Ridicule, Arrogance and Ignorance

摘要

Way back in the April 1953 issue of the Journal of the Optical Society of America, Dr. J. Allen Hynek stated, "Ridicule is not part of the scientific method, and people should not be taught that it is." It should be obvious that expressing opinions without studying the evidence is also not part of the scientific method. Both ridicule and ignorance crop up all too often. Sometimes arrogantly from people who should know better. Certainly most investigators are aware that most people are fearful of reporting their UFO sightings because of fear of ridicule. At the end of hundreds of my lectures I have asked how many people here believe they have seen what I would consider to be a flying saucer. I define my terms early in the lecture and much prefer "Flying Saucer" to "UFO" because, while all flying saucers by definition are UFOs, only a relatively small percentage of UFOs are flying saucers. I usually make a light comment that the CIA wasn't allowed in and that I was not asking for names, but just wanted to point out and count witnesses. Initially hands go up very slowly, but as I move my gaze across the audience, hands go up much, much higher. People always seem surprised at how many witnesses there are, typically 10 percent of the audience. But then I ask how many reported their sightings. Typically 90 percent lower their hands. I often then ask how many who reported a sighting were in the military and if those persons are willing to tell us about it. One said, "I can't, they told me not to say anything." I have heard some very interesting cases.