UFOs in an age of cellphones.

[Kuznetzova]

Several professional pilots have reported very elaborate experiences with Unidentified Flying Objects. In some cases the cigar-shaped "craft" was larger than 6 football fields across, and followed their plane for time spans as long as 45 minute before "zipping away" at an impossible speed.

When we hear about these stories today, (in 2014) we automatically time the events to the early 1990s or prior, with no other knowledge. We can do this estimation because the world today is awash in cellphones, small enough to fit in our pockets, which can instantly snap photographs and even video. In any other situation, the pilots would have filmed or photographed, such a strange object using the cellphones in their pockets, particularly if they had a full 45 minutes to do so.

With the proliferation of cellphones in the hands of the public, and even in the pockets of every adolescent, we should be seeing UFO sightings every night on the evening news. And they should be captured by the multiple cellphones at hand. Footage shot by multitudes of witnesses from several angles should be all over the internet on websites and forums specifically dedicated to the topic.

And yet, in the spring of 2014, there is nothing. Forums and websites dedicated to UFOs still repeat the same old stories over and over, always from prior to 1997ish. How convenient! This state of affairs should raise serious questions about the reliability of all UFO sightings and ET abduction stories from all of history, and not just recently.

A notable exception is the 2006 O'Hare Int. Airport sighting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27H ... O_sighting
It is preposterous to me, that no one caught this "disk" on their cellphone. (It must have been floating there for barely a few seconds?)

As a marginal corollary to this UFO-Cellphone-Problem, is that we should also be seeing an uptick in paranormal phenomena. Particularly ghosts and poltergeist evidence should be increasing in tandem with the increase of cellphones and computer tablets which can instantly capture these events. And yet, nothing. The spirits apparently seem to know if they could be filmed?

Both topics should segue nicely into reliability of eye-witness testimony and issues of preponderance of evidence. This is particularly important to this forum, which has spent 24 pages debating the topic of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), and getting nowhere with it.

[SpheresOfBalance]

Several professional pilots have reported very elaborate experiences with Unidentified Flying Objects. In some cases the cigar-shaped "craft" was larger than 6 football fields across, and followed their plane for time spans as long as 45 minute before "zipping away" at an impossible speed.

When we hear about these stories today, (in 2014) we automatically time the events to the early 1990s or prior, with no other knowledge. We can do this estimation because the world today is awash in cellphones, small enough to fit in our pockets, which can instantly snap photographs and even video. In any other situation, the pilots would have filmed or photographed, such a strange object using the cellphones in their pockets, particularly if they had a full 45 minutes to do so.

With the proliferation of cellphones in the hands of the public, and even in the pockets of every adolescent, we should be seeing UFO sightings every night on the evening news. And they should be captured by the multiple cellphones at hand. Footage shot by multitudes of witnesses from several angles should be all over the internet on websites and forums specifically dedicated to the topic.

And yet, in the spring of 2014, there is nothing. Forums and websites dedicated to UFOs still repeat the same old stories over and over, always from prior to 1997ish. How convenient! This state of affairs should raise serious questions about the reliability of all UFO sightings and ET abduction stories from all of history, and not just recently.

A notable exception is the 2006 O'Hare Int. Airport sighting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_O%27H ... O_sighting
It is preposterous to me, that no one caught this "disk" on their cellphone. (It must have been floating there for barely a few seconds?)

As a marginal corollary to this UFO-Cellphone-Problem, is that we should also be seeing an uptick in paranormal phenomena. Particularly ghosts and poltergeist evidence should be increasing in tandem with the increase of cellphones and computer tablets which can instantly capture these events. And yet, nothing. The spirits apparently seem to know if they could be filmed?

Both topics should segue nicely into reliability of eye-witness testimony and issues of preponderance of evidence. This is particularly important to this forum, which has spent 24 pages debeating into the topic of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), and getting nowhere with it.

Cell phones, are you kidding me? With respect to UFO's one would have to have a lens such as this: http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv40 ... 3V5361.jpg --And that's just the lens without the camera body.--

In order to do any real UFO, fact gathering, that is what you'd need. Cellphones indeed.

[Kuznetzova]

I agree that a mounted multiple zoom lens would be required tool for gathering evidence. That is, if your final motivation is to corroborate the existence of space-faring vehicles controlled by ET intelligences. You would need the details provided by these lenses.

In the context of this thread, I would adopt a different stance. I would be satisfied with a blurry, low-resolution video of a cigar-shaped object, following an airliner for 6 minutes (or however long those phones can record video). The central topical point, is that such videos should be proliferating in tandem with the increasing proliferation of cellphones in the populace. (There are also more people on the earth now). I see no such increase in evidence.

[Arising_uk]

I thought UFO sightings have already been explained by the occurrence of sightings of triangular UFO's in the 70's and the release later of documents showing that the stealth fighter was flying at that time. So it looks like military aviation is about two decades ahead of what the public know. Lately sighting claims have been made for doughnut-shaped saucers once again, so looks like plasma-based 'planes' are about to be revealed.

[Blaggard]

Paranormal investigators commonly get a bad press in general, although I attend regular lectures and listen to them digress on their findings and have always found the vast majority not to be quite as bad at science as you might suppose.

There are out there paranormal investigators, some of whom have professional qualifications in parapsychology or just psychology, or degrees and so forth and some who do not, but I can assure you many who started off as believers have found themselves over time being cynics, even though many got into the subject to prove the sorts of paranormal phenomena most known as true.

That said though it is a noble endeavour because all you are going to get is criticism, suffice to say if there is any evidence of x being y or UFOs being from another world or El chupacabra, or whatever, the people who do investigate it will be first to show you it. Atm though I seem to attend conventions and hence lectures, that show that there are a lot of very strange phenomena in the world, but most of it if not all and certainly not all, there are genuinely some odd things going on- is mainly due to there being a lot of very strange people in the world.

Suffice to say I think people who investigate with a good scientific method, a field that is only going to bring ridicule on them are quite noble. There are plenty of people studying things, in fact too many, and many can't get jobs. Study everything, think about anything, and keep it kosher at least, and no harm no foul.

[Impenitent]

I saw UFO once in the early eighties...

-Imp

[SpheresOfBalance]

I agree that a mounted multiple zoom lens would be required tool for gathering evidence. That is, if your final motivation is to corroborate the existence of space-faring vehicles controlled by ET intelligences. You would need the details provided by these lenses.

In the context of this thread, I would adopt a different stance. I would be satisfied with a blurry, low-resolution video of a cigar-shaped object, following an airliner for 6 minutes (or however long those phones can record video). The central topical point, is that such videos should be proliferating in tandem with the increasing proliferation of cellphones in the populace. (There are also more people on the earth now). I see no such increase in evidence.

I know the answer to this one, the reason there is no cellphone UFO evidence, is because no one is looking up anymore, because they have their heads buried in their cellphone LCD screens, texting friends on their social network; look up and miss something really important, are you kidding me.

Yes, despite all the lack of verifiable evidence, I believe that extra terrestrials are a possibility, and can't wait for honest to goodness evidence. Of course I could be waiting for a long time, anyway, I remain hopeful.

[Arising_uk]

I know the answer to this one, the reason there is no cellphone UFO evidence, is because no one is looking up anymore, because they have their heads buried in their cellphone LCD screens, texting friends on their social network; look up and miss something really important, are you kidding me.

Funny and sadly true.

[Blaggard]

Yeah Imp and pigs can fly!

[vegetariantaxidermy]

Paranormal investigators commonly get a bad press in general, although I attend regular lectures and listen to them digress on their findings and have always found the vast majority not to be quite as bad at science as you might suppose.

There are out there paranormal investigators, some of whom have professional qualifications in parapsychology or just psychology, or degrees and so forth and some who do not, but I can assure you many who started off as believers have found themselves over time being cynics, even though many got into the subject to prove the sorts of paranormal phenomena most known as true.

That said though it is a noble endeavour because all you are going to get is criticism, suffice to say if there is any evidence of x being y or UFOs being from another world or El chupacabra, or whatever, the people who do investigate it will be first to show you it. Atm though I seem to attend conventions and hence lectures, that show that there are a lot of very strange phenomena in the world, but most of it if not all and certainly not all, there are genuinely some odd things going on- is mainly due to there being a lot of very strange people in the world.

Suffice to say I think people who investigate with a good scientific method, a field that is only going to bring ridicule on them are quite noble. There are plenty of people studying things, in fact too many, and many can't get jobs. Study everything, think about anything, and keep it kosher at least, and no harm no foul.

Come on now. That's pseudo-science, not science. I'm surprised you would defend such charlatans. I suppose some 'psychics' have 'professional qualifications too' lol.

[SpheresOfBalance]

Yeah Imp and pigs can fly!

FYI, (U)nidentified, (F)lying, (O)bjects! Imp saw a object flying, that he couldn't Identify, what did you say about pigs flying? Yeah, I thought so!!! Typical!!!

[Impenitent]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatjerFCRP8

-Imp

[SpheresOfBalance]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatjerFCRP8

-Imp

Good one, and I feel bad that I hadn't caught it. Maybe I have caught something, I feel sick! Doctor, Doctor please...

[Blaggard]

Paranormal investigators commonly get a bad press in general, although I attend regular lectures and listen to them digress on their findings and have always found the vast majority not to be quite as bad at science as you might suppose.

There are out there paranormal investigators, some of whom have professional qualifications in parapsychology or just psychology, or degrees and so forth and some who do not, but I can assure you many who started off as believers have found themselves over time being cynics, even though many got into the subject to prove the sorts of paranormal phenomena most known as true.

That said though it is a noble endeavour because all you are going to get is criticism, suffice to say if there is any evidence of x being y or UFOs being from another world or El chupacabra, or whatever, the people who do investigate it will be first to show you it. Atm though I seem to attend conventions and hence lectures, that show that there are a lot of very strange phenomena in the world, but most of it if not all and certainly not all, there are genuinely some odd things going on- is mainly due to there being a lot of very strange people in the world.

Suffice to say I think people who investigate with a good scientific method, a field that is only going to bring ridicule on them are quite noble. There are plenty of people studying things, in fact too many, and many can't get jobs. Study everything, think about anything, and keep it kosher at least, and no harm no foul.

Come on now. That's pseudo-science, not science. I'm surprised you would defend such charlatans. I suppose some 'psychics' have 'professional qualifications too' lol.

It's only psuedo science if you don't use the scientific method, regardless of the subject if you do, even if you are investigating ghosts, as long as you are doing it in the right way, it is most definitely science. You are aware of course you can do degrees in psychology which lead to degrees in parascyhology, such things would not exist if it was an art only and nowhere a science. People in the funding community don't throw money at crackpots generally. Although there are some exceptions particularly with the recent rise of Creationist universities but that is besides the point.

I've attended lectures on people doing PhD's at Cambridge in NDEs (Near Death Experiences), ghosts, and all sorts of odd psychological phenomena, now I am not saying Cambridge is the leading university in the world but top 10 maybe, they certainly don't hand out PhD's to The Ghostbusters though. Science is a broad field, even psychology can be a science, likewise parapsychology approached in the right way is most certainly not just an art by contingency.

http://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Abstract/ ... on,.7.aspx

Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been described consistently since antiquity and more rigorously in recent years. Investigation into their mechanisms and effects has been impeded by the lack of quantitative measures of the NDE and its components. From an initial pool of 80 manifestations characteristic of NDEs, a 33-item scaled-response preliminary questionnaire was developed, which was completed by knowledgeable subjects describing their 74 NDEs. Items with significant item-total score correlations that could be grouped into clinically meaningful clusters constituted the final 16-item NDE Scale. The scale was found to have high internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability; was highly correlated with Ring's Weighted Core Experience Index; and differentiated those who unequivocally claimed to have had NDEs from those with qualified or questionable claims. This reliable, valid, and easily administered scale is clinically useful in differentiating NDEs from organic brain syndromes and nonspecific stress responses, and can standardize further research into mechanisms and effects of NDEs.

[thedoc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatjerFCRP8

-Imp

Good one, and I feel bad that I hadn't caught it. Maybe I have caught something, I feel sick! Doctor, Doctor please...

I don't make house calls, except for toy trains.