![]() Kennedy were both presidents of the United States “Right where I was aiming.” Should the skeptic be impressed with the sharpshooter’s aim? He drew a circle around it and marked a bull’s eye in the center of the cluster of bullet holes. He strolled up to the barn and located the area where the bullets clustered most tightly. Then he drew his pistol and emptied it into the side of abarn from a distance of 200 feet. “I’m your huckleberry,” said the sharpshooter. Of course, all of this poses a deeper question: where am I committing this fallacy too? We laugh at the Ancient Aliens theorists, but they should prompt us to explore our own beliefs and how we go out of our way to justify them.The Texas Sharpshooter’s Fallacy There once was a sharpshooter who was challenged by a skeptic to demonstrate his skill. “Because of my belief in the superiority of modern humanity, I also believe the only explanation for ancient human advances is alien interference now let me generate some evidence.” Or, as the theorists on Ancient Aliens continually demonstrate: ![]() “I believe in a Deep State conspiracy now let me generate some evidence.” “I believe 9/11 was an inside job now let me generate some evidence.” “I believe vaccines cause autism now let me generate some evidence.” The fallacious logic is the backbone of almost every conspiracy theory. The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy occurs when we use the scientific method backwards- when we start from a conclusion and then seek out evidence to confirm it. Once the bullets had landed, he picked up a nearby bucket of paint, drew a bullseye around the bullet holes, and called to his neighbors to brag about his marksmanship. One morning, he drew his revolver and fired six shots into the side of his barn. The theorists on Ancient Aliens rely on a classic logical misstep known as the “ Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy.” The fallacy draws its name from a story of a man who set out to prove he was the best shot in Texas. But it’s hard to accept ancient cultures could be smarter than we are aliens seem more plausible to us, and we’ll go to great lengths to prove it. The ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula created algebra without a calculator in sight. The Romans created architecturally marvels with only basic levers, pulleys, and wedges. The Greeks created realistic maps of the solar system without the aid of telescopes. The truth is ancient civilizations were brilliant and creative in ways we can’t even comprehend. We’ve been drinking this particular Kool-Aid so long we can’t imagine civilizations earlier than ours building something like Stone Henge. So much of our modern understanding of the world hinges on the narrative of modern humans as superior and ancient humans as primitive. But the theorists on Ancient Aliens are too confident in our modern superiority to ever accept such a simple answer. Of course, there’s a much simpler explanation to every question on the show: ancient humans were far smarter than we realize. Why do disparate cultures have similar mythologies?Ĭouldn’t be common responses to the human condition must have been aliens. I watch it and laugh my liberal arts educated ass off as these theorists do their best to explain everything from the Ark of the Covenant to the Pyramids to medieval paintings with one common denominator: aliens.Ĭouldn’t be humans must have been aliens.Ĭouldn’t have been poor sanitation must have been aliens. ![]() So, confession time: I love the show Ancient Aliens.
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