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From: Mark Cashman <mcashman@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 17:23:56 -0400
Fwd Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 10:06:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Walt's Woes - The Decline of MUFON


>From: Nick Humphries <nick@the-den.clara.net>
>To: UFO UpDates - Toronto <updates@globalserve.net>
>Subject: Re: UFO UpDate: P-1947: Walt's Woes - The Decline of MUFON
>Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 19:06:08 GMT

>The fact is that time is ufology's worst enemy - many 'landmark'
>cases are now solved or very close to being solved as more and
>more information comes out. For fear of stepping on many
>high-profile researchers on this list, I'll only give these as
>examples:

>- the Thomas Mantell incident...

Most people have agreed on this one for much longer than since
the 1980s.

As for the rest of the cited cases, while they may have received
a lot of publicity, they have contributed little or nothing to
ufology, and frankly wouldn't be considered 'landmark' cases.
Now Socorro, or Levelland, or Exeter... well, those are landmark
cases, and they remain as unsolved today as they did when
witnessed.

>The 'big cases' are falling apart, the 'little cases' aren't
>that sensational, and until something 'big' happens, ufology is,
>quite frankly, in deep-shit.

Frankly, I have yet to see a bunch of researchers or interested
persons walking around, heads hanging, muttering... "Oh, no, not
Mantell... not Rendlesham... not Roswell - this breaks the back
of ufology!"

And, I don't see people doing that at MUFON meetings either.

What I do see is that the "believers" don't need an
investigative group, so MUFON doesn't do anything for them; they
really want some sort of "we all believe together" new age
encounter group. Unfortunately, a lot of those folks are in
MUFON, and they are trying to turn it into what they want.

The rational and scientifically inclined only have to attend one
MUFON chapter meeting. They'll find someone wailing about the
Face on Mars or that the US Government is trying to assassinate
them because they know too much about UFOs, or trumpeting Corso,
or talking about their mysterious 374th bedroom abduction or the
strange mark on their arm. It will be a short time before they
leave and decide this whole mess isn't worth being associated
with. Those who grit their teeth and hang in certainly aren't
going to invite anyone rational to join - it would be
embarrassing to have acted as a reference.

I also don't see people walking around going "this isn't very
interesting anymore", and I think the controversies on the mail
lists don't suggest that either.

>And it's no use crying about the fact that most of mainstream
>science ignores the subject - look at yourselves and you'll see
>why. All the researchers are divided according to pet theories,
>there is no 'universal truth', there are no standards to speak
>of and there is no policing of the whole field. Get your house
>in order, stop bickering and try and find the common ground as
>this (if there is any) will probably bear the most fruit.

I'm getting really tired of the whining about the state of
ufology, not that anyone probably cares. But, if you don't like
the state of it, do something on your own to improve it. Stop
nattering on about "cleaning house" or silencing the whackos.
Instead, outproduce them. Produce as much good research as they
produce dreck, and then produce more. If someone comes along
with wild eyed theories, hold them to a standard of proof. If
they can't meet it, everyone will know what they are.

The problem isn't the absence of a "universal truth", it's that
people keep expecting one. The answer to this problem isn't
going to be handed to us, the theories to explain small parts
have to be proven before the big global theories, and the real,
hard, down in the trenches analysis and research has to be done,
but isn't being done enough. Frankly theories like PNH, CSH, and
even ETH are still premature - they're like doing cosmology
before doing physics.

There are enough possibilities for experimental, statistical and
quantitative research to keep even amateur scientists busy well
into the next millenium. But there's a certain fear of
committing to that kind of work, and it's sad. Especially when
you realize we don't need multi-million dollar particle
accelerators or radio detectors to do it.

>Some sort of unification is the key, otherwise the subject is
>doomed to the fringe for the forseeable future.

What, make an organization bigger and more heterogenous than
MUFON? That's supposed to attract people to ufology?

I don't think so.

Make bigger and more global theories and punish the heretics
with stoning? I don't think so.

------
Mark Cashman, creator of The Temporal Doorway at
http://www.temporaldoorway.com
- Original digital art, writing, and UFO research -
Author of SF novels available at...
http://www.temporaldoorway.com/library.htm
------