Analysis - General

Ufology

Are Flying Saucers Real?

J. Allen Hynek, Saturday Evening Post, 12/17/66

For years the Air Force has dismissed them as hoaxes, hallucinations or misidentifications. Now the Air Force's own scientific consultant on unidentified flying objects declares that many of the sightings cannot be so easily explained.  R

Comprehensive Assessment of the UFO/ETI Phenomenon

CSETI / Steven M. Greer, MD

A comprehensive analysis of the UFO phenomenon, as well as original research and experiences of members of the CSETI (Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence) CE-5 Initiative Working Group, has enabled us to make some specific conclusions about UFOs, Extraterrestrial Intelligence and their motives. The summation of this analysis, which follows, is intended to assist both groups and individuals in their efforts to understand this complex subject. We have recorded only those conclusions for which we have a high level of certainty.

Comprehensive Briefing Document / Project Starlight - Assessment Summary

Steven Green, M.D. / CSETI (Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

The summary from the comprehensive assessment of the UFO phenomenon by CSETI. "Some UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft (ETS) which are piloted by extraterrestrial biological entities (EBEs) who originate on another planet, and most likely another star system." R

Denial, Belief and Semantics, and UFOs

Hal McKenzie

'Do you believe in UFOs?' This annoying question, asked of me more times than I would like to count, is, in my opinion, the most oppressive sentence in the English language. In particular, the words 'believe' and 'UFOs' form a semantic straitjacket which makes up a large part of that frustrating wall of confusion and denial that confronts almost everyone involved in serious UFO research. I believe there is a way, however, to break out of that straitjacket and bring down that wall.  R

Everywhere, by Stealth

by Richard M. Dolan

Every day, spectacular events occur in the skies, in space, in the oceans, and on the ground. Astonished witnesses around the world see them. For many, the shock of something so extraordinary, so inexplicable, is a consciousness-shattering experience, never forgotten. Yet few people tell anyone what they saw, save perhaps a close friend or family member.

Formulation and Predictions of the ETH

Brian Zeiler

The extraterrestrial hypothesis, or ETH, is formulated consistent with the accepted scientific framework for hypothesis induction. The null hypothesis to explain UFOs is that they are random, disparate misidentifications of atmospheric or artifical terrestrial phenomena. This is called the misidentification hypothesis. If rejected on sufficient grounds -- and due to the subjectivity we are probably facing a more Bayesian type of inference than an objective test approach -- then we accept the alternative hypothesis, which is that disk-shaped vehicles are in fact flying in our atmosphere.  R

Getting Inside Your Head: Media, Mind Control, and Marginalization of UFOs

Richard M. Dolan

Why is serious coverage of UFOs absent in the mainstream media? This article attempts to answer that question. It describes how big media and national security interests have converged, and how this relates to the subsequent banishment of serious information about UFOs from "official culture" (as I have often called it). This is one of the longer pieces in here, and will be featured in the February/March 2003 issue of UFO Magazine.

Is There a Case for UFOs?

Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.; 2002

About the only point that can be made concerning UFOs without the risk of starting an unpleasant controversy is that they are supremely controversial. Any discussion of their nature, their origins, their significance and, indeed, their very existence, has led to long-term arguments that have yet to reach any generally agreed-upon conclusion

Jacques Vallee Discusses UFO Control System

Jerome Clark, FATE Magazine, 1978

Noted scientist-UFO researcher proposes a startling theory about what UFOs may be, how they behave and what we can do about them. Interview by Jerome Clark. R

Lie Detection in UFO Controversies

Geoff Price, International UFO Reporter, Fall 1997

Grappling with fraud and deception is par for the course in the context of UFO claims, and as a result, "lie detector" tests are frequently demanded of UFO claimants, and their results, positive or negative, brandished as evidence. Some cases in particular have put lie detection in the spotlight, notably the Travis Walton abduction case of 1975, as well as the more recent (and divisive) case of Ed Walters and his Gulf Breeze photographs.

Reflections on the Current State of Ufology

Salvador Freixedo

Summary of the UFO phenomenon by Salvador Freixedo, Spanish-speaking ufology's foremost paranormal researcher and theoretician. R

Science, Secrecy, and Ufology

Richard M. Dolan

Secrecy permeates the UFO field. What does this mean for Ufology as a science? Answer: the field cannot really be handled scientifically within the public domain. The great model is the Manhattan Project. When a project is undertaken at highly classified levels, you will find nothing of value about it within the mainstream. This was true during the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s; it is true regarding the UFO. Published in the February/March 2001 issue of UFO Magazine.

Statement by Dr. J. Allen Hynek at the United Nations, 1978

Dr. J. Allen Hynek

There exists today a world-wide phenomenon... indeed if it were not world-wide I should not be addressing you and these representatives from many parts of the world. There exists a global phenomenon the scope and extent of which is not generally recognized. It is a phenomenon so strange and foreign to our daily terrestrial mode of thought that it is frequently met by ridicule and derision by persons and organizations unacquainted with the facts. Yet, the phenomenon persists; it has not faded away as many of us expected it would when, years ago, we regarded it as a passing fad or whimsy. Instead, it has touched on the lives of an increasing number of people around the world.  R

Statement by Dr. James E. McDonald at the 1968 U.S. House Committee on Science and Aeronautics Hearing on UFOs

Dr. James McDonald

Synopsis of Unconventional Flying Objects: JSE Review

Hal E. Puthoff

To the degree that the engineering characteristics of UFOs can be estimated by empirical observation, in my opinion the above-referenced, recently-published book by Paul Hill provides the most reliable, concise summary of engineering-type data available. [1] The data were compiled over decades of research by a Chief Scientist-Manager at NASA's Langley Research Center [2] who acted as an informal clearinghouse for UFO-related data. R

The Case for Extraterrestrial UFOs

Don Berliner, Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR)

While most sights described as UFOs turn out to be misidentified known natural and artificial phenomena, many hundreds do not. It is these that form the core of the UFO mystery. That UFOs constitute a distinct category of describable sights is based on hundreds of highly detailed and consistent descriptions by professionals (especially airline and military pilots) of their close-up, broad daylight observations of unique flying machines.

The Case for Flying Saucers

Francis Ridge

There is a quantum leap in technology that surfaced a half-century ago that, if exhibited today as in the early phases, has either severely degraded or has been replaced by a vastly inferior one. It doesn't make much sense. It's as if someone wrote a story about evolution and got the chapters mixed up. Either that or ET has sent most of its fleet back home.

The Case for the Extraterrestrial Origin of Flying Saucers (PDF)

Stanton T. Friedman, Nuclear Physicist

Careful review of the vast array of relevant evidence clearly leads to the conclusion that some unidentified flying objects are intelligently controlled vehicles whose origin is outside our solar system. All the arguments against the extraterrestrial origin seem to be based upon false reasoning, misrepresentation of evidence, neglect of relevant information, ignorance of relevant technology, or pseudo sophisticated assumptions about alien appearance, motivation, or government secrecy.

The Case for UFO Reality

The UFO Briefing Document, Don Berliner, et. al.

"If a close look is taken at the best available evidence, it is possible to deal with what is known about UFOs, and what may reasonably be assumed. The point we will make is that the evidence to support the conclusion that UFOs are unknown aircraft/spacecraft seems to be overwhelming." R

The Crossing Point

Steven M. Greer, M.D.

Do we really imagine that extraterrestrial life forms - who have evolved on different planets around distant suns - would really be using twentieth century human technologies ? The observations and hypothesis which follow will bring together the conventional empirical data of UFO reports with the more bizarre ‘high strangeness' experiences of many close encounters. ... This information is the crux of the mystery, and quite possibly the real lesson which the extraterrestrial phenomenon has to teach us. It is all about going to the next step - in knowledge, in science, in truth and in personal experience.  R

The Emerging Picture of the UFO Problem

J. Allen Hynek, Presented at the AIAA 13th Aerospace Sciences Meeting Pasadena, Calif., January 20-22, 1975

This paper intends to present the elements of the UFO problem, today. Truly unidentified reports of events in the air, and close to the ground, exist, events worldwide in origin and appearing to fit a relatively small number of patterns. The data, amenable to study of an interdisciplinary nature, involving a number of scientific disciplines and probably necessitating new departures in methodology, have been imperfectly studied in the past and have been virtually ignored by science.  R

The Formulation and Predictions of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis

Brian Zeiler

The extraterrestrial hypothesis, or ETH, is formulated consistent with the accepted scientific framework for hypothesis induction. The null hypothesis to explain UFOs is that they are random, disparate misidentifications of atmospheric or artifical terrestrial phenomena. This is called the misidentification hypothesis.

The Lost Opportunity: 1966 in Retrospect

Richard M. Dolan

A historical review of what when wrong during that fateful year, when a breakthrough in the struggle to end UFO secrecy seemed possible. The story remains relevant today, as a new generation of UFO researchers and lobbyists are working toward the same goal. Look for it also in the June/July issue of UFO Magazine.

The Science of UFOs: Fact vs. Skepticism

Richard H. Hall

In-depth report of quality cases and analysis of the UFO phenomenon. "Stereotypes die hard. The myth among scientists that UFOs are a "nonsense problem" without any substance was firmly established more than 50 years ago and persists until this day. The cases used as illustrations in this report are chosen partly to refute the stereotypes and partly to show the recurring patterns and observational details, with special emphasis on the numerous areas of potential scientific research that would be possible if UFOs were accepted as a real phenomenon and funding were available. Strong human testimony establishes clearly that the structured UFOs featured here are a product of technology, not a natural phenomenon. The only remaining question is: Whose technology?"

The UFO Challenge

Stanton Friedman

The problem is NOT that there is not enough evidence to justify my conclusions; but that most people, especially the noisy negativists, are unaware of the real, non-tabloid evidence.

The UFO Problem: Time for a Reassessment

John R.King, Major, USAF

A Thesis Submitted to the Air and Staff College of Air University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for Graduation

UFOs - Delusion or Dilemma

Berthold Eric Schwarz, M.D., Medical Times, Oct. 1968

Four examples of allegedly close contact with UFOs are presented. Possible physical, physiological, and psychic reactions are explored. The question fo the validity of the data, and the evaluation of psychodynamic factors operating in fact versus fantasy, is discussed. It is felt that the objective details fo the reported UFO experiences are essentially real, and neither fantasized nor dereistic.

UFOs - Extraterrestrial Probles?

James E. McDonald, Astronautics and Aeronautics, August 1967

On the basis of an intensive study of the UFO problem, I believe that the extraterrestrial-origin hypothesis must now be given extremely serious scientific attention.  R

UFOs and Extraterrestrial Life

Darrell L. Stanley, Captain, USAF

A Thesis Submitted to the Air Command and Staff College of Air University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for Graduation. -- Over the years, the evidence on UFO has con- tinued to mount. Many sightings are eventually explained, but an impressive number are not. This study examines the evidence, showing that its credibility has grown as the "unknowns" have accumulated. The study also examines the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, and attempts to draw inferences about technological achievements on other worlds. It concludes that there is a growing case for the reality of UFOs, and that intelligent extraterrestrial life almost certainly exists.  R

UFOs: Challenge to SETI Specialists

Stanton T. Friedman

Major news media and many members of the scientific community have taken strongly to the radio-telescope based SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program as espoused by its charismatic leaders, but not supported by any evidence whatsoever. In turn, perhaps understandably, they feel it necessary to attack the ideas of alien visitors (UFOs) as though they were based on tabloid nonsense instead of on far more evidence than has been provided for SETI.

What Are They?

Richard M. Dolan

This is really the first time I have tried to express my thoughts on what exactly is behind the UFO phenomenon. It took me a long time to consider writing such thoughts down; indeed, it took some time to come to this understanding. I offer this piece as a speculation. I do not pretend that I have any better claim to the truth than the next theorist. I will say, however, that I would offer my interpretation against any others, and haven't really found anyone else making this argument. As far as I can tell, the argument I present is unique. As always, I am interested in comments from interested readers. This article appeared in the June/July 2002 issue of UFO Magazine.

What UFOs Are and Are Not

Don Berliner, 2002

For more than 50 years, men and women around the world have reported sights in the sky that are strange to their experience and understanding. Their positive identification is one of the major public/scientific challenges of the era, with a significant number of these sights so far defying all reasonable efforts at classification. We take a look at the most common explanations for these sights.

What We Know About UFOs, and Whether It Matters

Richard M. Dolan

This was going to be called "Official vs. Unofficial Culture" but I changed my mind. Essentially, this article is about what we know, why it matters, and why it doesn't. There are differences between knowing the truth and being able to act upon it. Yet, there is reason for optimism. Appears in the April/May 2002 issue of UFO Magazine.