Ufology

Ufology is the study of Unidentified flying object (UFO) reports, sightings, and other related phenomena.

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While many ufologists strive for legitimacy, and some are respected scientists in other fields, ufology has never been fully embraced by the scientific community, for a number of reasons. One cannot obtain a ufology degree from any college or university, though there have been a few college or university courses on the subject, often from a folklore persepctive. Many ufologists are amateurs (or worse, individuals in search of fame and fortune), and however well intentioned, are often unfamiliar with generally accepted research standards, thus often rendering their own research useless even to sympathetic mainstream experts. Many amateur ufologists have been criticised for accepting as true stories or tales without demanding supporting evidence or conducting even cursory research.

Related Topics:
College - University - Folklore

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Some ufologists consider the general attitude of mainstream academics as arrogant and dismissive, or bound to a rigid World view that disallows any evidence contrary to previously held notions, despite the fact that the history of science is replete with discarded notions. Astronomer and ufologist J. Allen Hynek's famous comment regarding this subject is, "Ridicule is not part of the scientific method and people should not be taught that it is." Another comment by Hynek regarding the frequent dismissal of UFO reports by astronomers was, "Close questioning revealed they knew nothing of the actual sightings... and therefore cannot be taken seriously. This is characteristic of scientists in general when speaking about subjects which are not in their own immediate field of concern."

Related Topics:
World view - Astronomer - J. Allen Hynek - Scientific method

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Ufologists embrace a wide spectrum of approaches, beliefs, and attitudes, from those regarded by some as quacks (e.g. David Icke); to respected mainstream scientists like Peter A. Sturrock, James E. McDonald, or Auguste Meessen, some of whom argue that UFO reports are as worthy of study as any topic, and deserve case-by-case analysis using the scientific method. Study of UFO sightings this way has yielded very interesting and important results, such as in weather phenomena (see Hessdalen) and in human perception, such as the study lead by the SOBEPS for the Belgian flap in 1989-'90 or the interesting studies of the GEPAN/SEPRA in France.

Related Topics:
Quack - David Icke - Peter A. Sturrock - James E. McDonald - Auguste Meessen - Scientific method - Hessdalen - SOBEPS - GEPAN/SEPRA - France

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Astrophysicist Peter A. Sturrock suggests that a lack of funding is a major factor in the institutional disinterest in UFO?s: "If the Air Force were to make available, say, $50 million per year for ten years for UFO research, it is quite likely that the subject would look somewhat less disreputable ... however, an agency is unlikely to initiate such a program at any level until scientists are supportive of such an initiative. We see that there is a chicken-and-egg program. It would be more sensible, and more acceptable to the scientific community, if research began at a low level." (Sturrock, 155)

Related Topics:
Peter A. Sturrock - Air Force

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Sturrock suggests that UFO studies be compartmentalized — as are most scientific endeavors — into at least "the following distinct activities:

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• Field investigations leading to case documentation and the measurement or retrieval of physical evidence;
• Laboratory analysis of physical evidence;
• The systematic compelation of date (descriptive and physical) to look for patters and so extact signifigant facts;
• The analysis of compilations of data (descriptive and physical) to look for patterns and so extract signifigant facts;
• The development of theories and the evaluation of those theories on the basis of facts.? (Sturrock, 163)

For more on applications of science to UFO phenomena, see "Science and UFOs" in Unidentified Flying Objects. Despite involvement of some respected scientists in investigating UFOs, the field has seen rather little attention from mainstream science. Most critics still consider ufology at worst a pseudoscience, or at best a protoscience.

Related Topics:
Unidentified Flying Objects - Pseudoscience - Protoscience

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For a list of major UFO sightings and related reports, see List of major UFO sightings.

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Broadly, there are these schools of thought to explain UFO sightings:

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Ufology: The extraterrestrial hypothesis ►