Module 2 Discussion 3, Chapter 4: Discuss Crop Circles

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Directions: Review Chapter 4 and 10 readings. Write a Post on your thoughts regarding crop circles. Evaluate the topic by elements in our Chapter 4, such as “experts, evidence, resisting contrary evidence, fooling ourselves, claims in the news”; and Chapter 10 “warning signs about bogus science”. Respond to two classmates as well.

You might read an online article to get more ideas on how you feel about these entities. Here are some:

https://www.livescience.com/26540-crop-circles.html (Links to an external site.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circle (Links to an external site.)

https://www.astrobio.net/alien-life/the-physics-of-crop-circles/ (Links to an external site.)

Crop Circle Mystery | National Geographic (Links to an external site.)

Crop circles in California: Giant circles appear in Salinas Valley, California, USA (Links to an external site.)

Student one

In my view, it is essential to apply critical thinking in assessing the crop circles phenomenon. Chapter 4 of the text contends that it is vital to differentiate experts from non-experts (Vaughn, 2018). After making such a distinction, it is plausible to believe arguments made by experts given that they are more knowledgeable on a particular subject. In this instance, experts suggest that crop circles were made in the 1970s and 1980s by David Chorley and his friend Doug Bowers. In my opinion, that is a more accurate description of the crop circles phenomenon.

In this case, one can often fall into the temptation of believing popular conspiracies trying to explain the crop circles. For instance, there were claims of UFOs being seen in the area. Given that people have heard similar claims in the news, they will fall into the trap of confirmation bias. Even so, it is critical to evaluate the evidence offered to back up the claims to avoid fooling ourselves. In the case of the crop circles, the evidence provided for the presence of aliens and UFOs is not convincing. Hence, it is not plausible to believe people who base their arguments on such claims.

Given that claims of UFOs were not valid, there must have been another explanation for the crop circles. It took the efforts of scientists to determine that the crop circles were made by farmers in the night. Notably, the farmers remained secretive about the process of making the crop circles. As a result, many theories sprung up to explain their origin. Chapter 10 delves into the signs associated with bogus science (Vaughn, 2018). The allegations of UFOs and aliens are an example of bogus science. That is because the evidence offered has not been tested using a scientific method. 

Student two

There appears to be three primary theories behind the existence and formation of crop circles. These three theories are naturally occurring wind vortices, extraterrestrial intervention, and human-created hoaxes. The wind vortices theory postulates that small whirlwinds of electrified air are responsible for the intricate crop circle designs, and experts have been able to create similar instances in carefully-controlled environments. However, there is no evidence that these laboratory created wind vortices have ever occurred in nature or are possible to replicate in nature. By using the TEST formula, this first theory also fails. It does not have any evidence of occurring in nature, alternative theories are stronger (namely hoaxes), and it is an overly elaborate and inadequate explanation of crop circles.

Aliens being the cause of crop circles fares even worse against the TEST formula. There is no reputable sources of alien life either existing or having visited Earth. The existence of aliens conflicts with all known scientific experts, there are no credible experts in disagreement with one another regarding their existence, and their existence conflicts with claims we already have good reason to accept. While it is a popular theory due to it’s extraordinary nature and presence in the news media, it does not follow the rules of thumb of critical thinking nor adequately stand up to the TEST formula.

The final, and most likely theory, is that humans created crop circles. Their elaborate forms, location near populated and easily accessible farmlands, and formulation under the cover of night all support this theory. Additionally, numerous hoaxers have confessed to having created crop circles already. It is the simplest theory, consistent with the evidence, and is the only theory amongst it’s alternatives that stands up to any scrutiny. The other two theories are based in ambiguous language and speculation, while the human hoax theory has verifiable facts supporting it.