by Tyler E. Martin » Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:17 am
I'm inclined to throw my hat in with brianfett2 here. Sure, it's based in conjecture, and in dealing with specifics, there are a lot of theories that aren't really warranted, but at its core, I think the ancient astronaut hypothesis warrants more consideration than it tends to get. It's foolish (but very human) to think that we know everything there is to know about our past with the exception of a few small details. There's a difference between positing that maybe some form of intervention occurred at one or two key moments in human history and assuming that we would never have figured out how to tie our own shoelaces without help from extraterrestrials.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting Giorgio Tsoukalos (the "face" of the ancient astronaut movement) at WonderFest, and he struck me as a very charming, likable, and (gasp!) reasonable guy, not some nutcase who rambles on and on about obscure theories. Had circumstances been different, I would have liked to have sat down with him and had a chat. I got the distinct impression that we would have been able to carry on an intelligent discussion of the matter, with whatever skepticism I might have had answered with respectful disagreement.
You don't have to accept all these theories, but you shouldn't just dismiss the basic concept out of hand, if you ask me.