Tech | June 18, 2008 | 89 comments

Most complex crop circle ever discovered in British fields

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2144652/Most-complex-crop-circle-eve...

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sinlung
The most complex, "mind-boggling" crop circle ever to be seen in Britain has been discovered in a barley field in Wiltshire.

The formation, measuring 150ft in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi.

It is has appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort above Wroughton, Wilts, and has been described by astrophysicists as "mind-boggling".

Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: "The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.
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89 comments // Most complex crop circle ever discovered in British fields

  • samanthadian
    • 0
      samanthadian  

    • Regardless of the fact that crop circles probably take a ton of planning and genius, I want to meet the man that figured out that it was PI. I don't know why people need aliens to explain everything. Why couldn't humans do it? Humans are wonderful creatures capable of many wonderful feats. We can do wonderful things if we put our minds too it. Too bad politics doesn't facinate all of us the way crop circles do!

    • 4 years ago
  • dco
    • 0
      dco  

    • Also, does it strike anyone as odd that aliens use an elipses at the end of this circle? How would they know what an elipses is?

    • 4 years ago
  • dco
    • 0
      dco  

    • All in all, it's not that incredible. The egyptians could state pi to the fourth decimal. If the creators of these designs havethe knowledge to be able to travel all the way to our planet, they should be able to predict it to at least the billionth.

    • 4 years ago
  • Brockie
    • 0
      Brockie  

    • Oh well, I don't really care who makes them. They are interesting and creative. And I do enjoy seeing them. But I have to admit, I've been hearing about crop circles since I was a kid. How come after all these years there isn't someone out in the fields at night watching to see if they can catch someone or something in the act of making one?

    • 4 years ago
  • slamber
    • 0
      slamber  

    • Does anybody really believe that aliens come all the way across the multiverse, just to find some wheat field and place a stamp on it? Don't aliens have rising fuel prices as well?

    • 4 years ago
  • terrific
    • 0
      terrific  

    • I think I remember watching a documentary-type thing where a guy basically showed us how to create crop circles. I mean, I don't understand how someone could have done such a complex thing in one night, but there you go. Whether they're done by aliens or humans, they're still ridiculously awesome and really interest me.

    • 4 years ago
  • sagewho
  • Betico
  • twit83
  • booksandbud
    • 0
      booksandbud  

    • We get bombarded in the media by crop circles (mainly the not-so spectacular ones) to get numb to how f-ing crazy the unexplainable ones are.

      "Oh, cool, it's just another crop circle."

      FUCKING TENTH DIGIT OF PI!

    • 4 years ago
  • PatrickEdwardMurray
  • shroomfairy
  • Humdrum
    • 0
      Humdrum  
    • Image

    • So cool.
      I love crop circles, and find them incredibly fascinating.
      No matter what they are.

      The stems of plants affected by [genuine] crop circles are changed quite drastically at a microscopic level.
      A board doesn't do that.
      This, combined with all the other anomalies mentioned above by open-minded folks like Vierotchka, is more than enough for me to accept the very real possibility that Something Fishy is going on.

      I mean, really...to assume you know everything there is to know about the universe and the things that may or may not live in it...a bit arrogant, eh? Eh.

      A couple quotes from this link, one of many sources you shouldn't just dismiss:

      "The complexity of the crop circle phenomenon is tremendously underestimated, because its true nature is unknown to the general public...Obviously, there are people trying to imitate the real thing, but the suggestion that all of these crop formations are made by men with simple flattening tools is by far insufficient to explain the well-documented observations, like unambiguous and consistent biophysical anomalies in the flattened plants, inside the circles, all of which have been published in peer-reviewed scientific literature."

      "I am not performing rocket-science or esoteric experiments, but trivial experimental physics,' says Dr. Haselhoff, `and the results are crystal-clear: something very strange is going on. No-one can deny this. Anyone who claims the opposite, clearly does not know what he is talking about, whereas I consider it the duty of every scientist to figure out what on earth is going on."

      PS
      People have been seeing
      "flying, flaming shields,"
      "glowing orbs,"
      and "giant flying cylinders" in the skies since ancient times.
      They've been recorded everywhere from Europe to Africa to Asia to the Americas throughout history.

      I'm not saying anything one way or the other, since I'm pretty baffled by all the information as a whole, but UFOs aren't a new phenomenon, and I'd just love for someone to explain them to me.

    • 4 years ago
  • thedismembermentplan
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  

    • With all of the stars in just our galaxy, it is inconceivable that we are the only intelligent life. If someone from another planet did make these, I don't think they are trying to tell us something, I think they're just having a good laugh.
      Perhaps they're drunk on Milky Way Wine.

    • 4 years ago
  • Dmitri_Molotov
  • mikefisher
    • 0
      mikefisher  

    • Aliens came to earth to draw on our fields! They are trying to tell us that they know what pi is! Aliens are so smart...

      Get real, intelligent life would have better shit to do.

    • 4 years ago
  • diode
  • malathion
    • 0
      malathion  

    • "the man" is hiding all satellite surveillance of this activity - "the man" is conspiring with the aliens to kill us , and it is no mere coincidence that rovers are on mars now , even while the US economy is in a shit-hole - crop circles are just a diversion - they are pretty because "the man" wants us to think aliens are artistically inclined , harmless hippies with nothing better to do than entertain us - make no mistake , "the man" has been in cahoots with the martians since before roswell - prepare to die .

    • 4 years ago
  • regina
  • jaxgrfx
    • 0
      jaxgrfx  

    • these crop circles are made with careful precision, done to the way the stalks are bent, you would not able to do that after the pub.

      what if there was a higher being, that's testing us, how we react to things that they leave on our planet. who knows... everyone is too worried about oil to care.

    • 4 years ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  

    • MoonLoon - in all honesty, the likelihood of our planet being the only one in the universe, and therefore especially our galaxy, which has intelligent life on it is next to nil. If there is intelligent life on our planet (which is relatively young compared to a great many other solar systems), it is practically certain that intelligent life has developed on innumerable other planets, some having begun their evolution way before we did. Therefore, the visits of aliens from planets with populations who are greatly more advanced - technologically and scientifically - than we are, is quite within the realm of possibilities. Therefore, accepting the possibility that aliens may have visited our planet and non-belief in God are in no way mutually exclusive.

      Also, even though it is claimed that it was done by humans using rudimentary tools such as pieces of wood and ropes, I have never seen it demonstrated in full daylight, not one such perfect and geometrically complex crop circle has been made and recorded in public in just a few hours and in full daylight. All I have seen as "proof" that they are man-made are clumsy and rudimentary circles, at best.

      So, until incontrovertible and empirical evidence is offered one way or the other, I will remain open to both possibilities and very curious about how such precision and skill is achieved, by what means, especially under the cover of darkness at night.

    • 4 years ago
  • Neghie
  • pirho338
    • 0
      pirho338  
    • Vierotchka:

      hmm, so even though hundreds of people have confessed to the creation of these (and YES THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED NUMEROUS TIMES IN FRONT OF NUMEROUS CAMERAS), you maintain that a form of intelligence beyond our comprehension is trying to communicate with us through shapes in the form of indentations in our grass. interesting. How sad would it be if your idea of what humans are capable of was true, not even being able to create a less than clumbsy looking circle in a f*cking field. Somebody just said how its done, a rope fixed to the centerand pulled taught as you walk aroung pushing the grass down with a f8cking 2x4. but hey you said it, well too from what I see, you must be right. its not called "open minded" when a person is only open to what they want to believe, even when what they want to believe is proven incorrect. thats called ignorance.

    • 4 years ago
  • dco
    • 0
      dco  
    • Vierotchka:

      Of course. Aliens are quite probable in this expansive universe. With estimates as large as a billion billion planets, it would be inconcievable that only one possesses life. I will not speculate or assume that aliens have made these circles, but it is as good an explanation as any, given the total lack of evidence for any of it. I doubt it's some hooligans; I could concieve of aliens doing it. I see no reason to come to a conclusion at present.

    • 4 years ago
  • GatorMonkey
    • 0
      GatorMonkey  
    • Vierotchka:

      Vier - haven't they have already found life forms on mars - now... im not actually saying they are intelligent - but our own planet didn't start with intelligent life form.

      But doesn't the Darwinian theory point toward evolution? So, if Mars had living organisms (or has...) then I believe it's safe to assume you are right - out of the BILLIONS of stars, planets and solar systems that we do and do not know about... there is probably another developed planet/system out there. They could be as immature as we are or well beyond our own sophistication. Who knows.

      Unfortunately, people are afraid of change and the unknown so even if science digs up proven fact and evidence they'll still close their eyes and poke their fingers in their ears and shake their heads to it. I'm not saying aliens exist - but I can't say they don't. I don't think anyone has the right to say what is definitely right or wrong.

    • 4 years ago
  • arturogarza
  • tonality
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  

    • I love these comments. You do not believe in God, but you do believe in "Aliens". That is hilarious to contemplate. Maybe Angels came down and are attempting to communicate via "crop circles". Obviously, to prevent the "Aliens" from corrupting our World!

      Maybe the circles are caused a by a super intelligent grain beetle, bred from a species protected by the Great Pyramids, and now unleashed upon the world.

      The Discovery Channel has already demonstrated how the circles can be made quickly by very simple tools. What planet are you living on, not to know what has been proven to be simple geometry. The circles are circles because that is the easiest and fastest way to make a geometric design. Using a long rope attached to a central point.

    • 4 years ago
  • Neghie
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  

    • It is interesting because people really believe that a "higher" force is responsible. A few rounds at the pub and off to the fields with rope, a couple of sticks, and more beer. Maybe the farmer should file for crop reparations due to Alien infiltration. If you believe this "crop", I have some land in the Outback to sell you. It just requires a little irrigation.

    • 4 years ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • MoonLoon:

      A few rounds in the pub followed by more rounds of beer are hardly conducive to the skill and precision needed to make an intricate and geometrically perfect, large crop circle in just a few hours in the darkness of night.

    • 4 years ago
  • telekinesis
    • 0
      telekinesis  

    • Do you think Aliens care whether or not this stuff is done overnight or during the day?

      I'm sure it's military testing out new weapons!

    • 4 years ago
  • VoyagerFilms
  • cerealforeal
    • 0
      cerealforeal  

    • Do people still think humans can make that shit overnight? I think some people need to stop being so close-minded and accept the fact that there are much smarter beings and races out there.

    • 4 years ago
  • aswift1
    • 0
      aswift1  
    • cerealforeal:

      I agree... I think that people may have tried to copy crop circles, but who was the inventor?

      It would be cool if a crop circle was like the imprint of a space ship or something. :)

    • 4 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • Purdey
    • 0
      Purdey  

    • The Firefox Crop Circle is kewl.

      I can't for a moment believe that intelligent life would travel millions of miles to etch out some graffiti in our food crops.

    • 4 years ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • Purdey:

      If made by aliens, I doubt that making crop-circles are the reason why they travelled so far - unless it is some kind of graffiti fad they are following, leaving their mark all over the galaxy... Also, it is impossible to second guess someone who is many times more intelligent than oneself. :)

    • 4 years ago
  • Elligirl
  • crimson_thoughts
  • abbym0308
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • abbym0308:

      Wow - it took them so long to make a simple design crop-circle, and had to work in daylight as well as night-time and had to correct some flaws and mistakes - whereas the most complex of crop-circles appear overnight and are incredibly precise. :)

    • 4 years ago
  • Neghie
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • abbym0308:

      This is all fine and good, but this took a team of twelve people. There have not been any reports of groups of people being caught red handed making crop circles; that I know of.

      If anyone has any info on people who have been caught making these on private property, please post links to those stories.

    • 4 years ago
  • pirho338
    • 0
      pirho338  

    • without whimsical forms of expression our world would be quite drab. would the real issues be so real without lighthearted creativeness? dont be such a downer, jerk. Art and expression are much more important than pessimists reallize. Allsunday-I agree it is very pretty, I love it when science and naturally occuring ratios are used creatively, this reminds me of Tool's "Lateralus". very cool.

    • 4 years ago
  • Allsunday
    • 0
      Allsunday  
    • pirho338:

      I think all mathematics should be this visually stunning. Plus, I have to say this is about as close to a "universal" language as you can possibly get. Any sentient species would have a basic understanding of math, and representing it visually in a textural form guarantees that the message comes across loud, clear, and with unmistakable meaning. Absolutely brilliant!

    • 4 years ago
  • pirho338
    • 0
      pirho338  
    • pirho338:

      I think that by imitating nature and the natural algorithms (spelling?) and ratios found in it gives the work more weight and a kind of mystical feel, like it was created partly by the universe itself instead of pretense...i don't know, just babbling..

    • 4 years ago
  • Allsunday
    • 0
      Allsunday  

    • Oh, I see! The length of the curve represents the number. A full circle is equal to ten, 90% of a full circle is equal to nine, etc. Clever, and very pretty.

    • 4 years ago
  • senavicente_86
  • dco
  • urkovs
    • 0
      urkovs  
    • senavicente_86:

      Is there a such thing as a real issue? How does one define a real issue? What gives any sentient being the right to be he who gives that definition as to the line between which issues are important and which are not? To the farmer, crop circles may be very important. To the taxi driver, probably not. It's all a matter of perspective.

    • 4 years ago
  • muffin2062
  • localsly
  • mrpibb19
  • gormlesstwat
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • mrpibb19:

      the = ) denotes sarcasm... i know it's infinite... ive printed off the first 1 million digits of it and hung it on my wall.... it makes nice wall art and conversation.

    • 4 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  

    • It takes a real artist to do something like that...

      aswift1: where I used to live in the country, farm boys got caught all the time with their plywood boards, making formations in the corn fields...

    • 4 years ago
  • aswift1
  • aswift1
    • 0
      aswift1  

    • Mind boggling, indeed. If crop circles are man made, why hasn't anyone been caught in the act yet? If they are evidence of alien life, then why haven't they been caught in the act yet? I guess I just don't understand why this information needs to be kept secret.

    • 4 years ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • aswift1:

      If aliens are responsible for making crop circles, I doubt very much that they land on earth and flatten the crops with their feet or some tool - they probably have a very advanced technology that dwarfs ours (otherwise, how could they have made it to Earth from their home planet(s)?) and use it to make crop circles from the safety of their space crafts way above us - that's why they haven't been caught. :)

    • 4 years ago
  • aswift1
  • Blazesboy
  • shelchak
    • 0
      shelchak  

    • I adore crop circles. I even went to visit one once -- but they're much more dramatic seen from the air than they are when you're standing next to a giant field of waving grasses lol

    • 4 years ago
  • abbym0308
  • daelclark
  • senavicente_86
  • Vierotchka
  • celestialceiling
  • celestialceiling
  • celestialceiling
  • iameam
    • 0
      iameam  
    • celestialceiling:

      No... actually he claims to be a Pleadian... or however you spell it.

      There's really no way to validate whether he is what he says. But some of the Pleadian information is interesting and insightful.

      But... it's too "out there" for me.

    • 4 years ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • celestialceiling:

      If he were what he claims to be, he would certainly not speak English with a German accent! LOL! And he wouldn't partially hide his face, either - he would show it and demonstrate his alienness. He spouts a lot of New-Age stuff mixed with some facts and some unverifiable assertions - all this backed with typical New-Agey meditation music. LOL!

    • 4 years ago
  • celestialceiling
  • iameam
    • 0
      iameam  

    • These crop circles keep manifesting over night and people seem to have just accepted it as a common thing. But people look at that! What or who is doing that? It's amazing! It's freaking amazing!

      There's definitely something fishy going on around here... something that we were not taught in school.

    • 4 years ago
  • cerci_girl
  • samonster34
  • VynalFrontier
  • ipodrulz
  • iameam
  • Allsunday
    • 0
      Allsunday  
    • VynalFrontier:

      ipodrulz - Though in some cases you're right, "real" crop circles only bend the crop over, they don't cut it. The crop is still harvestable and edible. Actually, there was some controversy when the first few crop circles started showing up in corn fields, because the farmers still sold the corn even though no one knew what method had been used to bend the crops.

    • 4 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • VynalFrontier:

      really.... it wastes crops... you're frickin kidding me right? The 100 stalks of corn that were damaged out of the millions in the field. Your comment is a joke! Being taken seriously is a luxury you no longer can afford ipodrulz.

    • 4 years ago
  • AutifK
    • 0
      AutifK  
    • VynalFrontier:

      To VynalFrontier: Err... Losing crops is still losing crops. In other words, if crops are lost, then it is still considered a waste. It doesn't matter waht the number is. It's a waste in relation to the people that could have eaten them. Life is more valuable than art, hence why it is termed a waste. Unless the crops were bent as Allsunday mentioned, then it is a waste.

    • 4 years ago
  • kec5040
  • chillwillNJ
  • Dmitri_Molotov
  • SamuraiDave
  • Yamber
    • 0
      Yamber  
    • chillwillNJ:

      They did not write numbers because they are not just talking about the value of pi which is something that the humans already know. This crop circle is a representation of a geometric theorem hitherto undiscoverd by us.Astro physicists have called this crop as mind boggling. More info on the theorem is available on :http://www.impactlab.com/2008/06/20/geekiest-crop-circle-of-all-times/ .

    • 4 years ago
  • born4thesurf
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