Randall Schulz wrote:

John,

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 05:39:14 +0200, John Donson wrote:

Randall Schulz wrote:

Hi,

Recently it occurred to me to wonder what is the latest date in
Earth history when an extraterrestrial visit (a non-clandestine
visit, i.e.) could have occurred without having been recognized
as such?

...

What makes you think that a visit from an alien today would be
recognised as such anywhere on earth?

Assuming you're not joking, I'd have to ask what it would take to go
unnoticed if an extraterrestrial appeared openly today? Perhaps they
could disguise themselves by wearing spikey purple hair and a dog
collar, or something (yes, now _I'm_ joking).

But even adopting the decorations of a subcultural group in attempt
to hide differences in their appearance would only work if the
alien's body structure were very similar to that of humans to begin
with (a la the Star Trek world), a possibility I exluded when I
posed the question. (And I'm not trying to start a discussion of
what sentient life that evolved independently of us would look like.)

And if the visitors have some kind of technology that allows them to
effectively disguise themselves as humans, then again it's outside
the parameters of the question I asked: Their appearance must be
open, non-clandestine and undisguised.

So yes, I do certainly think that if an alien showed up and
interacted with any humans, they'd be recognized as such. Of course,
as Rob Dekker pointed out, if they appeared to one person and then
left (and left behind no evidence) and that person tried to convince
others he'd had an encounter with an alien, he'd almost certainly be
considered psychotic or delusional or perhaps that he was attempting
to perpetrate some kind of hoax or stunt.

Again, I'm talking about a completely open appearance. Landing a
craft on the Mall in Washington D.C. or in Red Square or the Champs
Elysees, or some such.

No, I'm not joking. You are looking at it from your own cultural
perspective. Just throw a dart on the world map a couple of times and
imagine what anyone living in the area where the dart lands would think of
an alien being. How about Borneo? Kenia? The Amazon basin?