ET's/Aliens yes or no?

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by AquaPython

congratulations, i have been to the area 3 times now. what really is funny here is that i ask a simple question and you guys jump all over it like I am retarded and you have all the answers, promptly inserting foot in mouth.

The point I make with my question is that while the area did have trees, it was basically ONLY in the fertile lands close to the Nile. And you think that these trees would be chopped down for an endless length of rollers and scaffolding just to build these monoliths over hundreds of years, that (as the story books would have you believe) serve no other purpose but a moratorium for a long dead king? What a giant, no, fucking COLOSSAL waste or invaluable resources that would be, no?
The benefits of the life bearing trees in that region staying like that, would far outweigh the alternative.

This leaves only shipping. They had a thriving sea-port based economy, but then they would need to have paid for how many thousands of trees to be imported?

just the tip of the iceberg.

Watch that stone henge guy video posted earlier... you don't need a shit ton of wood to move big stones... other stones work as well.

And remember back then labor was free and resources were pissed away because only a handful of people were important enough to 'deserve' them. Plus, they viewed past rulers as gods in many cases... Put all that shit together and it's readily possible... granted, it's not as romantic as an alien invasion.

[Method]

Didn't read the whole thread, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

My take:

The only intelligent life in the history of the universe, no.

The only intelligent life currently surviving in the universe, possibly. Civilizations and intelligent life come and go. One day humans will likely become extinct as other alien civilations likely have before us.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Watch that stone henge guy video posted earlier... you don't need a shit ton of wood to move big stones... other stones work as well.

And remember back then labor was free and resources were pissed away because only a handful of people were important enough to 'deserve' them. Plus, they viewed past rulers as gods in many cases... Put all that shit together and it's readily possible... granted, it's not as romantic as an alien invasion.

People were also working for their "God Kings", who held the power of life and death over all they surveyed, so the pressure to work hard was high. I doubt that construction of such things took as long as many here believe.

[AquaPython]

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Watch that stone henge guy video posted earlier... you don't need a shit ton of wood to move big stones... other stones work as well.

And remember back then labor was free and resources were pissed away because only a handful of people were important enough to 'deserve' them. Plus, they viewed past rulers as gods in many cases... Put all that shit together and it's readily possible... granted, it's not as romantic as an alien invasion.

i saw the video and it is impressive. maybe it was the way stone henge was built.

but i did not see any vertical lifting with his ideas.

there are many other questions. such as why this desolate location on the planet?
why was it built so far away from the quarries?

why were the pharoahs alive and dead referred to as gods, exactlY?

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by AquaPython

i saw the video and it is impressive. maybe it was the way stone henge was built.

but i did not see any vertical lifting with his ideas.

there are many other questions. such as why this desolate location on the planet?
why was it built so far away from the quarries?

why were the pharoahs alive and dead referred to as gods, exactlY?

Actually he did do some vertical lifting, which is how he got the stone in position to be dropped in the hole. You don't have to lift anything, if you build a ramp. If you build the ramp up the side of a massive structure, then remove the ramp, all that is left is the structure.

A lot of places that are now desolate, weren't in the past. Places that are currently nothing but desert or grassland show signs of having been heavily forested in the past.

They were referred to as Gods because when the guy has the power to have your head off, at a moment's notice, you call him whatever he wants to be called.

[AquaPython]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

Actually he did do some vertical lifting, which is how he got the stone in position to be dropped in the hole. You don't have to lift anything, if you build a ramp. If you build the ramp up the side of a massive structure, then remove the ramp, all that is left is the structure.

A lot of places that are now desolate, weren't in the past. Places that are currently nothing but desert or grassland show signs of having been heavily forested in the past.

They were referred to as Gods because when the guy has the power to have your head off, at a moment's notice, you call him whatever he wants to be called.

lifting, i saw how he made it vertical, but how would he place the cross-bridge rock? build a ramp? he did not show lateral movement either that i saw, just rotation. extrapolate it to egypt.

places change. yes they do, but often over many thousands of years. giza was and still is in the middle of the desert.

gods. that is a convenient answer, but then why not just kings, lords, emperors.

[Avatard]

The OP asked if aliens exist. Like I said in post #2, I think given the vastness of the Universe, it would be naive to think otherwise...but, that said, I also do agree with what a number of folks have pointed out: That the likelihood of us ever coming in contact with any during our lifetimes is very slim...again, for the reasons of sheer vastness...of both time, and space.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by AquaPython

lifting, i saw how he made it vertical, but how would he place the cross-bridge rock? build a ramp? he did not show lateral movement either that i saw, just rotation. extrapolate it to egypt.

places change. yes they do, but often over many thousands of years. giza was and still is in the middle of the desert.

gods. that is a convenient answer, but then why not just kings, lords, emperors.

No, he didn't show how to get the cross-pieces in place, but he did show two separate forms of lateral movement. One involved pivoting around a small offset stone, as a rotation point. The other involved rolling along wooden ramps, that had triangular cut-outs that assisted in starting and maintaining movement. I've seen video involving the use of A-framed logs used to raise a centre stone, but haven't been able to find it online anywhere.

Remember, that's just what one guy could accomplish. You want to extrapolate it to Egypt? Add another 9,999 slaves to that number.

As stated, Egypt was the heart of a massive empire. They had matériel, technology, bureaucracy, slaves, and time. Location is relatively unimportant.

The word "king" just doesn't have the same punch as the word "God." If someone is your "God", that implies a much deeper necessity for devotion and service. The Emperor of Japan is also supposed to be descended from gods. Look what his people were willing to do for HIM, and that's a far more modern example. "Divine Right of Kings" goes back an awful long way.

Consider David Koresh. Now take away the FBI and technology, add about 20 absolute loonies with kopeshes and spears, and turn them loose on the world. It wouldn't take too many generations for that to grow into God King worship.

[the chi]

If I recall correctly, the ancient egyptians felt that their leaders were the physical manifestation of their gods and worshipped them as such. How they got this idea was likely propoganda promoted by the kings themselves and mostly by their priests. Like someone else mentioned, other cultures encouraged this as well, and the leaders themselves were the ones who decreed they were a god.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by AquaPython

congratulations, i have been to the area 3 times now. what really is funny here is that i ask a simple question and you guys jump all over it like I am retarded and you have all the answers, promptly inserting foot in mouth.

The point I make with my question is that while the area did have trees, it was basically ONLY in the fertile lands close to the Nile. And you think that these trees would be chopped down for an endless length of rollers and scaffolding just to build these monoliths over hundreds of years, that (as the story books would have you believe) serve no other purpose but a moratorium for a long dead king? What a giant, no, fucking COLOSSAL waste or invaluable resources that would be, no?
The benefits of the life bearing trees in that region staying like that, would far outweigh the alternative.

This leaves only shipping. They had a thriving sea-port based economy, but then they would need to have paid for how many thousands of trees to be imported?

just the tip of the iceberg.

What? You can't be serious... GOD commanded it be build and so it was!!! History shows that the Egyptian economy was indeed nearly devastated by the building of monuments... besides, what exactly do captured slaves cost? How difficult is it to get monumental tasks accomplished when you can basically knock on any door and demand that the inhabitants come work for free? Who cares how many die? This was for the Pharaoh, no greater honor existed than to work and die for his glory! It's all about motivation, bro. Money, really isn't a factor when you "own" the labor, materials, shipping, etc....

What was the total "wasted" resources during the crusades? How about the Inquisition? Heck, how about almost any war ever waged? What about our own monuments, what purpose do they serve? Any idea how much the Lincoln memorial cost to build and maintain? The Washington Monument? The Statue of Liberty? Seriously, how many poor and homeless could we shelter with just the money spent on monuments in this country...