Can The Scientific  Community Be Trusted?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (U-Wire) - The scientific community has always been
quick to dismiss any kind of alternative viewpoint that threatens to
throw the 'accepted' knowledge of the world into question.  Sometimes
this scurry to explain the unexplainable leads to leaps in logic that
can only be described as laughable. This is the case with the latest
report on new developments in the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence.

While browsing the magazine section at a local convenience store I
happened to stumble upon a
headline that deeply disturbed me. Right on the cover of the July issue
of Scientific American appeared the declaration: "Alien Civilizations:
if they exist why aren't they here?" I was intrigued.
I just had to investigate the logic that would lead someone to make
such an uninformed statement and get it published in a supposedly
scientific publication.

What I found was one of the most deliberately one-sided pieces of
journalism I have encountered
in my short existence.  In the article entitled, "Where Are They? Maybe
we are alone in the galaxy after all," Ian Crawford, University of
London astronomy professor, briefly illustrates popular scientific
research and viewpoints regarding this controversial issue.

Throughout the piece he reviews data based on the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence program's
new findings and astronomical data regarding the existence of planets
outside of our solar system.
In his opinion, he maintains, that based on these new findings the
human race must face the possibility that we are the most advanced
civilization in the galaxy.

He bases much of his argument on the famous scientific 'paradox' voiced
in 1950 by Enrico Fermi. Fermi's paradox basically states that if alien
civilizations existed in the universe, their presence would be obvious.
Crawford argues that since these new scientific findings don't point to
any obvious presence of an alien civilization, they simply might not
exist. He further goes on to suggest that we should continue expansion
of the SETI program to find some obvious evidence.

OK, this is ridiculous. No obvious evidence, who are they kidding? I'm
no expert on the topic, but I
do know that UFO sightings and reported alien abductions have been
permeating our culture for
nearly 50 years.

The questions raised by these phenomenon's are numerous and the answers
don't exist. The number of people, pilots in particular, who have
reported UFO sightings is enormous. In addition, nearly 1.5 million
people in this country from all walks of life have reported supposed
abductions, the psychological influence of which is easily measured.
This is not to mention the fact that the military possesses literally
thousands of pages of information regarding the existence of aliens,
which they refuse to declassify to the general populace.

It would be one thing to write an article of this nature and
systematically discount these claims or
argue against them with some type of reasoning. To simply ignore them
and pretend that they don't
exist is completely irresponsible and insulting to the general
populace. Those who are putting their faith in the scientific community
to save the world should take note: these people can't be trusted.

 (C) 2000 The Lantern via U-WIRE
By John Gillanders
The Lantern - Ohio State University
7-21-00