Fairy circles of the Namib
Millions of bare circles ringed with grass dot the Namib's edge; Himba tradition calls them footprints of the gods, and scientists still disagree about their cause.
2013 CE · -24.97, 15.95 · status: disputed
The account
In 2013 Norbert Jürgens argued in Science that sand termites make them. Others, including Stephan Getzin, argue they form as grasses compete for scarce water, and similar circles were later found in Australia.
The sceptical view
Both camps offer natural explanations; the dispute is which mechanism, not whether one exists.
The researched reading
A real natural pattern whose exact mechanism is still argued over: grasses competing for water, termites, or both. Nothing supernatural is involved.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 50% | Measured soil-water patterns and computer models show grasses competing for scarce water can self-organise into evenly spaced bare patches. The same pattern appears in Australia, where sand termites do not explain it. Termite activity is also documented in many Namib circles. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 38% | Scientists still disagree about which mechanism dominates, or whether termites and water competition act together. The circles are natural, but their cause is not settled. |
| Undetermined | 7% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Something known, misidentified | 1% | Not applicable. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 1% | Mapped by satellite, so perception is not involved. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 1% | Millions of circles over 2,000 km. |
| Secret human technology | 1% | Not applicable. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 1% | The debate is entirely between natural mechanisms. |
Official position: Scientific consensus: natural, with termites versus vegetation self-organisation still debated.