1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind Listener Mail. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 2: My name is Joe McCormick. My regular co host Robert 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 2: Lamb is not with me today, so I'm going to 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,799 Speaker 2: be reading and responding to some listener messages on my own, 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 2: but Rob should be back tomorrow with the core episode 7 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 2: for Tuesday of this week. We read listener mail every 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 2: Monday on Stuff to Blow Your Mind. And if you'd 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 2: like to get in touch but you've never done it before, 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 2: why not give it a try. You can reach us 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 2: at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 2: Any and all types of messages are welcome. If you've 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 2: got feedback on a recent episode, we love that. If 14 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: you want to provide a correction or add your thoughts 15 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 2: on something we've talked about, if you want to share 16 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 2: something random that you think we'd find interesting, if you 17 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 2: want to suggest a topic for us to cover in 18 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 2: the future, or if you just want to say hi, 19 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 2: you can contact us at contact at stuff to Blow 20 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 2: your Mind dot com. Okay, the first message I wanted 21 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 2: to read and respond to today is about our series 22 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 2: on Anomalous image. Y so This was a series of 23 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 2: three episodes we did about weird objects in nature or 24 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 2: from ancient history that had some kind of illusory resemblance 25 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 2: to out of place technology. And we use these examples 26 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 2: that we talked about in these episodes as illustrations of 27 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 2: why people should think twice before seeing something that looks 28 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 2: weird and then thinking that it proves aliens are here. 29 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 2: We got a message about these episodes from James. James says, Hey, guys, 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: love the show. Thank you for being so awesome. I 31 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: love going on the journeys of the mind blowing kind 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 2: with you. So thank you again for doing all you 33 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 2: do About the point you guys are making about the 34 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: UFO hearings and alien technology at sea. I would like 35 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 2: to point out that the person's testifying never state quote 36 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 2: alien and go out of their way to make sure 37 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 2: they say intelligent non human, not alien. The fact is 38 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 2: you're claimed that the distances involved between stars is a 39 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,559 Speaker 2: valid point when talking about an alien visitation being near impossible. 40 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: Is a great argument. But what about something that evolved 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 2: right here on good old planet Earth and is as 42 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: intelligent as humans or more intelligent. What if they were 43 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: able to evolve with the ability to travel interdimensionally. We 44 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 2: have almost four and a half billion years of Earth's existence. 45 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 2: Life started fairly quickly, and thus there has been a 46 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 2: lot of time to evolve an intelligent species or multiple. 47 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 2: After all, it's only a few million years for us 48 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,959 Speaker 2: to go from Lucy to I Love Lucy. Right. If 49 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 2: they are interdimensionally evolved species from Earth, that would mean 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: they're hiding in the same room, so to speak. That 51 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 2: would be way more interesting than alien visitors. In my opinion, 52 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 2: let's not rush to judgment based on the alien argument. 53 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 2: The military officers who testified don't And besides, it's so 54 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 2: naive for us to think we know everything there is 55 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 2: to know about physics, biology, or evolutionary processes on this planet. 56 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 2: I wonder if you would comment on this side of 57 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 2: the argument for the audience members like me who think 58 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 2: there is something going on, it's just probably not something 59 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 2: we can understand yet. Regards James, Well, thank you so 60 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 2: much for the message. James. I want to partially agree 61 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,399 Speaker 2: with you and then offer some thoughts to the contrary. Now, 62 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 2: I just want to assure you that when I offer 63 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: my disagreements, it's nothing personal. I'm just trying to honestly 64 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: share my perspective and you can take it or leave it. 65 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 2: First of all, I strongly want to agree that we 66 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 2: should always be humble about what we don't know and 67 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 2: what we can't imagine yet. So you don't want to 68 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 2: be one of those people who looks at the pyramids 69 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 2: and says, I can't imagine how ancient people with limited 70 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 2: technology could have built this. Therefore, where aliens move the 71 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 2: blocks with tractor beams, failures of your personal imagination are 72 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 2: not proof of impossibility in reality, and this is one reason, 73 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 2: as I said in the last Listener Mail episode, I 74 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 2: have sort of moved away from saying that alien contact 75 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 2: is unlikely because of the distances of travel between stars. 76 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 2: I used to be more persuaded by that argument, but 77 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 2: I don't really say that so much anymore. Instead, I 78 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 2: think we just don't really know what's possible in terms 79 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 2: of interstellar travel, so maybe it's better not to use 80 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 2: a weakly held assumption about the difficulty of that travel 81 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 2: as the premise in an argument. Now, coming to your 82 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 2: interdimensional non human intelligence argument, First of all, James, with 83 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 2: great respect, I think there's a rhetorical move you're making 84 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 2: in this email that might be causing more confusion than illumination, 85 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 2: So we'll see what you think about this. You're trying 86 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 2: to make the case that there's a significant possibility that 87 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 2: non human and intelligences, maybe interdimensional in nature, exist on Earth 88 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 2: and are responsible for some UAP sidings or other strange phenomena, 89 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 2: And the leverage you're using to get to this conclusion 90 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,799 Speaker 2: is first of all, that many different types of life 91 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,239 Speaker 2: forms could be produced by biological evolution. That's true, and second, 92 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,280 Speaker 2: it would be naive to assume we know everything about nature. 93 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 2: I would agree with both of these premises, but I 94 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 2: don't think they lead to your conclusion. So I agree 95 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 2: there are lots of things we don't know about nature, 96 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 2: but the fact that our knowledge of nature is incomplete 97 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: is not evidence for any particular claim about nature, like 98 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 2: the one you're making about interdimensional beings. If it were, 99 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 2: it would equally be evidence that Bigfoot's real, that ghosts 100 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 2: are real, that fish or psychic and can read our thoughts, 101 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 2: That there are planet sized protozoa that fly around the 102 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 2: galaxy eating stars, and all kinds of things like that. 103 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 2: You can argue for anything by appealing to the fact 104 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: that we don't know everything. So I think that's not 105 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 2: really a very useful observation, that we don't know everything. 106 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 2: That's true, but it doesn't really get us anywhere. What 107 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 2: we would actually be looking for is good old fashioned evidence, 108 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 2: some positive reason to think that non human intelligences exist. 109 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 2: So a second thought I had about this type of 110 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 2: explanation is that when you move from explanations based in 111 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: aliens from another planet to explanations based in interdimensional non 112 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 2: human intelligences that can slip in and out of our 113 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 2: physical reality at will, to me, that kind of brings 114 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,160 Speaker 2: to mind the analogy of the car, the analogy that 115 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 2: Carl Sagan uses of the dragon in his garage. So 116 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 2: this is something Sagan writes about in his nineteen ninety 117 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 2: five book The Demon Haunted World. And in this analogy, 118 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 2: Sagan he says, okay, imagine I come up to you 119 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 2: and I say, in all seriousness, there is a fire 120 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,799 Speaker 2: breathing dragon who lives in my garage. And you say, 121 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 2: all right, let's go see it. And then Sagan says, no, no, no, no, 122 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 2: well you can't see it. If you look in my garage, 123 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: you're not going to see anything except some old paint cans. 124 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 2: And ladders because it is an invisible dragon. So you 125 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 2: might say, oh, well that's okay. Let's spread some flour 126 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 2: on the floor and then we can see the dragon's footprints, 127 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 2: and Sagan says, well, no, that's not going to work either, 128 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 2: because my dragon floats in the air. So you say, well, 129 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 2: then let's feel around for it, you know, rub the 130 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: scales on its belly, and then Sagan says, no, my 131 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 2: invisible dragon is made of a different kind of matter, 132 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 2: a matter that you can't feel by touching. Maybe it's 133 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 2: composed of weakly interacting particles like neutrinos or something, so 134 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 2: you could you could pass right through the dragon without 135 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 2: knowing it. So then you say, okay, well let's use 136 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 2: a neutrino detector or some other kind of highly sensitive equipment, 137 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 2: and he says, no, hold on, that won't work either 138 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 2: because of X, Y, and Z. So one of the 139 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 2: points Sagan is making here is that an object that 140 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 2: cannot be reliedly detected by any physical means is indistinguishable 141 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 2: from an object that does not exist. But I think 142 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 2: one of the secondary points he's making with this analogy 143 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 2: is that explanations that are endlessly adaptable, so that they 144 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 2: can never be falsified. You know, they constantly shrink away 145 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 2: from any new proposed physical test or attempt to detect 146 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 2: them that you know, there's always a newly formed excuse 147 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 2: that's kind of characteristic of claims that we know from 148 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 2: experience turn out to refer to nothing in the real world. 149 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 2: And so again with respect, when I hear people say, well, no, 150 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 2: they're not aliens from another planet. They're from another dimension 151 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 2: into which they can disappear at any moment. So that's 152 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,839 Speaker 2: what that would explain why they're like hard to detect physically. 153 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 2: At that point, my invisible dragon sensor is going off. 154 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 2: There's no way to know a belief like this is 155 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 2: wrong for sure, but I'm kind of sensing a belief 156 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 2: that's retreating further and further from sincere attempts to detect 157 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 2: it with clear evidence. Now, I want to be fair 158 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 2: to the UFO UAP enthusiast and notice some ways that 159 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 2: this analogy does not fit. For one thing, there's a 160 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,199 Speaker 2: difference in that Carl Sagan's dragon is just him coming 161 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 2: up to you and saying there's a dragon there, and 162 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 2: UFOs or UAPs there is actual, real documentary evidence or 163 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 2: at least what is purported to be real documentary evidence. 164 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 2: So it's not just someone saying there are aliens. There 165 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 2: are photos of objects and videos of things moving around 166 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 2: in the sky, or photos of things at the bottom 167 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 2: of the ocean or other just like weird looking things 168 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 2: that people say, maybe this is evidence of aliens. So 169 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 2: you've got something to work with there. And here's where 170 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 2: I would come back to what we talked about in 171 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 2: our series where we discussed the idea of low information 172 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 2: and low resolution evidence. And if you haven't heard the 173 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 2: whole series, i'd recommend going back and listening to the 174 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 2: three episodes, starting with the core episode on the Eltanan 175 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 2: Antenna if you want to hear us develop this in full. 176 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 2: But essentially, we were talking about a correlation that is 177 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 2: pretty easily observed regarding UFOs and UAPs, which is that 178 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 2: these pieces of evidence, whether you're talking about photos or videos, 179 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,960 Speaker 2: material or narrative, are almost always characterized by really notable 180 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 2: deficits of information. Like if it's a photo or a video, 181 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 2: it's hard to tell for sure what you're looking at. 182 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: You might not be able to judge scale or distance, 183 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 2: or color or texture. Details are obscured the picture is 184 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 2: generally low resolution, and there are often also deficits in 185 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 2: contextual knowledge that you would be able to apply to 186 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 2: the image. So maybe you don't know enough about where 187 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 2: and when it was taken, circumstances there, or you don't 188 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 2: understand the technological mediator of that image. You don't have 189 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 2: a deep understanding of how cameras and other types of 190 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 2: sensors are imaging systems work, so you're not familiar with 191 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 2: artifacts they produce, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And 192 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 2: for some reason, in cases where those information deficits are resolved, 193 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 2: where there actually is like a really sharp, high quality 194 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 2: image or sharp high quality video with a lot more 195 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 2: visual context, or maybe you either have the knowledge or 196 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 2: you're able to show the image to somebody who has 197 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 2: the knowledge about the environment that you're looking at and 198 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 2: the equipment you're using to document it and so forth. These, 199 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 2: for some reason tend to be the cases where oh, yeah, 200 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,839 Speaker 2: that's not even actually a moving object, that's a camera artifact, 201 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 2: or oh this is actually a distant airplane reflecting light 202 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 2: in a weird way, or that's a balloon, or it's 203 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 2: a seagull or a group of stars, in the night sky, 204 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 2: or an insect moving in the foreground, or a natural 205 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 2: rock formation that looks like technology, or an animal that 206 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 2: looks like technology. It's a sea sponge antenna, it's not 207 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 2: a crash UFO. It's a big rock moved by a glacier, probably, etc. 208 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 2: Now I would stress that observing this trend does in 209 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 2: no way proves that we're alone in the universe. In fact, 210 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 2: it doesn't even prove that aliens have never visited Earth. 211 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,839 Speaker 2: Those are questions with what I would call effectively infinite 212 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 2: search spaces, So you can really never answer them in 213 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,319 Speaker 2: the negative, because you can never rule out the possibility 214 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 2: that there's evidence you haven't found yet. The search space 215 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 2: for evidence is effectively infinite. But I think this trend 216 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 2: should strongly caution us against using any piece of evidence 217 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 2: from the low information zone or the low resolution zone 218 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 2: as if it were a good reason for thinking non 219 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,559 Speaker 2: human intelligences are here and flying around in the skies 220 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,320 Speaker 2: and leaving technology on the ocean floor and stuff like that. 221 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 2: We can never rule that out with certainty. It's always possible, 222 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 2: But isn't it more likely whatever weird photo or video 223 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 2: you're looking at would be more like these other cases 224 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,719 Speaker 2: where additional information made it clear that they had explanations 225 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 2: from within the known range of causes. That said, on 226 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 2: the other hand, and as we said in the series, 227 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 2: you always want to keep an open mind if the 228 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 2: evidence is actually good. You don't close yourself off to say, like, 229 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:23,239 Speaker 2: no it. You know, there is a kind of conditioning 230 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 2: that I think can happen to a skeptic where you 231 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 2: encounter so many claims that all turn out to be 232 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 2: false you just kind of assume the pattern will always hold. 233 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 2: You can't assume it will always hold. But I do 234 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 2: think it's fair to draw analogies from cases you've looked 235 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 2: at in the past to similar, you know, reasonably similar 236 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 2: cases that you encounter in the present and in the future. 237 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 2: But as I said, open minds are good if the 238 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: evidence is actually good. I just think we're not there yet. 239 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 2: So if the recent testimony from the US Congress with 240 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,079 Speaker 2: the whistleblowers talking about claims of government possession of alien 241 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 2: technology and bodies and stuff like that, or sorry to 242 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 2: accept your correction, non human intelligences, if that ever goes 243 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 2: beyond the hearsay stage, if there's actual meet some kind 244 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 2: of physical evidence or first hand eye witness testimony. I'd 245 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 2: be interested to see what it is and learn more, 246 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 2: but we're not there yet, so for now I reserve 247 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 2: judgment and remain skeptical. So thanks again, James for the 248 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 2: interesting thoughts and whether or not you agree with me, 249 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: I hope I at least made my perspective clear. You 250 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 2: can write back if you have more questions or thoughts 251 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 2: to the contrary. Next message is from Tyler. Tyler is 252 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 2: also responding well. Tyler's responding to a previous Listener Male episode, 253 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 2: which also had to do with anomalous imagery and explanations 254 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 2: based in aliens or non human intelligence. And in this 255 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 2: previous list mail, a listener sent us a picture of 256 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 2: a McDonald's parking lot I think in Roswell, New Mexico, 257 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 2: which included a silver statue of an alien. And this 258 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 2: really got me wondering about a true alien intelligence the 259 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 2: logic of corporate policy. I was wondering how lenient is 260 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 2: McDonald's corporate headquarters about what kinds of art you can 261 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 2: put up outside a franchise location. I would have assumed 262 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 2: they'd be pretty iron fisted about visual branding issues like that, 263 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 2: but Tyler and others got in touch to share information. 264 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 2: To the contrary, Tyler says, hey, guys, on today's listener mail, 265 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 2: after some speculation on what McDonald's franchisees are allowed to 266 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 2: put up for displays, Joe wondered if you could put 267 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 2: up a statue of a t rex. I did ask that, 268 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 2: Tyler says, the answer is yes, there is a dino 269 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 2: themed McDonald's here in Tucson. I guess this would be Tucson, 270 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 2: Arizona that, to the best of my memory, was outfitted 271 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: with Dinah when the first Jurassic Park came out. I 272 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 2: think some of the other dinosaurs have been removed since then, 273 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 2: but the tyrant king still reigns. And Tyler attached a 274 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 2: photo of a McDonald's that looks to be on a 275 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 2: street corner. And yeah, right there, beside the drive through lane, 276 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:22,800 Speaker 2: there is a huge t rex sculpture with its its 277 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 2: mouth is open. It is roaring at the red light 278 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 2: that is next to its head. So maybe this t 279 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 2: rex is experiencing some vicarious road rage even though he 280 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 2: cannot himself drive a car. I'm also noticing there is 281 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 2: a metal fence all the way around this animal. I 282 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 2: think that could be to prevent kids from climbing on it. 283 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 2: But I wonder if there was also a fear of 284 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 2: auto collisions, because running into a dinosaur in your prius 285 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 2: would be a really good Hall of Fame insurance claim. 286 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 2: All right, I'm going to do a couple of messages 287 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 2: about weird house cinema. This first one came from longtime 288 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 2: correspondent Jim in New Jersey. Jim says, Robert, Joe and 289 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 2: JJ I have a Shakespeare movie adaptation suggestion for weird 290 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 2: house cinema. Last time we were asking about weird Shakespeare adaptations, 291 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 2: Jim says, it is Scotland, Pa, which is a dark 292 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 2: comedy adaptation of Macbeth set in the nineteen seventies in Scotland, Pennsylvania. 293 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 2: It's currently on Amazon Prime. Scotland, Pa. Is a real 294 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 2: village that's about five miles outside the town where I 295 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 2: grew up. It's about two miles from where my mom 296 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 2: currently lives. I drive through the hamlet every time I 297 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 2: visit her. The movie didn't premiere in the town, nor 298 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 2: was it ever shown there. Scotland, Pennsylvania is about two 299 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 2: or maybe three blocks long, and there's definitely no movie theater. 300 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 2: The movie is rated R for language, adult content. Heck, 301 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 2: it's Shakespeare and brief nudity, so it's not for the kids. 302 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 2: From what I remember of Macbeth in high school, the 303 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 2: movie follows the plot pretty faithfully, but with some obvious 304 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 2: time period, location, and language changes. And there are several 305 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 2: dark humor laughs too. Jim in New Jersey but from Pa, well, 306 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 2: thank you, Jim. I watched this movie in high school. 307 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 2: This came out when I was in high school, and 308 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 2: I think I watched it with my girlfriend at the time, 309 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 2: who is now my wife, and we, yeah, I remember, 310 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 2: we thought it was really weird. I believe that Macbeth 311 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,199 Speaker 2: and Lady Macbeth kill Duncan, who is the owner of 312 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 2: a drive through restaurant that sells donuts, by dipping him 313 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 2: in a deep friar, which is really gross. Uh, and 314 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,240 Speaker 2: they're oh, oh well. The other thing I remember about 315 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 2: it is that McDuff, the hero who comes and kills 316 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 2: Macbeth at the end, is played by Christopher Walken, who 317 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 2: I think is a police inspector. I do not recall 318 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 2: how they handle the burnham Wood dunsinane thing. One last 319 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 2: message today. This comes from Pamela. Pamela says Dear Joe 320 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,880 Speaker 2: and Rob when listening to the Weird House episode on 321 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 2: the Maze, you had me at Weird Twist ending. I 322 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 2: turned the pod off, and later that evening found the 323 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 2: movie on YouTube and watched. I feel qualified to give 324 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 2: you a cold watch review of how the movie worked. 325 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 2: First of all, I completely forgot it was three D. 326 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 2: I was baffled and horrified by the dance sequence in 327 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 2: the club, and this is something we talked about in 328 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 2: the episode. There is a dance that is quite impressive. 329 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, they're good dancers, but it involved like 330 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 2: swinging a female dancer so that it looked extremely dangerously 331 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 2: like her head was going to crash into the floor. 332 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 2: But she never did. She was all right anyway. Sorry, 333 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 2: Pamela goes on, I don't even know what to say 334 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,959 Speaker 2: about the intermittent testimonials from the aunt, whose name I 335 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 2: have already forgotten, except that is a choice, especially since 336 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 2: it seemed to be from a room that was not 337 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 2: used for any of the other shots in the movie. 338 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 2: I think that's right. It's like the predecessor of the 339 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,959 Speaker 2: confessional in a modern reality show, where they put them 340 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 2: in a special place and make them wear the same 341 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 2: hair and makeup and outfit so they can edit it 342 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 2: into whatever they want later. I must also admit I 343 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,199 Speaker 2: had to fight to stay awake during parts, and I 344 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:17,880 Speaker 2: sincerely hope the dialogue in the book was better than 345 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 2: that of the movie. More importantly, though I couldn't tell 346 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 2: what the print on the stair was. Oh yeah, at 347 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 2: some point in the movie, the monster leaves a strange 348 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 2: footprint on the stair, so Pamela says, I actually thought 349 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 2: it was a weird large leaf print, and it wasn't 350 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 2: until the creature but escaping into the wall that I 351 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 2: knew there was a creature at all. Parentheses as a woman, 352 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 2: I need to add, how infuriating is the plot device 353 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 2: of a woman fainting after seeing something she does not 354 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 2: understand or is scary. Yep, yep, Pamela goes on. By 355 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 2: the time we see the giant frog and hear the explanation, 356 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 2: I was at the sure just want the movie to 357 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 2: be overpoint. The only people in this movie I really 358 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 2: felt much compassion for or worthy Aunt because Kitty is 359 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 2: kind of insufferably wilful, and the frog, who did not 360 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 2: get enough screen time. I agree about that with the frog. 361 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 2: The movie was way too long for the week payoff 362 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 2: at the end in my humble opinion, but I would 363 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 2: like to make a case for a much better and 364 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 2: far more entertaining movie that Weird House needs to add 365 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 2: to the cannon. Nineteen eighty seven's Dolls. It is an 366 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 2: almost fairy tale like cautionary tale about being a good 367 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,959 Speaker 2: person and a respectful guest or else. Filmed in Italy 368 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 2: but in English by director Stuart Gordon. Brilliant story of 369 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 2: a miserable family that breaks down in a terrible storm 370 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 2: outside the house of an elderly couple that makes dolls. 371 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 2: Other guests end up trapped there as well. The stop 372 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,120 Speaker 2: motion animation of the creepy porcelain faced dolls is amazing. 373 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,679 Speaker 2: Love all the different flavors of the podcast offered cross 374 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 2: each week. Thanks for all the hard work. You guys 375 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,160 Speaker 2: are the best. Pamela. Oh well, thank you, Pamela. Thank 376 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 2: you for the kind words, and thank you for sticking 377 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,120 Speaker 2: it out through the movie to give us your unbiased thoughts. 378 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,760 Speaker 2: So yeah, I really appreciate you getting in touch. I 379 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 2: think that's going to do it for the mail bag today, 380 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 2: but we will have more listener mail to feature next Monday. 381 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,199 Speaker 2: On Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week, that's when we 382 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 2: do our core Stuff to Blow Your Mind episodes, which 383 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 2: are usually about science and culture in some way. On 384 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 2: Wednesdays we do a short feature called the Artifact or 385 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 2: the Monster Fact. On Fridays we do a series called 386 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 2: Weird House Cinema where each Friday we just watch and 387 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 2: discuss a strange film can be good or bad, well 388 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,479 Speaker 2: known or obscure, as long as it is weird. And 389 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,239 Speaker 2: on Saturdays we run an episode from the Vault, an 390 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 2: older episode of the show. If you're not subscribed to 391 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 2: Stuff to Blow Your Mind, why not go subscribe now. 392 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 2: We are called Stuff to Blow Your Mind. You can 393 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 2: find us wherever you get your podcasts. If you were 394 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 2: in the UK, by the way, we will be called 395 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 2: Stuff to Blow your Mind UK, so just the same 396 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 2: exact thing. Just look up the Stuff to Blow your 397 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 2: Mind UK feed huge thanks to our excellent audio producer 398 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 2: jaj J Pousway. 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