UFOs: Bits and Pieces: Those Crop Circles

With both the existence of pure theory and applied evidence supporting the plausibility of the UFO extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) – where the UFO remains a UFO after appropriate expert analysis has failed to find a more terrestrial explanation – lets look at a few snippets of the phenomena this time a phenomena that may, or may not, be connected with the UFO ETH – those crop circles.    

I’m sure the phrase ‘crop circles’ need little introduction. I can’t imagine too many people being ignorant of the general phenomena – there’s lots of books, media coverage, internet sites, TV specials, feature films, even calendars which have, and continue to cover the subject.

There’s no doubt that crop circles exist – that’s undisputed. Crop circles are an ever on-going phenomenon, the pictograms growing in complexity year by year. So there’s an evolutionary pattern that needs explaining. And at least crop circles have the decency to sit still and not vanish without trace like UFOs, the Yeti and the lone mysterious interstellar ‘wow’ signal so suggestive, yet so illusive of proving the existence of, extraterrestrial intelligence!

There’s no denying the picturesqueness of them, and often, in fact in more recent times, their geometric complexity.

So what the hell are crop circles? Are they a new form of human graffiti? Are they messages from extraterrestrials? Are they a cry for help from our own Mother Earth or Mother Nature? Are they a now and again mysterious, but ultimately natural, even if chaotic feature of Mother Nature – say weather or biological phenomena? Are they in fact none of the above?

When it comes to the British crop circle phenomena, no explanation put forth makes any logical sense. The best of all the implausible explanations is the extraterrestrial intelligence one, but only on a scale of two out of ten because the rest don’t even rate that highly. 

I’ll start this off with a controversial statement. I thing the crop circle (or corn circle as it is sometimes referred to) phenomena is currently the greatest terrestrial scientific puzzle going – full stop.

I admit from square one that I haven’t the foggiest idea what they actually are, or represent, but I at least think I know what they’re not.

For better or worse, crop (or sometimes ‘corn’) circles have been associated with UFOs to a greater or lesser extent depending on whom you consult. Firstly, there’s no doubt that crop circles exist – that’s undisputed. Secondly, crop circles are the product of intelligence; there’s no way Mother Nature can naturally make these complex geometric formations – that’s undisputable. Thirdly, although there are isolated cases from other countries, crop circle formations are 99 & 44/100% reside in merry old England – no arguments there.

That third fact brings up question one: assuming crop circles are hoaxes, what is it about the British mind set that prompts them to commit these ‘works of art’? That’s never been explained. Maybe crop circle hoaxers might be more reluctant to do their thing in the USA where farmers shoot first and ask questions later, and although there are a few, why not lots and lots of ‘circles’ in France, Canada, Australia and a host of other nations with major agricultural (crop) industries?

Question two, again assuming hoaxes, can the sum total of crop circle formations be explained by artistic human intelligence, keeping in mind the restraints of sheer numbers of circles; the period of limited darkness in which to operate (high summer in England); the fact that it is dark; the possibility of being caught (you don’t want to use flashlights); not to mention additional time required for the ever increasing complexity of these crop circle formations?

Question three: assuming now not human, but extraterrestrial intelligence (the UFO connection – if any), what is the motive? Sceptics have pointed out, rightly so, that it is ludicrous in the extreme to suggest that extraterrestrials come here, from there (wherever there is) just to do geometrical graffiti using agricultural crops as their canvas! It’s probably equally ludicrous to suggest that UFOs are alien tourist buses, the extraterrestrials on a holiday tourist tour, and England has been set aside as the area for extraterrestrial artists on tour to practice their art!

But, there could be another aspect to E.T. and the circle mystery. There are the trickster gods of mythology, who are actually not supernatural deities but extraterrestrials. If trickster ‘gods’ wanted to have a bit of relatively harmless fun with us humans, well perhaps they’re behind the crop circle business! Now the absurdity of E.T. coming across light-years of space away with a motive just to dabble in agricultural (crop circle) graffiti has been pointed out by others. I quite agree. But, if E.T. were already here (and agricultural graffiti wasn’t the motivation) and some E.T.’s have a wicked sense of humour and like to befuddle the humans, well that’s a motive!

But, maybe crop circles are a smoking gun that we do live in a simulated Universe and on a simulated planet. All other ‘rational’ explanations are equally, if not more so, ridiculous. If extraterrestrials, their motive isn’t at all obvious apart from playing April Fools’ pranks.  If human in origin, crop circle graffiti should be way more widespread like ordinary back alley brick wall graffiti is, not to mention that a lot higher percentage of crop circle culprits or ‘artists’ should have been caught, tried, convicted, and fined for vandalism, destruction of private property and just plain trespassing. 

Now to my way of thinking, two things seem crystal clear here. There’s intelligence behind the crop circle phenomena; equally clear (to me anyway) it’s not by any stretch of the imagination a 100% human intelligence – the hoaxes – criminal activity - referred to above.

If the intelligence behind crop circles is not even close to being 100% human intelligence in the main, then it must be a non-human intelligence, though not of necessity extraterrestrial intelligence. So, what about a non-human intelligence? While we share this planet with other relatively intelligent species – dolphins, parrots, apes, the octopus – I find it unlikely in the extreme that crop circles can be blamed, or credited, to any of them.

Since I know of no other native intelligences on Planet Earth, I’m somewhat reluctantly forced to now go for an extraterrestrial intelligence, without any evidence other than process of elimination.