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Starcraft
In his book, Unidentified Flying Objects: Starcraft, Der Voron has offered an extremely well-researched and detailed report of incidents that have occurred all across the globe, from many different eras. Ancient writings may have been the first indication that 'we are not alone,' and Der Voron cites several of these sources as examples. Such statements originate from many different countries and in different continents, from ancient times to contemporary, from Indian tales of events that took place in the wilds of Kipling country to experiences related by a German artillery gunner during World War Two. Reports of 'unidentified contact with objects of undetermined origins' have been filed in government offices from the plains of South America to the fjords of Norway and the steppes of Asia.
Highly annotated and illustrated with fascinating examples of starship models and their possible makeup, armaments and defensive mechanisms (according to some data belonging to U.S. government research on alien starcraft), this ambitious work offers a wealth of documented information on not only Starcraft, otherwise known as 'Flying Saucers,' but the types of extraterrestrials that have flown them. All aliens are not created equal, as their many varied depictions and origins in historical writings attest. The author's use of a plethora of written documentation ably enhances his description of personal civilian and military accounts of those who have had some kind of interaction with these objects.
Also explored in great detail is the intelligence of our sea life, mainly as that intelligence relates to dolphins and the octopi of our deepest oceans, and how they, in turn, can be used in the search for extended knowledge of the universe surrounding our planet. How and why these creatures have gained such highly specialized communication skills and how it is that an octopus can experience an event and not only remember it, but learn from it, is explored, and commented upon as it relates to man's search for a higher intelligence.
While replete with scientific data, terms and information, this work by Der Voron is nevertheless highly readable and extremely illuminating for the common reader with no prior knowledge of extraterrestrial existence, while at the same time it provides hours of reading material and documentation to keep the more knowledgeable busy.
Der Voron's conscientious effort to dig deep for his sources shows in his detailed reports, and his data gathering and willingness to share that information is a challenging endeavor in which he has aptly succeeded. The existence of extraterrestrials is an immensely interesting topic, one that will be explored for years to come, and this work can provide an invaluable asset to any stargazer's bookshelf.
If this review intrigued you, you may want to see this interview with the author of this book in Weekly Universe. You can purchase Unidentified Flying Objects: Starcraft from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
1) The guy sounds like a sub-atomic particle. Muon, Voron...
2) He names his book after a popular video game containing alien characters. Coincidence?
3) In the book, he assumes things that aren't known to be true, such as "Aliens exist". This allows him to avoid things like, eh, facts.
4) It was reviewed on Slashdot, home of unbiased content!
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
The quote "Something had to have happened in these places and many others throughout the globe to engender such speculation and argument" is a perfect example of the logical fallacy at work here. This is what is meant by "begging the question."
This review could have been made much shorter by just quoting a book review that has been (perhaps apocryphally) said to have been written by Abraham Lincoln: "For people who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing that they like."
How did this get categorized as Space news? Until there is hard evidence that UFOs actually exist, then it will forever be viewed as a fragment of a person's imagination.
Even if UFOs really exist, what makes people so inclined to believe that they are chariots of alien civilizations? And while we're going paranormal, why can't we consider alternative reasoning such as UFOs could possibly be ghosts from the future. Do ghosts have to be from the past to be considered as ghosts in the sense of the word?
However, like most people I think that a more logical explanation for UFO sightings is that it is some glitch in the sky... strange manifestation of star/sunlight, mini auroras, heck even mutant glow-in-the-dark birds for all it could be.
Seemed more feasable if compared to a Starcraft theory IMHO.
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The only motivation I can figure out is that the book shares part of its name with a popular RTS. This is more off topic than our usual off topics.
The ancient astronaut theory, though not DEBUNKED, has often rested in shaky evidence, assumptions, and outright hoaxes. The Dropa hoax being a classic one - and toss in Strichin's bizarre mutilation of mythology, or Von Daniken's questionalbe ideas . . . the support for it isn't enthusing.
A good look at some of the Fortean Times issues will go a long way into putting these theories in perspective.
What's next, one of David Icke's books here? Bring on the Reptillians!
"The Sage treasures Unity and measures all things by it" - Lao Tzu
"the author claims that modern man was genetically engineered by aliens"
If I'd engineered most of the people today, I'd be embarrased to admit it.
A bone of contention, in that there isn't any. As Sagan said, all it takes to prove this is one artifact -- doesn't even have to be magical hi-tech, just having a different isotopic balance than terrestrial would be proof of extra-terrestrial origin. But in the thousands of claimed "contacts", not one single artifact has been left -- not an alien cigarette butt or Coke can. It's obviously a massive conspiracy.
Fucking kooks like this is why real SETI gets such a bad rap.
The poster claims:
> it's easy to make jokes about Area 51 or Roswell, there is certainly a basis for those jokes and rumors. Something had to have happened in these places and many others throughout the globe to engender such speculation and argument
Lots of people speculate and argue that Elvis is still alive. Something must have happened to engender such speculation and argument. Therefore I have proven that Elvis is not dead (or is undead).
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
For as long as man has realized that there are boundaries he can see, but can not effectively explore, his imagination has run amok and placed all manner of fanciful creations into them. "dragons be here" can be found on unexplored maritime areas on old maps, yeti signs are found in impassible mountain ranges, and sirens in the ocean depths.
This doesn't mean that there aren't monsters in these areas, mind you, but rather than man's propensity to create them in his mind usually results in more monsters than actually exist. The unexplored regions of space today are no different than the middle of the atlantic 400 years ago.
Egad, this woman does like this book. No fewer than 13 reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (repeated here and here), 14?.
My first thought was the Denise M. Clark was a shill, but if she is, she's incompetant. By using the same name over and over, it becomes easy to track her down. My next thought was that she was a UFO nut trying to spread the word. Possible, but she has reviewed many other books.
My new theory is that she's desperately trying for fame through the unlikely technique of publishing reviews on as many sites as possible. (Check out her web page, "The on-line home of author/reviewer Denise M. Clark". Either that, or she's a space alien here to prepare us for use as slaves and food for her hideous grey masters. If it's the former, she's wasting our time. If it's the latter, I suppose that would could as news for nerds.
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Klass is an idiot. He makes small cash off books and other products his peddles. The real proof is online.
What I have noticed is that most people who publish on this subject are too polarized. It is hard to get the full story.
I think this comes about because mostly extreme statements and opinions sell. A conclusion-free book is not "compelling". Therefore, either you paint everybody as a saucer-happy hullicinator, or propose top-secret cover-ups if you want to sell books. The skeptics over-emphasize the silliness of "bad" cases, and the believers over-hype the bad cases. Both seem to ignore the best cases for some reason. Probably because they are kind of boring in comparison, dispite being better documented or better observed (more independent witnesses).
The only author who seems to take a more balanced view is Jacques Vallee. But even he seems to speculate too much, having some funky pet theories.
I think the subject deserves serious-minded scientific attention. The military-sponsered studies appear to be an attempt to rid itself of being the official handlers of the subject (probably out of embarrassment and press attention they don't know how to handle) rather than people genuinely curious.
Even Carl Sagan falls victim to some of the "traps of skeptics". He "over thinks" about what alien technology or beings should look like and act. He will say things like, "The abductees must be wrong because the alien medical tools are too bulky. They should have smaller tech if they are advanced." This is sloppy reasoning because we have no idea what such tech would really be like. Perhaps that instrument packs 10,000 medical exams/procedures into one device. (It is not proof for, but not against either.) And, his attitude is Holier-Than-Thow.
It is such an emotionally-charged subject that getting the real scoop is tough. Too bad.
Table-ized A.I.
My reaction to your story isn't "Nah, that's impossible, BS" it is just "OK, but it is hard to see how this could be used in an investigation". You can't get a better answer than "I don't know".
Also note that the Condon Report which is still looked upon by most skeptics as the most comprehensive report on UFOs have a case which remains unexplained, and conclude that there is evidence for an extraordinary object (this is the single case they come to that conclusion for).
Those claiming to have a better explanation than "I don't know" will raise some eyebrows and if they offer a ahem, exotic explanation, they may see some ridicule, but I don't think any real skeptic will look at you as a kook for telling this story.
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