Saturday, 26 August 2023
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Why Ufology is NOT a Science and never will be
Let me be very clear about something as it is very important and shows why current and past Ufology was very -very- far from a "science" and why that will never change.
Firstly, while the flying saucer believers of the late 1940s and when they got more organised into clubs in the 1950s, accepted that things whizzing about the sky in daylight and at night were very likely from an extra-terrestrial source they were unwilling to listen to reports of landings and encounters.
With an exception: tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Venusians, Saturnians, Uranians and so on. The contactees were the ones spreading the st6ories of visiting "space brothers" and in many cases just reading the accounts showed that they really did not make much sense. There is a big clue in the descriptions of these "space brothers" as well as some of the books, papers and magazines from the 1950s and 1960s that looked down at the "lessers" like Jews and black people. It is no secret if you look into it that contactee organisations were run by right wing, white and quite racist people. It is interesting that those involved in flying saucer 'investigation' promoted these groups that were very unscientific.
There were people who genuinely believed that they had been in contact with space brothers and there were those who found that such accounts could be big earners. Money they found was more interesting than the truth.
Of course for flying saucer groups and the rapidly growing lecture circuit there was no better draw than a contactee and one of the biggest hoaxers was George Adamski who got to travel the world, treated like a celebrity and, of course, "not earning a penny" because this was all about spreading the words of our "space brothers". George Adamski (who 100% was NOT a professor) managed to link up with Flying Saucer review editor Desmond Leslie who was not beyond adding the odd fictional story into FSR. It was Leslie who backed up Adamski's claim of having no navel. Interesting as prior to one 1950s UK event Adamski had to change but with his back to one of the organisers -but the reflection from a mirror near Adamski showed that he did most definitely have a navel.
Leslie and Adamski wrote The Flying Saucers Have Landed in which many historical cases of meteorites, comets, etc suddenly become "manoeuvring disc shaped objects" and all of those reports can be checked at the source and I did so in 1980 and immediately binned the book as being useful for nothing.
Adamski is still hailed by many today in 'scientific' Ufology as genuine -some trying to be vague so as to provide themselves a "get out of gaol" clause "in case".
Contactees were accepted as they pulled in the punters -paying bums on seats and that is what flying saucer and UFO groups wanted. Even in the late 1970s I was chastised at a meeting of the British Flying Saucer Bureau for "speaking ill of Mr. Adamski" while my interest in reports such as those of Betty and Barney Hill were dismissed as "silly stories" (in the Hills case of course it was a "mixed race" couple which offended a few even though both were quite human and no other unknown race was involved). At a talk I was invited to give at the BFSB I was interrupted several times by senior members with "But we know of course from Mr Adamski's account that" and "which is hard to accept as Mr Adamski quite clearly described those people (aliens) he met".
Ufology has always jumped on the band wagon that generates the most cash. Contactees then, as digital cameras emerged, "orbs" and "rods" -all naturally explainable but that type of thing made money and drew people in to talks. The paranormal and UFOs, Bigfoot and UFOs -all these emerging at times when TV or movies promoted paranormal programmes and Bigfoot documentaries. The Spielberg movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a major money-spinner for UFO groups.
Then things waned until Budd Hopkins introduced the false abduction scenario in the early 1980s and that took off. Money was raked in by all sides and then people wanting in on the cash flow started digging out "alien implants" and much more. Those people got in on the lecture circuit and TV gravy train. Every UFO sighting was an alien abduction of a human being no questio9ning allowed. Every pre 1980s CE3K/Entity case was then rebooted to involve "The Greys" including the account of the Hills. People observing a UFO landing and entities that lasted a couple of minutes -they looked at their watches or clocks- were dismissed unless they were willing to accept they had been abducted and undergo hypnosis.
Of course, when the decades of money from abductions started dwindling the 'researchers' sold off private percipient information and even MUFON sold such material (to Robert Bigelow) and big scandals that were washed over by those wanting to keep fat wallets full.
We know that in the United States NICAP (headed by a well known racist, Donald E. Keyhoe) was infiltrated by the CIA. In fact NICAP actively recruited ex intelligence people into top positions so the question is whether this was infiltration or taking over through invitation. Either way Keyhoe lost no money and still had book deals and TV work.
https://terryhooper.blogspot.com/2022/10/donald-keyhoe-and-nicap-counter.html
Look at how the USAF Office of Special Investigation and its main agent, Richard Doty, infiltrated Ufology. It bribed and gave William Moore false information to feed Ufology and it is also rumoured that among the other "prominent Ufologists" Doty gave false info to and also paid were Hopkins and Leonard H Stringfield who told a colleague of mine that his source was in the AFOSI. Doty even helped drive one person, Paul Bennewitz insane. Doty was outed decades ago and was observed talking to Hopkins, David Jacobs and even Vallee at UFO conventions. Conventions where rather than being asked to leave or being a target of verbal abuse he is welcomed and given free reign and allowed to "spill the beans" to those interested.
https://terryhooper.blogspot.com/2022/10/crashed-ufos-counter-intelligence-and.html
How is this all possible? Because Ufology is not and never was a science although it did and does attract scientists to it based on data rather than a belief. Investigation by such scientists soon turn up the truth: the Vallee catalogue of UFO landings involve known hoaxes, weather phenomena and reports never investigated just taken from an odd news item. The Phillips Physical Trace Catalogue, from what can be found -ditto as with Vallee. Ufology itself has not turned out any truly scientific evidence in documents that can be peer reviewed by scientists. Scientists who do ask to see such material are asked "Paying by cheque or card?"
Again, and I have stated this in writing numerous times, although anecdotal (anecdotal evidence is still acceptable to build up a data base) there are still highly rated CE3K events. Looking at my archive only around 2% of all the cases from 1947-2000 were looked into. Major incidents were ignored based on percipients/witnesses being black, single females and even "too far to travel" (within the state) -prejudices and almost a need to not want to believe that there might be living(?) entities in the objects they are supposed to be trying to get to the truth of and find answers -all play a part. 1973 saw a peak in reports and in one short space of time, around the date of the Pascagouls incident, encounters were ignored because those involved were black -the same investigators who flatly refused to look into these cases were willing to travel all across the state for a LITS (Light In The Sky) report when it came from a white person.
Another thing to note is that the UFO Wave is almost certainly a fiction. The 1954 UFO Wave was a mix of misidentifications, newspaper hoaxes and other factors. There were what appear to be genuine incidents but there were not "thousands of "genuine, investigated and documented UFO sightings". Note; that some Italian and French investigators who did look into reports some 35, 40 and 50 years after the event, were quite angry that journalists had got details wrong. They were journalists out to sell newspapers not carry out scientific investigations...that was supposedly the Ufologists job? Even today there are those who are in Ufology "intellectual elite" who openly state that they do all their investigations sat in a comfortable chair and by reading news items and based their findings on those. Why has Ufology not proven UFO reality?
The 1973 "World wide UFO wave" can be seen as per 1954. In fact, a peak(s) in CE3K incidents do not occur in those years but, of course, Ufologists do not notice this obvious fact because there are only the Hills, Walton, Pascagoula CE3Ks...right? All of this means that UFOs are not flying across the sky by the thousands each year but are rarer than is thought -Ufology has created a myth that it pushes as factual such as Thomas Mantell having been shot down while fling a jet by a UFO. Never happened. Roswell and the 65 UFO crashes that I listed before giving up -never happened.
https://terryhooper.blogspot.com/2022/12/check-facts-do-not-be-deceived.html
And we know that British Ufologists from the 1970s on faked UFO incidents -sightings and encounters- and were caught out at a UFO conference. No push-back from Ufology and they have never stated which reports were faked or for what reason meaning that from the 1970s on all UFO reports are marked as "dubious" unless personally investigated.
Fraudsters are running Ufology and people have no problem with that. Why hear the truth when fantasy is more Dr Who or X Files orientated and fun? Look at the 'genuine' interest in these reports -my books do not sell because they are not sensationalist lies. The UFO history series of books Haunted Skies I cannot recommend enough but sales are hardly there. Why? Because they are not published in an era where people want to learn and educate themselves with facts.
I have spent from 1974 looking at these reports and it is depressing to see that some are simply 2-4 lines from a newspaper and that is it. Ufology has also been very good at sweeping good reports under the carpet because they do not fit in with the prevailing crowd. This is why individuals get more done because they are not jumping on the money wagon -which is how you make money in Ufology.
Ufology is NOT a Science and never will be.
Monday, 21 August 2023
Another Loch Ness Monster search
Loch Ness monster enthusiasts gear up for biggest search in 50 years
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/loch-ness-monster-enthusiasts-gear-050008208.html
It was 90 years ago that Aldie Mackay, manager of the Drumnadrochit hotel, burst into the bar one evening to tell dumbfounded patrons she had just witnessed a “water beast” in Loch Ness.
It was this sighting – zealously reported in the Inverness Courier – that began the modern myth-making around an elusive monster surviving in the depths of the Highland loch – and next weekend hundreds of Nessie enthusiasts are expected to take part in the biggest organised hunt for the mysterious creature in 50 years.
Organised by the newly revamped Loch Ness Centre, volunteers from across the globe will participate in person and online in what is believed to be the largest surface watch, searching for breaks in the water and any inexplicable movements over a two-day period.
In partnership with the voluntary research team Loch Ness Exploration, the hunt will enlist surveying equipment that has never been used on Loch Ness before, including drones to produce thermal images of the water from the air using infrared cameras, as well as a hydrophone to detect acoustic signals beneath the surface.
The recently renovated Loch Ness Centre is located at the old Drumnadrochit hotel, whereAldie Mackay worked.
Over the years, scientists and amateur enthusiasts have endeavoured to find evidence of a large fish such as a sturgeon living in the 230-metre (755ft) deep loch, or even a prehistoric marine reptile like a plesiosaur, but to no avail.
Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, who will brief volunteers live from the Loch Ness Centre each morning on what to look out for and how to record findings, said: “It’s always been our goal to record, study and analyse all manner of natural behaviour and phenomena that may be more challenging to explain.
“It’s our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large-scale surface watch, you’ll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world.”
Fraser Campbell, director of the Cobbs Group, which owns the new Drumnadrochit hotel – as well as other sites along the A82, the road that edges the western shore of the loch – said that the renewed interest in the monster legend had led to “unbelievable” bookings across this summer season.
“Hotels and visitor attractions working together is how we are going to survive,” said Campbell, as the Highlands continue to reel from the combined impact of Brexit, depopulation and the cost of living crisis.
The area has much more to offer than a mythical monster, he adds: “At one end we’ve got the UK’s highest mountain and at the other the biggest areas of fresh water. It’s an amazing place and every season is different.”
Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre, said part of the enduring appeal of the Loch Ness monster story was its accessibility: “You can literally pull up at the side of the loch and be a part of it.”
Timeline
The earliest mention of a monster in the vicinity of the loch dates back to the middle ages when Irish monk St Columba is said to have encountered a “water beast” in the River Ness, which flows from the loch.
The notion came to worldwide attention in 1933, when the Inverness Courier reported on hotel manager Aldie Mackay’s sighting of a “whale-like creature”, and later in the same year, George Spicer told the same paper about seeing “a most extraordinary form of animal” cross the road in front of their car and disappear into the loch.
Mackay later admitted she had known about the ancient tradition of a “beast” in the vicinity of the loch well before her own claimed sighting.
Since the 1940s the creature has been affectionately known as “Nessie”.
In the 1960s the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was set up and in 1972 undertook the biggest search of the loch to date.
In 1987, Operation Deepscan deployed sonar equipment across the width of the loch and claimed to have found an “unidentified object of unusual size and strength”.
In 2018, an international team of researchers from the universities of Otago, Copenhagen, Hull and the Highlands and Islands did a DNA survey of the loch, looking for unusual species, and later ruled out the presence of any large animals likely to be behind reports of a monster.