Thomas R Morrison
Paranormal Adept
I’ve noticed a fairly strong bias against the extraterrestrial hypothesis lately, so I’d like to have a clear conversation about the various proposed explanations for ufo sightings, and also pose an argument for something that I feel is even more important. Namely, the eventual application of ufo technology.
I find the argument for the extraterrestrial hypothesis to be extremely well-founded. So it’s alarming to hear it disparaged fairly regularly on the show and here in the forums. Even more alarming is the vagueness of the objections to it; as if the popular position these days is “anything other than the ETH” - i.e. without actually specifying what that alternative hypothesis is. I get the impression that most of the people who object to it are simply bored with it because it’s so familiar. But that’s an illogical foundation for an objection: it’s so familiar because it’s withstood the progress of scientific understanding for decades – which is the earmark of a successful explanation.
The scientific method is our best, if not only, reliable method for understanding new phenomena. Hopefully we can all agree on that fundamental building block. As we all learned in school, the scientific method is comprised of five basic steps:
Step 1: Make an observation
Step 2: Ask a question
Step 3: Formulate a hypothesis
Step 4: Conduct an experiment
Step 5: Accept or reject the hypothesis
Applying this to the study of ufos, we find that there are a few different categories of ufos, but the one that stands out for most of us is the aerial observation of a phenomenon that conforms to the Twining memo, which allegedly lists the findings of several divisions of the US Army Air Force command. The description in this document is consistent with the common reports of the ufo phenomenon, so even if the Twining memo is inauthentic, it still provides a clear description of the parameters of a large bulk, if not the majority, of commonly reported sightings.
The memo lists a series of key points: the phenomenon appears to be real and physical, predominantly involving metallic structured craft at the scale of modern aircraft, which exhibit extreme rates of speed, climb and maneuverability - usually operating silently and without any visible emissions (factors which, together, were “outside of our domestic knowledge” – and remain so in the public scientific literature today), and which perform evasive controlled maneuvers when contacted visually and with radar.
Of course there are other classes of interesting sightings reports, but these parameters reflect the most common variety so let’s focus on this category.
Academic science can only offer theoretical explanations for the performance of these craft. That’s actually progress, because at the time we didn’t even have a theoretical explanation to consider. But the fact that today’s public scientific knowledge is still incapable of beginning a design program for such a device is highly suggestive: either the military remains well over 60 years ahead of the public sector, or these devices are not of contemporary human origin.
And in the intervening six decades, the science of astronomy has progressed enormously. In 1947 there was no understanding of the prevalence of Earth-like planets in the universe. That has changed dramatically. We now know from direct observation and analysis that at least 40 billion trillion Earth-like planets exist within the habitable zones of their parent stars throughout the observable universe, and roughly 40 billion (or more) of those are right here in the Milky Way galaxy.
So if only 1 in a million such planets evolve intelligent life, then at least 40,000 planets in our galaxy alone have produced intelligent species. Last year a paper published in the journal Astrobiology estimated that if technological civilizations appear on only one in a trillion candidate Earth-like planets, then technological civilizations have arisen in the observable universe a minimum of 10 billion times so far.
In light of all this, I find it bizarre and perplexing that the extraterrestrial hypothesis is under assault, because the march of scientific progress has never presented a stronger argument in favor of it.
There are other possible explanations, but there are few intelligible alternatives. Let’s list them all, and see if anyone can expand this list later:
1.) The extraterrestrial hypothesis
2.) The secret military technology hypothesis
3.) The subterranean Earth civilization hypothesis
4.) The backwards-time-travelling civilization from Earth’s own future hypothesis
5.) The “interdimensional” hypothesis (whatever that means)
6.) The “something else” non-hypothesis (included only for the sake of completeness)
There are some real logical issues with explanations 2-5, which we can debate if anyone wishes to do so. And it’s perfectly reasonable to favor #6, but we have to be honest that it’s not a hypothesis; it’s an absence of a hypothesis, and is therefore outside the domain of a meaningful discussion.
And that brings me to the closing argument.
I hear a lot of anguish about proving that this phenomenon is real, and about arriving at an explanation for it. That’s a perfectly valid ambition – arriving at proof and a definitive explanation. But we don’t have the proof we need right now. Going over the existing evidence isn’t going to change that. Because the problem isn’t “we don’t have the right solution,” the problem is “we don’t have sufficient hard evidence.” So either one of three things has to happen, if proof is your goal. Either the people who have the evidence, like Gordon Cooper’s footage at Edward’s Air Force Base, release that evidence to the public (which honestly seems extremely improbable). Or some clever and driven investigative team, like the one Chris has assembled, collects new irrefutable scientific evidence. Or the phenomenon makes such a bold public appearance over a populated area in broad daylight that the proof lands in our laps. We only have control over one of those pathways: what Chris is doing – devising and building the apparatus required to collect scientific proof (and frankly I think that Peter Davenport's passive radar concept is also a brilliant approach). And I strongly support that kind of effort: if I had the money I’d finance it myself.
But we’re overlooking something vastly more important than “proving that ufos are real.” We hardly ever discuss the impact on human civilization, if we can replicate the technology we’re witnessing.
Nearly all of the ufo reports describe the same propulsion characteristics – a form of field propulsion principle as-yet-unrealized by human civilization. And our fairly recent theoretical advancements tell us something astounding: if these craft are exhibiting the kind of gravitational field propulsion technology that they appear to be utilizing (and I can make a very compelling argument in favor of this if anyone wants to get into it), then this propulsion principle would permit manned spaceflight across interstellar distances with arbitrarily short transit times. Theoretically, we could travel to nearby stars within months, perhaps weeks, or even days or hours – there’s no upper limit to the rate of acceleration with a dipolar gravitational field propulsion mechanism: the limits are entirely defined by technological considerations and not fundamental theoretical ones. It also appears that this same branch of technology would offer humankind a limitless and inexhaustible source of energy.
In broad terms, the root of all scarcity comes down to energy, and the root of all real freedom comes down to transportation and territory.
So the ufo question is vastly more significant than simply proving that they’re real. I would go so far as to suggest that the aerial demonstrations performed by these craft may be a kind of IQ test for our species, far more elegant and efficient than the cryptological radio signal challenge posed in the film Contact, and one which offers us an incalculable benefit if we can successfully understand and replicate their propulsion technology. In fact it may ultimately determine the survival of our species - because sooner or later any planet-bound civilization is doomed to extinction. In any case the ufo question holds the keys to transforming the very nature of human civilization and the potential for human life itself. If we can understand how these devices operate, we can rapidly metamorphose human life from the fairly dreary and banal world-bound struggle for subsistence, to a sprawling and inspiring new era of exploration, expansion, and a realization of human potential largely unimaginable within the context of our present day society. This all sounds like hyperbole but it’s not – I’ll be glad to debate this point with anyone open to a rational discussion about it.
Now if you look back at the steps of the scientific method, you’ll notice that we’re stuck at Step 4: conducting an experiment.
If we can devise a successful experiment to reproduce the defining characteristics of the ufo propulsion principle, even to a very modest degree, then we’ll accomplish two things simultaneously:
1.) We’ll prove that it can be done, and therefore practical manned interstellar spaceflight is technologically achievable. This is the last fundamental objection to the extraterrestrial hypothesis, now that we know the overwhelming prevalence of inhabitable worlds. Skeptics argue that superluminal travel is impossible, and therefore alien visitation is impossible or essentially impractical. Therefore, they conclude, it’s not happening. A successful field propulsion experiment would destroy that final key objection. And if we can do it, then “they” can do it. At that point, public opinion would link the high prevalence of life-friendly planets in our galaxy and the cosmos, with the technological capability to traverse interstellar distances in very short time frames, and suddenly we’d all have to accept that alien visitations are highly likely, if not fairly common.
2.) The surprisingly sudden transformation of human civilization from a fairly tedious Earth-bound existence, to a freely roaming and rapidly expanding interstellar civilization.
And that’s why I focus on the physics of the ufo phenomenon with the hope that a viable theoretical proposal will emerge and yield a successful proof-of-principle replication of the ufo field propulsion mechanism.
I welcome any constructive debate about any of this.
I find the argument for the extraterrestrial hypothesis to be extremely well-founded. So it’s alarming to hear it disparaged fairly regularly on the show and here in the forums. Even more alarming is the vagueness of the objections to it; as if the popular position these days is “anything other than the ETH” - i.e. without actually specifying what that alternative hypothesis is. I get the impression that most of the people who object to it are simply bored with it because it’s so familiar. But that’s an illogical foundation for an objection: it’s so familiar because it’s withstood the progress of scientific understanding for decades – which is the earmark of a successful explanation.
The scientific method is our best, if not only, reliable method for understanding new phenomena. Hopefully we can all agree on that fundamental building block. As we all learned in school, the scientific method is comprised of five basic steps:
Step 1: Make an observation
Step 2: Ask a question
Step 3: Formulate a hypothesis
Step 4: Conduct an experiment
Step 5: Accept or reject the hypothesis
Applying this to the study of ufos, we find that there are a few different categories of ufos, but the one that stands out for most of us is the aerial observation of a phenomenon that conforms to the Twining memo, which allegedly lists the findings of several divisions of the US Army Air Force command. The description in this document is consistent with the common reports of the ufo phenomenon, so even if the Twining memo is inauthentic, it still provides a clear description of the parameters of a large bulk, if not the majority, of commonly reported sightings.
The memo lists a series of key points: the phenomenon appears to be real and physical, predominantly involving metallic structured craft at the scale of modern aircraft, which exhibit extreme rates of speed, climb and maneuverability - usually operating silently and without any visible emissions (factors which, together, were “outside of our domestic knowledge” – and remain so in the public scientific literature today), and which perform evasive controlled maneuvers when contacted visually and with radar.
Of course there are other classes of interesting sightings reports, but these parameters reflect the most common variety so let’s focus on this category.
Academic science can only offer theoretical explanations for the performance of these craft. That’s actually progress, because at the time we didn’t even have a theoretical explanation to consider. But the fact that today’s public scientific knowledge is still incapable of beginning a design program for such a device is highly suggestive: either the military remains well over 60 years ahead of the public sector, or these devices are not of contemporary human origin.
And in the intervening six decades, the science of astronomy has progressed enormously. In 1947 there was no understanding of the prevalence of Earth-like planets in the universe. That has changed dramatically. We now know from direct observation and analysis that at least 40 billion trillion Earth-like planets exist within the habitable zones of their parent stars throughout the observable universe, and roughly 40 billion (or more) of those are right here in the Milky Way galaxy.
So if only 1 in a million such planets evolve intelligent life, then at least 40,000 planets in our galaxy alone have produced intelligent species. Last year a paper published in the journal Astrobiology estimated that if technological civilizations appear on only one in a trillion candidate Earth-like planets, then technological civilizations have arisen in the observable universe a minimum of 10 billion times so far.
In light of all this, I find it bizarre and perplexing that the extraterrestrial hypothesis is under assault, because the march of scientific progress has never presented a stronger argument in favor of it.
There are other possible explanations, but there are few intelligible alternatives. Let’s list them all, and see if anyone can expand this list later:
1.) The extraterrestrial hypothesis
2.) The secret military technology hypothesis
3.) The subterranean Earth civilization hypothesis
4.) The backwards-time-travelling civilization from Earth’s own future hypothesis
5.) The “interdimensional” hypothesis (whatever that means)
6.) The “something else” non-hypothesis (included only for the sake of completeness)
There are some real logical issues with explanations 2-5, which we can debate if anyone wishes to do so. And it’s perfectly reasonable to favor #6, but we have to be honest that it’s not a hypothesis; it’s an absence of a hypothesis, and is therefore outside the domain of a meaningful discussion.
And that brings me to the closing argument.
I hear a lot of anguish about proving that this phenomenon is real, and about arriving at an explanation for it. That’s a perfectly valid ambition – arriving at proof and a definitive explanation. But we don’t have the proof we need right now. Going over the existing evidence isn’t going to change that. Because the problem isn’t “we don’t have the right solution,” the problem is “we don’t have sufficient hard evidence.” So either one of three things has to happen, if proof is your goal. Either the people who have the evidence, like Gordon Cooper’s footage at Edward’s Air Force Base, release that evidence to the public (which honestly seems extremely improbable). Or some clever and driven investigative team, like the one Chris has assembled, collects new irrefutable scientific evidence. Or the phenomenon makes such a bold public appearance over a populated area in broad daylight that the proof lands in our laps. We only have control over one of those pathways: what Chris is doing – devising and building the apparatus required to collect scientific proof (and frankly I think that Peter Davenport's passive radar concept is also a brilliant approach). And I strongly support that kind of effort: if I had the money I’d finance it myself.
But we’re overlooking something vastly more important than “proving that ufos are real.” We hardly ever discuss the impact on human civilization, if we can replicate the technology we’re witnessing.
Nearly all of the ufo reports describe the same propulsion characteristics – a form of field propulsion principle as-yet-unrealized by human civilization. And our fairly recent theoretical advancements tell us something astounding: if these craft are exhibiting the kind of gravitational field propulsion technology that they appear to be utilizing (and I can make a very compelling argument in favor of this if anyone wants to get into it), then this propulsion principle would permit manned spaceflight across interstellar distances with arbitrarily short transit times. Theoretically, we could travel to nearby stars within months, perhaps weeks, or even days or hours – there’s no upper limit to the rate of acceleration with a dipolar gravitational field propulsion mechanism: the limits are entirely defined by technological considerations and not fundamental theoretical ones. It also appears that this same branch of technology would offer humankind a limitless and inexhaustible source of energy.
In broad terms, the root of all scarcity comes down to energy, and the root of all real freedom comes down to transportation and territory.
So the ufo question is vastly more significant than simply proving that they’re real. I would go so far as to suggest that the aerial demonstrations performed by these craft may be a kind of IQ test for our species, far more elegant and efficient than the cryptological radio signal challenge posed in the film Contact, and one which offers us an incalculable benefit if we can successfully understand and replicate their propulsion technology. In fact it may ultimately determine the survival of our species - because sooner or later any planet-bound civilization is doomed to extinction. In any case the ufo question holds the keys to transforming the very nature of human civilization and the potential for human life itself. If we can understand how these devices operate, we can rapidly metamorphose human life from the fairly dreary and banal world-bound struggle for subsistence, to a sprawling and inspiring new era of exploration, expansion, and a realization of human potential largely unimaginable within the context of our present day society. This all sounds like hyperbole but it’s not – I’ll be glad to debate this point with anyone open to a rational discussion about it.
Now if you look back at the steps of the scientific method, you’ll notice that we’re stuck at Step 4: conducting an experiment.
If we can devise a successful experiment to reproduce the defining characteristics of the ufo propulsion principle, even to a very modest degree, then we’ll accomplish two things simultaneously:
1.) We’ll prove that it can be done, and therefore practical manned interstellar spaceflight is technologically achievable. This is the last fundamental objection to the extraterrestrial hypothesis, now that we know the overwhelming prevalence of inhabitable worlds. Skeptics argue that superluminal travel is impossible, and therefore alien visitation is impossible or essentially impractical. Therefore, they conclude, it’s not happening. A successful field propulsion experiment would destroy that final key objection. And if we can do it, then “they” can do it. At that point, public opinion would link the high prevalence of life-friendly planets in our galaxy and the cosmos, with the technological capability to traverse interstellar distances in very short time frames, and suddenly we’d all have to accept that alien visitations are highly likely, if not fairly common.
2.) The surprisingly sudden transformation of human civilization from a fairly tedious Earth-bound existence, to a freely roaming and rapidly expanding interstellar civilization.
And that’s why I focus on the physics of the ufo phenomenon with the hope that a viable theoretical proposal will emerge and yield a successful proof-of-principle replication of the ufo field propulsion mechanism.
I welcome any constructive debate about any of this.
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