Not everything you see online is true ; but also, not ALL of it is false.

I think it is important to tell you first, where exactly I stand when writing this blog. Give you a clue into my biases in a way to be completely transparent and honest upfront, in the hopes I can gain your trust in believing the facts that I find.

Our galaxy alone has over 100 billion planets ; and there are, as far as we can tell over 125 billion galaxies in the Universe. Do that math, and you quickly realize this Universe we are in - we are such a tiny, miniscule part of.

My opinion : it is ignorant to believe that out of the 1e^22 planets in the enormity of our Universe, (a number so large, there is not even a single word to encompass it,) - that humankind here on Earth is the only intelligent life to have ever formed. I can understand through the centuries of believing there were just nine planets floating through the sky, how this thought could be relevant and easily accepted ; but in the world we live today, where technology has pushed us so incredibly far past this edge - how can we still believe this?

The truth about otherlife however, is shrouded in mystery, coverups, and lies. Our Government would have us believe that we - in fact - are alone. We are special. We are a 1 in 1e^22 lucky chance. And any encounter saying otherwise is just comic relief from tense everyday life - not to be trusted or believed, not to be feared or praised - but to be laughed at, and then ignored. They call it misinformation and fake news - but if you think about those odds again ; it just doesn’t add up.

I just want the truth - and really, is that so much to ask?

When writing about a topic as controversial as alien life, it is important to always use credentialed, and authentic materials through the research process. One may ask themselves - well, where am I supposed to even find the “real information?” This blog will explain to you exactly that - where I find my information, and how I fact check the data I find.

On my hunt for the truth I will be utilizing many different techniques and skills I have acquired throughout my educational journey. The most important of these is cross checking anything I find across multiple reputable sources to see how other outlets are portraying this same story. Not everything you see online is true ; but also, not all of it is false. Sometimes even non credentialed sources can have relevant information, it is just a matter of cross referencing to see what other information you can find. A couple of my most often used current news sources are The Washington Post , and the New York Times. I also tend to turn to scientific publications such as NASA, Scientific American, and Space. While all of these sources are credible on their own, I still make sure to cross reference from one platform to the next, to make sure I have all of my facts straight and fully comprehended.

The next step in learning anything new, is to do some fact checking. There are several different fact checkers online that do a pretty good job of debunking fake news, and separating the true news from the fiction. The one I like the most is one based in Google. In this checker, you can search any topic, (or video, photo, etc.,) and it will pop up with a series of articles relevant to this topic. It then separates these articles into several categories - obviously including true and false - but also including categories such as “Misleading Material,” “Unverified,” “Made with AI,” “Altered,” and many others. Another wonderful fact checker is Reuters. Though it does not have a search bar to input whatever you would like, it is excellent at keeping up on daily current news controversies. Another fact checker that I will occasionally use is Snopes. I do not use this one quite as often, as it does not seem to be quite as credentialed - however, this is where the caveat above comes into play again. Not everything you see online is true - but it is also not ALL false. When using Snopes, I always do so with a grain of salt, and am sure to fully investigate anything new that I have learned.

You don’t have to believe everything - in fact, you don’t have to believe anything at all ; but it is so incredibly important to always keep your mind open to potential possibilities, and not immediately shut down facts based on your own biases. Be skeptical of everything - but open your mind, keep asking questions, and always exercise your best judgment.

And always remember -

Keep your eyes to the skies guys,

ever searching for the truth.