Alien abduction

[Apatheist]

I can't add a poll, but please respond if you believe:
a) You have been abducted by aliens
b) You know someone who thinks they have been abducted
c) You believe abductions have happened
d) You think the government is hiding the truth
e) You believe it's all nonsense.

Feel free to start another thread with those poll options if it will help the discussion.
Personally - E.
As an amateur astronomer, I'm very firmly of the opinion that astronomers will pick up electromagnetic contact before any spaceships get to visit, and it will get widely reported before any government agencies have the chance to suppress it.
I'd love to hear from anyone with direct experience though...

[Pack Rat]

What about the abduction of aliens by our corrupt regime?

[Apatheist]

What about the abduction of aliens by our corrupt regime?

That's a question for a separate thread. Isn't this one interesting enough to keep on track without having yet another go at the government?
Not that they don't deserve it, but there's more than enough places for political comment.

[jusplay4fun]

What about the abduction of aliens by our corrupt regime?

That's a question for a separate thread. Isn't this one interesting enough to keep on track without having yet another go at the government?
Not that they don't deserve it, but there's more than enough places for political comment.

Pack Rat doesn't get it.

[Pack Rat]

What about the abduction of aliens by our corrupt regime?

That's a question for a separate thread. Isn't this one interesting enough to keep on track without having yet another go at the government?
Not that they don't deserve it, but there's more than enough places for political comment.

We hear that same question very often here. But who listen to that advice? Changing the subject is what we do when people take themselves to seriously.

[owenshooter]

"SURE YOU GUYS, WHAT-EVERRRRRRRRRR!"

THE BLACK JESUS HAS SPOKEN...-JESUS NOIR

[Apatheist]

What about the abduction of aliens by our corrupt regime?

That's a question for a separate thread. Isn't this one interesting enough to keep on track without having yet another go at the government?
Not that they don't deserve it, but there's more than enough places for political comment.

We hear that same question very often here. But who listen to that advice? Changing the subject is what we do when people take themselves to seriously.

A sensible mature person would listen to that advice. I try to raise interesting subjects; if you don't have opinions on them, there's no requirement to join in. Do you not think that 1 post is a bit premature for changing the subject? Please leave it to those who might want to discuss something rather than just turning everything on to your pet subjects.

[mookiemcgee]

"SURE YOU GUYS, WHAT-EVERRRRRRRRRR!"

THE BLACK JESUS HAS SPOKEN...-JESUS NOIR

Scott Baio gave me pink eye too Owen, never forget.

[Pack Rat]

When I get pink eye...I wear my pirate patch.

[Apatheist]

Alright, I get it. You're deflecting away from the topic because you believe that you have been abducted, but realise that's a sign of mental illness and you don't want the truth exposed.

[Dukasaur]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

[Apatheist]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

Only if one understands those energies and has detectors capable of detecting them, pointed in the right direction.

[Dukasaur]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

Only if one understands those energies and has detectors capable of detecting them, pointed in the right direction.

We can detect things without needing to understand them.

We detected a lot of different kinds of radiation before we knew what they were.

[Apatheist]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

Only if one understands those energies and has detectors capable of detecting them, pointed in the right direction.

We can detect things without needing to understand them.

We detected a lot of different kinds of radiation before we knew what they were.

True, but suppose they are travelling in hyperspace, the sub-ether or a parallel dimension, or using a tachyon drive (okay, I watch sci-fi), we wouldn't necessarily pick them up. Of course, anything faster than light would be here before we realised it.

[jusplay4fun]

Relevant:

Dangers of AI, Data Centers, and Technology
Post by jusplay4fun » Sat Sep 12, 2026 4:28 pm

Science Fiction, by several major writers, have addressed issues of Technology dangers. I mentioned to my students the works of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke earlier this week in Class, as we discussed the use of Technology and App Programs to automate our experiments to gather and record data. I told my students that they need to understand what the electronic device (hardware) is doing and measuring and what the programs (software) is doing. Most did not seem to know how software and hardware differ or even ARE in this context.

from AI
Several prominent science fiction writers have explored the dangers of technology in their works.

Mary Shelley is often credited with laying the groundwork for this theme in her novel Frankenstein, where she examines the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition and the creation of life

Isaac Asimov introduced the famous "Three Laws of Robotics" in his stories, which highlight the ethical dilemmas and potential dangers of artificial intelligence

Philip K. Dick frequently delved into the psychological and societal impacts of technology, as seen in works like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which questions the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world

Arthur C. Clarke also addressed the implications of technology in his works, particularly in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the AI HAL 9000 poses existential threats

[Apatheist]

Any sufficiently advanced technology will seem like magic

[Dukasaur]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

Only if one understands those energies and has detectors capable of detecting them, pointed in the right direction.

We can detect things without needing to understand them.

We detected a lot of different kinds of radiation before we knew what they were.

True, but suppose they are travelling in hyperspace, the sub-ether or a parallel dimension, or using a tachyon drive (okay, I watch sci-fi), we wouldn't necessarily pick them up. Of course, anything faster than light would be here before we realised it.

I'm a sci-fi fan myself, and not opposed to fanciful speculation.

But let's say, for instance, that they were using portable wormholes of some kind. Wormholes can only be created by monstrous gravitational fields of stellar magnitudes. Let's say such a ship went through hyperspace and materialized in our solar system. The opening of a wormhole, even for a split second, would create a gravitational field greater than the one around our sun. Even if it was only open for a microsecond, let's say, it would create a gravity wave similar to the clanging of black holes. We would see massive effects. Not only would we experience brief but potent waves similar to earthquakes, but a few seconds later we would see moonquakes, and then soon after, Marsquakes and Jupiterquakes etc., etc. Even with no knowlege of what the wormhole was or what caused it, we would soon be able to triangulate the point where it occurred.

Any sufficiently advanced technology will seem like magic

Yes, Arthur C. Clarke, was it not?

Dukasaur's Corollary is that any technology powerful enough to seem like magic will create tangible signatures in the real world.

[HitRed]

They will just float here like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We will know when people are staring at cell phones emotionless.

[jusplay4fun]

I don't think a vessel capable of interstellar flight could be undetectable. The energies involved are too great.

Only if one understands those energies and has detectors capable of detecting them, pointed in the right direction.

We can detect things without needing to understand them.

We detected a lot of different kinds of radiation before we knew what they were.

True, but suppose they are travelling in hyperspace, the sub-ether or a parallel dimension, or using a tachyon drive (okay, I watch sci-fi), we wouldn't necessarily pick them up. Of course, anything faster than light would be here before we realised it.

I'm a sci-fi fan myself, and not opposed to fanciful speculation.

But let's say, for instance, that they were using portable wormholes of some kind. Wormholes can only be created by monstrous gravitational fields of stellar magnitudes. Let's say such a ship went through hyperspace and materialized in our solar system. The opening of a wormhole, even for a split second, would create a gravitational field greater than the one around our sun. Even if it was only open for a microsecond, let's say, it would create a gravity wave similar to the clanging of black holes. We would see massive effects. Not only would we experience brief but potent waves similar to earthquakes, but a few seconds later we would see moonquakes, and then soon after, Marsquakes and Jupiterquakes etc., etc. Even with no knowlege of what the wormhole was or what caused it, we would soon be able to triangulate the point where it occurred.

Any sufficiently advanced technology will seem like magic

Yes, Arthur C. Clarke, was it not?

Dukasaur's Corollary is that any technology powerful enough to seem like magic will create tangible signatures in the real world.

Yes, Apatheist, Clarke it was.

From AI:
The phrase "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" was said by Arthur C. Clarke. He was a British author and futurist, known for his works in science fiction, including 2001: A Space Odyssey. This quote reflects his views on the relationship between technology and perception, suggesting that advanced technology can appear magical to those who do not understand it.

and good Corollary, Duk.

[jusplay4fun]

They will just float here like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We will know when people are staring at cell phones emotionless.

Is it already happening??

[Apatheist]

BTW No quakes on Jupiter or the other gas giants.
Yes, we'd probably pick up a wormhole, but we might not detect a warp drive until after they'd arrived. It's hard to know what they might be using, since it's obviously going to have to be way beyond anything that we have now. I do believe that our first alien contact will be electromagnetic or, as you say, gravitational disturbance.
All of which suggests that a) Avi Loeb is an idiot who keeps seeing alien spacecraft where there aren't any and b) alien abductions aren't happening.
This does though not rule out alien visitors in the past who were mistaken for gods, as some believe. Could some of the biblical stories about people being "taken up" relate to a matter transfer or tractor beam? Would men in white space suits with jet packs be seen as angels? Was Ezekiel seeing a shuttlecraft? Were Joshua's trumpets actually sonic cannons? Did they teach the ancients how to build pyramids - up to a point?
I suspect we won't find out for sure in this lifetime, unless they make a return visit - which of course someone is supposed to have promised, and we're still waiting for

One exercise for when you're bored - on a train, flight or whatever - imagine you are abducted by an evil alien race. They want to learn the human reproductive process, and are forcing you to sleep with someone, or the planet gets destroyed. Mentally, you divide the species into 3 groups: those where you'd say Yes Please, those where it would be Okay If I Have To, and those whom you find so repulsive that you have to say Sorry Earth, Not Going To Happen.
Who is in your third group?

[mookiemcgee]

Interstellar travel for lifeforms still feels far less likely that inter-dimensional visitation.

They could be here, they could have always been here, and also they've never been here.

[Dukasaur]

Group III for me would only include people with disgusting communicable diseases.

Anybody reasonably healthy, no matter how ugly, I could do if I had to.

[Pack Rat]

Duk, saving humanity, one woman at a time.



.

Spoiler

..or maybe 2-3 at a time

[Apatheist]

Group III for me would only include people with disgusting communicable diseases.

Anybody reasonably healthy, no matter how ugly, I could do if I had to.

Let's see... Roseanne Barr?
An East European shot putter?

I think I'd struggle to perform the necessary.