I just saw a fascinating documentary on SCI-FI TV about crop circles. I’ve been vaguely aware of these, but didn’t know much about them. I had no idea how they evolved from fairly simply circles in the early 80’s to extraordinarily complex examples of fractals, Euclidian geometry, and “sacred” art. The documentary has me blown away and forced to think that one of the following must be true, any one of which ought to be getting more attention.
Some kind of intelligence, unknown to us is, by forces very poorly understood, if not unknown to us, is creating these formations.
Some kind of astounding natural processes are at play. Which I don’t get, either, after looking at these formations.
They are the result human hoaxter/artisans who are vastly intelligent, apparently incapable of blunder, located–or willing to travel–all over the world, and completely obsessed.
P.S. I don’t believe 2 or 3.
The documentary was CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH. It airs, I guess, occasionally on TV and is available on DVD from Netflix, amazon.com and other outlets. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
I don’t doubt that some, if not many, are hoaxes, but the numbers of crop circles appearing at times has been simply astonishing. Either there are thousands of hoaxsters all over the world or something unusual is up. I can’t imagine that the number of competent hoaxsters has the time to create all of these things that pop up, but the more complex they are the more likely I personally think that they’re hoaxes.
Anyone seen the ground after a dust devil is at work? Anyone seen the ground where a tornado briefly touches down, darn near straight down, then pops back up (I’ve seen trees thrown in a circle).
If I were to vote, I’d opt for hoaxes and natural phenomena.
Santa Claus and his elves get bored during the spring/summer season and the endless hours of daylight so they take off around the world to have a bit of fun.
Whilst I have an interest in all things ‘Wierd’,I have a healthily skeptical attitude (the most valid attitude IMHO if we are to make any headway in studying many so called ‘Mysteries’).
I’m afraid that I currently go with option 3.
Nevertheless,even if you consider crop circes to be a form of ‘Landart’(as I currently do-anticipating the question “So WHO is the Artist?”),they are still beautiful aren’t they?
As an aside,I’ve been reading bits and Pieces (The Guardian from Mon 14/6/04,for example),that the ‘Wierd’ is dying on its feet (or tentacles,or whatever).People just aren’t reporting sightings of Ghosts,UFO’S and other phenomena anywhere as near as much as they used to.
Theories to explain this for this range from ‘we use so much of the elecronic spectrum(mobile phones etc)that there just isn’t the bandwidth for Ghosts anymore’ to everyone is so worried about ‘Real’ dangers-‘Terrorism’,Iraq,post 9/11 etc,that we just don’t have the time to spend thinking about imaginary ‘Bogeymen’ like Ghosts,Monsters and Alien Abductors armed with their nasty probes!
I’m with Dale on this one. I’ve seen a few various programs on the subject, each time I’m amazed. There are admitted groups of people creating very nice indeed crop circles. But, the quantity and complexity of many of these, not to mention the speed with which they are created leaves a very large variable that “man-made” doesn’t quite fit neatly into. There’s most likely forces in this world that are so different from what we know, that they are maybe even outside the vastness of our imagination.
Not exactly. There seems little doubt that some crop circles are hoaxes. The researches who believe that there are genuine crop circles are always on the lookout for hoaxes and dismiss some of the formations as likely hoaxes.
The guys who came forward to say they are making some of the circles in the middle of the night demonstrated they did it. And there’s just no way that would account for all of them. No way. And, believe me, I approach this stuff with a healthy skepticism.
I have to say that the pseudoscience on Sci-Fi and its Canadian counterpart, Space, really irks me.
OK, so Dale comments on a documentary on a channel called Sci-FI (my emphasis)? Do Sci-Fi/Space put these things forth as real scientific investigations, or as quasi-scientific neat-o stories about crap for which there’s really no evidence of anything supernatural?
Hmm. I didn’t realize this stuff bothered me as much as it does until I started writing this message. I’ve not seen this particular documentary, honestly, but I have seen shows on Space/Sci-Fi about various other phenomena . . . hauntings, UFOs, and the like.
I wonder about the connection between channels which put themselves forth as purveyors of science-fiction and such “investigations.” Does that kind of thing bother anyone else, or am I just psychotic? Do I make any sense at all?
I suppose I don’t really draw any distinction between “fantasy” (e.g., Lord of the Rings) and “science-fiction” (e.g., Star Wars). Star Trek and its stepchildren are harder to classify since they’re more space-opera/science fantasy than the archetypes of the genres, but I digress. I think perhaps sci-fi might be more acceptable than fantasy to scientists in that they could claim it’s an extrapolation of what we have now, rather than pure fantasy (faster-than-light travel vs. magic). So, do the folks programming these stations think that parascience is more appealing to folks who are already willing to engage in fantasy entertainment?
So perhaps what I’m really wondering is if the documentary were intended as investigation or entertainment. I find the shows on Sci-Fi/Space that deal with hauntings, for example, quite entertaining, but I do worry that they’re put forth as scientific investigations . . .
Do I have no sense of whimsy . . . have I missed the point? Comments welcomed. Or, ignore me; I don’t mean to hijack the thread.
Dale,
I have been looking into crop circles ( in a manner of speaking)for some years now and and am very firmly rooted in the option Three idea.
Sure, some natural occuring phenomena could create a circle but any such thought of Aliens and their ilk is a bit too X-filey for me.
Each to their own though as round and around we go in the circle game.
I agree with sturob about much, although Sci-Fi just aired it. They didn’t make it.
Ultimately, it’s not the research that got me thinking something is up here. It was seeing the designs. Do a google search and have a gander.
I’m not fully convinced of a supernatural phenomenon. I’m fully convinced that the “best” of the formations aren’t being done by hoaxers. There is no way. If I’m wrong, the hoaxers are widespread, enormously intelligent, manage to make no tracks to and from the phenomena, never make mistakes, and work with unbelievable speed. If we could prove that they are all hoaxes, that would be evidence the existence of a large number of extraordinary human beings. They would have to be remarkable artists, highly skilled mathematicians, and near genuises. Why would such gifted people devote so much time and energy into creating these things? Be definition, they’d have better things to do. This has been going on for AT LEAST 30 years. So, we’re probably talking about a couple of generations of hoaxers. I ain’t buying it.
I’m with Dale here. I’ve seen this documentary and also a coupe of books on the subject.
Some hoaxers did come forward. And they were able to replicate some of the simpler formations. They were not, though, able to emulate some others in the course of the few hours available.
Some of these things ar not only amazingly complex, figures involving dozens or scores of different-sized circular and elliptical formations, but they’re also geometrically very precise.
I suppose a largish group of people working together could make one, but there’re two problems with this hypothesis:
The likelihood of keeping a secret decreases in direct rpoportion to the number of people in on the secret; and,
How could s large group of people with equipment move through a standing crop and do the work without leaviing any tracks, footprints or treadmarks in the surrounding crop?
OTOH, why would a non-human intelligence capable of such actions bother with something so trivial. So I fall into the camp of not knowing what did it but not finding any of the “explanations” to be universally reasonable.
Though I do wonder why no one has yet suggesed the little people. I’m talking about the real little people here, the Gentry, the Old Ones, the Wee Folk, etc,. not just short humans.
I didn’t take it as an attack at all. Just look at the pictures. Tell me if you don’t think that WHATEVER the source, it’s an astounding thing. I don’t really go UFO at all in my thinking about it. Not even ET.
I’m saying: If it’s supernatural, that’s big news. That’s a flying saucer on the White House lawn. If it’s natural, that’s enormous news. It’s great to say “it’s some kind of natural phenomenon,” without offering any explanation of how that might be happening. It’s great to say it’s a hoax with no explanation for it other than a few guys stomping around with boards and ropes. Granted, it’s also not worthwhile to conclude it’s God, aliens, or whatever, when that, too, is conjecture.
I’ve concluded only one thing: They are intelligent in design and nobody seems to know how they are made or by whom or what. It’s a mystery.
