If I had a spare million dollars, I'd bet it all that there are intelligent species somewhere 'out there'...but I'd also bet that they are sitting there, just like us, wondering. Odds? I have NO idea about odds, but in a Universe with billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, I think the odds are pretty good.
   Silly bet, anyway... 'cause we can't go out and count. But I'd be willing to bet that no one finds PROOF of traveling aliens in my lifetime.

So...why do you suppose I play the eternal skeptic in these matters? What difference does it make if some folks believe...or feel they've actually SEEN something that counts as 'proof' to them?
Ok, I'll explain it...(you probably guessed I was heading that way..) This is not a matter of simple opinions, like whether pie is better than cake, or even whether one political system is better than others. Those are subjective opinions, and even if most everyone disagrees, you can 'like' anything you wish.
But in the matter of certain beliefs, the possibilities are only 2...the belief IS founded on fact and basically true, or it is NOT. There are ways to confirm or refute claims about 'most' facts...though not easy in many cases. Evolution took awhile to 'prove', but we know have data showing it in action, and denying it is like denying that radio waves travel thru the air.
Some claims, like astrology, cannot be directly proven or disproven, but those who claim it works cannot provide ANY explanation of how it works...and many examples exist of analyses of 'charts' that are plainly incorrect.
Now...aliens, and 'saucers' which are HERE from other worlds (meaning stars) are sort of in that category...we can't directly DIS-prove them, but no one has proven, in the same way we have 'proven', for example, that plate techtonics makes the continents move about. In the meantime, all the stories and fuzzy photos and theories combine to form a sort of synergy, in which sheer numbers of claims & ideas become a 'force' (which some of don't care to have 'with us' *grin*). Money is spent, lives are altered, accusations are made, books are written, and the very IDEA of hidden, sneaky beings who are 'watching' (or kidnapping) us, becomes part of a belief **system** in which one possibly false belief feeds the tendency to believe other possibly false beliefs until, for many people, the HABIT of assuming the truth of amazing & outrageous claims is ingrained.

Well...so what? It's a free country(s)..right? What does it harm? To me, it harms the ability to 'think' clearly. One gets a mistaken idea of what DOES count as fact or evidence or proof, and thus makes bad judgements in areas where something more crucial than whether aliens are among us. Yes, I know there's no law against silly reasoning...nor should there be. But, in my opinion, more effort should be made in school...(early in school!)..to teach the concepts of what reason & logic are all about. This CAN be done without directly insulting folks' religions or ridiculing their interest in UFOlogy. (I don't expect it to be done...but it could be.)

Now, since some folks seem to pick & choose which unproven theses they accept, I am quite aware that my intermittent skeptical entrances are not likely to change any minds...these beliefs, especially when they come from 'personal experience' are pretty strong. But I think that it CAN be important to have another voice in these threads...and one that is not simply ridiculing and denying the claims. All I want is to see more 'maybes' and fewer "I'm sure"....investigation and inquiry with an open mind are good things, but flat statements like "they do exist" are awkward, whether you speak of ghosts, angels, elves...or aliens.

I'm not being a naysayer just to be obnoxious...I think that a civil, clear statement of alternative ways of thinking and approach to these topics should be there for those who pop in, wondering what it's all about. If there IS truth and fact to YOUR pet theory, it will come out...or it won't. In the meantime, I cherish MY place as an honest skeptic, asking for proofs that stand up to scrutiny.