TFTRH #24: Nick Pope – Area 51, UFOs and UFOlogy

Mick West

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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3iPZXrifso


Nick Pope is a journalist and media commentator who writes and talks a lot about the UFO phenomenon. He is perhaps best known for a role he undertook for the British Government from 1991 to 1994 which involved investigating reports of UFO sightings. We talk about his recent trip to view the storming of Area 51, his history of investigating UFO sighting, the current state of UFOlogy research and culture, and interaction with people on the internet

 
"Skeptics have to be right every day. Believers have to be right only once."

You could say that about any made-up nonsense. Reminds me of Pascal's wager.
 
"Skeptics have to be right every day. Believers have to be right only once."

You could say that about any made-up nonsense. Reminds me of Pascal's wager.

It's a form of "you can't prove a negative". Black swans being the classic example. Before black swans were discovered there was no way of proving that the black swans did not exist. Black swan skeptics would wake up every day with the possibility that a black swan might be discovered. They had to be right every day.
Black swan truthers just have to be right the day black swans are discovered.
1501032291429.jpg

The point being - when the aliens show up, that's the argument over. But until then there is uncertainty and debate.
 
I don't remember why but he put in my head that: they are probably having the same debate on the alien planet and the aliens are hoping our physics defying technology will make them rich too. :)

Nice interview though. He sounded a lot more reasonable than on previous clippets I heard of him on other shows. It was an interesting/enjoyable conversation to listen to.
 
Nice interview though. He sounded a lot more reasonable than on previous clippets I heard of him on other shows.
Yeah, he was more reasonable than I expected. Seemed very genuine.

I think that as his work requires self-promotion and, essentially, hyping the E.T. aspect, then he's going to have a bunch of stuff out there that reflects that - and makes him seem more like an ardent believer. That's his call, of course. But it will alter which audience takes him seriously.

I didn't do a super deep dive before starting. I would have asked him about his work on ancient aliens.
 
It's a form of "you can't prove a negative". Black swans being the classic example. Before black swans were discovered there was no way of proving that the black swans did not exist. Black swan skeptics would wake up every day with the possibility that a black swan might be discovered. They had to be right every day.
Black swan truthers just have to be right the day black swans are discovered.
1501032291429.jpg

The point being - when the aliens show up, that's the argument over. But until then there is uncertainty and debate.

The black swan reminds me of the zebra metaphor: "When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras." And if you see a zebra in Vietnam, you might ask if it's more likely to be a zebra or a painted horse.
https://janalinesworldjourney.com/2014/07/07/langbiang-mountain-the-highest-mountain-of-dalat/


A tour guide who photographed a zebra with a genetic disorder said, "At first I thought it was a zebra that had been captured and painted or marked for purposes of migration. I was confused when I first saw it."
https://www.nation.co.ke/counties/n...-Maasai-Mara/1183318-5274862-2n4qe/index.html


Anyways, the idea of equine species with different coloration is not so extraordinary, but if you see a horse with a big horn on its head, think of hoaxes or mutants or just about anything else before mythical unicorns.
 
I don't remember why but he put in my head that: they are probably having the same debate on the alien planet and the aliens are hoping our physics defying technology will make them rich too. :)

Nice interview though. He sounded a lot more reasonable than on previous clippets I heard of him on other shows. It was an interesting/enjoyable conversation to listen to.

He was interviewed by Tucker Carlson about that water tower "hovering over Area 51."
He called it a "Fascinating piece of footage, but unfortunately it's just too indistinct for us to reach a definitive view on it."
Thanks for finding that video.
https://www.metabunk.org/posts/231835/

upload_2019-9-28_21-28-37.png
 
The Storm Area 51 thing ended the way it started, as a joke. All about "them aliens", virtually nothing about them spy planes. Some conspiracy theorists think the flying saucer is at Wright-Patt, whose perimeter looks like this. It could use a bigger fence.
upload_2019-9-29_0-2-9.png
 
"Skeptics have to be right every day. Believers have to be right only once."

You could say that about any made-up nonsense. Reminds me of Pascal's wager.

I suspect it is an adaptation of the quote attributed to various terrorist organizations that 'The security authorities have to be lucky every time. We just have to be lucky once.'

In the UFO context it makes a reasonable point: even if just one of the many UFO sightings turned out to be a genuine alien spacecraft, the implications would be almost as far-reaching as if they all were.
 
I suspect it is an adaptation of the quote attributed to various terrorist organizations that 'The security authorities have to be lucky every time. We just have to be lucky once.'

In the UFO context it makes a reasonable point: even if just one of the many UFO sightings turned out to be a genuine alien spacecraft, the implications would be almost as far-reaching as if they all were.

That's right, and you can say the same thing about ghosts and perpetual motion machines and New Age woo-woo and doomsday cults. If any of it is right, the implications would be far-reaching, but that's a very big if. This can make things easier for debunkers, because instead of debunking everything they can focus on the best examples, like the Nimitz tic tac.
 
25:48 "What if there really was an alien invasion, how would we deal with it..."
51:12 "Why not ask the more interesting questions. If it is true, what next?"

When it comes to aliens and time machines, that's science fiction.
But every time I've seen a conspiracy theorist like Alex Jones or Jesse Ventura on RT, the interviewer doesn't bother asking for proof of the conspiracy theory, and skips directly to asking, "If it's true, why would they do this?"
You know, let's not get stuck on boring debates about whether Sandy Hook victims were crisis actors, or whether Seth Rich was murdered by Clinton for selling DNC emails to WikiLeaks, or whether Jews did 9/11. Skip right to, "If it's true, then what?" Well then, logically the Sandy Hook parents and Clinton and the Jews are evil, while Adam Lanza and the GRU and Osama bin Laden are off the hook.
 
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25:48 "What if there really was an alien invasion, how would we deal with it..."
51:12 "Why not ask the more interesting questions. If it is true, what next?"

When it comes to aliens and time machines, that's science fiction.
But every time I've seen a conspiracy theorist like Alex Jones or Jesse Ventura on RT, the interviewer doesn't bother asking for proof of the conspiracy theory, and skips directly to asking, "If it's true, why would they do this?"
You know, let's not get stuck on boring debates about whether Sandy Hook victims were crisis actors, or whether Seth Rich was murdered by Clinton for selling DNC emails to WikiLeaks, or whether Jews did 9/11. Skip right to, "If it's true, then what?" Well then, logically the Sandy Hook parents and Clinton and the Jews are evil, while Adam Lanza and the GRU and Osama bin Laden are off the hook.

Speaking of alien invasions and conspiracy theories, Steven Greer's conspiracy theory in "Unacknowledged" was that not only are "criminal elements within the Military-Industrial-Financial complex" covering up alien technology that could solve the world's problems, but also that they're plotting a false flag alien invasion to unite everyone against a common enemy. I guess it would look like the Battle of Los Angeles.
https://siriusdisclosure.com/unacknowledged-film
They have the technology to hoax an alien invasion. They could do it, and they could do it in a way that's one hundred percent believable.
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the interviewer doesn't bother asking for proof of the conspiracy theory, and skips directly to asking, "If it's true, why would they do this?"

in fairness, Nick Pope said he doesn't think governments are covering up anything about extraterrestrial aliens.
 
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