Some Common Misconceptions within Crop Circle 'Folk-Lore'.

Since I regard myself as a serious and independent CC researcher this piece is not about keeping (G1) people happy, or even sad for that matter. I am not, as has been the case for many contenders historically in the G1 CC community, part of a sub culture that is sometimes interdependent on other members for business reasons, cliques or social groups. Loyalty bias cannot and should not sensibly apply within this unique and unprecedented arena. It is merely about attempting to recall and report observations noted in the field. To understand the CC phenomenon properly one first needs to understand the human responses associated with it.

CC representing a magnetic field maybe the closest we get to any actual energy.

‘Energy’ levels within CCs. I’m afraid this one won’t make some happy. Those that have weighted this aspect with esoteric/inherent associations or maybe biased to such through either lifestyle, peer/social group influence for example may struggle to accept this view.

The question I get is usually…”Is there much energy in the CC”? I usually answer…”What exactly do you mean by energy”? They go blank! I have surveyed countless numbers of people over the years regards their personal experience in this regard and many will indeed volunteer a perception of what they call ‘energy’ quite commonly and frequently. Bottom line here is one of variation which is probably quite significant. It would appear that those who regard themselves as more sensitive/intuitive (and possibly more creative) seem to report a more exotic experience in as much as they will report one or more bodily changes such as tingling hands and/or feet, flushing to the neck or face, dizziness and raised heart rate. Others will just say..."Can you feel the energy"? These visitors are usually clearly more visibly excited sometimes euphoric upon leaving often wishing to share these events with myself or others. I have little doubt this group do indeed experience something out of their norm as they become more and more emotionally involved during their CC visit. My view is that these symptoms are resultant of raised levels of arousal.The induced and unique subjective psychosomatic changes to themselves are a response to exposure to an extraordinary life event. They unconsciously misinterpret their event driven by 'need', a primed expectation, a raised sense of emotional arousal.

On the other hand I have never known a new visitor to the subject (G2), one who would be relatively unprimed by let’s call it, ’CC folk-lore', to report such perceptions/experiences. This flags up the possibility of learned behaviours and responses as in the ‘suggestion’ or maybe a 'hysterical' mechanism kicking in, which case would in turn increase expectations and add bias. One could say that if there was inherent ‘energy’ within any given CC the chances are the reports would be fairly consistent/similar, a bit like being exposed to higher levels of heat or light. I think most reporters would state the fact to a greater or lesser degree.

This does not happen in the G2 group however. I regard complete newcomers as a control group to a greater extent and especially the children, who I regard as very reliable witnesses/reporters with no preconceived ideation or pressured/influenced by any sophisticated social bias. When talking with visitors I try not to confuse the word ‘feelings’ with ‘energy’ which for me could be mis-guiding. i.e.. "How did you feel"? as opposed to "How was the energy"? Feelings are happy, sad, elated, euphoric etc whereas ‘energy’ could mean simply anything subjectively.

So, subjective levels of arousal most probably explain this aspect and until such time as it can clearly be shown as different and far less anecdotal I will personally continue to work with what I have actually got rather than something possibly more spurious or anecdotal in nature. I intend to do a more enriched study of this human response issue over future years.

Dowsing for 'Energy'. Since dowsing is in fact an unproven practice from a scientific point of view, whilst keeping an open mind to some extent, for our serious purposes here it cannot be factored in as a reliable assessment tool. It's findings are simply not reliably repeatable and consistent when tested by various/random practitioners. Whether it be as a consequence of, for example part of an esoteric lifestyle or perhaps business considerations (showing groups around or giving talks for money by reinforcing already partially sympathetic beliefs etc) dowsing has been a common and evolving feature within CC culture and landscape from the beginning. But curiously I have never known a serious study of dowsing around CCs to be performed with organised data shown and carefully documented to conclusion. Perhaps it has been done but the results certainly don't seem prominent and up to the minute as one would expect if the proponents would wish to be taken seriously. Perhaps they prefer to remain in the ambiguity and mystery that has historically surrounded this subject. After all, if it were to be shown this aspect played no significant part in all this some would lose out in different ways, not to mention those who enjoy the mystery and fun aspect. However I would personally welcome such a trial so as to separate possible fact from fiction once and for all but I am not sure if CCs are a good place to do said task as there is no way of showing the quantitive or qualitative values that may or may not lay therein. Those who carry out and perform dowsing ‘tests’/rituals in CCs quite often have positive expectations, feel empowered and are generally optimistic regards dowsing efficacy (they believe dowsing works.) It seems to be a culture of either you buy into it or not in which case there may well be a subjective 'needs led' factor involved if you do so. I feel that the element of suggestion will be a strong driving factor influencing judgement here, especially if delivered by one with charisma and/or ('expert') authority. (This mechanism has much to answer for in CC culture and many other avenues of life as we all well know!)

So, dowsing and CCs until shown clearly significant could be put on the 'back-burner' for the time being, unless perceived as just a bit of fun perhaps. If we start from a position of 'no inherent energy' however there would be nothing to dowse for after all!

Do CCs only happen on ‘ley lines’? Some CCs do occur on or near ley lines but others appear not to. They quite often happen near or in close proximity to ancient sites too in the UK but some others do not. For this reason I feel any association is largely up for further observation and investigation and could well end up as incidental. The same applies to underground water or aquifers.

Are kinked (sometimes fractured) crop stems at low level a sign of a non mysterious event? Absolutely and categorically not. In my experience of attending many CCs over the years I can tell you this is almost the norm rather than the exception. Where we have node bending we can also have kinking or even fracture. Conversely where we have no node bending we can have wholesale kinking. A good example of wholesale double node bending would be the ‘Sharks’ CC this 2016 season on Hackpen Hill whereon pretty much all the crop was carefully node-bent in two places causing the laid crop to drop in height by about 25cms. In this case the stem was either eased over (roots pulled up and partially exposed) or stem curved at its base and I could find little or no evidence of kinking, although I have to admit I didn't literally look at every stem in the CC!

Blown and elongated features occur only in very immature crop stems when the nodes are still soft and malleable. It is thought that the moisture within

the node is briefly super-heated causing steam to fracture or stretch the material locally.

The only reason kinked nodes have become an issue is through attempts to peddle deliberate dis-information by the status seeking low-frequency few, largely who operate within the Wiltshire area who are happy to tell you lies for their own selfish reasons.

Photo to left: Curved stem on left, kinked on right.

Photo above right: Green control sample left and elongated node on a bent stem that had partially dried out by the time photo was taken.

Electronic malfunction within CCs. These stories are well established within CC folklore. I’ve heard the stories many times, but again, it is largely anecdotal and cannot be substantiated one way or another. I have noted there is a tendency to sensationalise aspects of this subject often expressed by those with business considerations (groups/talks) to enhance and engage their audience/charges. All I can say is that I have never experienced such a thing as camera or phone malfunction that wasn’t due to my own silly fault. In an arena so emotionally charged as this, because we are all excited and arguably not well grounded at the time it is easy to misinterpret or quickly jump to the wrong conclusions…it adds to the drama of it after all! If there was an inherent force at work here messing with our technology it is certainly not a consistent force as reports of this nature are really quite rare in practice. I've not encountered it within the G2 group... yet. There seem to be no patterns or themes evident. That is why I am cautious about all this.

​Man/hand-made or not?

Which CC do you think is

the mysterious one out of these three?

Thanks Hugh Newman for photo to far right.

This is the biggest misconception of all. This idea of man or

hand-made CCs is completely overvalued and totally misrepresented. It is largely and in reality, an utter myth. It is true, a very few have been manufactured by people, mostly for reasons of commerce and debunking but these patterns are in no way representative of or of the same calibre as the huge majority that we see year after year globally. (See my Salthrop CC report here which I regard as my current ‘control’.)

The legitimate M/M CCs (those made with farmer consent) are made forTV commercials etc but are now commonly photoshopped (as are some sand and almost all allegedly expert made snow patterns) as the cost is simply far less than would otherwise be. A very few are made by people for debunking reasons as in Salthrop and would normally be made in the day...no need to be secret as all OK'd with the farmer who would have been paid. Few would dare to try 'acts of damage' these days as the heat is on big time with farmers at flashpoint!

The task of making a complex CC undetected at night is a task far more complicated and involved than most people realise... a task almost impossible for human beings to undertake if a perfect and complete outcome is to be achieved. It really does amaze me how people have been held, as if 'in a spell' with such a ridiculous notion and for so long. You have people like the 'Silent Cafe' crew in Wiltshire to blame for much of that, no question, who for years disseminated false information for reasons of personal

aggrandisement using the cover of ambivalence. I've stood there and listened to this shameless nonsense many times. Thankfully they have now closed shop and 'done a runner' hopefully never to return!

To ensure getting a complex CC right and precise first time around would take many days of very careful planning, marking and mapping and would be technically challenging in good weather and daylight. One never receives reports, evidence and/or photos of aborted attempts, half finished CCs with mistakes; CCs reported are pretty much ALWAYS finished and perfect and that’s on a worldwide basis too. In any other artistic realm it would be hugely challenging to maintain such a modus operandi consistency over time without flaw. I would be very confident, indeed compelled by the overwhelming burden of evidence to state that the vast majority of CCs worldwide are of a genuinely mysterious nature.

I ask you...could you honestly and sensibly believe that this fundamental level of modus operandi be responsible for high end, maticulously executed machine-like crafting? The answer has to be...of course not! These guys are soulless jokers and nothing more!

I personally cannot attend all CCs globally obviously but one can assess to a greater extent by cross-referencing with features and trends 100% known to be present in CCs of unknown origin.... (were the parameters and craftwork are so tight not even a sceptic would reasonably question it, such as the Phoenix, Yatesbury 2009 ) ....as one does in recognising a car for example. A 1000 Mercedes cars sitting in franchise showrooms are unlikely to be all fakes and would be recognised as genuine, even if viewed on video, just based on reason and probability alone! As said above, the sheer task that would be to hand-make a complex CC within constricting parameters is just far too immense. Hand-made CCs simply cannot under any circumstances whatsoever contain biophysical anomalies such as bent, exploded or elongated nodes...end of! (Please do not confuse with phototropism or sun-seeking that takes many days.) That alone simply excludes any doubt!

The sensible laws of reason and probability play an overwhelming part in CC assessment as in so many other aspects of life. The practicalities here should be seen as a simple 'nuts and bolts' proposition.

NB. If there is anyone out there that has non ambiguous hard fact well researched and solid evidence contrary or additional to what has been said here please don't be shy... post to me on this site, to supplement these words. Ongoing research is paramount. Thanks.

Radioactivity. There have been in the past reports of raised radioactivity levels within CCs that are over and above background readings. I was loaned a geiger-counter a few years back with which to check out this aspect. Although my approach was not particularly scientific nor extensive, after having taken readings in several different CC events within the first days of their creation I was unimpressed as those readings were wholly not dissimilar to the background readings taken elsewhere in the fields. My view at this time is there may well be differentials present in some CCs which others have recorded but in my limited experience this was not the case which suggests for sure that this aspect is not a constant feature of CCs in general. To my knowledge there is no well documented evidence relating to CCs and radioactivity, something I would have expected at some point over nearly 40 years since this potential aspect would be an obvious one to pursue and eliminate.

Medicinal/Remedial Qualities. On the plus side a couple of things that really stand out from repeatedly visiting CCs is their ability to initiate lateral thinking, promote enthusiasm and encourage optimism and positivity, qualities which have to be therapeutic and energising for most I would suggest. On the other side and with regards something of a more biological/ physical nature I would be very cautious indeed as over the nearly 40 years of modern CC history nothing has yet been shown or indeed jumped out as being remedial despite claims made by some to the contrary. Certainly the element of 'suggestion and anacdotal' has played a powerful and significant role within the CC arena over the years. After all if we submit to a 'belief' that there are inherent remedial qualities hidden within CCs, especially if these beliefs are reinforced by other believers and where an 'expert' is actively promoting such, we are more likely to run with that position. But in reality I think it is very doubtful CCs hold anything other than thought provoking and mind expanding qualities which it has to be said, are in truth hugely beneficial to most I would argue. So to conclude, within my pragmatic style of observation thus far, I would run with the position that positive benefits from CCs are more likely to be of a psychological nature rather than directly physical. They can surely enhance our wellbeing factor which could have a restorative impact on our overall health. It has been shown that the immune system of happy positive people is more likely to be effective at helping with some illnesses. As for curing a severe illness such as cancer, all I will say is that I have known three long term CC visiting people over the years who have all died prematurely of their diagnosed severe physical illness. However, I do accept that the CCs are created by 'agents' of a very high order who logic would suggest could introduce the means to change the status quo at any time.