UFO Book Articles
articles & documents
A Short Introduction to Ufology
Dennis Stacy, MUFON UFO Journal
The acronym UFO - for Unidentified Flying Object - is so prevalent and commonplace today, that it's easy to forget the term is not even fully fifty years old yet. There is even some dispute about the acronym's exact origin. R
Fermi's Paradox and the Preparation for Contact Hypothesis
Bernard Haisch
The famous physicist, Enrico Fermi, was referring to such an argument when he asked: "Where are they?" Since he was a prominent (and very smart) scientist, his simple question has been given a duly profound name: Fermi's paradox. The paradox is resolved, of course, if the answer is: "Well, they are already here!" R
Is There a Case for UFOs?
Don Berliner, The Fund for UFO Research, Inc.; 2002
About the only point that can be made concerning UFOs without the risk of starting an unpleasant controversy is that they are supremely controversial. Any discussion of their nature, their origins, their significance and, indeed, their very existence, has led to long-term arguments that have yet to reach any generally agreed-upon conclusion. R
Science, Proof And The "UFO
Val Germann
Here is one of the stickiest wickets in the whole field of Ufology. The debunkers all say "where is the proof?" And the "Ufologists" keep trying to turn themselves into physicists and produce it. R
The Emerging Picture of the UFO Problem
Joseph Allen Hynek, AIAA 13th Aerospace Sciences Meeting Pasadena, Calif., January 20-22, 1975
This paper intends to present the elements of the UFO problem, today. Truly unidentified reports of events in the air, and close to the ground, exist, events worldwide in origin and appearing to fit a relatively small number of patterns. The data, amenable to study of an interdisciplinary nature, involving a number of scientific disciplines and probably necessitating new departures in methodology, have been imperfectly studied in the past and have been virtually ignored by science. R
The Incommensurability Problem and The Fermi Paradox
Eric Davis, astrophysicist at the National Institute for Discovery Science
I would like to focus on an important, very key comment made in the second paragraph of Fermi's Paradox and the Preparation for Contact Hypothesis. I refer in particular to the passage: "...a second common objection to the UFO phenomenon by scientists: that the observations indicate such utterly nonsensical, bizarre behaviour that it just could not possibly be real. Intelligent visitors just would not pull such disreputable antics as have been reported." R
The Speed-of-Light Limit Argument
Bernard Haisch
The speed of light is a universal upper limit. Distances between stars range from 4.3 light years to Alpha Centauri to a hundred thousand light years across the Milky Way galaxy to millions of light years between galaxies. These facts are incompatible with tens of thousands of apparent visitations R
The UFO Phenomenon: Laugh, Laugh, Study, Study
J. Allen Hynek, Technology Review, July 1981, pp. 50-58.
The phenomenon of "unidentified flying objects" (UFOs), though few would call it part of science, is also both shocking and paradoxical. UFO reports are often an outrage to common sense. The persistent flow of reports, from all parts of the world, of an object or a luminosity in the sky or on or near the earth defies rational explanation even when made by persons of acknowledged responsibility. (I exclude here the popular interpretations of the phenomenon -- such as "little green men from outer space" -- as quite distinct.) Indeed, if these observations are even partially true, understanding them may require a breakthrough -- at least in our thinking about the world around us. R
UFO Debunkers Have To Get It Right Every Time
Ives Lewis
The UFO mystery provides a good subject for examining how we decide we "know" something, as opposed to simply believing something. A little time reading the UFO literature and perusing the Internet establishes that while there are countless belief systems about UFOs, overall there seem to be two basic camps of people who spend some time contemplating the subject R
UFO, Ufology and Institutional Recognition
Gildas Bourdais, Symposium on UFOs and related Phenomena at San Marino, march 9-10 2002
Skepticism about the mere existence of UFOs still prevails in many countries, among scientists and intellectuals. For many of them, UFOs belong to the "irrational" beliefs of "pseudo sciences." This attitude is still very present in France, where "rationalism" has been predominant for at least two centuries. On the other hand, UFOs are studied officially at the National Center of Space Studies (CNES/SEPRA). So, the situation has never been completely blocked in France. R
You Don't Have To 'Believe' In UFOs Any Longer
James Neff
Whenever I hear the question "do you believe in UFOs?" there often arises an instant feeling of frustration which quickly rolls over into fatigue and a sense of pity. To most of those who have devoted even a reasonable portion of time to acquiring an understanding of the phenomenon, the term "belief" simply doesn't, and should never, apply. R
websites & organizations
Twenty-one Years of UFO Reports
J. Allen Hynek, UFO Symposiu, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 134th Meeting
My role here today is that of reporter; to report to you on my score or so years of experience with UFO reports (note that I do not say UFO's, for I myself have never had a UFO experience) and with those who make such reports, from this and many other countries. R
