[FormerLurker]

I can't figure out if he's just a gullable ivory tower guy, or what.

Thanks for that link PH. Out of curiosity though, have you ever considered the fact that there's something to this and Dr. Hawkins is simply brilliant?

[PatrickHenry]

Out of curiosity though, have you ever considered the fact that there's something to this and Dr. Hawkins is simply brilliant?

Any professor of astronomy is a bright fellow. Often, they're the easiest to hoax, because in the ivory tower world, there's a lot of gullability. Scientists tend to trust one another's data, and genuine hoaxes are quite rare. So a "street hoaxer" is likely to pull one over on those guys. The magician, Randi, has a ball showing how easy it is to fool academic types.

Anyway, I'll keep an open mind. If some signicant, verifiable evidence turns up, a bit more persuasive than mere craftsmanship in the bean fields, I'll pay more attention.

[PatrickHenry]

It's possible, you know, that as these crop circles gain press attention, the hoaxers who make them seek out knowledgable people to make their designs for them on paper. College kids could design circles that are laced with "hidden meaning" and then the galoots could get out there with their strings and snowshoes and stomp around, thus mystifying the "researchers." This isn't difficult to imagine, and I see no need to leap to more wild explanations.