Parallel Human Development

Parallel Human Development (aka PHD) is a theory that states that all human and humanoid development happens simultaneously across the galaxy. PHD is a measurable phenomena with several predictable results;

The 'rip-off or rip-offed?' phenomena

Inventors and creators suffer from two simultaneous paranoias;

1. what they consider to be their creations have already been done by someone else and
2. whatever they have invented is likely to be stolen from them and claimed by someone else.

These fears are well founded. PHD makes the likelihood of the first very high - after all, no idea exists without reference to other ideas - and that gives rise to suspicion of the second. There are many examples in history of inventions being simultaneously discovered by completely unconnected inventors and PHD predicts that there will be many more. Get over it.

The 'humanform' phenomena

It is galling to realise that all those egg-carton-walled low-budget Sci-Fi films and TV shows of the late 20th century Earth were correct to show that all aliens have two arms, two legs, a head at the top and stereoscopic vision. Of course, in those days, when imaginations and budgets were restricted by what was technically possible, directors and producers had little choice but to dress actors in 'futuristic' fabrics and plastic make-up but even after CG took over and it became possible to create aliens of every possible shape, size and dimension, it was pointless to try. It isn't that there aren't other life-forms in the Universe that are completely different from ourselves, it's just, says the theory of PHD, that any aliens likely to be in the same space and asynchronology as ourselves are going to look very much like us, come from a planet very much like our own at a similar distance from their sun, with a similar gravity, have almost identical tech and consume very similar resources to us. This latter detail of course makes the potential competition all the more threatening and why we are at war with the enemy.

The 'NoFo' phenomena

PHD insists that UFOs will only turn up on Earth once we have managed to build similar spacecraft ourselves and travelled to other inhabited planets in the galaxy, buzzed around frightening the livestock and messed about with farmer's sphincters. Until we can figure out how to do that, the theory goes, there will be no such thing as UFOs on Earth. Of course, when we can do it, the flying objects that we'll start seeing on Earth will no longer be unidentified because we'll know what they are. Therefore, there is/was/will be no such thing as a real UFO.