Crop Circles

Palomar · 2002-08-04 09:27:17

*What do you guys think of the "crop circle" phenomenon? People say they occur "overnight" when pranksters are pushing down the crops with a board and rope combination, but I grew up in Iowa...in the middle of a corn field [the stalks can grow up to 8 feet tall or taller] in the middle of the day, no one [on the ground, leastways] is going to be able to see you out there with the rope-board thingamajig, pushing down stalks of corn. People could be doing this during the day. It'd be easier to spot people doing this in wheat fields, but not in corn fields. However, stalks of corn are TOUGH; extremely fibrous in the height of summer. It'd take a lot of muscle power to push all those stalks down...and then imagine a 6-foot man doing this over a broad expanse of field, against stalks of corn 2-3 feet taller than him yet! Added to this, there is very little air in the middle of a cornfield; the stalks grow very close together. I can't imagine one person, or even 3 people, accomplishing these huge patterns without passing out from fatigue and lack of proper aeration, if anything.

However, what puzzles me is how almost perfectly symmetrical and formed these patterns are -- and they're big. How could *anyone* -- even a group of people -- make such varied, complicated, and precise designs on such a large scale? Wouldn't that take some high level of mathematical knowledge? I doubt most merry pranksters have that capability...logically, most crop circles should be squiggly, erratic lines or deformed circles, etc. But they have such precision and symmetry, almost perfect in shape.

Anyone want to tackle how your "average Joe" could be accomplishing this? And no, I don't believe in UFOs or that aliens are doing this. It is, however, perplexing to me.

--Cindy

Josh Cryer · 2002-08-04 17:46:14

The complexity of crop circles isn't really complex at all, once you see how they do it. There have been dozens of explanation documentaries discussing the methods. Have you seen a Spirograph? Same freakin concept. A lot of hoaxers use strings to achieve the effect. Stick sticks in the ground... and walk in a circle keeping the string taught...

Personally, I don't really see any of them being real (from an extraterrestrial perspective). Even the ones with the ?strange and impossible? phenomenon.

Byron · 2002-08-04 18:48:37

I'd have to agree...these crop circles are the work of dedicated pranksters..lol. They ususally do it in groups, and they'll work through the night taking extreme care to make these "perfect" patterns. Difficult, but certainly not impossible. It's amazing what people can do with simple surveying equipment and basic tools such as ropes, stakes and tramble boards.

Just one of those weird things that people like to do in their spare time..

B

Phobos · 2002-08-04 21:53:25

I think what amuses me the most about crop circles is how people interpret so much meaning in them. For some they portend the end of the Earth for others they are cosmic messages of love. Why on Earth would an alien species travel light years through space just to communicate with us through crop circles? There are certainly more direct routes! Not unless the aliens are using the crop circles as some kind of psychological experiment on humans. If that's the case I'm sure we're keeping them entertained!

Shaun Barrett · 2002-08-05 05:56:31

For my part, I'm totally perplexed by crop circles. If you imagine that alien intelligence is behind it all, the inevitable question, "Why?", comes immediately to mind. As Phobos and others have asked, why travel light years to play games with cereal crops?
But I am impressed with the beauty, complexity, and precision of these works of art ... and many of them can only be described as that. Many of them are beautiful to look at ... but only from the air!
I have great difficulty visualising how some of these creations could have been achieved by pranksters in the course of one night, often close to roads and villages, and without the use of artificial light (for obvious reasons). And the stalks of the crops are commonly intertwined or braided, not just crushed as a board would crush vegetation.
So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place! If aliens are doing it, then I'm too stupid to understand what they're trying to say. But I honestly don't believe that all of these often exquisite "circles" could have been made by local jokers on the way home from the pub!
If anyone out there can offer an explanation they think I might swallow, I'm all ears!!
:0

C M Edwards · 2002-08-05 06:55:17

I'm able to roughly visualize the methods used to lay out the circles, but I'm having some difficulties understanding the methods some of these artists used to add their initials and even signatures to the work when completed. The precision required to add those letters is very mysterious to me.

CME

Palomar · 2002-08-05 12:06:37

Have you seen a Spirograph? Same freakin concept.

*Nope; can't say that I've seen a spirograph. I understand, of course, the meanings of the combing form "spiro" [spiral] and the word "graph", but I'm not exactly certain what you mean in this regard.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2002-08-05 12:14:53

Shaun: I have great difficulty visualising how some of these creations could have been achieved by pranksters in the course of one night, often close to roads and villages, and without the use of artificial light (for obvious reasons).

*That's the major gist of my perplexity...

Shaun: And the stalks of the crops are commonly intertwined or braided,

*Whoa. This is new to me. So we've got merry pranksters working throughout the night, sans artificial light [though the moon may provide some illumination], not only trampling down the crops but also ::braiding:: or manipulating them to be intertwined? That's quite a feat! :0

Shaun: So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place! If aliens are doing it, then I'm too stupid to understand what they're trying to say.

*Me too. Besides, I don't believe it's aliens from outer space.

Shaun: But I honestly don't believe that all of these often exquisite "circles" could have been made by local jokers on the way home from the pub!

*Agreed, agreed.

Shaun: If anyone out there can offer an explanation they think I might swallow, I'm all ears!!

*My husband heard from some news source [can't recall which; he has a pretty bad memory] that people are speculating these crop circles may be caused by sonic booms. But that sounds ludicrous as well; there've been sonic booms from airplanes for decades now, and why would the sound waves make patterns like that anyhow?

--Cindy

Adrian · 2002-08-05 17:44:06

Circlemakers - a website dedicated to crop circle makers. I'll admit that some of the crop circles I've seen on the news have marvellous intricacy and I do wonder how they could be man-made. However, I believe that it's more likely they're made by ingenious humans than befuddled aliens with nothing better to do with their time.

Shaun Barrett · 2002-08-06 05:46:24

The "sonic boom theory" is the least believable one so far, at least to me! But thanks, Cindy, for the effort!
Adrian is right, of course, to employ Occam's razor and deduce that humans are easily the most likely perpetrators. But just because something is likely, doesn't make it so.
I've got a sinking feeling that this is one mystery I'll probably never know the answer to.

???

P.S. What's this about initials and signatures, C.M. ?

C M Edwards · 2002-08-08 11:40:42

Shaun, I merely meant that the pranksters who make these crop circles often sign their work.

Shaun Barrett · 2002-08-08 19:53:38

Sorry, C.M. !
I hadn't heard about that.
Incidentally, the latest Mel Gibson movie, "Signs", is a horror/sci-fi story involving crop circles.

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