posted on Mar, 9 2008 @ 07:39 PM
I don't believe that extraterrestrial (or other non-human) intelligence is visiting Earth or currently on Earth, either. However, I also don't
disbelieve it.
I mentioned in another thread that I recall seeing a post a while back concerning the concept of psuedoskepticism and its pitfalls. The general point
it made was this:
A true skeptic requires proof before he or she will believe an assertion such as the assertion that aliens are visiting the Earth. However, they make
no assertions of their own, such as the assertion that they are not, without observable, measurable, demonstrable evidence to support that assertion.
The psuedoskeptic, by contrast, makes assertions of his or her own, such as the assertion that "there are no aliens visiting this Earth." But you
have evidence, you say, in the form of having never seen any.
Lack of evidence, unfortunately, is not evidence of the assertion that something does not exist or has not happened. It only constitutes evidence that
you don't know one way or another.
I could make the assertion that faeries live my yard and that I see them holding tea parties every single night. The burden of proof would be mine,
because I made the assertion. Unfortunately, all a true skeptic could say would be that they didn't believe me - they couldn't make the assertion
that I was lying, hallucinating, or incorrect without evidence. A lack of evidence would not be evidence.
As a skeptic, all I can say is that I neither believe nor disbelieve that extraterrestrial or other intelligence has visited the Earth, as there is no
entirely persuasive evidence in support of either possibility by my standards of proof. Unfortunately, by making his or her assertion, the OP now has
to prove a negative - something that cannot be done.