Lifted

Pixar's latest short film about the challenges of alien abductions. Hillarious! (HT Presurfer)

If you're wondering why there aren't as many UFO sightings as there used to be, Tyler Cowen gives a possible explanation in his new book, Discover Your Inner Economist.

Small changes in incentives can make a big difference in our beliefs.  For instance, UFO sightings are down dramatically in the last decade...I think [one factor is] cell phones and cell phone cameras.

"The spaceship was in a no-call dead zone.  And you didn't snap a picture?"

...The story is suddenly a little harder to swallow.  Most of all, it is harder to fool oneself, not just one's spouse and friends.

To which Alex Tabarrok counters with a different explanation:

...this one Tyler gets all wrong.  I mean really.  Why jump to conclusions?  OBVIOUSLY the aliens know we have cell phone cameras now.

I have to agree with Tabarrok on this one.  After all, aliens who figured out a way to outsmart relativity aren't going to be the dumbest species in the galaxy...