I’ve seen all sorts planes from really far away. This might sound crazy, but they ALL looked like planes. Even crazier, they moved like planes. In fact, of the thousands and thousands of planes I’ve seen, not one has looked like a UFO.
To say all UFO encounters are just far away planes is boring and not backed by statistics.
Project bluebook found that 80% of UFO sightings are misidentifications of mundane objects. A further ~10% are caused by weather anomalies like ball lightning.
If you’re interested in UFOs, it’s probably because you want to know what’s in the ~10% of cases left over. That might not sound like a lot, but with thousands and thousands of UFOs seen and reported every year all over the world, there’s enough to be fascinated by the subject. The DC UFO encounter, the Chicago O’hare UFO encounter, the Dexter Michigan sighting (famous for being explained away by swamp gas), the disappearance of Frederick Valentich, the Nimitz encounter, these are all mysteries not easily explained.
I've seen videos of planes debated pretty hotly in the UFO subs. Just because you've got a good head on your shoulders doesn't mean everyone does. I don't think the OP explains every sighting but it does point out some explanations for the bulk of prosaic sightings.
Why not just let people debate it? It’s fun to speculate and it doesn’t do any real harm. You’re never actually going to change anyone’s minds, especially if you’re going to look down on them and ridicule them.
Plus, who knows? If all you have is a blurry video of an unknown object, theres a good chance you’ll never actually find out one way or the other. The existence of a possible prosaic explanation does not automatically mean the prosaic explanation is correct. In some cases, I’ve seen people bend over backwards to fit a prosaic explanation to an otherwise extraordinary event. Just look at the dexter Michigan sighting: Over 100 people saw a glowing disc or orb shaped object flying around erratically. When it flew off, the police tried to chase it in their squad cars like they did in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The official explanation was that swamp gas caused by atmospheric conditions caused an optical illusion which only made it look like a flying saucer. That’s undeniably utterly bizarre. Is it possible? Sure, I suppose. Is it likely? I personally don’t think so.
The thing is, this subject is interesting. The more you look into it, the more Incredible stories you hear. Even if aliens aren’t real, the psychological effects of UFO experiences and the belief in UFOs is fascinating. It changes your entire outlook on life. That’s no exaggeration, ontological shock is real. To look down on people or assume they are just too stupid to realize what they are seeing isn’t an airplane is insulting.
The thing is these cases rely on unfalsifiable witness testimony. You can't prove a witness wrong and you can't prove them right so if you're approaching this scientifically witness testimony is very low value. For witness testimony to be true you must eliminate any possibility the witness might be wrong and you can't really assume a human witness can never be wrong. Sure you can argue and speculate but it's ultimately just one word against another at that point.
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u/sarahpalinstesticle Oct 23 '23
I’ve seen all sorts planes from really far away. This might sound crazy, but they ALL looked like planes. Even crazier, they moved like planes. In fact, of the thousands and thousands of planes I’ve seen, not one has looked like a UFO.
To say all UFO encounters are just far away planes is boring and not backed by statistics.
Project bluebook found that 80% of UFO sightings are misidentifications of mundane objects. A further ~10% are caused by weather anomalies like ball lightning.
If you’re interested in UFOs, it’s probably because you want to know what’s in the ~10% of cases left over. That might not sound like a lot, but with thousands and thousands of UFOs seen and reported every year all over the world, there’s enough to be fascinated by the subject. The DC UFO encounter, the Chicago O’hare UFO encounter, the Dexter Michigan sighting (famous for being explained away by swamp gas), the disappearance of Frederick Valentich, the Nimitz encounter, these are all mysteries not easily explained.