“No experiences, ordinary, everyday, usual or unusual, whether impressions, ideas, dreams, visions or memories, strange, bizarre, familiar, weird, psychotic, or sane, are objective facts.”
R. D. Laing
This statement may seem hard and intransient but it has to be when attempting to prove a scientific concept. It lies at the heart of the scientific method. Science, like it or not, requires hard facts and solid evidence. The abundance of sightings, witness reports, and unexplained experiences on file with MUFON hold little weight with mainstream science because they can’t be repeated. This is certainly not limited to the UFO phenomena. Every radical concept has been greeted with skepticism. Consider the theory of continental drift. It was first proposed that the continents were constantly on the move when one man recognized that North and South America fit neatly into the coastline of Europe and Africa. Further there were animal species and geologic formations common to both. The idea that every continent was floating on a sea of magma rather than solidly rooted to the Earth was radical to say the least and the theory while occasionally mentioned was not considered valid. Then, in the sixties, several things happened. First the ocean floor was accurately mapped by sonar and satellite radar showing the expansion plates and hot spots necessary for a regular motion of the Earths surface. Then maps were published showing the sea floor that graphically illustrated the ongoing action of continental drift. Finally satellite measurement allowed us to track the actual movement of the Earth’s surface exactly as predicted by the theory. Today continental drift, now called plate tectonics, is the working theory for understanding and predicting earthquakes. Solid evidence and facts, prevail.
It isn’t always easy. When the exploration of Australia began reports of the platypus were dismissed as ridiculous. A specimen was found and subsequently mounted by a taxidermist, the usual method of the day, and sent to England. Ripley, of believe it or not, reported how the scientists who examined it attempted to disassemble it to prove how it was faked. It took a living specimen to lay the matter to rest. And this is the standard that must be met. Victorian science had been faced with plausible fakes and simple misidentifications for years. Genuine looking and obviously organic unicorn horns were presented as proof of the unicorns existence that later turned out to be the horns of the no less exotic narwhale. Later the skull of Piltdown man was accepted for decades as authentic later turning out to be a complete fraud.
It is for this reason that while we must continue to investigate witness reports and close encounters, the collection of trace evidence is vital to ultimately proving the existence of UFOs to the scientific community.
©2010 David A. Henninger
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