The Continuing Mystery of Crop Circles
Posted: Saturday, January 22, 2011
by Dante Petrilla
Doorway to Happiness
Crop circles. The very mention of the phenomenon of these enigmatic pictograms is enough to intrigue even the most hardened skeptic (though most wouldn't admit it!) Some are certainly the work of admitted hoaxers, but others are apparently genuine, by which it is implied that they are not the result of something we can easily explain - of some paranormal origin.
Quite simply, some of them are stunning, breathtaking works of art which have a curious mesmerising quality - no doubt a result of the mystery which surrounds their creation. Not to do humankind a disservice and imply that we are incapable of such amazing works - for certainly we have made remarkable, similarly fabulous achievements in the past. But when one examines the circumstances surrounding some of these formations and views the finished product, the question begs: how did they do that? But the even bigger question always looms in the background: why?
Perhaps these questions all go back to a pictogram which appeared in a field of wheat at Ickleton in Cambridgeshire in August of 1991. We now see this curious formation on t-shirts, posters, and in advertisements. It is the fractal termed the "Mandlebrot Set", so named after the French Mathematician, Benoit Mandlebrot who discovered the mathematics behind it in 1979.
This was significant as crop circles go, and was one which raised our awareness regarding the phenomenon. It attracted the attentions of a new, wider audience. It spoke to us.
So what did it say? Well, perhaps it's not so much what it said that's important, but the simple fact that it was an indication of intelligence, a deliberate thought process. It pointed to a mathematical reality, an understanding of that reality, and in so doing, gave us a link with which we could identify. It was almost as shocking as if 2+2=4 had been swirled in the wheat. It was more than mere geometry, and its implications are far-reaching.
One could argue that this WAS the work of hoaxers, and of course the possibility exists, but other formations which share the deep meaning of the Mandlebrot Set have appeared which almost certainly are not the work of human beings.
On July 8, 1996, just 400 yards south of Stonehenge, the massive "Julia Set" appeared. This is another fractal which is indicative of an understanding of the chaos mathematics behind such diagrams. And the circumstances surrounding its appearance are nearly as amazing as the crop formation itself.
The Julia Set was made up of 151 circles in a spiralling pattern which measured 915 feet. The circles themselves ranged in size from 2 to 40 feet in diameter. The sheer size and complexity of the formation could only be properly appreciated from an aerial view.
The field where it appeared was within sight of one England's most heavily travelled roads, the main London-Exeter route. A pilot carrying passengers wishing to photograph Stonehenge flew over the site at 5:30 pm. At that time, no one reported seeing a formation. But by 6:30 pm, people were in the field, attempting to enter this fractal wonder. That much complexity, on that great a scale, in less than an hour in broad daylight? What group of humans could pull that off?
More and more fractal pictograms have appeared since that time, each time it seems displaying even greater complexity: The Triple Julia Set which appeared later in July of 1996 in Avebury, Wiltshire; the staggering fractal Sevenfold Snowflake at Alton Barnes, Wiltshire in July of 1998; as well as yet another Julia Set, this time a four-armed one which appeared at Silbury Hill, Wiltshire in July of 1998. Fractals seem popular among the circle makers.
But going back to 1996, we bore witness to a formation which spoke to us on perhaps an even deeper, more personal level as human beings. It appeared once again at Alton Barnes - the amazing "DNA Helix". This 650 foot long spectacularly detailed formation appeared in a barley crop, and was surprisingly tidy despite the fact that barley circles are usually characterised by rough edges.
The DNA Helix appeared during the hours of darkness, and considering this along with the fact that it was so perfectly formed and accurately laid out without disturbing any of the standing barley between the circles would seem to rule out the possibility of a hoax. Perhaps also of significance is its alignment with two sacred sites: Adam's grave to its north, and Woodborough Hill to its south between which there is considered to be a ley line where UFOs have been spotted in the past.
DNA is the one thing we all share. Perhaps the circle makers are trying to tell us something about ourselves, or about themselves with this diagram. Most people with an interest in crop circles would agree that there is some significance here as well as in many of the other genuine formations which have appeared in the recent past.
So, what will it take to impress us further? An end to the mystery with some sort of confirmation of the circle maker's identity would almost be anticlimactic. As we human beings find a mystery irresistible, let us hope that the mystery continues to deepen and impress, that it keeps us thinking and wondering. After all, that might just be the point of the whole exercise.
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