Folks this is a great article. Based on my dealings with some of these "experts" I think Tom Deuley is dead on !!!!!!!!

UFO Progress?
by Tom Deuley

Tom Deuley, MUFON International's corporate secretary, long-time UFO researcher, and avid ufology watcher, laments what he sees as a declining use of the scientific method -- and of common sense -- in the study of UFOs. --Editor

Though it seems the study of UFOs has come a long way over the past 10 years, I think we must reflect on the fact that it has not entirely _come along_, but in some cases been _whipped along_ by a cadre of bandwagon riders trying to turn UFOs into either ego satisfaction or just plain cash business, with little regard for facts or science.

With the present movement of the public away from science, UFO investigators and researchers are faced with a very difficult future. If the whipping-along trend continues, ufology will become a mythical religion long before it ever has a chance of becoming a science. The complexion of ufology is gradually becoming more closely related to beliefs and whims of personal interpretation than to the collection and analysis of evidence. Those looking for the truth about UFOs need very seriously to regroup and at every opportunity insist on the application of common sense, if not science, in their critical judgments.

I would guess that the number of unusual UFO cases -- and the numerous far-reaching explanations that accompany them -- will continue to multiply. So too will the numbers of entrepreneurs, book writers, booksellers, novelty salesman, pseudoscientists, ego maniacs, and groupies. The subject is crossing every boundary, invading many facets of a lot of people's lives. It is frequently presented as the force that will destroy American democracy (because of our government's mishandling of matters). It is touted as a major threat to humanity. And it is an unrelenting force of wishful thinking, as both the savior _and_ the destroyer. But UFOs have nothing to do with any of this.

UFOs are _reports_ -- some with credible multiple witnesses, some with simultaneous radar/visual sightings, some with reports of an entity associated with the object, some with hints of unusual contact -- some with scant more than just a good report. Far too often, "stories" have been introduced, accepted, and left to grow with lives of their own, never being questioned or examined for substance or cohesion.

I would urge everyone who has any interest in UFOs to do these things as you ponder the phenomenon:

  • Ask hard questions.
  • Don't spread unfounded stories.
  • Squelch the baloney as you find it.
  • Insist on checkable facts.
  • Never accept an unnamed source as an expert.
  • Believe the axiom that proves itself daily in ufology: if it seems too good to be true, then it probably isn't true.
  • Dedicate yourself to the pursuit of facts and truth, and you can't go wrong.



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