Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick had a few choice words for the public on his way out the door of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick had a few choice words for the public on his way out the door of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office

Sean Kirkpatrick was once the man in charge of a D.C.-backed agency tasked with investigating claims into unidentified anomalous phenomena, the new term for what most people still call UFOs. He stepped down from the position in December, and has now published a excoriating farewell letter in Scientific American detailing some of the reasons why.

So why did he stop hunting for UFOs on behalf of the American government? In short: Because congressional leaders believe in conspiracy theories with absolutely no substantial proof. “Our efforts were ultimately overwhelmed by sensational but unsupported claims that ignored contradictory evidence yet captured the attention of policy makers and the public, driving legislative battles and dominating the public narrative,” Kirkpatrick said in Scientific American.

  • Headofthebored @lemmy.world
    1·
    10 months ago

    I think we humans are probably a bit self-centered or narcissistic in our fascination with aliens, like the belief they may wish to control or take our planet, or something. Objects in space are all pretty much made out of the same elements, so we probably have nothing they would need if they have technology that makes traveling to us trivial. Space is so vast it would be easier for them at that technology level to obtain whatever they need from uninhabited planets or asteroids and avoid any unnecessary hassle or contamination. I’ve often felt that if we’ve actually been noticed by any alien presence, we’re probably regarded much the same way an anthill at the edge of a truck stop parking lot is, rarely acknowledged, much less cared about when we are.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      Except for the entomologist-types that are into that sort of thing, or we piss off the wrong proverbial trucker and they pour out a proverbial gallon of gas and set the anthill on fire, sure.

      The entomologist types would be careful enough to not give us anything crazy… unless they’re polish. At which point, they might just let the proverbial cannibal ants out. (Seriously, did they not realize cannibal ants in an abandoned Soviet nuclear bunker is how the world ends? They need to watch more b-rated sci-fi…)