent Paulides imagines.I suppose "Missing 4 or 5" wouldn't be as sensational or sell as many books.

 

[Randall]

I suppose "Missing 4 or 5" wouldn't be as sensational or sell as many books.

LOL ... that's funny. But then again, suppose we try to take that seriously for just a couple of minutes. It reminds me of what I've heard somebody say at some point or another with respect to UFOs. To paraphrase: "Sure most of them can be explained away, but what about the few that can't. Even if there was only just one genuine case of alien visitation, that would still be incredibly significant."

What if it's the same kind of deal going on with a small percentage of missing people? If some bizarre force like aliens ( or whatever ), is grabbing the odd human here and there, is it fair to just write them off as collateral damage? Somehow I tend to think not. I know that if it were someone I was closely attached to, I couldn't just let it go. So on the flipside of the coin, maybe sensationalizing the issue for entertainment or sales serves to at least shed light on the issue. But what exactly are we supposed to do about it?

I've had a couple of really strange experiences out in the forest, and so have a few of my old school buddies. Stuff goes on out there that nature documentaries have never been able to film. And besides that: What if some of these other stories about abduction have some truth, and aliens are able to float people through walls in some kind of blue glow? They seem to be able to do it with impunity. Maybe that's why there's all the hush-hush. Maybe the PTB know this is going on and for them the collateral damage is preferable to mass panic and having to admit they can't do anything about it.

 

[Ron Away]

LOL ... that's funny. But then again, suppose we try to take that seriously for just a couple of minutes. It reminds me of what I've heard somebody say at some point or another with respect to UFOs. To paraphrase: "Sure most of them can be explained away, but what about the few that can't. Even if there was only just one genuine case of alien visitation, that would still be incredibly significant."

What if it's the same kind of deal going on with a small percentage of missing people? If some bizarre force like aliens ( or whatever ), is grabbing the odd human here and there, is it fair to just write them off as collateral damage? Somehow I tend to think not. I know that if it were someone I was closely attached to, I couldn't just let it go. So on the flipside of the coin, maybe sensationalizing the issue for entertainment or sales serves to at least shed light on the issue. But what exactly are we supposed to do about it?

I've had a couple of really strange experiences out in the forest, and so have a few of my old school buddies. Stuff goes on out there that nature documentaries have never been able to film. And besides that: What if some of these other stories about abduction have some truth, and aliens are able to float people through walls in some kind of blue glow? They seem to be able to do it with impunity. Maybe that's why there's all the hush-hush. Maybe the PTB know this is going on and for them the collateral damage is preferable to mass panic and having to admit they can't do anything about it.[/QUOTE

I totally agree,I think there's a potential for the real mysterious cases to be swallowed up by the sheer volume of cases Mr Paulides brings into the discussion.I'm open minded on lots of things but need concrete evidence.I know you do too.I just feel that by opening it up so wide Paulides has missed the opportunity to really get to the crux of this phenomena.As regards the powers that be knowing more than they tell I'm pretty much convinced were lied to or at least deceived from cradle to grave.

 

[Ron Away]

LOL ... that's funny. But then again, suppose we try to take that seriously for just a couple of minutes. It reminds me of what I've heard somebody say at some point or another with respect to UFOs. To paraphrase: "Sure most of them can be explained away, but what about the few that can't. Even if there was only just one genuine case of alien visitation, that would still be incredibly significant."

What if it's the same kind of deal going on with a small percentage of missing people? If some bizarre force like aliens ( or whatever ), is grabbing the odd human here and there, is it fair to just write them off as collateral damage? Somehow I tend to think not. I know that if it were someone I was closely attached to, I couldn't just let it go. So on the flipside of the coin, maybe sensationalizing the issue for entertainment or sales serves to at least shed light on the issue. But what exactly are we supposed to do about it?

I've had a couple of really strange experiences out in the forest, and so have a few of my old school buddies. Stuff goes on out there that nature documentaries have never been able to film. And besides that: What if some of these other stories about abduction have some truth, and aliens are able to float people through walls in some kind of blue glow? They seem to be able to do it with impunity. Maybe that's why there's all the hush-hush. Maybe the PTB know this is going on and for them the collateral damage is preferable to mass panic and having to admit they can't do anything about it.

My reply to you somehow ended up joined to your post.Damn my feeble computer skills

 

[Randall]

My reply to you somehow ended up joined to your post.Damn my feeble computer skills

Not to worry. I "liked" it anyway . You can always go back and edit. just use the square brackets and /quote to separate the content like [/quote] and remove the slash to continue where the quote you are responding to begins again.

 

[Tannhauser Gate]

For me it would have to be the notion that when we talk about UFO's we are talking about aliens. The automatic default assumption that anomalous activity in the sky weather it be a nuts and bolt "craft" to a glowing plasma type sphere to an abduction case or whatever it is, is evidence or proof of interplanetary travelers.
In fact I believe that we need to get away from thinking that the phenomena is extra-terrestrial at all. Dimensional/time travel/or say "manifestation due to Consciousness" are IMO much more plausible scenarios from a scientific point of view than say an intelligent species from another galaxy coming like space vikings searching for new life and new lands and new civilization just to come all the way here to play hide and seek with us. It would either be destroy, erase, improve time or we come in peace take me to your leader right? The default thinking of the "prime directive"doesn't work for me either because if they didn't just wipe us out for their own planetary needs then observation of our species would almost seem a moot point. They would certainly be intelligent and sophisticated enough to know that a huge number of us down here on the surface of the planet are already aware of their presence.

 

[Randall]

For me it would have to be the notion that when we talk about UFO's we are talking about aliens.

That's normal because the word UFO was the USAF term for Flying Saucer which carried with it the idea of aliens, probably, but not necessarily from space, plus it's official definition excludes virtually all natural or manmade objects or phenomena, leaving something alien as pretty much the only remaining logical alternative, plus it's default meaning in everyday use and most dictionaries is some sort of alien craft, usually a flying saucer. If one doesn't want to be specific about what is being observed because they can't be sure what it is, then the term UAP ( Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon ) is the term to use. That could include fuzzy lights off in the distance and other stuff that's actually "unidentified".

The automatic default assumption that anomalous activity in the sky weather it be a nuts and bolt "craft" to a glowing plasma type sphere to an abduction case or whatever it is, is evidence or proof of interplanetary travelers.
In fact I believe that we need to get away from thinking that the phenomena is extra-terrestrial at all.

Why arbitrarily discard the ETH altogether? Shouldn't it at least stay on the table?

Dimensional/time travel/or say "manifestation due to Consciousness" are IMO much more plausible scenarios from a scientific point of view than say an intelligent species from another galaxy coming like space vikings searching for new life and new lands and new civilization just to come all the way here to play hide and seek with us.

Dimensional/time travel/or say "manifestation due to Consciousness" are at least as nonsensical as Space Vikings from another Galaxy, and I actually don't know any serious ufologists who promote the idea of Space Vikings from another galaxy. But I like the idea. It's colorful ... LOL.

It would either be destroy, erase, improve time or we come in peace take me to your leader right?

It seems more to be the case of they're coming to study the planet while keeping from getting caught.

The default thinking of the "prime directive"doesn't work for me either because if they didn't just wipe us out for their own planetary needs then observation of our species would almost seem a moot point. They would certainly be intelligent and sophisticated enough to know that a huge number of us down here on the surface of the planet are already aware of their presence.

A large number of people on the planet are aware of their presence. The Star Trek Prime Directive is just a sci-fi concept. However not contaminating the results of studying an environment by inserting yourself into that environment in a disruptive way, would be a universal scientific principle, and I think it's safe to assume that science is probably something they understand. Maybe wiping us out would be easy for them, or maybe it wouldn't be. We don't know enough about them to make that determination. Maybe that's why they're studying us. To assess our vulnerabilities before an attack. Or maybe they're just curious about the wildlife. I'd hope they would have evolved past the former, and the clues so far is that they have. But we still can't be sure.

 

[Vimana]

I have similar ideas to what Tannhauser Gate is getting at, and agree with Ufology on a lot of matters too.

I grew up in a military household where UFO meant Unidentified Flying Object. I was taught that this is literally what it stood for. Not flying saucers or alien craft, but an Unknown. However I do realize that in the common use of today, most people think Alien Craft when they hear or use the term. I can be an old fart and yell "You kids get off my lawn!" or I can grow with the times and try to keep up with the changes.

In my current thinking, UFO is a poor term because only the Unidentified is applicable. The idea that they are Flying, or Objects, is IMO questionable. Some reports refer to controlled flight, and some refer to physical objects, but that seems a smaller subset of the mass of reports.

So UAP is a much better term. But it will be a while before I can use it habitually like I do UFO.

I don't toss out the ETH by any means. It certainly seems possible given what we don't know about the Universe. We can judge based on the science we think we know, but things like Dark Matter suggests there is more on the "don't know" side of the scales. Or it seems that way to me.

I also leave the Dimensional/Temporal/Consciousness theories on the table too.

I once had a dream where three greys appeared and explained that they were humans from the future who no longer had gender or the ability to naturally reproduce. They were studying our reproductive systems because of this. (I had this dream in the 70's before transgender was a common notion) I know it was 'just a dream' but it makes me keep Temporal Visitation on the table, and if Time Travel only allows us to visit parallel worlds, then I suppose it is in some way Dimensional?

In conclusion I'll point out that there are probably multiple sources for the things people are experiencing. It may be a pinch of dimensions, a sprinkle of ETs, a teaspoon of time travelers, with a garnish of cryptids on the side.