I guess my big problem here is that, here we are, on a site which promotes independent thought, questioning officialdom and the mainstream on a myriad
number of topics.
However does anyone not realize that the UFOlogy cottage industry has by and large been accepted into the media mainstream?
What is it's purpose?
Whose purpose does Modern UFOlogy serve?
Look how many TV shows feature the same talking heads who, by the way will be at the next UFO meet up, usually for a not so small fee.
Yet NO ONE seems to QUESTION MAINSTREAM UFOLOGY and the cottage industry it has produced.
I do not begrudge authors for touring the circuit. Everyone has a right to make a living.
I DO begrudge the people behind the scenes, the promoters, who profit from the whole field selling everything from "alien meditation crystals" which
are basically just pieces of quartz to alien blow up dolls.
This, from a field which resembles a cargo cult more than a serious scientific pursuit.
Think about it:
Cargo cults built planes and other things out of wood sticks to mimic the "gods" who dropped food on their lands. Those planes might have looked
pretty good but they would never take flight because they lacked the basic fundamentals of flight in terms of materials and application, as well as
UFOlogy promoters set up elaborate meet ups which they call a "symposium" or "conference" in the scientific sense, while at the same time doing little
more than telling the same stories over again to an all too willing to believe public. Unlike at an actual science conference, there is seldom any
evidence presented in support of the stories other than anecdotal evidence, nor are there references to peer-reviewed published papers or even a
counter speaker presenting evidence to the contrary.
In short, there is -no critical thought- involved. It's seen as "negative" or "hostile" to the field.
The plane of UFOlogy will NEVER take flight, NEVER get any closer to the truth and NEVER be respected as a legitimate scientific field if it lacks
the fundamentals and basis of the scientific method.
Unfortunately people like Dr. James E. McDonald, Dr J Allen Hynek, Dr. Donald Menzel, Dr. Jacques Valle, Marjorie Fish, Terrence Dickinson and Dr.
Peter Sturrock are either dead or have left the UFO field having been run off by the "UFOlogy as a Religion" crowd.
Is it any wonder that NIDS and Bigelow were secretive? What legitimate scientist wants to be associated with what UFOlogy has become. It's not about
the subject or the idea we may not be alone either. Most scientists doubt that we are alone, it's more a question of whether we have ever been visited
and where the aliens might be.
It's not about the subject matter being "taboo" it's about the people who wear the UFO hat often being ridiculous.
Now it seems UFOlogy and its conferences amount to little more than a bunch of people gathering to feel like they are doing research by forking
over some cash to listen to people tell some pretty tall tales while the few people who are doing interesting stuff in terms of gathering usable
scientific data,rather than just sighting reports or stories, (ie: Project Hessdalen) go largely unheard of, mostly unfunded and for the most part,
It's cargo cult science and engineering.
Which is fine for entertainment, but for true investigative science, not so much.
Do not complain about lack of resources or respect if the mainstream UFO field can not realize its wasting resources that could be better spent on
investigating the phenomena.
Recently, I actually heard some British guy on Chase Klotzke's "Project White Paper" radio show questioning why big corporate donors or rich people
who have had sightings do not donate to UFOlogy research while moments earlier he was attacking science and the scientific method.
The promoters are smiling all the way to the bank.
edit on 18-2-2014 by JadeStar because: (no reason given)