A graphic illustration of what mean ''poorly informed''...

[Z-Man]

There's "ancient civilizations" and there's "advanced ancient civilizations". Not every pre-Egyptian bunch of rock stackers needs to come with their own space program.

[Keosen]

https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/...-america-2017/

35% people believing that Ancient Aliens is factual. For frack sake, some shows are worse than sniffing glue.

More than 80% of the global population believes in some short of magical being which leaves in the sky, do you honestly find it strange when a group of people believes anything?

[Stormspark]

All that said, there's a HUGE difference between "hey, that COULD be true, let's test that idea and look for evidence" and "it's TOTALLY true and even though there's no evidence I can produce, you should all believe me!" which is what this poll was getting into.

See, I'd probably say yes to half of those things with that reasoning. If I only said yes to things I think are absolutely true, then I'd probably say no to all of them.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Yes, I am sad to say I know people that believe in this bullshit, and I don't mean for mild entertainment. I am serious when I say, I have had to stop associating with people because of it.

Because one end, it's just harmless, on the other end EH, not it isn't people actually want to use resources for solving things like whether or not people been abducted by aliens.

[jdbond592]

How cleverly this survey avoids the biggest "belief" of all....bearded all knowing guy in sky that no one has ever seen but many seem to have "spoken" too.

[Kuntantee]

I mean, it depends on how the question's phrased. Like, the human species has been around for at least 200,000 years. Human civilization only sums up the last 10,000 or so. Even the earliest traces of domestication only take us back about 15,000 years of that 200k.

Sure, the burst of domestication appears to coincide with the start of the most recent interglacial period; newly warming temperatures (at way slower than modern rates; don't make this about climate change) brought a burst of new species into new regions and prompted humanity to seemingly stretch its limbs and expand. This happened uniquely in multiple regions, somewhat simultaneously, and without any demonstration of interconnection, which is what makes the climate a strong causative impetus (also that it wasn't the same species, which you'd expect if it were due to trade connections).

Now, if you look at the level of tech we had at the start of that, it wasn't that different from where we were at 200,000 years ago; we're talking a range from the middle paleolithic into the upper paleolithic.

Now, looking at the glacial cycle, there was an earlier interglacial period, about 125k years ago. If a more-advanced culture had emerged then (and this coincides roughly with the dispersal of Homo Sapiens from Africa, as far as we can tell), and their technology was based on anything relatively delicate or prone to long-term decay; fine stoneworking, leather/wood, even working surface iron deposits (iron would've rusted away to nothing millenia ago), then it's at least possible that such a culture emerged, expanded, and then collapsed, and was subsequently obliterated by the ravages of time and the crushing glacier sheets of the last glacial period, which would've scoured any construction off the map. We only find stone age art in the most protected spaces, like relatively dry caves or sheltered rock faces, and if this culture didn't do that, nothing would've survived.

There's no concrete trace of it, and I wouldn't argue they developed anything beyond possibly crude iron implements, but that such a culture could have existed, I'd say, is plausible. I wouldn't argue they did exist until we found some evidence, but the idea that they might have shouldn't be discarded out of hand.

Same kind of deal with Bigfoot and Yeti. We know there was at least one hominid that fit that description; gigantopithecus. As far as we know, it lived in Southeast Asia exclusively. If there were some previously-unknown cousin that survived to fairly recent times (by which I mean, recently enough to have been observed and recorded into mythology, thousands of years ago), that'd explain a lot. Remember; there were wooly mammoth still running around some 10,000 years ago. Gigantopithecus itself was around as recently as 100k years ago. In THAT sense, it's not THAT crazy. Not "aliens kidnapped my grandma" crazy, like some of that stuff.


All that said, there's a HUGE difference between "hey, that COULD be true, let's test that idea and look for evidence" and "it's TOTALLY true and even though there's no evidence I can produce, you should all believe me!" which is what this poll was getting into.

This was a good read. Thanks!

[Thekri]

There's "ancient civilizations" and there's "advanced ancient civilizations". Not every pre-Egyptian bunch of rock stackers needs to come with their own space program.

Very true, hence why I said it depends hugely on the definition of "Advanced", a civilization of Denasuvian, Neandertal, or even Early Homo Sapiens from 100,000- 85,000 years ago that achieved permanent communal settlements, agriculture, basic domestication, and possibly even very basic metalworking would definitely meet my definition of "Advanced". Note that there is zero evidence to suggest that, but given the obscurity of the era and lack of any evidence of those people besides burial sites, I would rate it as possible.

A civilization that achieved computing, nuclear weapons, space travel, and so forth is clearly insane though. People that claim that are living in a fantasy world.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

It’s on the history channel dude, it’s history. You can’t change history.

god i wish the history was still about real history.

[Valerossi]

Be blind to the truth then when they come and probe you, you had your chance to prepare.

Are you telling us you're always prelubed in order to be probe prepared ?

[Draco-Onis]

There is zero evidence of intelligent alien life, you just want to believe there are aliens.

I believe the consensus on alien life is we aren't smart or advanced enough to know. We have evidence there are planets that could sustain life but we don't have the technology to get there.

[Frolk]

More than 80% of the global population believes in some short of magical being which leaves in the sky, do you honestly find it strange when a group of people believes anything?

Dont bring logic into this, call people dumb for believing bigfoot is fine, but calling out 80% of the world dumb for believing THAT is wrong.




/s

[sarahtasher]

Okay, again, this is not for mocking people who believe in God(s), it's to point out the ancient aliens. FTR, you can both believe in God and not think that Egyptians built pyramids for...uh...what exactly ?

[Keosen]

Okay, again, this is not for mocking people who believe in God(s), it's to point out the ancient aliens. FTR, you can both believe in God and not think that Egyptians built pyramids for...uh...what exactly ?

To be fair, like the ones who believe in Ancient Aliens, those who believe in any kind of God are not having any rational and solid proof either, they are just interpreting things as they like.
So in-fact it's not of a big difference believing in bigfoot, santa or god.

[Dangg]

Interesting that bigfoot which is one of the more likely out of that list has the lowest %

[Milchshake]

I don't know about you, but I'm inclined to believe everything this man says.

Looks like an authority of the subject... being a junior member of the Foreign Office from Centauri Prime.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

a graphic illustration of what it means to be "poorly informed" should be a Venn diagram of one sphere labeled "Personal experience" touching another sphere labeled "Personal experience of everyone else gathered as coherently impossible" with the middle part where they touch labeled "What those who show or tell you anything will try to make you focus on when looking at the Personal experience of everyone else gathered as coherently possible"

[Deleted]

How cleverly this survey avoids the biggest "belief" of all....bearded all knowing guy in sky that no one has ever seen but many seem to have "spoken" too.

"I am very clever. I have read Richard Dawkins. No one else has my special insight which perversely resembles that of the more extreme and dogmatic religous cults. I will convince everyone by insulting them."

Go away.

[jdbond592]

"I am very clever. I have read Richard Dawkins. No one else has my special insight which perversely resembles that of the more extreme and dogmatic religous cults. I will convince everyone by insulting them."

Go away.

Now now..no need to bring out that inferiority complex of yours. I am sure Richard Dawkins understand, whoever that is..

[Nefastus]

Thought this would be an interesting topic but so many "edgy" teenagers eager to offend religions in here. Boys that are not even old enough to argue with their parents without being grounded wanting to discuss (mock actually) people's beliefs heh.