THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
December 20, 2015
www.theparacast.com
Explore How to Talk to ET on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show, and for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without the network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes and we give free ebooks for long-term subscriptions. A Paracast+ video channel is coming soon. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris explore the possibility of talking to aliens, featuring Nancy du Tertre, author of “How to Talk to an Alien.” She is a former securities litigation attorney and “Skeptical Psychic,” and, in this book, she asks: “Do aliens exist? In 2013, one poll showed that nearly half of all Americans (48 percent) believe UFOs may be a sign of extraterrestrial visitation; another found that 10 percent of Americans claim to have actually witnessed an actual UFO; and yet another showed that 2.9 million Americans believe they had actually been abducted by aliens.” This discussion also focuses on claims of communication with aliens and other so-called “higher beings.”
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Nancy du Tertre’s Blog: The Skeptical Psychic
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on December 20:Gene and Chris remain concerned over the state of the world and the outrageous body politic in the U.S. In setting up the discussion, Gene quotes an opening phrase from a Charles Fort book and how, with one word changed, it may apply to the current political campaign and the most recent Republican debate. Yes, this becomes a politically-charged discussion, as Chris is in redneck mode. After an update on Stan Romanek’s legal situation, the discussion moves to the question about communicating with aliens, focusing on Nancy du Tertre’s appearance on The Paracast. It begins with her curious statement about a phone conversation with her daughter that was interrupted by a strange-sounding individual, whom she claimed was “not of this Earth.”
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
Do You Really Want to Talk to ET?
By Gene Steinberg
There are loads of possibilities implicit in a book entitled, “How to Talk to an Alien,” authored by psychic and former attorney Nancy du Tertre. To be fair, I was disappointed that I still don’t know how to communicate with presumed visitors from other planets.
Besides, it doesn’t mean I’m jumping on the “UFOs are spaceships” bandwagon. There are still other possibilities to consider, and nobody I know about has any final answers to this mystery. But it is becoming more and more evident that we are not alone in the universe.
In fact, the other day, I read yet another report about the discovery of a possible Earth-like planet. This one orbits a red dwarf star roughly 14 light years from Earth, but has several times its mass. Supposedly the force of gravity would be 1.8 times that of Earth, which would make it pretty difficult to get around without some help with a robotic enhancement or exercising a lot.
If it was inhabited by an of intelligent and technically advanced race — and it doesn’t have to be humanoid — how would we communicate with them?
Indeed, what would we need to do in order to receive radio signals from another planet on Earth. Clearly the results from the SETI project haven’t been terribly encouraging. Even if we did receive a signal that appeared to have some randomness or intelligence to it, sending a response may be an exercise in futility. Depending on its distance, it may be years, decades or centuries since the signal was broadcast. So contacting the originator may be impossible, for those who sent it may be long dead. Well, unless those beings have longer lifespans than humans.
Besides, would they even be listening, or would we be responding to a signal meant for another recipient that we just managed to intercept? Or maybe we would be picking up something meant for a mass audience, such as a presentation designed strictly for entertainment.
Consider the 1999 comedy adventure “Galaxy Quest,” which has become a cult film despite having a mediocre box office. The flick depicts a group of performers who once starred in a sci-fi adventure series reminiscent of “Star Trek.” Their careers have pretty much gone nowhere because they were typecast, and they earn their keep attending conventions devoted to the show.
Now that does strike me as quite similar to the “Star Trek” situation before the first movie was released. Only William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy prospered and got regular work. For the rest of the crew, it was hit or mess.
Back to “Galaxy Quest,” one day, several strange-looking people confront the actor who played the ship’s captain, portrayed by Tim Allen. He’s now a washed up drunk who doesn’t take them seriously when they say they want to transport him back to their spaceship to help them fight the enemy.
You see, they watched the show with devotion from across the stars, accepting it as fact, “sacred documents” they said. They based their entire society on what they saw and recorded. They even built a starship that virtually matched the look and feel of a fictional craft with all the silly plot tropes intact.
Yes, clever satire, and I’ve seen the film several times over the years. I even met Allen in the early 2000s at the opening of an Apple Store in New York City. He was gracious and happy to respond to questions about the movie and our mutual interest in tech gear.
So if we do receive intelligent communications from extraterrestrials, how would we separate fact from fancy? Even if we managed to translate their language, would we understand what we are hearing — or seeing — in its proper context? How would be understand alien concepts, alien logic, alien motivations?
Indeed, if ET wanted to talk to us, I would think they would make some effort to communicate with us in a way we’d understand as part of their routine preparations to make the voyage. But that assumes they regard us as intelligent enough to justify the effort.
As most of you know, there are people who claim to have already communicated with ET. They contact them in the desert, are abducted by them in their bedrooms or on a dark country road, or perhaps they “channel” communications from “higher” beings. Some claim those beings to be extraterrestrial, others claim that they are spirits of the dead.
Of course, even if you assume those experiences are being described as accurately as possible, that doesn’t demonstrate the actual cause. Besides, even if it were ET, why assume they are telling us the truth and not just giving us a cover story to fulfill their “prime directive” about communicating with the primitives?
There seems to be far too much acceptance, taking these entities at their word. If they are advanced aliens, or beings on a higher plane of existence, should we believe what they tell us? After all, why would they lie?
Why would they tell us the truth? What ulterior motives would they have in seeking contact?
Certainly the possibility of speaking with aliens is already being considered by science. NASA is offering a book on the subject that bears the title, “Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication,” from Douglas A. Vakoch.
The book is available as a free download, and the notes convey its focus: “Addressing a field that has been dominated by astronomers, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists, the contributors to this collection raise questions that may have been overlooked by physical scientists about the ease of establishing meaningful communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence. These scholars are grappling with some of the enormous challenges that will face humanity if an information-rich signal emanating from another world is detected. By drawing on issues at the core of contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be much better prepared for contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, should that day ever come.”
Are you curious to learn about communicating with ET from a scientific point of view? You can download the book from here: Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication
The larger question, though, is if ET calls, should we answer or let the call go to voicemail?
Copyright 1999-2015 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
December 20, 2015
www.theparacast.com
Explore How to Talk to ET on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show, and for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without the network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes and we give free ebooks for long-term subscriptions. A Paracast+ video channel is coming soon. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris explore the possibility of talking to aliens, featuring Nancy du Tertre, author of “How to Talk to an Alien.” She is a former securities litigation attorney and “Skeptical Psychic,” and, in this book, she asks: “Do aliens exist? In 2013, one poll showed that nearly half of all Americans (48 percent) believe UFOs may be a sign of extraterrestrial visitation; another found that 10 percent of Americans claim to have actually witnessed an actual UFO; and yet another showed that 2.9 million Americans believe they had actually been abducted by aliens.” This discussion also focuses on claims of communication with aliens and other so-called “higher beings.”
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Nancy du Tertre’s Blog: The Skeptical Psychic
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on December 20:Gene and Chris remain concerned over the state of the world and the outrageous body politic in the U.S. In setting up the discussion, Gene quotes an opening phrase from a Charles Fort book and how, with one word changed, it may apply to the current political campaign and the most recent Republican debate. Yes, this becomes a politically-charged discussion, as Chris is in redneck mode. After an update on Stan Romanek’s legal situation, the discussion moves to the question about communicating with aliens, focusing on Nancy du Tertre’s appearance on The Paracast. It begins with her curious statement about a phone conversation with her daughter that was interrupted by a strange-sounding individual, whom she claimed was “not of this Earth.”
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
Do You Really Want to Talk to ET?
By Gene Steinberg
There are loads of possibilities implicit in a book entitled, “How to Talk to an Alien,” authored by psychic and former attorney Nancy du Tertre. To be fair, I was disappointed that I still don’t know how to communicate with presumed visitors from other planets.
Besides, it doesn’t mean I’m jumping on the “UFOs are spaceships” bandwagon. There are still other possibilities to consider, and nobody I know about has any final answers to this mystery. But it is becoming more and more evident that we are not alone in the universe.
In fact, the other day, I read yet another report about the discovery of a possible Earth-like planet. This one orbits a red dwarf star roughly 14 light years from Earth, but has several times its mass. Supposedly the force of gravity would be 1.8 times that of Earth, which would make it pretty difficult to get around without some help with a robotic enhancement or exercising a lot.
If it was inhabited by an of intelligent and technically advanced race — and it doesn’t have to be humanoid — how would we communicate with them?
Indeed, what would we need to do in order to receive radio signals from another planet on Earth. Clearly the results from the SETI project haven’t been terribly encouraging. Even if we did receive a signal that appeared to have some randomness or intelligence to it, sending a response may be an exercise in futility. Depending on its distance, it may be years, decades or centuries since the signal was broadcast. So contacting the originator may be impossible, for those who sent it may be long dead. Well, unless those beings have longer lifespans than humans.
Besides, would they even be listening, or would we be responding to a signal meant for another recipient that we just managed to intercept? Or maybe we would be picking up something meant for a mass audience, such as a presentation designed strictly for entertainment.
Consider the 1999 comedy adventure “Galaxy Quest,” which has become a cult film despite having a mediocre box office. The flick depicts a group of performers who once starred in a sci-fi adventure series reminiscent of “Star Trek.” Their careers have pretty much gone nowhere because they were typecast, and they earn their keep attending conventions devoted to the show.
Now that does strike me as quite similar to the “Star Trek” situation before the first movie was released. Only William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy prospered and got regular work. For the rest of the crew, it was hit or mess.
Back to “Galaxy Quest,” one day, several strange-looking people confront the actor who played the ship’s captain, portrayed by Tim Allen. He’s now a washed up drunk who doesn’t take them seriously when they say they want to transport him back to their spaceship to help them fight the enemy.
You see, they watched the show with devotion from across the stars, accepting it as fact, “sacred documents” they said. They based their entire society on what they saw and recorded. They even built a starship that virtually matched the look and feel of a fictional craft with all the silly plot tropes intact.
Yes, clever satire, and I’ve seen the film several times over the years. I even met Allen in the early 2000s at the opening of an Apple Store in New York City. He was gracious and happy to respond to questions about the movie and our mutual interest in tech gear.
So if we do receive intelligent communications from extraterrestrials, how would we separate fact from fancy? Even if we managed to translate their language, would we understand what we are hearing — or seeing — in its proper context? How would be understand alien concepts, alien logic, alien motivations?
Indeed, if ET wanted to talk to us, I would think they would make some effort to communicate with us in a way we’d understand as part of their routine preparations to make the voyage. But that assumes they regard us as intelligent enough to justify the effort.
As most of you know, there are people who claim to have already communicated with ET. They contact them in the desert, are abducted by them in their bedrooms or on a dark country road, or perhaps they “channel” communications from “higher” beings. Some claim those beings to be extraterrestrial, others claim that they are spirits of the dead.
Of course, even if you assume those experiences are being described as accurately as possible, that doesn’t demonstrate the actual cause. Besides, even if it were ET, why assume they are telling us the truth and not just giving us a cover story to fulfill their “prime directive” about communicating with the primitives?
There seems to be far too much acceptance, taking these entities at their word. If they are advanced aliens, or beings on a higher plane of existence, should we believe what they tell us? After all, why would they lie?
Why would they tell us the truth? What ulterior motives would they have in seeking contact?
Certainly the possibility of speaking with aliens is already being considered by science. NASA is offering a book on the subject that bears the title, “Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication,” from Douglas A. Vakoch.
The book is available as a free download, and the notes convey its focus: “Addressing a field that has been dominated by astronomers, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists, the contributors to this collection raise questions that may have been overlooked by physical scientists about the ease of establishing meaningful communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence. These scholars are grappling with some of the enormous challenges that will face humanity if an information-rich signal emanating from another world is detected. By drawing on issues at the core of contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be much better prepared for contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, should that day ever come.”
Are you curious to learn about communicating with ET from a scientific point of view? You can download the book from here: Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication
The larger question, though, is if ET calls, should we answer or let the call go to voicemail?
Copyright 1999-2015 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
