(Semi-serious Question) Other than people, what causes crop circles?

[Pingonaut]

I was kind of bored and decided to try to find some explanation about crop circles, especially what they would mean if they were intelligently created. Are there any proper theories about what creates them, or what they mean? I Googled it and of course all I could find were people talking about aliens warning us about the polar shifts causing end of the world, and the Illuminati. That doesn't mean I don't want peoples' personal opinions, and if someone has an explanation involving ETs I especially don't want any ridicule or arguments. I think it's a shame when the mention of ETs creates issues.

So this is obviously more about what theories you believe personally. What/who do you believe creates "crop circles" and if you think it's intelligent, what do they mean?

Again, discussions and not arguments please. It was really the biggest reason I was considering not creating a thread, but I think it could be interesting.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Pingonaut

[Bill Phil]

Aliens wouldn't likely use a circular shaped craft. Although, geometry IS probably a good way to communicate between species...

It's bored farmers looking for attention. For the most part, at least...

[Pingonaut]

Aliens wouldn't likely use a circular shaped craft. Although, geometry IS probably a good way to communicate between species...

It's bored farmers looking for attention. For the most part, at least...

I haven't seen any mention of people thinking they're landing sites. As for "bored farmers" it seems to me that that explanation is highly overused, especially because it damages crops.

[Bill Phil]

It could be an already dying field. So who cares if the crops are trampled?

[Pingonaut]

It could be an already dying field. So who cares if the crops are trampled?

I'm just saying that I don't think that explanation holds very much ground, farmers have plenty to do over painstakingly creating them over their more important crops. A lot of them aren't in dying fields.

[ZedNova]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10217151/Crop-circles-demystified-how-the-patterns-are-created.html

People. There are no Extraterrestrials on earth.

Edited January 10, 2015 by ZedNova

[Pingonaut]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10217151/Crop-circles-demystified-how-the-patterns-are-created.html

People. There are no Extraterrestrials on earth.

That's pretty much the explanation I see most often. You'd think this'd be made illegal and that they'd do some searching for those responsible. Just wanting to see each person's view.

[GoSlash27]

IMO people are the cause of *all* crop circles.

If extraterrestrials are observing us and wish to communicate, they'll do so in a way that they know we'll understand.

Best,

-Slashy

[Pingonaut]

IMO people are the cause of *all* crop circles.

If extraterrestrials are observing us and wish to communicate, they'll do so in a way that they know we'll understand.

Best,

-Slashy

This'd probably be best discussed in a different topic thread, but how would they communicate with us in our own language without observing us very closely? Obviously we don't really know what kind of technology they would have, I suppose they could get that information easily.

I kind of liked the theory I heard (quite a while back) about something not intelligent creating them. I can't remember what it was, but it had something to do with the sun. I don't think it was a very developed theory yet, though.

[Bill Phil]

They could communicate with pictures. Detailing their journey across space and even showing relative sizes of planets and their solar system compared to ours. And then we would have conversion factors for XenoAstronomical units, the aliens' planet radius, the relative speed of the planets, etc. pictures go a long way.

[gooddog15]

stampeding cows could cause crop circles, however they would probably destroy the entire field.

[DaveofDefeat]

I think they are created by a guy with a plank of wood tied to some string, who doesn't mind staying up late at night and has entirely to much time on their hands.

[Pingonaut]

They could communicate with pictures. Detailing their journey across space and even showing relative sizes of planets and their solar system compared to ours. And then we would have conversion factors for XenoAstronomical units, the aliens' planet radius, the relative speed of the planets, etc. pictures go a long way.

Problem is we don't know how close they would be to our biology. They could have completely different vision than us. Guessing there'd be some limits to how different, though.

[xcorps]

That's pretty much the explanation I see most often. You'd think this'd be made illegal and that they'd do some searching for those responsible. Just wanting to see each person's view.

Matthew Williams, 42, who was the first person to be prosecuted for destruction of a farmers crops when creating a circle

From your own article... Incidentally according to wiki he was fined 100 pounds and 40 pounds in court fees.

[Louella]

this image that I remember seeing a while ago, http://i.imgur.com/Vx30g.png

Aliens could begin to communicate using that sort of thing.

The 3/4/5 right-angled triangle, Pi, and all that, to begin to understand how to communicate with Terrans via maths.

And then once mathematical communication is achieved, that's the key to deciphering radio signals, including television.

And that's where the real problems begin. What with all the alien invasion movies from the 1950's, satellite TV ....ography, sportball and so on. Explaining all that would keep the aliens anthropologists busy for quite a while.

[Pingonaut]

this image that I remember seeing a while ago, http://i.imgur.com/Vx30g.png

Aliens could begin to communicate using that sort of thing.

The 3/4/5 right-angled triangle, Pi, and all that, to begin to understand how to communicate with Terrans via maths.

And then once mathematical communication is achieved, that's the key to deciphering radio signals, including television.

And that's where the real problems begin. What with all the alien invasion movies from the 1950's, satellite TV ....ography, sportball and so on. Explaining all that would keep the aliens anthropologists busy for quite a while.

That's a pretty neat image!

[Louella]

That's a pretty neat image!

I know, right?

The 3,4,5 triangle, and the diagram of the Solar System, might be the most important diagrams ever

[Thiel]

Problem is we don't know how close they would be to our biology. They could have completely different vision than us. Guessing there'd be some limits to how different, though.

Well, rather than resort to mysterious destruction of crops they could try showing themselves.

[pxi]

It's bored farmers looking for attention. For the most part, at least...

There's been an increasing tendancy for farmers to cut down the circles almost as soon as they are discovered, according to Nexus magazine. Many farmers now consider the phenomenon a hassle they'd rather not deal with.

Personally I go with the guys with planks theory. Some of the designs are pretty decent though, I have to give them that.

[Albert VDS]

Why would an alien race travel to our world, which cost a lot of effort, and make some crop circles.

Also, why would they pick wheat fields and why symbols we are familiar with.

If it were truly aliens then the symbols would look alien.

And why such a communication instead of something which we can decipher or even better come tell us in person.

For anyone who's gonna suggest "But maybe they are not allowed to communicate with us so they make crop circles", it's still a way of communicating.

[Bill Phil]

Using things both parties are familiar with is the best way to communicate. And circles are fairly simple but complicate at the same time. So why not?

[Albert VDS]

Sure why not, we communicate all the time through our wheat fields.

[magnemoe]

That's pretty much the explanation I see most often. You'd think this'd be made illegal and that they'd do some searching for those responsible. Just wanting to see each person's view.

Its illegal to make crop circles. That is if the farmer report it, problem is that its rarely discovered at once and its an minor crime its not investigated hard.

It probably started as an prank from some teens on an neighbors fields. Pretty simple like an 10 meter circle and similar.

Might be done against an superstitious farmer for extra effect.

Later other has taken in up and expanded into something more like art.

[Agent86]

It's obviously the humanoid reptilians that live inside the moon.

[MBobrik]

One with a six-seven digit budget could probably build a more or less autonomous robot that generates a random pattern and then imprints into the crop. But that would ultimately count as "caused by people" anyway.

Extraterrestrials, as the question tries to lead us ? No, unless they have the same motivation as human pranksters, and no interest in actual communication. But then, occam's razor.

Extraterrestrials with psychology that causes them to consider "paint geometric shapes over the first suitable big surface" as their first choice of communication ? Maybe, but by finding suitable crop fields and waiting with painting until no witness is around they would demonstrate they got a lot of knowledge about humans. Enough knowledge to realize that human psychology is different and this is not the best way to communicate with us. And someone building interstellar spaceships is bound to be smart enough to figure out.