Info-ParaNet Newsletters April 6th 1991

                 Info-ParaNet Newsletters   Volume I  Number 386

 

                            Saturday, April 6th 1991

 

Today's Topics:

 

                           Re: Gravitational magnetism

                                 Belgian reports

                                 Re: Bill Cooper

                                     (none)

                               Kecksburg UFO Crash

                                 Re: Rick Redux

                            Re: Statements of accepta

                              Re: Fcc Modem Charge

                                Re: Mail Problems

                                    Skeptics

                      Fiery Objects Fall on Northern Texas

                              Re: THEY'RE HERE!!!!

                                       KOA

                                Re:  Bill Cooper

                               Re: Serios Business


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From: John.Tender@f112.n129.z1.FIDONET.ORG (John Tender)

Subject: Re: Gravitational magnetism

Date: 30 Mar 91 09:57:42 GMT



 >>          Robert Forward, a physicist specializing

 >> in gravitational theory and 'hard SF' writer (Dragon's

 >> Egg and sequel), has described an antigravity device

 >> consisting of a toroidal coil with an ID of about

 >> 100 meters.

 >>

 >> If the mass of a neutron star were to flow through the

 >> windings of the coil every millisecond, the magnetic

     

 KL>  Not possible.  The constraints of even a superconductor

 KL> to handle that many electrons per millisec dictate a

 KL> conductor wider than the toroid itself.  That's my

 KL> hip-pocket assessment without knowing the mass of the 

 KL> neutron star involved. 


     I got the impression that the mass goes through the toroid, not the

coils.

     

 >> enormous masses and velocities required is the low

 >> value of the gravitational coupling constant

 >> (about 40 orders of magnitude less than the strong

 >> nuclear or EM)

     

 KL> Wrong!  40 orders of magnitude places this "reaction"

 KL> above Planck energy values, an unexplored region if not

 KL> virgin territory by human instrumentation(s) that one

 KL> might consider possible billionths of a second after the

 KL> creation of the (now reckoned) universe.

 KL> 10^19 to 10^28 is more likely the region that we could

 KL> measure "gravitons" at, if superstring theory is valid.


     What are "Planck energy values"?  Where did you get the numbers

10^19 to 10^28?


     The 10e40 value for comparative field strength of the EM force over

the gravitational force comes from a comparison of the field strengths

for specific particles. In a model of the hydrogen atom, assuming a

proton-electron distance of 5.3e-11 meter, the EM force between the two

particles is 8.1e-8 newtons while the gravitational force is only

3.7e-47 newtons. This yields about a 10e40 ratio, and since both fields

have an inverse square dependance on distance, the ratio is invariant

for particle separation. As most of the charged particles in the

universe are protons and electrons, this is not an inappropriate

comparison. However, even if you substitute another proton for the

electron, the ratio is only reduced to about 10e37.


 >> and the low permeability of space to the field.

 >>         Physicists at Stanford and elsewhere are

 >> planning experiments on a satellite in the next decade

 >> to test for the existence of the protational field.

     

 KL> I'll have to look this term up, never heard it before.


     It's new to me too. Let me know what you find.


 ... from the purlieus of Pittsburgh

--  

John Tender - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: John.Tender@f112.n129.z1.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: John.Hicks@p2.f29.n363.z1.FIDONET.ORG (John Hicks)

Subject: Belgian reports

Date: 31 Mar 91 00:13:00 GMT



  An interesting little tidbit from the International Literary Gazette 

(reprinted by UFONS) in an interview by Oleg Moroz of Ivan Tretyak, 

CIC USSR ADF.


MOROZ. "The Belgian Air Force headquarters published some excerpts 

from a report which gave an account of the events that occurred on the 

night of March 30: It was at last officially confirmed that the 

mysterious black triangles that had for seven months recurrently 

appeared over Belgium were detected by military radars."


TRETYAK. "I know about this publication. But the fact is that several 

days later it was refuted; there had been no detection by radars."


  Have we missed a followup somewhere? Throughout the interview, 

Tretyak seems to be a fairly straightforward guy.


                                           jbh


--  

John Hicks - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: John.Hicks@p2.f29.n363.z1.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Greenen@f29.n363.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Greenen)

Subject: Re: Bill Cooper

Date: 4 Apr 91 00:55:00 GMT


Don; I was just pulling the leg a little when I mention Las Vegas. 

If we can you the team Alien as some other race that is not of the 

planet earth, then I would say that YES there is prove that we are 

being visited by Aliens. Check in Wendelle Stevens back room and you 

will see over 3,500 pictures of these crafts that they are using. 

Ask the 20,000,000 people that have seen something that does not 

look or act like anything that is know on this earth. 

   You being a retired police investigator would not have any 

problem sending a person to death if you had the data that exist on 

UFO's. If our courts demanded more prove then what we have collected 

over the pass 40+ years then we might as well lay off ever police 

officer and close all prisons. I have to go now because I got to 

give a lecture on UFO's in about 1 hour to our local Amateur Radio 

Club. I ask for a rebuttal when the 2 months ago a lawyer gave a 

talk on the subject and said that because the speed of light is the 

fastest thing know to man and the nearest star that might support 

life is x mount of years and it would take this long to get from 

point a to b, there for there is no such thing as UFO's. Believe me 

someone is going to hang tonight because I am going to show them 

some prove.      73's      ---Jim---

--  

Jim Greenen - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Greenen@f29.n363.z1.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: psuvm.psu.edu!CCB104

Subject: (none)

Date: 5 Apr 91 04:30:45 GMT


From: <CCB104@psuvm.psu.edu>



(I am sending you this on behalf of T. Scott Crain, Jr.)


  - - The original note follows - -


  - - Standard disclaimers apply - -


  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cut here * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


From:    T. Scott Crain, Jr.

Subject: Kecksburg UFO Crash


Perhaps Paranet subscribers should not be so quick to write off the

Kecksburg UFO crash, as would be the upshot of a recent article by

Robert Young for the Spring 1991 Skeptical Inquirer (Info-Paranet

Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 380). It appears Young has a knack for filtering

out facts that don't parallel his preconceived notions about what really

happened that night on December 9, 1965.


Stan Gordon, Director of the Pennsylvania Association for

the Study of the Unexplained (PASU), is an active investigator of the

Kecksburg crash and has compiled a mountain of evidence that supports

the notion that a bronze-colored, acorn-shaped object, approximately 12

feet long and 10 feet in diameter, with a band of unintelligible

markings wrapped around it, crash-landed in a wooded area near

Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.


After seeing Young's article in Info-Paranet Newsletter, I phoned Gordon on

March 31, 1991, and we discussed his ongoing investigation as well as Young's

article.


First of all, Young dismisses what witnesses claim they saw, simply

because they did not come forward sooner. Gordon has interviewed at

least 4 witnesses who saw the object while it was on the ground (and,

to be sure, before the military had secured the crash site area).

They include one fireman (one of several who saw it that day) and three

civilians.  These witnesses are not looking for publicity and will not

let Gordon release their names to the media for fear of ridicule.  Gordon

explained to me how witnesses who didn't know each other took him to the

same crash site.  Witnesses' descriptions of the craft were virtually

identical, during separate interviews conducted by PASU.


Young points out in his article that during the alleged UFO recovery

operation, Jerome and Valerie Miller's home was portrayed as a 'military

command post' in the re-enactment appearing on NBC's 'Unsolved

Mysteries' episode on the crash (Sept. 19, 1990). The Miller's deny their

home was a command center for the military, and so does Stan Gordon, who told

me that another home in the vicinity of the crash was the command post.


Young hints that a secret satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air

Force Base, California, that same day, and the stage was set for

Kecksburg. Never mind that scientist Ivan T. Sanderson traced the flight

pattern of the UFO and discovered it made a controlled 25-degree turn in

Ohio and headed for Pennsylvania (Fate Magazine, arch 1966). Not a

typical movement of a satellite crashing back to Earth.


Young also hints that the object may have been a brilliant bolide or

'fireball' that was observed coming down from Canada and a half dozen or

so states before crash-landing. But he failed to mention that Sanderson

estimated the object's speed at 1062.5 miles per hour. PASU did a

detailed analysis of the observations and times the object was seen and

concluded that at most the object was moving at a speed of 5257 miles

per hour. Neither estimate comes anywhere near the minimum speed for a

meteor which is approximately 27,000 miles per hour. Witnesses to the

Kecksburg UFO said it was 'gliding in' before it crashed and moving at

the speed of a small plane.


Finally, Young concludes from old newspaper accounts that really nothing

fell in Kecksburg. Young reports 'the Air Force also announced that

nothing had been found' (Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 10). Yet, Project

Bluebook records I have in my hands indicate the Air Force concluded the

object was a meteor, which we have already determined is virtually

impossible. Anyhow, why would numerous local fire companies, the

Pennsylvania State Police, the U.S. Air Force, the 662nd Radar Squadron,

and various other military officials gravitate to the village of

Kecksburg to recover a rock from space? What happened to this alleged

meteor? Why did it have to be removed that night? And why all the

secrecy?


Young reports: 'The official explanations are totally consistent with

all published accounts and the present recollections of scores of

witnesses.' Obviously, Young has not been talking to the same witnesses

that Gordon has been talking to. Like the Westmoreland County man who

was stationed at Lockborne Air Base near Columbus, Ohio, who claims the

base was put on 'red alert' during the early morning hours of December

10, 1965 (the same morning witnesses at Kecksburg watched a flatbed

truck travel towards the crash site and leave with a large object on the

back covered with a tarp). According to this former member of the Air

Police at Lockborne, a flatbed truck with a tarpaulin-covered object

drove into the hangar and was guarded until 7:30 a.m., when it left for

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 100 miles away.


Several days later, a witness reported seeing the object at

Wright-Patterson. Reporter Sharon Santus writing in the Greensburg

Tribune-Review (Dec. 9, 1990) writes:


+Another witness, Ohio truck driver John Cummings (not his real name),

+said he actually saw the object inside a building at Wright-Patterson

+on Dec. 12, 1965, just three days after the alleged landing.

+

+Cummings, who made deliveries for a Dayton-area building-supply company,

+said a high-ranking military officer arrived at the firm on Dec. 11,

+1965, and ordered a special radiation-, moisture-resistant brick for

+construction of a protective room inside a building at Wright-Patterson.

+

+Cummings said he and a cousin delivered 6,500 bricks to Wright-Patterson

+the next day after being instructed by their boss not to discuss

+anything they might observe at the compound.

+

+'We were unloading the bricks onto pallets and me and my cousin decided

+to sneak inside to see what all the secrecy was about,' Cummings said.

+'Guards immediately ordered us out ... but not before we saw it.'

+

+Cummings said he saw a dark bronze, bell-shaped object about 14 feet

+wide at the base and about 12 feet high.

+

+He said scaffolding surrounded the object, which was covered on three

+sides with parachute-like material that hung from the ceiling. According

+to Cummings, 10 to 15 men with white, protective suits, wearing rubber

+boots, rubber gloves and gas masks were attempting to open the object.

+

+'They took us outside and told us to forget what we had seen,' Cummings

+said, 'We were told that in 20 years, the object would be common

+knowledge.'

+

+Cummings said that a few days later he learned that other truck drivers

+had seen a flatbed military truck with a tarpaulin-covered object on the

+back traveling from the Pittsburgh area west on Route 40 toward

+Wheeling, W.Va., and then on to Columbus and Dayton.

+

+He said that information along with his own experience convinces him

+that the object he saw at Wright-Patterson was the same as that which

+allegedly fell in Kecksburg.


As one can see, there is more to this case than Young has reported in

his article. At the close of my conversation with Gordon, he said that

he was not saying it's an alien spacecraft (that's only one possibility);

it could be a sophisticated military probe of an undetermined origin.

But something landed that day in Kecksburg, and whatever it was, it

attracted the interest of the military.


  - - End of message from T. Scott Crain, Jr. - -





--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: John.Cockrell@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (John Cockrell)

Subject: Re: Rick Redux

Date: 4 Apr 91 22:46:00 GMT


Musta missed that one. What'd he say?

                                Just wonderin',

                                        J.C.

--  

John Cockrell - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: John.Cockrell@paranet.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Speiser@f37.n114.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)

Subject: Re: Statements of accepta

Date: 4 Apr 91 21:16:00 GMT



 >      I am looking for statements they have committed to print and public

 > distribution; if no single definitive statements are available, then

 > maybe a few relevant citations. If you have some files of personal

 > conversations, I'm interested but I'd rather have "official" statements

 > in their own words.


Sorry; can't really help you there. I do believe that the statements you seek 

exist in many places, most notably the Skeptical Inquirer, but I couldn't 

cite you specific references.


 >      Such statements would be quite valuable. It would at least show how

 > competent these guys are as scientists (assuming they would actually

 > write their own stuff) as opposed to propagandists.


It is my impression that these guys are competent "scientific thinkers." 

(Define "scientist.") I am not by any stretch of the imagination a 

"scientist", but I believe I've got a grasp on how the thinking process goes. 

While I disagree with their parameters for evidence, I recognize that there 

is enough room for gentlemanly debate on the subject without stooping to the 

degree of vilification you seem to revel in. The bottom line is, I *do* 

believe that "these guys" will accept *SOMETHING* solid as evidence, and 

though they do seem to present a moving target, I believe that, if UFOs are a 

genuine, physical phenomenon, it is within our power to gather the requisite 

amount of evidence to convince them. Of course, with some of them, it becomes 

almost academic, since a sufficiently large body of evidence has indeed 

already been gathered. 


 >      I never said Rick or anyone should delete any files. I did say that

 > if we are going to categorize these files, as "good" or "bad" or

 > "Cooper-like" etc., we should have explicitly stated (as opposed to

 > implicitly assumed) ~reasons~ for doing so. I opposed the idea that such

 > file deletions should be made at the whim of a sysop. This is both

 > consistent with and required of a scientific approach to the UFO

 > phenomena.

 >

 >      When Rick, a member of the Bay Area Skeptics and CSICOP, evaded

 > this issue so persistently it merely reinforced a pattern I've seen in

 > skeptics before; using science when it is convenient, and ignoring it

 > otherwise.


<sigh> I have seen that pattern in skeptics myself. I just don't see it in 

Rick, and I don't think you should be painting with such a broad brush.


Jim


--  

Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@f37.n114.z1.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Shaffer@f4.n1012.z9.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Shaffer)

Subject: Re: Fcc Modem Charge

Date: 5 Apr 91 07:42:00 GMT


I don't blame you Mike, I "posted in haste" to say the least, the first time 

I read the article.  But then I stopped to think, and I hesitated on sending 

any nasty letters to the FCC.  Good thing, because it was debunked a few 

weeks later.  (I think it was probably around February/March of last year, 

but I'm not certain.  As I said before, it was the same message you posted.)  

 

--  

Jim Shaffer - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Shaffer@f4.n1012.z9.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Elizabeth.Anderson@p0.f30.n134.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Elizabeth Anderson)

Subject: Re: Mail Problems

Date: 4 Apr 91 01:51:00 GMT


Ok, here's the information again. Everybody please note, however, I am at a 

very remedial level with computers, and I don't keep copies of messages I 

send, ok?


It is called the Nahanni (two 'n's) National Park. Established 1972. Covers 

4700 square kms. The river is 320 kms long. There are gorges over 1000 m 

deep, and there is a falls, over 100 m deep (or high, I suppose) called 

Virginia Falls.


32 mammal species; 120 bird species. UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Nearest service point - Fort Simpson, N.W.T.; write to their Board of Trade 

or Chamber of Commerce for information.


As for the headless prospectors, they were looking for gold - but maybe they 

found it, maybe they didn't......



All the best, and good luck! Let me know if you need more info.



Elizabeth  

 

--  

Elizabeth Anderson - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Elizabeth.Anderson@p0.f30.n134.z1.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross)

Subject: Skeptics

Date: 5 Apr 91 14:56:44 GMT


>From gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross)


The only problem with being open-minded is that your brains may fall

out. <GRIN!!>


Okay, enough clowning for a moment.  Look, Rick and other skeptics serve

a very valid and useful purpose in any investigation of things that the

rationalist tends to see as outside the 'natural laws.'  They demand of

all of us far better work and documentation of the evidence.  And as

irritating as their constant questioning can be, it should be the spur

in the flank that moves us onward.  No amount of belief makes up for

sloppy scholarship and research.


By the same token, skepticism for the mere sake of being skeptical

is an unworthy effort.  This is not to accuse any individual of this

practice.  One of the problems that I've had with the rationalist school

is that much of the philosophical positions tend to be self-defeating.

But this is not the place for an extensive discourse on Hume and others.


Rick, has often asked very good questions that deserve good, or better

answers.  He has shown the weakness of some thinking and positions.  For

this, we ought to tip our hat to him.


One thing though, Rick, offering an alternative explanation of an event

does not disprove the event or the other explanation.  Also, I wonder

how many skeptics form their arguments as follows:


P = premise

C = conclusion


P:  Since UFOs do not exist,

C:  there cannot be any evidence that they do exist.

P:  Since there cannot be any evidence for UFOs' existence,

C:  all evidences for UFOs must be somehow false.

P:  Since all evidences for UFOs are false,

C:  UFOs do not exist.

 

Again, this is not a personal accusation.  However, I have been

interested in the comments of many skeptics that, regardless of the

evidence, UFOs are impossible.  I remain skeptical that UFOs are what

some think they are, but I do acknowledge that something is happening to

people that cannot be accounted for by a natural explanation.  At that

point I have to stop because I do not have enough information and

evidence to make a definitive statement.


Nonetheless, keep it up, Rick.


Gene Gross



--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: neptune.convex.com!swarren

Subject: Fiery Objects Fall on Northern Texas

Date: 5 Apr 91 18:54:05 GMT


From: swarren@neptune.convex.com (Steve Warren)


This was in today's (Friday  4/5/91) issue of The

Dallas Morning News (bottom of page 21A).


In  light  of the  recent  discussions  regarding

sightings  of  fireballs, I thought  some  of the

Paranet readers would  find  it interesting, so I

typed in the article this morning.


Enjoy:

-------------------------------------------------

SIRENS GO OFF; NO ONE KNOWS WHY

Teletype, 'Fiery Objects' in Sky Add to Mystery


By Todd Copilevitz and Nita Thurman

Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News


A cryptic Teletype about a ground fire and 'fiery

objects' falling from the sky - followed by civil

defense sirens apparently  sounding  off on their

own - had Dallas officials humming the theme from

The Twilight Zone on Thursday.


Beginning at  1:47  a.m., the 911 switchboard was

flooded with phone   calls from  residents in the

Eastern  third of the  city  wanting to  know the

reason for the sirens.


Authorities wanted to know, too.


Computer  tapes   did  not show  that  anyone had

triggered the  sirens -  or  even that  they were

sounding,  said  Bobby   J.  Martinez,  assistant

director   of  Dallas'   Office     of  Emergency

Preparedness.


But three  minutes  before the  sirens went  off,

police  received   a  Teletype  from  the   North

American     Aerospace    Defense Command,  which

monitors the  skies for falling  objects  such as

enemy missiles and space debris.


The message - first sent to the  Texas Department

of  Public  Safety   in Austin, then   relayed to

police departments, read:


'Report from national warning center on  hot spot

or  possible  ground   fire  28  miles  North  of

Longview.  Are attempting to locate fire now.  At

approximately same time  national warning  center

received  reports of  fiery objects falling  from

sky east of  Oklahoma  City.  Are investigating a

possible  correlation  of  the    two  sightings.

Request any   agency  receiving similar   reports

forward      information    to    DPS      Austin

communications.'


Moments  later,  according to    telephone  logs,

people started calling about the sirens.


'This  place  was   going nuts,' said  one police

communications worker.   'They kept expecting Rod

Serling  to step out  of  the corner,' she  said,

referring  to the  host of the  old Twilight Zone

television show.


Mr.  Martinez said  the  city's 94  sirens can be

turned  on only by   the  watch commander at  the

police  communications center  or  the Office  of

Emergency Preparedness.


'Dallas police do  not indicate that they sounded

the sirens, and we weren't  even in the office at

that time,' he said.


There is  no way for  a teletype to  trigger  the

127-decibel sirens   automatically,  Mr. Martinez

said.


Police and emergency preparedness officials tried

to turn the sirens off, but with limited success.

The sirens went back  on  as  many as three times

before Mr.  Martinez's office disabled the city's

entire system at 3:00 a.m.


'It became obvious that the system was  not going

to  reset on its own,  so our only  choice was to

disable it,' he said.


NORAD officials said they had issued the teletype

about midnight Dallas time.  Apparently there was

a  delay in transmission  of the message from the

DPS in Austin to local police.


Meanwhile, the bright  objects  mentioned  in the

NORAD Teletype were  reported by residents across

North Texas.


Mike Ames, 25, of The Colony (a city in the North

Dallas area - SW) said he was jogging  in a rural

area when he saw a ball of fire streak across the

sky from northwest to southeast  sometime after 9

p.m.


'I  thought it was  a satellite coming  down,' he

said.  'I thought I was  going to get hit by some

debris.


'I could see flames coming off ...and it had this

big tale.'


A  fisherman on  Lake Whitney, 35 miles  north of

Waco, called the National Weather Service in Fort

Worth to  report that  the whole lake  lit up and

debris  fell everywhere,  said  a weather service

spokesman.


'We  had three   or  four calls  here from people

wondering what the light was,' said meteorologist

Jesse  Moore.   'All we  can   say  is it  wasn't

weather-related.'


As for he report  of a ground fire  in  northeast

Texas,  Upshur  County deputies  said a  thorough

search turned up nothing.


'They couldn't  locate anything,'  said sheriff's

Capt.  Nancy  Betterton.     'There   just wasn't

anything there.'


In addition to plenty  of mystery,   Mr. Martinez

said the episode provided one benefit:


'At least we  know now that the   sirens are loud

enough to wake people if necessary.'

-------------------------------------------------


            _.

--Steve   ._||__      DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own.

  Warren   v\ *|     ----------------------------------------------

             V       {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.com





--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)

Subject: Re: THEY'RE HERE!!!!

Date: 5 Apr 91 14:10:00 GMT


> They're Here!

 

And they look like the Michelin Tire Man!

--  

Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)

Subject: KOA

Date: 5 Apr 91 14:11:00 GMT


How did the KOA appearance go?

--  

Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG




--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: neptune.convex.com!swarren

Subject: Re:  Bill Cooper

Date: 6 Apr 91 00:18:51 GMT


From: swarren@neptune.convex.com (Steve Warren)


+From: Jim.Greenen@f29.n363.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Greenen)

+Subject: Re: Bill Cooper

+Date: 26 Mar 91 14:10:01 GMT

                            [...]

+            ...  Now, If you had a dramatic sighting (and I also 

+had one) wouldn't you have the tendency to throw all skeptism out 

+and look toward the reasons of who, how, what and where questions? I 

+did that many years ago and now I am looking for the answers to 

+those questions. 

+   You mention that you are skeptic but skeptic of what? If you were 

+refering to Mr. Cooper, you have good reason but to the existence of 

+aliens visiting this planet, you should not have any doubt.  ...


On what grounds?  Just because I experience a dramatic sighting does not

mean that aliens are visiting us!  What did I really see?  How many

conclusions can I draw from my experience?  Does everything that is bizarre

(beyond anything I've experienced before) necessarily come from outside of

our planet?  Certainly I have no extra-planetary experiences that would

give me the ability to actually judge whether something originated from

outside of planet Earth.


And I'm not saying aliens are not visiting us.  But really, we are trying

to discover what the reality of this phenomenum is, and just deciding that

it is aliens visiting this planet is not helpful!


Why not?  Because there are a number of alternative theories that taken

together could explain everything that has been reported.  Some of these

theories include intentional hoaxes and mental/emotional instability,

suggestability (in the case of hypnotic regression), gov't disinformation

for unknown purposes (possibly using UFO reports to explain/discredit

sightings of supersecret technology developed by the gov't), etc.


Again, let me stress, I am not saying that there are no aliens.  I am just

saying that when you want to get to the bottom of something it is not

productive to decide in advance that you already know what has happened.


In order to actually say, as Jim says here, 'you should not have any

doubt,' (and actually be right) you *must* have some kind of verifiable

evidence that *distinguishes* between these theories.  IE you need to have

evidence that clearly eliminates Earthly technology, as well as hoaxes,

delusions or hallucinations.


There is also the less-popular alternate theory that says that the

explanation for ufos is 'spiritual,' that is, only a small part of the

manifestations are actually physical, and everything else is spectral

(manipulations of light/ radar/magnetism/etc by 'spirit' or

extra-dimensional creatures who have some bizarre otherworldly purpose for

'spooking' us on a regular basis).  This theory would be dealt a serious

blow by the recovery of a working alien spacecraft.  ;^)


All these various explanations are clamoring for attention, and no one has

yet presented the definitive evidence that justifies any one theory to the

exclusion of all the rest.  Until the definitive evidence appears, it is

silly to accuse people of being closed minded for not embracing one view

over another.  In reality the closed-minded ones are the people like Jim

here, who has already made up his mind that one theory is 'it'; it's the

answer.  The truth is, there are other theories that are just as likely to

be the correct explanation, if not more so.


To me open-minded means being open to *all* the plausible explanations, and

remaining neutral even towards the more silly explanations.  You can't

narrow the field until the actual evidence is sufficient to eliminate the

other contenders.

            _.

--Steve   ._||__      DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own.

  Warren   v\ *|     ----------------------------------------------

             V       {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.com





--------------------------------------------------------------------



From: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (Jim Speiser)

Subject: Re: Serios Business

Date: 5 Apr 91 14:09:00 GMT


OK, Dan, you've convinced me. I shall look for the much-vaunted *second 

edition* of the World of Ted Serios.

 

In the meantime, I shall review Martin Gardner's "Science: Good, Bad 

and Bogus" and may excerpt a few things from it for your reading 

"pleasure." Mind you, I'm no great fan of Gardner's, and if I run 

something of his up the flagpole, its because I'm really hoping it can 

be shot down - personally I think the guy is the most pompous of the 

CSICOP hit-men. But I will be looking for bulls-eyes on Eisenbud's 

part. 

 

Jim

--  

Jim Speiser - via FidoNet node 1:104/422

UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name

INTERNET: Jim.Speiser@paranet.FIDONET.ORG




********To have your comments in the next issue, send electronic mail to********

                      'infopara' at the following address: 


UUCP  {ncar,isis,boulder}!scicom!infopara

DOMAIN  infopara@scicom.alphacdc.com

ADMIN Address infopara-request@scicom.alphacdc.com

  {ncar,isis,boulder}!scicom!infopara-request

 

******************The**End**of**Info-ParaNet**Newsletter************************



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA HAD TO SAY ABOUT WHAT WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE HAPPENED in 1874

Uninterruptable Power Source (UPS) FAQ

Blade Runner FAQ