[fsloth]

I don’t think Clarke meant that any observation we cannot explain immediately should be labelled as evidence of magic-like technology. Humans are super-fallible and even mundane things are damn hard to figure out what they are. Most of the world is a big puzzle!

Saying ”entity came from another dimension” has absolutely no meaning. There is no such thing as ”another dimension” where entities could pop in and out of like from Narnia.

The concept is a popular trope in science fiction and fantasy to create a feeling of ”otherness” and ”suspense”.

The fact a person offers this as a theory for sighting of ”something unknown” implies the person is not very sophisticated. And yes, this makes them an unreliable witness concerning any technical matter.

If the sightings provide evidence of something we don’t know of at large this idiotic witness just made discussing the topic even harder - labeling himself as unreliable any forthcoming witness would need to work doubly hard to make themselves credible.

I love science fiction and fantasy. But their value comes from nurturing our curiosity and imagination. But a good story is not good science - it’s just a good story and confusing fantasy with fact speaks of scientific illiteracy more of than conspiracy to hide UFO:s.