Descripción

Air Force Academy Textbooks on UFOs

 

(2418) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:44a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 1/10
St: 2483>
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** From the CUFON BBS **

Filename: phy_370.zip

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It has been known for some time that during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s
the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs had some material on UFOs in
its curriculum. The chapter of the textbook «Introductory Space Science» for
the class Physics 370 has been posted on CUFON for quite a while. This file
contains expanded coverage, including a newspaper article from the «Lemoore
Advance, A letter of reply from the A.F. Academy transmitting copies of the
two versions of Chapter 33, Chapter 33 as it was in use from 1968 – 1970, and
the revised Chapter 33 placed in use for the Fall Quarter, 1970. (Posted 14
MAY 1992) — Jim Klotz, SYSOP

============================================================================
from the Lemoore, CA Advance, October 8, 1970
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AIR ACADEMY TEXT BOOK URGES MORE STUDY OF UFO SIGHTINGS

by TED HUBBARD

Students at the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs are being taught
to stop scoffing at the mention of UFO’s or «flying saucers» and to keep an
open mind on the subject.

This was made clear last Thursday in an interview given by Major Stewart
Kilpatrick, deputy Director of Public Information of the Air Force Academy,
Colorado Springs, to the Lemoore Advance in a lengthy and exclusive phone
interview.

The «National Enquirer,» a country-wide journal, which claims the «largest
circulation of any weekly paper in America,» headlined this following
statement, «Air Force Academy Textbook Warns Cadets That UFO’s May Be
Spacecraft Operated by Aliens From Other Worlds,» in its Oct. 11 issue.
«Because so many of our readers are interested personally in aircraft, The
Advance sought to verify what appeared to be exaggerated claims and somewhat
on the unbelievable side. This despite the reported sightings of some strange
craft over Lemoore by several witnesses a few weeks ago.

Major Kilpatrick, as second ranking officer in public affairs at the Air
Academy, is in a position to speak authoritatively for the Air Force. He
admitted at once that PIebes are taught from a text entitled «Introductory
Space Science, Volume II» and an entire Chapter 33 deals entirely with UFO
considerations. He quoted from page 455, that «50,000 virtually reliable
people have reported sighting unidentified flying objects.»

«This leads us with the unpleasant possibility of alien visitors to our
planet,» the 14-page chapter continues, «or at least alien controlled UFO’s.»

According to the Academy text book: «If such beings are visiting the earth,
two questions arise: (1) Why haven’t they attempted to contact us officially,
and (2) Why haven’t there been accidents which would have revealed their
presence?

«Why no contact? That question is very easy to answer in any of several
ways: (1) We may be the object of intensive sociological and psychological
study. In such studies you usually avoid disturbing the test subjects’
environment. (2) You do not contact a colony of ants – and humans may seem
that way any aliens (variation: a zoo is fun to visit, but you don’t `contact’
the lizards). (3) Such contact may have already taken place secretly, and may
have taken piece on a different plane of awareness – and we are not yet
sensitive to communications on such a plane.»

In releasing this interview in The Lemoore Advance we are well aware that
many readers will certainly «raise an eyebrow or two.» But Major Kilpatrick
insisted the above chapter in the text is not a fairy story. At the end he
seemed to go along with the recommendations of the physics text book which
advises Air Force officers as follows: «The best thing to do is to keep an
open and skeptical mind – and not take an extreme position on any side of the
question.»

«Introductory Space Science» closes the chapter with the wish expressed
that renewed extensive investigation be given to the possibility of UFO’s.
This will require expenditure of a considerable sum of government funds, it
explained, and in the present public attitude of scorn and ridicule whenever
«UFO’s» are mentioned, such possibility seems almost hopeless the chapter
laments. As most people know, the Dr. Eugene U. Condon investigation was
closed down by the Pentagon and no present official scientific investigation
is now operating in this field. In 1966 we talked with six different Air Force
pilots at Travis Air Force Base, who claimed to have seen UFO’s but stated
they did not dare report them for fear of extreme ridicule. At least in 1970
this Air Force attitude seems to have changed as indicated by Major Kilpatrick
interview with The Advance. Lemoore’s representative at the Colorado Springs
Academy is Steve (Moon) Mullens, former basketball star on the Tiger team, and
alumnus of Lemoore High. We are asking him his opinion of his science text’s
presentation of the so called UFO’s.

=============================================================================

DEPARTMENT Of THE AIR FORCE

HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

USAF ACADEMY, COLORADO 80840

REPLY TO ATTN OF: OI 4 NOV 1970

 

In reference to your recent inquiry to the Air Force Academy concerning
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO’s), the following facts are provided
for your information.

The subject of UFO’s is examined briefly at the end of an Academy
elective course, Physics 370, which usually attracts approximately 20
students per semester. The UFO subject falls under the course objective
of discussing all observable or reported physical phenomena occurring
from the surface of the sun to the surface of the planets.

When the UFO subject was first included in the course, the subject
served, from an academic point of view, to illustrate that when
contradictory data are available, the best course is to keep an open
mind and search for further data. The subject remains an excellent
vehicle to discuss the implications and applications of many basic
physical laws to «observed» phenomena.

The source of recent news media stories concerning the study of UFO’s
at the Air Force Academy was an out-of-date chapter in the course text
entitled «Introductory Space Science», a two-volume, 470-page unpublished
work printed in a spiral notebook by the Academy for classroom use. The
last chapter in the second volume was a 14-page chapter entitled
«Unidentified Flying Objects».

When this chapter was written and printed in 1968, the Air Force was still
collecting reports of UFO sightings under Project Blue Book and
sponsoring
the investigation of UFO’s by Dr. E. U. Condon of the University of
Colorado.

The Condon report was completed in early 1969 with the general conclusion
that nothing has come from the study of UFO’s in the past two decades
that has added to scientific knowledge and that further extensive study
of UFO’s probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science
will
be advanced.

«MAN’S FLIGHT THROUGH LIFE IS SUSTAINED BY THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE»

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<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

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(2419) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:45a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 2/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

 

Based on the conclusions of the Condon report and its own twenty-year
UFO experience, the Air Force terminated Project Blue Book in December
1969 with this final statement, «As a result of investigating UFO reports
since 1948, the conclusions of Project Blue Book are (1) no UFO reported,
investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication
of threat to our national security; (2) there has been no evidence sub-
mitted or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as
‘unidentified’ represent technological developments or principles beyond
the range of present-day scientific knowledge; and (3) there has been no
evidence indicating that sightings categorized as ‘unidentified’ are
extraterrestrial vehicles.»

In light of these developments, the in-class content of the course was
changed to present orally the conclusions of the Condon report and the
reasons why the Air Force cancelled Project Blue Book. It was considered
uneconomical to reprint the entire second volume for such a limited
number of students until the fall of 1970.

Beginning with the 1970 fall semester, a revised updated chapter entitled
‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena» has been substituted for the old chapter
so that the text now follows the oral in-class presentation on this
subject.

For your further information we are enclosing a copy of (1) the old
Chapter 33, which is no longer being used and (2) a copy of the new,
current Chapter 33 now being used by students of Physics 370 beginning
with this fall 1970 semester, ‘
;
I hope this letter clarifies your questions concerning the study and
treatment of UFO’s at the Air Force Academy,

Sincerely

/s/ James F Sunderman
James F Sunderman, Colonel, USAF 2 Atchs
Director of Information 1. Old Chapter 33
2. Updated Chapter 33

============================================================================
(Chapter 33 of «Introductory Space Science» Physics 370
1968 – 1970

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INTRODUCTORY SPACE SCIENCE – VOLUME II – DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS – USAF
Edited by:
Major Donald G. Carpenter
Co-Editor:
Lt. Colonel Edward R. Therkelson
CHAPTER XXXIII
UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS

What is an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO)? Well, according to United
States Air Force Regulation 80-17 (dated 19 September 1966), a UFO is «Any
aerial Phe-nomenon or object which is unknown or appears to be out of the
ordinary to the observer.» This is a very broad definition which applies
equally well to one individual seeing his first noctilucent cloud at twilight
as it does to another individual seeing his first helicopter. However, at
present most people consider the term UFO to mean an object which behaves in a
strange or erratic manner while moving through the Earth’s atmosphere. That
strange phenomenon has evoked strong emotions and great curiosity among a
large segment of our world’s population. The average person is interested
because he loves a mystery, the professional military man is involved because
of the possible threat to national security, and some scientists are
interested because of the basic curiosity that led them into becoming
researchers.

The literature on UFO’s is so vast, and the stories so many and varied,
that we can only present a sketchy outline of the subject in this chapter.
That outline includes description classifications, operational domains
(temporal and spatial), some theories as to the nature of the UFO phenomenon,
human reactions, attempts to attack the problem scientifically, and some
tentative conclusions. If you wish to read further in this area, the
references provide an excellent starting point.

33.1 DESCRIPTORS

One of the greatest problems you encounter when attempting to catalog UFO
sightings, is selection of a system for cataloging. No effective system has
yet been devised, although a number of different systems have been proposed.
The net result is that almost all UFO data are either treated in the form of
individual cases, or in the forms of inadequate classification systems.
However, these systems do tend to have some common factors, and a collection
of these factors is as follows:

a. Size

b. Shape (disc, ellipse, football, etc.)

c. Luminosity

d. Color

e. Number of UFO’s

Behavior:

a. Location (altitude, direction, etc.)

b. Patterns of paths (straight line, climbing, zig-zagging, etc.)

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c. Flight Characteristics (wobbling, fluttering, etc.)

d. Periodicity of sightings

e. Time duration

f. Curiosity or inquisitiveness

g. Avoidance

h. Hostility

Associated Effects:

a. Electro-Magnetic (compass, radio, ignition systems, etc.)

b. Radiation (burns, induced radioactivity, etc.)

c. Ground disturbance (dust stirred up, leaves moved, standing wave

d. Sound (none, hissing, humming, roaring, thunderclaps, etc.)

e. Vibration (weak, strong, slow, fast)

f. Smell (ozone or other odor)

g. Flame (how much, where, when, color)

h. Smoke or cloud (amount, color, persistence)

i. Debris (type, amount, color, persistence)

j. Inhibition of voluntary movement by observers

k. Sighting of «creatures» or «beings»

After Effects:

a. Burned areas or animals

b. Depressed or flattened areas

c. Dead or missing animals

d. Mentally disturbed people

e. Missing items

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<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

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(2420) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:46a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 3/10
St:
——————————————————————————
<< cont from last >>

 

We make no attempt here to present available data in terms of the foregoing
descriptors.

33.2 OPERATIONAL DOMAINS – TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL

What we will do here is to present evidence that UFO’s are a global
phenomenon which may have persisted for many thousands of years. During this
discussion, please remember that the more ancient the reports the less
sophisticated the observer. Not only were the ancient observers lacking the
terminology necessary to describe complex devices (such as present day
helicopters) but they were also lacking the concepts necessary to understand
the true nature of such things as television, spaceships, rockets, nuclear
weapons and radiation effects. To some, the most advanced technological
concept was a war chariot with knife blades attached to the wheels. By the
same token, the very lack of accurate terminology and descriptions leaves the
more ancient reports open to considerable misinterpretation, and it may well
be that present evaluations of individual reports are completely wrong.
Nevertheless, let us start with an intriguing story in one of the oldest
chronicles of India…the Book of Dzyan.

The book is a group of «story-teller» legends which were finally gathered
in manuscript form when man learned to write. One of the stories is of a
small group of beings who supposedly came to Earth many thousands of years ago
in a metal craft which orbited the Earth several times before landing. As
told in the Book «These beings lived to themselves and were revered by the
humans among whom they had settled. But eventually differences arose among
them and they divided their numbers, several of the men and women and some
children settled in another city, where they were promptly installed as rulers
by the awe-stricken populace.

«Separation did not bring peace to these people and finally their anger
reached a point where the ruler of the original city took with him a small
number of his warriors and they rose into the air in a huge shining metal
vessel. While they were many leagues from the city of their enemies, they
launched a great shining lance that rode on a beam of light. It burst apart
in the city of their enemies with a great ball of flame that shot up to the
heavens, almost to the stars. All those who were in the city were horribly
burned and even those who were not in the city – but nearby – were burned
also. Those who looked upon the lance and the ball of fire were blinded
forever afterward. Those who entered the city on foot became ill and died.
Even the dust of the city was poisoned, as were the rivers that flowed through
it. Men dared not go near it, and it gradually crumbled into dust and was
forgotten by men.»

«When the leader saw what he had done to his own people he retired to his
palace and refused to see anyone. Then he gathered about him those warriors
who remained, and their wives and children, and they entered their vessels and
rose one by one into the sky and sailed away. Nor did they return.»

Could this foregoing legend really be an account of an extraterrestrial
colonization, complete with guided missile, nuclear warhead and radiation
effects? It is difficult to assess the validity of that explanation… just
as it is difficult to explain why

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Greek, Roman and Nordic Mythology all discuss wars and contacts among their
«Gods.» (Even the Bible records conflict between the legions of God and
Satan.) Could it be that each group recorded their parochial view of what was
actually a global conflict among alien colonists or visitors? Or is it that
man has led such a violent existence that he tends to expect conflict and
violence among even his gods?

Evidence of perhaps an even earlier possible contact was uncovered by Tschi
Pen Lao of the University of Peking. He discovered astonishing carvings in
granite on a mountain in Hunan Province and on an island in Lake Tungting.
These carvings have been evaluated as 47,000 years old, and they show people
with large trunks (breathing apparatus?…or «elephant» heads shown on human
bodies? Remember, the Egyptians often represented their gods as animal heads
on human bodies.)

Only 8,000 years ago, rocks were sculpted in the Tassili plateau of Sahara,
depicting what appeared to be human beings but with strange round heads
(helmets? or «sun» heads on human bodies?) And even more recently, in the
Bible, Genesis (6:4) tells of angels from the sky mating with women of Earth,
who bore them children. Genesis 19:3 tells of Lot meeting two angels in the
desert and his later feeding them at his house. The Bible also tells a rather
unusual story of Ezekiel who witnessed what has been interpreted by some to
have been a spacecraft or aircraft landing near the Chebar River in Chaldea
(593 B.C.).

Even the Irish have recorded strange visitations. In the Speculum Regali in
Konungs Skuggsa (and other accounts of the era about 956 A.D.) are numerous
stories of «demonships» in the skies. In one case a rope from one such ship
became entangled with part of a church. A man from the ship climbed down the
rope to free it, but was seized by the townspeople. The bishop made the
people release the man, who climbed back to the ship, where the crew cut the
rope and the ship rose and sailed out of sight. In all of his actions, the
climbing man appeared as if he were swimming in water. Stories such as this
makes one wonder if the legends of the «little people» of Ireland were based
upon imagination alone.

About the same time, in Lyons (France) three men and a women supposedly
descended from an airship or spaceship and were captured by a mob. These
foreigners admitted to being wizards, and were killed. (No mention is made of
the methods employed to extract the admissions.) Many documented UFO
sightings occurred throughout the Middle Ages, including an especially
startling one of a UFO over London on 16 December 1742. However, we do not
have room to include any more of the Middle Ages sightings. Instead, two
«more-recent» sightings are contained in this section to bring us up to modern
times.

In a sworn statement dated 21 April 1897, a prosperous and prominent farmer
named Alexander Hamilton (Le Roy, Kansas, U.S.A.) told of an attack upon his
cattle at about 10:30 p.m. the previous Monday. He, his son, and his tenant
grabbed axes and ran some 700 feet from the house to the cow lot where a great
cigar-shaped ship about 300 feet long floated some 30 feet above the cattle.
It had a carriage underneath which was brightly lighted within (dirigible and
gondola?) and which had numerous windows. Inside were six strange looking
beings jabbering in a foreign

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language. These beings suddenly became aware of Hamilton and the others. They
immediately turned a searchlight on the farmer, and also turned on some power
which sped up a turbine wheel (about 30 ft. diameter) located under the craft.
The ship rose, taking with it a two-year old heifer which was roped about the
neck by a cable of one-half inch thick, red material. The next day a
neighbor, Link Thomas, found the animal’s hide, legs and head in his field.
He was mystified at how the remains got to where they were because of the lack
of tracks in the soft soil. Alexander Hamilton’s sworn statement was
accompanied by an affidavit as to his veracity. The affidavit was signed by
ten of the local leading citizens.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

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(2421) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:48a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 4/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

 

On the evening of 4 November 1957 at Fort Itaipu, Brazil, two sentries noted
a «new star» in the sky. The «star» grew in size and within seconds stopped
over the fort. It drifted slowly downward, was as large as a big aircraft,
and was surround by a strong orange glow. A distinct humming sound was heard,
and then the heat struck. One sentry collapsed almost immediately, the other
managed to slide to shelter under the heavy cannons where his loud cries awoke
the garrison. While the troops were scrambling towards their battle stations,
complete electrical failure occurred. There was panic until the lights came
back on but a number of men still managed to see an orange glow leaving the
area at high speed. Both sentries were found badly burned…one unconscious
and the other incoherent, suffering from deep shock.

Thus, UFO sightings not only appear to extend back to 47,000 years through
time but also are global in nature. One has the feeling that this phenomenon
deserves some sort of valid scientific investigation, even if it is a low
level effort.

33.3 SOME THEORIES AS TO THE NATURE OF THE UFO PHENOMENON

There are very few cohesive theories as to the nature of UFO’s. Those
theories that have been advanced can be collected in five groups:

a. Mysticism

b. Hoaxes, and rantings due to unstable personalities

c. Secret Weapons

d. Natural Phenomena

e. Alien visitors

Mysticism

It is believed by some cults that the mission of UFO’s and their crews is a
spiritual one, and that all materialistic efforts to determine the UFO’s
nature are doomed to failure.

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Hoaxes and Rantings due to Unstable Personalities

Some have suggested that all UFO reports were the results of pranks and
hoaxes, or were made by people with unstable personalities. This attitude was
particularly prevalent during the time period when the Air Force investigation
was being operated under the code name of Project Grudge. A few airlines even
went as far as to ground every pilot who reported seeing a «flying saucer.»
The only way for the pilot to regain flight status was to undergo a
psychiatric examination. There was a noticeable decline in pilot reports
during this time interval, and a few interpreted this decline to prove that
UFO’s were either hoaxes or the result of unstable personalities. It is of
interest that NICAP (The National Investigations Committee on Aerial
Phenomena) even today still receives reports from commercial pilots who
neglect to notify either the Air Force or their own airline.

There are a number of cases which indicate that not all reports fall in the
hoax category. We will examine one such case now. It is the Socorro, New
Mexico sighting made by police Sergeant Lonnie Zamora. Sergeant Zamora was
patrolling the streets of Socorro on 24 April 1964 when he saw a shiny object
drift down into an area of gullies on the edge of town. He also heard a loud
roaring noise which sounded as if an old dynamite shed located out that way
had exploded. He immediately radioed police headquarters, and drove out
toward the shed. Zamora was forced to stop about 150 yards away from a deep
gully in which there appeared to be an overturned car. He radioed that he was
investigating a possible wreck, and then worked his car up onto the mesa and
over toward the edge of the gully. He parked short, and when he walked the
final few feet to the edge, he was amazed to see that it was not a car but
instead was a weird eggshaped object about fifteen feet long, white in color
and resting on short, metal legs. Beside it, unaware of his presence were two
humanoids dressed in silvery coveralls. They seemed to be working on a
portion of the underside of the object. Zamora was still standing there,
surprised, when they suddenly noticed him and dove out of sight around the
object. Zamora also headed the other way, back toward his car. He glanced
back at the object just as a bright blue flame shot down from the underside.
Within seconds the eggshaped thing rose out of the gully with «an ear–
splitting roar.» The object was out of sight over the nearby mountains almost
immediately, and Sergeant Zamora was moving the opposite direction almost as
fast when he met Sergeant Sam Chavez who was responding to Zamora’s earlier
radio calls. Together they investigated the gully and found the bushes
charred and still smoking where the blue flame had jetted down on them. About
the charred area were four deep marks where the metal legs had been. Each
mark was three and one half inches deep, and was circular in shape. The sand
in the gully was very hard packed so no sign of the humanoids’ footprints
could be found. An official investigation was launched that same day, and all
data obtained supported the stories of Zamora and Chavez. It is rather
difficult to label this episode a hoax, and it is also doubtful that both
Zamora and Chavez shared portions of the same hallucination.

Secret Weapons

A few individuals have proposed that UFO’s are actually advanced weapon
systems, and that their natures must not be revealed. Very few people accept
this as a credible suggestion.

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Natural Phenomena

It has also been suggested that at least some, and possibly all, of the UFO
cases were just misinterpreted manifestations of natural phenomena.
Undoubtedly this suggestion has some merit. People have reported, as UFO’s,
objects which were conclusively proven to be balloons (weather and skyhook),
the planet Venus, man-made artificial satellites, normal aircraft, unusual
cloud formations, and lights from ceilometers (equipment projecting light
beams on cloud bases to determine the height of the aircraft visual ceiling).
It is also suspected that people have reported mirages, optical illusions,
swamp gas and ball lightning (a poorly-understood discharge of electrical
energy in a spheroidal or ellipsoidal shape…some charges have lasted for up
to fifteen minutes but the ball is usually no bigger than a large orange.) But
it is difficult to tell a swamp dweller that the strange, fast-moving light he
saw in the sky was swamp gas; and it is just as difficult to tell a farmer
that a bright UFO in the sky is the same ball lightning that he has seen
rolling along his fence wires in dry weather. Thus accidental mis-
identification of what might well be natural phenomena breeds mistrust and
disbelief; it leads to the hasty conclusion that the truth is deliberately not
being told. One last suggestion of interest has been made, that the UFO’s
were plasmoids from space…concentrated blobs of solar wind that succeeded in
reaching the surface of the Earth. Somehow this last suggestion does not seem
to be very plausible; perhaps because it ignores such things as penetration of
Earth’s magnetic field.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

——————————————————————————
(2422) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:49a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 5/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

 

Alien Visitors

The most stimulating theory for us is that the UFO’s are material objects
which are either «Manned» or remote-controlled by beings who are alien to this
planet. There is some evidence supporting this viewpoint. In addition to
police Sergeant Lonnie Zamora’s experience, let us consider the case of Barney
and Betty Hill. On a trip through New England they lost two hours on the
night of 19 September 1961 without even realizing it. However, after that
night both Barney and Betty began developing psychological problems which
eventually grew sufficiently severe that they submitted themselves to
psychiatric examination and treatment. During the course of treatment
hypnotherapy was used, and it yielded remarkably detailed and similar stories
from both Barney and Betty. Essentially they had been hypnotically kidnapped,
taken aboard a UFO, submitted to two-hour physicals, and released with
posthypnotic suggestions to forget the entire incident. The evidence is
rather strong that this is what the Hills, even in their subconscious, believe
happened to them. And it is of particular importance that after the
«posthypnotic block» was removed, both of the Hills ceased having their
psychological problems.

The Hill’s description of the aliens was similar to descriptions provided in
other cases, but this particular type of alien appears to be in the minority.
The most commonly described alien is about three and one-half feet tall, has a
round head (helmet?), arms reaching to or below his knees, and is wearing a
silvery space suit or coveralls. Other aliens appear to be essentially the
same as Earthmen, while still others have particularly wide (wrap around) eyes
and mouths with very thin lips. And there is a rare group reported as about
four feet tall, weight of around

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35 pounds, and covered with thick hair or fur (clothing?). Members of this
last group are described as being extremely strong. If such beings are
visiting Earth, two questions arise: 1) why haven’t there been any accidents
which have revealed their presence, and 2) why haven’t they attempted to
contact us officially? The answer to the first question may exist partially
in Sergeant Lonnie Zamora’s experience, and may exist partially in the
Tunguska meteor discussed in Chapter XXIX. In that chapter it was suggested
that the Tunguska meteor was actually a comet which exploded in the
atmosphere, the ices melted and the dust spread out. Hence, no debris!
However, it has also been suggested that the Tunguska meteor was actually an
alien spacecraft that entered the atmosphere to rapidly, suffered mechanical
failure, and lost its power supply and/or weapons in a nuclear explosion.
While that hypothesis may seem far fetched, sample of tree rings from around
the world reveal that, immediately after the Tunguska meteor explosion, the
level of radioactivity in the world rose sharply for a short period of time.
It is difficult to find a natural explanation for that increase in
radioactivity, although the suggestion has been advanced that enough of the
meteor’s great kinetic energy was converted into heat (by atmospheric
friction) that a fusion reaction occurred. This still leaves us with no
answer to the second question: why no contact? That question is very easy to
answer in several ways: 1) we may be the object of intensive sociological and
psychological study. In such studies you usually avoid disturbing the test
subjects’ environment; 2) you do not «contact» a colony of ants, and humans
may seem that way to any aliens (variation: a zoo is fun to visit, but you
don’t «contact» the lizards); 3) such contact may have already taken place
secretly; and 4) such contact may have already taken place on a different
plane of awareness and we are not yet sensitive to communications on such a
plane. These are just a few of the reasons. You may add to the list as you
desire.

33.4 HUMAN FEAR AND HOSTILITY

Besides the foregoing reasons, contacting humans is downright dangerous.
Think about that for a moment! On the microscopic level our bodies reject and
fight (through production antibodies) any alien material; this process helps
us fight off disease but it also sometimes results in allergic reactions to
innocuous materials. On the macroscopic (psychological and sociological)
level we are antagonistic to beings that are «different». For proof of that,
just watch how an odd child is treated by other children, or how a minority
group is socially deprived, or how the Arabs feel about the Israelis (Chinese
vs. Japanese, Turks vs. Greeks, etc.) In case you are hesitant to extend that
concept to the treatment of aliens let me point out that in very ancient
times, possible extraterrestrials may have been treated as Gods but in the
last two thousand years, the evidence is that any possible aliens have been
ripped apart by mobs, shot and shot at, physically assaulted, and in general
treated with fear and aggression. In Ireland about 1,000 A.D., supposed
airships were treated as «demon-ships.» In Lyons, France, «admitted» space
travellers were killed. More recently, on 24 July 1957 Russian anti-aircraft
batteries on the Kouril Islands opened fire on UFO’s. Although all Soviet
anti-aircraft batteries on the Islands were in action, no hits were made. The
UFO’s were luminous and moved very fast. We too have fired on UFO’s. About
ten o’clock one morning, a radar site near a fighter base

462
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picked up a UFO doing 700 mph. The UFO then slowed to 100 mph, and two F-86’s
were scrambled to intercept. Eventually one F-86 closed on the UFO at about
3,000 feet altitude. The UFO began to accelerate away but the pilot still
managed to get within 500 yards of the target for a short period of time. It
was definitely saucer-shaped. As the pilot pushed the F-86 at top speed, the
UFO began to pull away. When the range reached 1,000 yards, the pilot armed
his guns and fired in an attempt to down the saucer. He failed, and the UFO
pulled away rapidly, vanishing in the distance. This same basic situation may
have happened on a more personal level. On Sunday evening 21 August 1955,
eight adults and three children were on the Sutton Farm (one-half mile from
Kelly, Kentucky) when, according to them, one of the children saw a brightly
glowing UFO settle behind the barn, out of sight from where he stood. Other
witnesses on nearby farms also saw the object. However, the Suttons dismissed
it as a «shooting star,» and did not investigate. Approximately thirty
minutes later (at 8 p.m.), the family dogs began barking so two of the men
went to the back door and looked out. Approximately 50 feet away and coming
toward them was a creature wearing a glowing silvery suit. It was about three
and one-half feet tall with a large round head and very long arms. It had
large webbed hands which were equipped with claws. The two Suttons grabbed a
twelve gauge shotgun and a 22 caliber pistol, and fired at close range. They
could hear the pellets and bullet ricochet as if off of metal. The creature
was knocked down, but jumped up and scrambled away. The Suttons retreated
into the house, turned off all inside lights, and turned on the porch-light.
At that moment, one of the women who was peeking out of the dining room window
discovered that a creature with some sort of helmet and wide slit eyes was
peeking back at her. She screamed, the men rushed in and started shooting.
The creature was knocked backwards but again scrambled away without apparent
harm. More shooting occurred (a total of about 50 rounds) over the next 20
minutes and the creatures finally left (perhaps feeling unwelcome?) After
about a two hour wait (for safety), the Suttons left too. By the time the
police got there, the aliens were gone but the Suttons would not move back to
the farm. They sold it and departed. This reported incident does bear out the
contention though that humans are dangerous. At no time in the story did the
supposed aliens shoot back, although one is left with the impression that the
described creatures were having fun scaring humans.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

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(2423) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:51a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 6/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

33.5 ATTEMPTS AT SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

In any scientific endeavor, the first step is to acquire data, the second
step to classify the data, and the third step to form hypothesis. The
hypothesis are tested by repeating the entire process, with each cycle
resulting in an increase in understanding (we hope). The UFO phenomenon does
not yield readily to this approach because the data taken so far exhibits both
excessive variety and vagueness. The vagueness is caused in part by the lack
of preparation of the observer…very few people leave their house knowing
that they are going to see a UFO that evening. Photographs are overexposed or
underexposed, and rarely in color. Hardly anyone carries around a radiation
counter or magnetometer. And, in addition to this, there is a very high level
of «noise» in the data. The noise consists of mistaken reports of known
natural phenomena, hoaxes, reports by unstable individuals and mistaken
removal of data regarding possible unnatural or unknown natural phenomena (by

463
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<< Figure 33-1 appears here in original text >>

Figure 33-1. UFO: Distance of observer versus estimated diameter, for UFO’s
which are lower than tree height.

overzealous individuals who are trying to eliminate all data due to known
natural phenomena). In addition, those data, which do appear to be valid,
exhibit an excessive amount of variety relative to the statistical samples
which are available. This has led to very clumsy classification systems,
which in turn provide quite unfertile ground for formulation of hypothesis.

One hypothesis which looked promising for a time was that of ORTHOTENY
(i.e., UFO sightings fall on «great circle» routes). At first, plots of
sightings seemed to verify the concept of orthoteny but recent use of
computers has revealed that even random numbers yield «great circle» plots as
neatly as do UFO sightings.

There is one solid advance that has been made though. Jacques and Janine
Vallee have taken a particular type of UFO – namely those that are lower than
tree-top level when sighted – and plotted the UFO’s estimated diameter versus
the estimated distance from the observer. The result yields an average
diameter of 5 meters with a very characteristic drop for short viewing
distances, and rise for long viewing distances. This behavior at the extremes
of the curve is well known to astronomers and psychologists as the «moon
illusion.» The illusion only occurs when the object being viewed is a real,
physical object. Because this implies that the observers have viewed a real
object, it permits us to accept also their statement that these particular
UFO’s had a rotational axis of symmetry.

464
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Another, less solid, advance made by the Vallee’s was their plotting of the
total number of sightings per week versus the date. They did this for the
time span from 1947 to 1962, and then attempted to match the peaks of the
curve (every 2 years 2 months) to the times of Earth-Mars conjunction (every 2
years 1.4 months). The match was very good between 1950 and 1956 but was poor
outside those limits. Also, the peaks were not only at the times of Earth-
Mars conjunction but also roughly at the first harmonic (very loosely, every
13 months). This raises the question why should UFO’s only visit Earth when
Mars is in conjunction and when it is on the opposite side of the sun.
Obviously, the conjunction periodicity of Mars is not the final answer. As it
happens, there is an interesting possibility to consider. Suppose Jupiter’s
conjunctions were used; they are every 13.1 months. That would satisfy the
observed periods nicely, except for every even data peak being of different
magnitude from every odd data peak. Perhaps a combination of Martian, Jovian,
and Saturnian (and even other planetary) conjunctions will be necessary to
match the frequency plot… if it can be matched (Figure 33-2).

<< Figure 33-2 appears here in original text >>

Figure 33-2. Cycles of activity, mathematically corrected for long term
«Strong Trends». which are lower than tree height.

465
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Further data correlation is quite difficult. There are a large number of
different saucer shapes but this may mean little. For example, look at the
number of different types of aircraft which are in use in the U.S. Air Force
alone.

It is obvious that intensive scientific study is needed in this area; no
such study has yet been undertaken at the necessary levels of intensity and
support. One thing that must be guarded against in any such study is the trap
of implicitly assuming that our knowledge of Physics (or any other branch of
science) is complete. An example of one such trap is selecting a group of
physical laws which we now accept as valid, and assume that they will never be
superseded. Five such laws might be:

1) Every action must have an opposite and equal reaction.

2) Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a
force proportional to the product of the masses and inversely as the square of
the distance.

3) Energy, mass and momentum are conserved.

4) No material body can have a speed as great as c, the speed of light in
free space.

5) The maximum energy, E, which can be obtained from a body at rest is
E=mc2, where m is the rest mass of the body.

Laws numbered 1 and 3 seem fairly safe, but let us hesitate and take another
look. Actually, law number 3 is only valid (now) from a relativistic
viewpoint; and for that matter so are laws 4 and 5. But relativity completely
revised these physical concepts after 1915, before then Newtonian mechanics
were supreme. We should also note that general relativity has not yet been
verified. Thus we have the peculiar situation of five laws which appear to
deny the possibility of intelligent alien control of UFO’s, yet three of the
laws are recent in concept and may not even be valid. Also, law number 2 has
not yet been tested under conditions of large relative speeds or
accelerations. We should not deny the possibility of alien control of UFO’s on
the basis of preconceived notions not established as related or relevant to
the UFO’s.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

——————————————————————————
(2424) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:52a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 7/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

33.6 CONCLUSION

From available information, the UFO phenomenon appears to have been global
in nature for almost 50,000 years. The majority of known witnesses have been
reliable people who have seen easily-explained natural phenomena, and there
appears to be no overall positive correlation with population density. The
entire phenomenon could be psychological in nature but that is quite doubtful.
However, psychological factors probably do enter the data picture as «noise.»
The phenomenon could also be entirely due to known and unknown phenomena (with
some psychological «noise» added in) but that too is questionable in view of
some of the available data.

This leaves us with the unpleasant possibility of alien visitors to our
planet, or at least of alien controlled UFO’s. However, the data are not well
correlated, and

466
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what questionable data there are suggest the existence of at least three and
maybe four different groups of aliens (possibly at different stages of
development). This too is difficult to accept. It implies the existence of
intelligent life on a majority of the planets in our solar system, or a
surprisingly strong interest in Earth by members of other solar systems.

A solution to the UFO problem may be obtained by the long and diligent
effort of a large group of well financed and competent scientists,
unfortunately there is no evidence suggesting that such an effort is going to
be made. However, even if such an effort were made, there is no guarantee of
success because of the isolated and sporadic nature of the sightings. Also,
there may be nothing to find, and that would mean a long search with no proof
at the end. The best thing to do is to keep an open and skeptical mind, and
not take an extreme position on any side of the question.

REFERENCES

33-1. Davison, L. Flying saucers: AN Analysis of the Air Force Project Blue
Book Special Report No. 14. (Third Edition) Ramsey, New Jersey: Ramsey-Wallace
Corp., July 1966

33-2. Edwards, F. Flying Saucers – Serious Business. New York: Bantam Press,
1966

33-3. Fuller, J. «Flying Saucer Fiasco» Look. 14 May 1968, 58.

33-4. ______. The Interrupted Journey, New York: Dial Press, 1966.

33-5. Hall, R. (editor). The UFO Evidence. WAshington, D.C.: National
Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, May, 1964.

33-6. Jung, C. Flying Saucers; A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies.
Translated by R.F. Hull. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959.

33-7. Kehoe, D. The Flying Saucer Conspircay. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons,
1955.

33-8. ____. Flying Saucers: Top Secret. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1960.

33-9. Lorenzen, C. The Great Flying Saucer Hoax. New York: William Frederick
Press, 1962.

33-10. Markowitz, W. «The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying
Objects,» Science. 15 September 1967, 1274.

33-11. Menzel, D. and L. Boyd. The World of Flying Saucers: A Scientific
Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday, 1963.

33-12. Michel, A. Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery. New York:
Criterion Books, 1958.

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33-13. Ruppelt, E. The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. Garden City,
New York: Doubleday, 1956.

33-14. Tacker, L. Flying Saucers and the U.S. Air Force. Princeton, New
Jersey: D. Van Nostrand, 1960.

33-15. Terry, D. «No Swamp Gas for Him, Thank You,» St. Louis Dispatch, 2
June 1966, 4F.

33-16. Vallee, J. Anatomy of a Phenomenon: Unidentified Objects in Space – A
Scientific Appraisal. Chicago: Henry Regenry, 1965.

33-17. Vallee, J. and J. Vallee. Flying Saucers a Challenge to Science. New
York: Henry Regenry, 1966.

33-18. Whitney, D. Flying Saucers. New York: Cowles Communiactions, 1967.

468

============================================================================

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

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(2425) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:53a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 8/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

 

(Chapter 33 of «Introductory Space Science» Physics 370
Fall Quarter 1970)

33.1 Introduction

In this text, an attempt has been made to discuss all observable phenomena
from the surface of the sun to the surface of the planets, particularly the
planet Earth. It must be admitted, however, that some phenomena have been
overlooked and that others are not presently explainable. In this latter
category we find «Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.»

This is a very broad, all-inclusive subject since the «unidentified» depends
on the experience and education of the observer–to an aborigine, an airplane
may be «unidentified» while to the meteorologist even such rare phenomena as
noctilucent clouds and ball lightning may be «identifiable.» Thus sightings of
«unidentified aerial phenomena» must be reported completely and investigated
carefully to determine if they are indeed «unidentifiable.» There have been
thousands of reports of «unidentified aerial phenomena» in the past quarter
century and a number of these reports are still listed as «unidentifiable.»
This may be due to poor reporting, incomplete investigation, or to
deficiencies in our understanding of the atmosphere and the universe at large.
The possibility that our scientific knowledge could be increased by study of
these phenomena has led several organizations to explore the subject further.

The popular literature uses the more restrictive term «Unidentified Flying
Objects» instead of the general «Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.» Although
there is insufficient evidence that the phenomena are real physical «objects»
or indeed that they are «flying», we will adopt the popular terminology to
avoid confusion. Consequently we will define an «Unidentified Flying Object»
(UFO) as any reported aerial phenomenon or object which is unknown or appears
out of the ordinary to the observer.

While there are purported UFO reports dating from ancient times, the subject
of UFOs really was thrust upon the American public shortly after WorLd War II
when Kenneth Arnold on 24 June 1947 reported seeing nine «saucerlike» objects
near Mount Rainier. This was the first in a series of UFO reports which has
continued to the present. The newly organized U.S. Air Force was assigned the
mission of determining if the UFOs represented a threat to the national
security. The investigation was conducted under Project Sign, later Project
Grudge, and finally Project Blue Book which ended on 17 December 1969.

Because of a rash of UFO reports in 1952 and fears that military
communications channels could be clogged by enemy instigated UFO reports, a
spacial scientific panel chaired by the late Dr. H, P. Robertson was
established under government sponsorship in January 1953 to study the UFO
problem. The panel concluded that there was no evidence in the available data
that UFOs were a threat to national security. These scientists recommended
that a campaign be conducted to produce better public understanding of the
situation and also to remove the aura of mystery surrounding the subject. This
latter goal has not yet been completely achieved.

FALL SEMESTER 1970
—————————————————————————-

After this, Project Blue Book continued to receive and evaluate UFO reports,
but the conclusions reached were not always accepted by «UFO-logists» and the
general public. The Air Force was often accused of trying to cover up the UFO
problem and of withholding information allegedly indi-cating that UFOs are
extraterrestrial. Consequently, a panel headed by Dr. Brian O’Brien was
empowered to review Project Blue Book in 1966. While this commission
reaffirmed that there was no apparent security threat posed by the existence
of unexplained UFO reports, it suggested that a detailed study of some of the
reports might produce something of scientific value. The commission
recommended that a few selected universities be engaged to provide scientific
teams for prompt investigation of selected UFO sightings. Consequently, in
1966, the U.S. Air Force sponsored a $500,000 investigation led by Dr. Edward
U. Condon of the University of Colorado to make a scientific investigation of
UFOs, not necessarily to identify UFOs but only to determine if there is
scientific merit in the study of them.

33.2 Hypotheses to Explain UFOs

In any scientific investigation, we establish an hypothesis or hypotheses,
collect data, analyze the data in light of our hypotheses and then refute or
confirm our hypotheses or conclude that we have insufficient data to do
either.

Approximately 6% of the UFO reports collected by Project Blue Book are
officially listed as «unexplained.» If we propose to «explain» these remaining
cases we must first set up a list of possible explanations. There is always
the danger in this procedure that the true explanation for a particular event
is not contained in the given set of a priori hypo-theses. With this note of
caution before us, we adopt a set of hypotheses proposed by Dr. James McDonald
of the University of Arizona:

1. Hoaxes, fabrications, and frauds.

2. Hallucinations, mass hysteria, rumor phenomena.

3. Advanced terrestrial technologies.

4. Lay misinterpretations of well understood physical phenomena.

5. Poorly understood physical phenomena.

6. Poorly understood psychological phenomena.

7. Extraterrestrial visitation.

8. Messengers of salvation and occult truth.

Let us examine each of these in light of the data collected over the past
twenty-plus years.

2
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1. Hoaxes, fabrications, and frauds. There is no question that some UFO
reports are hoaxes, fabrications, and frauds perpetrated by persons playing
pranks with candles in plastic cleaning bags, persons faking photographs,
persons seeking notoriety or recognition, and practical jokers. The UFO
literature is replete with examples of all types. However, confirmed hoaxes
are only a small percentage of the total number of UFO reports, Most reports
are by reliable witnesses and show no evidence of fabrication or fraud.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

——————————————————————————
(2426) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:55a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 9/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

2. Hallucinations, mass hysteria, rumor phenomena. There is evidence that
UFO reports occur in waves and that a rash of sightings in a localized area
may be due to increased public sensitivity to an initial report, Some reports
received at these times may indeed be inspired by the increased attention to
UFOs and not true sightings at all. However, the large number of multi-
observer reports from independent observers, and reports from military
personnel, airline pilots, policemen, scientists and other qualified witnesses
makes it unlikely that many UFO reports are the results of hallu-cinations,
mass hysteria, and rumor phenomena. Psychologists and sociologists are unable
to estimate what portion of UFO reports may be due to such causes but analysis
of the credentials of witnesses in most reports would indicate that the number
must be small.

3. Advanced terrestrial technologies (e.g. test vehicles, satellites, re-
entry phenomena, secret weapons). The noted space scientist Arthur C. Clarke
has observed that any sufficiently advanced technology will appear
indistinguishable from magic. Thus advanced terrestrial technologies are
certainly the cause of some reports. The reported characteristics of UFOs do
not appear to have changed markedly over the years while man has made great
technological progress. Thus while some current UFO reports may be
attributable to space vehicle re-entries or satellite launches, the reports in
the forties and early fifties cannot be attributed to these causes. Similarly,
advanced weapon systems in the development and test stages (secret weapons)
now would give rise to a different type of UFO report from those of earlier
eras. The variety and world-wide distribution of UFO reports make it unlikely
that the reports are due to sightings of products of an advanced terrestrial
technology.

4. Lay misinterpretations of well-understood physical phenomena (e.g.
meteorological, astronomical, optical). From our definition of UFOs it is
obvious that a large number of reports will fall in this category.
Misidentification of aircraft landing lights, blinking and flashing lights
during aerial refueling operations, weather balloons, meteors, movements of
the planets Venus and Jupiter, searchlight reflections on low cloud ceilings
and lens flares in photographs are a few possibilities. The reader can
undoubtedly suggest others and find still more in the UFO literature. In his
article, «The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying Object Dr.
William Markowitz discusses the UFO problem in light of the currently accepted
physical laws. In particular, he considers the following five basic laws:

3
—————————————————————————-

 

a. Every action must have an equal and opposite reaction.

b, Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with
a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely as the
square of the distance between them.

c. Momentum and mass-energy are conserved.

d. No material body can travel at c, the speed of light in free
space.

e. The maximum energy which can be obtained from a body at rest is
governed by Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2

To date these laws have enabled physicists to predict and control many
phenomena for practical purposes. They can also be valuable in analyzing UFO
reports. The details in most UFO reports do not cause any conflict with these
laws and lead us to conclude that UFOs may well just be misidentified ordinary
phenomena. However, some reports seem at variance with one or more of these
laws, leading us to question either the reliability of the UFO reports or the
reliability of our physical laws. Since our physical laws are more firmly
established both in theory and by experiment, the validity of the physical law
is usually a more acceptable alternative to the scientist. We must realize,
however, that any physical law may be subject to change with the discovery of
new evidence.

5. Poorly understood physical phenomena (e.g. rare atmospheric
electrical effects, cloud phenomena, plasmas of natural or technological
origin). Attempting to explain UFO reports by some poorly understood
phenomenon is risky at best, and probably is impossible until the phenomenon
is better understood. Lenticular clouds as explanations for certain UFO
reports may be on firm grounds, but attempts to explain UFOs in terms of
mirages, ball lightning (a sphere-shaped plasma blob usually associated with
electrical storms) , atmospheric inversion layers, or anomalous propa-gation
of radar signals are much less tenable. Some UFO reports may be explainable by
these phenomena, but it is impossible to make positive identifications based
on our present limited understanding of the phenomena. Consequently, all such
explanations should be considered only tentative. There may be still other
atmospheric phenomena which are observed so rarely that they remain
uninvestigated and unnamed.

6. Poorly understood psychological phenomena. Psychologists are the first
to admit that there are many aspects of psychic phenomena that have not been
adequately explored. Few data are available to determine how these phenomena
may relate to the UFO problem, but we must at least allow for the possibility
that there may be some effects.

4
—————————————————————————-

7. Extraterrestrial visitation. Dr. Condon states in the summary of
Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects that convincing and
unequivocal evidence of extraterrestrial visitation would be the greatest
single scientific discovery in the history of mankind. While this may be a
slight exaggeration, it at least points out why this hypothesis adds so much
excitement and controversy to the UFO problem. Despite numerous UFO reports
concerning purported space vehicles and alien visitors, there remains doubt as
to the veracity of these reports. Such reports do, however, contain a number
of strange elements that are verifiable. One would prefer hard evidence in the
form of a tail fin, a jettisoned propulsion unit, a crashed UFO, several good
photographs, etc. Such physical evidence does not seem to exist, despite
stories to the contrary. Several scientists have concluded that the priori
probability of extraterrestrial visitation appears to be exceedingly low in
terms of present scientific knowledge. Although no conclusive proof as to the
validity of this hypothesis can be drawn from the evidence at hand, a panel of
the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that on the basis of present
knowledge, the least Likely explanation of UFOs is the hypothesis of
extraterrestrial visitations by intelligent beings.

<< cont >>

— FMail 0.92
* Origin: * On Topic? What’s that? <*> Fidonet UFO Moderator (1:123/26.1)

——————————————————————————
(2427) Sat 26 Dec 92 11:56a
By: Don Allen
To: All
Re: Usaf Textbook – 10/10
St:
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<< cont from last >>

 

8. Messengers of salvation and occult truth. Certain cults have adopted
the belief that the mission of UFOs is spiritual and that all Physical efforts
to determine the nature of UFOs must necessarily fail. While such may be the
case, evidence to support it is clearly lacking. Further discussion of this
hypothesis is beyond the scope of this text.

33.3 Conclusion

Having presented the arguments for each of the hypotheses, possible con-
clusions are now considered. It is apparent that no single hypothesis can
account for all UFO reports. Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 4 are obviously valid
and, as a group, account for a large number of UFO reports. However, the
evidence is insufficient to conclude that all UFO reports can be attributed to
these causes. Hypothesis 8 is unlikely to yield to any form of scientific
analysis, so we eliminate it from further consideration. If hypotheses 5, 6,
and 7 are scientifically the most interesting since they offer the possibility
of new knowledge about ourselves and our environment. As indicated above,
hypotheses 5 and 6 require additional research on poorly understood phenomena
before conclusions can be reached as to their bearing on the UFO problem. At
this time, there appears to be insufficient evidence available to either
confirm or refute hypothesis 7.

One additional note of caution must be included at this point. In most of this
chapter, we have discussed primarily the scientific implications of the UFO
question. However, the Lorenzens contend that UFOs are primarily an emotional
problem, secondly a political problem, and only incidentally, a scientific
problem. They feel that when the emotional and political problems have been
resolved, the entire UFO problem will yield to scientific investigation.

5
—————————————————————————-

Is such scientific investigation likely to be conducted? At least one major
scientific study has been made. Dr. Condon and his University of Colorado
Project ended their Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects in late
1968 with the general conclusion that nothing has come from the study of UFOs
in the past two decades that has added to scientific know-ledge and that
further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the
expectation that science will be advanced. This conclusion and the entire
report were endorsed by a select panel from the National Academy of Sciences.

Based on the conclusions of the Condon report and its own twenty-year UFO
experience, the Air Force terminated Project Blue Book in December 1969 with
this final statement, «As a result of investigating UFO reports since 1948,
the conclusions of Project Blue Book are (1) no UFO reported, investigated,
and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our
national security; (2) there has been no evidence submitted or discovered by
the Air Force that sightings categorized as ‘unidentified’ represent
technological developments or principles beyond the range of present-day
scientific knowledge; and (3) there has been no evidence indicating that
sightings categorized as ‘unidentified’ are extraterrestrial vehicles.»

Consequently there is presently no official government agency investigating
UFO reports. Dr. McDonald and several private UFO investigative agencies have
decried alleged inadequacies of the Condon report and Project Blue Book and
urge that the entire subject be re-investigated. Specifically, Project Blue
Book, during its existence, was criticized for superficial investigation of
UFO reports, low level of scientific competence among its personnel, and
unreasonable explanations concerning specific UFO reports. Criticisms of the
Condor report include the contention that the conclusions reached are not
supported by the bulk of the evidence in the report itself and that the firing
of two staff members for «incompetence» before the completion of the final
report raises questions concerning the objectivity and completeness of the
study. While some of the criticism may possibly be justified, it is unlikely
that any new official scientific studies will be forthcoming, primarily
because the conclusions of the Condon report have been so widely accepted.

The UFO problem must now compete on its scientific merit with all the other
pressing scientific problems facing mankind. To receive attention from
scientists and the requisite economic support, the potential rewards from UFO
research must be shown to be commensurate with the resources expended.
Although the Condon committee cautioned that nothing worthwhile was likely to
result from such research, it suggested that all of the agencies of the
federal government and private foundations should be willing to consider UFO
research proposals along with the others submitted to them on an open minded,
unprejudiced basis.

 

6
—————————————————————————

REFERENCES

1. Air Force Regulation 80-i7, Unidentified Flying Objects, 19 Sept 66,
(Rescinded 25 March 1970),

2. Binder, Otto , What We Really Know About Flying Saucers, Greenwich,
Conn: Fawcett Publications, 1967,

3, Condon, Edward U., Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects,
New York: Bantam Rooks, 1967.

4. Lorenzen, Carol and Jim, UFO’s-The Whole Story. New York: Signet Books,
1969.

5. Markowitz, William, «The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying
Objects,» Science, Vol. 157 pp. 1274-1279, 15 Sept 67.

6. McDonald, James E., Unidentified Flying Objects-Greatcst Scientific
Problem of Our Times., Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Subcommittee, NICAP, 1967.

7. McDonald, James E., «UFO’s–An International Scientific Problem,»
speech presented 12 Mar 68 at the Canadian Aeronautics and Space
Institute, Astronautics Symposium, Montreal, Canada.

8. OASD(PA) News Release No. 1077-69, Project «Blue Book» Terminated.

9. Saunders, D.R. and R.R. Harkins, UFO’s? Yes, Where the Condon Committee
Went Wrong, New York: Signet Books, 1968.

 

7
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** EOF **

Don

— FMail 0.92
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