Quoted from Deaconblooze:

The thought I've been having lately... for there to be other intelligent life in the universe, a host planet would only need to support life for about as long as our own has. In that time, we've come very close to creating self-aware AI. AI does not have the same sort of environmental restrictions to survive.
So long as there's been organic life for long enough to create artificial life on some other planet at some point during the history of the universe, it's practical to think that "life" could be present on a wide range of planets - much wider than the typical "goldilocks" planets to which we currently focus our interest.

Quoted from DCP:

Here's another copy of Dr. J. Allen Hynek's first book, "The UFO Experience". It's the later paperback edition.
Hynek signed this one to my folks also.
I'm working on getting in touch with one of Hynek's sons, and I've started emailing back and forth with Mark O'Connell, the author of "The Close Encounters Man".

I've never really read Jacques Vallee's work. It looks very interesting, and the guy is still alive at 81 and has written 25 books and invented all kinds of stuff. Here's his website - I should write to him, too, and see if he's got any interesting stories. I remember him from his visits to our home when I was a kid, but I was way too young to pick his brain yet...not too late, apparently. His site is https://www.jacquesvallee.net/. There are quite a few free PDFs to read, and a list of all his books.
I'm building up a winter UFO reading list![quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from DCP:

Hmmm, this looks like the classic "It's such a good fake, it must be real" argument! Not convincing to me, even coming from Spielberg and Vid1900.
Please allow me to give some background as to why I am such a diehard skeptic. I don't want anyone to think that I am just some asshole who is disrespectful of others' opinions. People who aren't used to having their ideas questioned can sometimes see skepticism as a personal attack. I just want all of you to know that I never mean it that way, and am only trying to contribute to truth-seeking in my own unique and sometimes abrasive manner.
I grew up with, and was taught by, a serious scientist and respected thinker (my father, Bill Powers - astronomer, psychologist, systems theorist, UFO investigator) and his friends (such as Vallee and Hynek) to be deeply skeptical of "proof" of any kind. I've logged many hours of listening to and reading their detailed deconstructions of many so-called "phenomena".
Dad used to refer to a thing in the human brain called the "Bullshit Detector". Everyone has one, but some are more finely-tuned than others. One's bullshit detector can be strengthened by experience and various exercises in logic and deduction. I was somewhat harshly trained in this fine art, but I appreciate it more and more the older I get.
Bill Powers was invited to participate in Hynek's UFO investigations because of his "powers" of observation, and his strong ability to read people and sniff out fakes.
There were only a very small number of UFO reports that Hynek, Vallee, and Powers believed were credible. The rest were the result of misidentification, misinformation, or some sort of deception or trickery with varying degrees of sophistication.
There are a lot of people in the world who are willing to spend a lot of time and money to convince others of the truth of whatever it is they are preaching.
Some billionaire could have commissioned the Skinny Bob fake, and provided the fakers with all the server time they need. People with big bucks and the motivation to deceive the public have been able to convince large numbers of people that their illusions are actually reality before.
Who might have such motivation? Our own government is a prime suspect for many reasons, some obvious, some not.
The Air Force has a huge motivation to try to convince the public that UFOs either do not exist, or that the Air Force already has made contact and has everything under control.
Think about it - if they ever admitted there were objects freely zipping around in NORAD's airspace that were "unidentified", they would be admitting that they don't have full control and domination of the airspace like they always tell us.
This makes some practical sense, since we don't really want our enemies knowing that certain flying objects seem to be undetectable by our systems.
So they always press for full ID (debunking, or "We have the UFO in our possession" stories), or they question the psychological integrity of the person reporting the incident.
This pattern has been the same since the Air Force first got involved in UFO investigations in 1952.
Unfortunately, in 2020 and beyond, mere existence of film or video evidence contributes even less to the actual proof of a phenomenon than it ever has before. The Greys are going to have to step right up and start posting on Pinside, or we will never believe they exist!!!!

Quoted from kvan99:

I do "believe" the pilots did see some object...yes, but it's likely explainable. I posted a DARPA glider than can do Mach 20....an F-15 or F-16 can do about Mach 3 to 3.5....min weapons and with afterburners. A missile typically does Mach 6 to 8. This thing can easily do twice that, so I'm sure they saw something. It's also good to note that they made the sighting in restricted military airspace around VA beach.

Quoted from JMcDonald:

This one is getting a fair amount of attention this past week because of how many people witnessed it (in South Carolina). It certainly seems unidentifiable to me albeit not necessarily a "craft" per se (unless it is 'cloaked'). But it does seem odd.

https://power1051.iheart.com/content/2021-07-06-ufo-stops-traffic-in-south-carolina-as-drivers-film-it/?pname=local_social&keyid=WWPR&sc=editorial&fbclid=IwAR00LEl-jFWAG7GOS1oiFoDIxizO4BgCu_XsjAIZ5iYX6jz4HdQ9w0mwF74

Quoted from RonSS:

I can't remember if this was listed here or not, so please forgive me if it's a repeat.
I find this fairly fascinating. I haven't delved into it further, but I've gotta say, seems like an intense training mission if that is the truth!

The Pentyrch UFO

Quoted from razorsedge:

Interesting story for sure. Also definitely unidentified as well, at least to the average person anyway I suppose.
Not sure about the conjecture of them describing these events as involving "alien" craft though.

Quoted from DCP:

I would like to clear something up. I am not the negative skeptic some of you try to say that I am. I would be fascinated and amazed, just like you, if we ever see real evidence of UFOs being alien craft. I have never said that it's impossible for aliens to visit us. I have been hoping to see this evidence for most of my life.
I have mentioned this before, but I'd like to remind everyone that my Dad, Bill Powers, worked directly for Dr. Hynek and personally participated in UFO investigations, including the famous Socorro incident, and Betty and Barney Hill. Our family was friends on a personal level with Hynek's family and Jacques Vallée and many others. I was a curious young boy growing up with a Dad who was working on Project Blue Book. It was awesome!
I learned from Dad and others about critically examining evidence, and how to tell if you have proved something or not.
I don't carelessly discard any of your ideas. It's just that I've heard so many of the same statements over the years, and I can tell the difference between someone with an enthusiastic imagination and someone who possesses real proof.
I will be the first to celebrate with you when proof of aliens is finally found. But I will respectfully try to warn you guys that the recent UFO docs released by the government do not contain that proof, and may in fact be no more than a fairly crude attempt to hide the fact that they still don't know what is really behind these UFO sightings.
I'll keep reading and watching videos along with all of you, and I'll keep hoping that real evidence and proof is forthcoming!