三分之一的美国人相信UFO的存在，但他们寻找的对象却不尽相同

三分之一的美国人相信UFO的存在，但他们寻找的对象却不尽相同

Behind every alleged unidentified flying object sighting, every creepy alien story and every first-contact theory, there's a person. An earthling who believes a little — or a lot — in the idea that aliens have visited Earth or are trying to.

在每一个所谓的不明飞行物目击，每一个令人毛骨悚然的外星人故事和每一个第一次接触的理论背后，都有一个人。一个地球人，他或多或少地相信外星人曾来过地球，或正试图来地球。

The sun begins to rise along Nevada Highway 375, also known as the Extraterrestrial Highway, just north of Groom Lake or 'Area 51.' (Photo: Will Pedro/Shutterstock)

So who are all these people? Writer Sarah Scoles was interested in finding out, and it's the people behind the science, philosophy and conspiracy theories of UFOs who she focuses on in her book, "They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers."

那么这些人都是谁呢?作家莎拉·斯科尔斯对这个问题很感兴趣，她在《他们已经在这里:UFO文化和我们为什么会看到飞碟》一书中重点探讨了有关UFO的科学、哲学和阴谋论背后的人物。

Belief in UFOs is currently at a high point, with a 2019 Gallup poll showing that 33% of Americans "believe that some UFO sightings over the years have in fact been alien spacecraft visiting Earth from other planets or galaxies." About 60% of Americans are skeptical and 7% aren't sure — but 16% of people who answered the poll said they have personally witnessed a UFO.

目前，人们对UFO的信仰达到了一个高峰，2019年盖洛普民意测验显示，33%的美国人“认为过去几年看到的一些UFO实际上是来自其他行星或星系的外星飞船造访地球。”约60%的美国人持怀疑态度，7%的人不确定，但16%的受访者称他们亲眼目睹过UFO。

The moderate skeptics

温和的怀疑论者

Sheer curiosity — and a feeling that information is being withheld — is the drive that keeps many people engaged in the UFO conversation. (Photo: Dean Clarke/Shutterstock)

"I was surprised to find the moderate types," says Scoles, pointing out that when you think about someone who spends a lot of time thinking about UFOs, you're unlikely to picture a science-minded person who thinks there are likely good explanations for UFO sightings. She was curious, "If you don't believe in this thing, why would you spend time or energy to figure this out?"

斯科尔斯说:“我很惊讶地发现了温和的类型。”他指出，当你想到那些花大量时间思考UFO的人，你不太可能想象出一个有科学头脑的人，认为UFO目击事件可能有很好的解释。她很好奇，“如果你不相信这件事，你为什么要花时间和精力去弄明白呢?”

Scoles says this group is a "large minority" of UFO-interested people, and discovered that what drives them is probably similar to what drives a scientist: plain old curiosity. Like a good researcher, they're not out to "prove" a belief; instead they're focused on the question, and how to answer it. This group is focused on how they can use science to understand, explain, explore or disprove the idea of alien life.

斯科尔斯说，这群人是对UFO感兴趣的“少数”人，他们发现驱动他们的动力可能与驱动科学家的动力类似:纯粹的好奇心。就像一个优秀的研究者，他们不是去“证明”一个信念;相反，他们关注的是问题，以及如何回答。这个小组关注的是他们如何利用科学来理解、解释、探索或反驳外星生命的观点。

The spiritualists and the hopefuls

唯心论者和有希望的人

A tall metal alien sculpture greets visitors to the Alien Research Center, an extraterrestrial-themed gift shop in Hiko, Nevada. (Photo: BrianPIrwin/Shutterstock.com)

Another subset of UFO fans are those who treat the idea of extraterrestrials as a kind of secular religion. While there are some cultists (including those who see aliens as some kind of gods), many of those who see the possibility of advanced alien life regard it as a sign of hope. If they survived, then humanity may be able to overcome our current challenges and keep advancing to the stars. This idea is behind plenty of sci-fi franchises as well, especially "Star Trek," which directly addresses the idea that we live in perilous times and that there can be positive visions of humanity's future.

UFO迷的另一个子集是那些把外星人当作一种世俗宗教的人。虽然也有一些信徒(包括那些把外星人视为某种神的人)，但许多认为外星生命可能存在的人认为这是希望的迹象。如果他们幸存下来，那么人类也许能够克服我们目前的挑战，继续向星星前进。这个想法也出现在很多科幻系列电影中，尤其是《星际迷航》，它直接阐述了我们生活在一个危险的时代，可以对人类的未来做出积极的展望。

The true believers and conspiracy theorists

真正的信徒和阴谋论者

There are some people who believe that, odds are, there is life in the universe outside Earth, and those life forms have have visited our planet. This group might overlap with the spiritualists, but not necessarily. After all, some people fear the idea of aliens: "There's people who talk about aliens and UFOs who see them as an existential threat," says Scoles.

有些人相信，在地球之外的宇宙中存在生命，而这些生命形式已经造访过我们的星球。这个群体可能与唯心论重叠，但不一定。毕竟，有些人害怕外星人:“有些人谈论外星人和不明飞行物，认为他们是存在的威胁，”斯科尔斯说。

But others look at the statistics around the number of stars and habitable planets and see the possibility of life having arisen on other planets as not just possible, but probable. They think first contact has already likely happened, or they believe enough of the conspiracy theories that their judgement says it's more likely than not that we've already had some alien contact.

但另一些人研究恒星和宜居行星数量的统计数据，发现在其他行星上出现生命的可能性不仅是可能的，而且是存在的。他们认为第一次接触可能已经发生了，或者他们相信足够多的阴谋理论，他们的判断是很有可能我们已经有了一些外星人的接触。

Of course, there are those who believe in UFOs almost entirely due to their belief that it's been covered up for years, "whether they think the conspiracy is hiding aliens or their classified technology," says Scoles. Their belief is rooted in what they see as the "cover-up."

当然，有些人几乎完全相信UFO的存在，因为他们相信它已经被掩盖了很多年，“不管他们认为阴谋是隐藏外星人还是他们的机密技术，”斯科尔斯说。他们的信念根植于他们所认为的“掩盖”。

So with all these different groups of people interested in alien life and spacecrafts, is there anything that unites them?

那么，有这么多对外星生命和宇宙飞船感兴趣的人，有没有什么东西能把他们联系在一起呢?

"I think everybody across the whole UFO spectrum from skeptics to true believers is motivated by a sense of wonder, encountering a thing that they don’t know fully," says Scoles.

斯科尔斯说:“我认为所有人，从怀疑论者到真正的信徒，都是出于好奇，遇到了他们不完全了解的东西。”