Reading · Brian’s Bullshit-Free Zone

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What's the difference between evidence that is claimed to exist but never shown, and no evidence at all?

The favorite rallying cry of the UFOlogists is that videos lacking any useful detail are supported by “multi-sensor data” — which remains, to this day, merely a verbal assertion. Like Sagan’s.

In his famous book Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Carl Sagan assured us that he had a dragon in his garage. Yes, a real dragon, and we were welcome to come see it.

Except that it’s invisible. Can we touch it? No, it’s incorporeal. Can we see it on the thermal camera? No, it gives off no heat. Can we weigh it, listen to it, detect it gravimetrically? No, no, and no. It lacks any of the properties that human senses or instruments can detect.

What, then, is the difference between such a dragon, and no dragon at all?

The Evidence for Aliens, and Carl Sagan's Dragon in the Garage

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