Crop Circles
ALIEN ART OR HUMAN MASTERPIECES?
Theories of the origin of crop circles range from the mundane to the extraterrestrial. But regardless of their true origin, crop circles have undeniably become a cultural phenomenon and appear by human effort across the globe. Some groups create them to debunk theories of the supernatural, others create them to see how intricate a pattern they can execute, and others even create them for profit by forming company logos in fields the world over.
The first recorded image of a crop circle (defined as a design or pattern in a field created by flattened crops) dates back to 17th century England. Since then, they have gone from simple circles to complex mathematical patterns, beautiful designs, and even familiar cultural icons.
Geometric crop circle.
Some things have remained constant over the years, however: Crop circles generally appear in a field without warning and without substantial evidence of their makers. Many crop circle creators do their work at night, adding to the mystery surrounding the phenomena. Others keep their work secret, letting no one know what they’ve done and relishing in the stories that take shape around their work.
Though humans do create many of these circles, there remains enough mystery to allow the human mind to wonder. What if aliens really are creating art in our fields? If they are, shouldn’t they be paying for the privilege? —GRG