I’ve been studying the UFO phenomenon for more than 30 years as well, actually, more than 40 now. But, I can’t honestly say I have formed a conclusion about this.
There IS indeed a vast amount of photographic evidence that has not been proven to be fakes, and thus can serve as a basis for things “that might be”.
Photos are always dismissed offhandedly as “it could have been faked”.
Yeah, but in some circumstances, in particular when you have someone like a police officer or fireman taking the picture there is more “credit than discredit”. Or when a political figure (such as Dennis K or the Az Gov) sees something, there’s something there. Folks who want to detract from a “ufo encounter” automatically as Kookieness have a very closed mind about the subject.
Certainly, being skeptical is healthy. But being a “debunker” is as bad as being a “believer”. These two positions are both outside the norm, and outside the bell curve.
A believer is someone who is practically a religious fanatic about a subject, perhaps someone like Shirley McLean is a good example. Or those folks who joined “Heaven’s Gate” and then killed themselves because they believed their saviors were hiding behind Hale-Bopp.
A debunker is anyone that belongs to the Skeptical Inquirer mailing list....
I’ve been both. I’m neither. I’m personally dead in the middle. Open minded, I’ll examine the evidence and if it is solid will use it. If it’s not, then it must be questioned.
I guess my biggest issue with so-called skeptics is that they automatically turn into name-callers when they think you’ve gone too far for them.
So, my advice is simple. Stick to FACTS, and read them, don’t form an opinion because of personal BELIEFS about something like this.
Do UFOs exist? Damn right they do?
Are they controlled by “aliens” or “extra terrestrial intelligences”... we have no way of knowing, or proving this at all. (And yes, MOST UFOs can indeed be explained, but there are large numbers of them that simply can’t be explained away as something natural or man made).
Sorry folks.
I believe that they are extra-dimensional.
So, my advice is simple. Stick to FACTS, and read them, don’t form an opinion because of personal BELIEFS about something like this.
***I am sticking to facts. And I have not had the opportunity, like you, to ask the President (REAGAN!) a question about UFOs. You might want to read the book for yourself because, like you, it’s squarely in the middle.
Do UFOs exist? Damn right they do?
***UFOs are Unidentified Flying Objects. There are zillions of those. Do Flying Saucers Exist? Yes. Are they man-made? Yes.
Are they controlled by “aliens” or “extra terrestrial intelligences”... we have no way of knowing, or proving this at all.
***That’s why we need to rely upon Inductive reasoning because you so astutely point out that Deductive reasoning does not work on this subject. What is the most likely explanation of an event — that a kid ate the cookie from the cookie jar, or that a magic fairy visited him and left a secret message in the form of teeth marks on cookies?
(And yes, MOST UFOs can indeed be explained, but there are large numbers of them that simply can’t be explained away as something natural or man made).
***Well, I’m going to start focusing on the flying saucer variety. They aren’t swamp gas. They aren’t Venus. Nor are they aliens. They are secret weapons.