Tuesday, December 5, 2017

THE UFO PHENOMENON – SHOULD I BELIEVE? - review

The UFO Phenomenon – Should I Believe?, Robert Davis, Ph.D., Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2014, 208 pp, $16.99.



Product Details

Dr. Davis professes to be a UFO agnostic, neither a believer nor a disbeliever. He has an open mind and presents information both pro and con, a major plus, as there are a surfeit of passionate people on both sides of the issue, many of whom have written their own books. Military and governments declare there is no credible information or evidence that UFOs exist and are piloted by ETs, while others point to animal mutilation, radar tracking unexplained and unidentified craft, physical effects on witnesses (burns, for example), and alleged alien abduction. Add the occasional hoax to muddy the waters and we’ve got a real mess.
     In an attempt to clear things up, Dr. Davis presents several hypotheses and discusses each in detail, all the while remaining neutral.
       Pro: if UFOs are not from Earth, where do they originate? Do non-human intelligences (NHI) pilot them? How do (did) they get here and how long does (did) it take? How can they defy Earthly laws of physics (i.e., impossible speeds and maneuvers; disappearing and reappearing; shape-shifting)?
     Con: if UFOs are Earthly phenomena, are they physical flying machines, natural weather events, or military experiments to see how things like ultrasound affect the populace?
   Are ETs studying humans physically? Are militaries studying humans psychologically? Both?
     British astrophysicist Dr. P. Sturrock states that “Scientists say ‘show me the evidence’, but do not study the available evidence.” Chapter four lists considerable evidence that has not been adequately studied, and we must wonder whether this is a case of 1) “experts” arguing amongst themselves, 2) there is no evidence to study, or 3) Men in Black (military?) telling scientists, “Say there is nothing and get more funding. Disagree and…” On the other hand, since UFO phenomena and reports of alien abduction have been polarized and sensational, many scientists may be reluctant to study them for fear of ruining their reputations.
    The hypotheses regarding UFOs appearing in our skies include Extraterrestrial (ETH), Extra-Dimensional (EDH), Paranormal, Plasma, and Time Travel, but is there definitive proof of any of these hypotheses? 
     Many believe the Alien Abduction Phenomenon (AAP) proves ET visitation, and state that researchers “explaining” AAPs as false-memory syndrome, sleep paralysis, psychological disorders, hallucination, fantasy, etc. “either failed to find such pathology among abduction experiencers or have chosen to overlook important aspects of the phenomenon” and “as a group, [victims of] abduction experiments are not different from the general population…” Again, an impasse, al-though some skeptics are now less inclined to believe all abductees are delusional.
      Dr. Davis provides a list of websites where one may find declassified UFO documents purportedly from Majestic 12, the FBI, the U.S. Air Force, and other sources. Are the documents (such as MJ-12) legitimate or fabrications created to lead researchers off track? You decide, but take into account that, although researchers have found some evidence of government suppression of UFO incidents, they have found no compelling proof of a conspiracy.
      If ETs are in contact with governments/military around the world, why not make that public? Does the government/military know the ETs’ motives, can it predict the ETs’ behavior? Would knowledge of ET visitation cause widespread panic? How would the existence of ETs affect religions and religious views?
     So many questions! Do UFOs exist? Are they of alien origin, piloted by NHI; natural Earthly phenomena such as cloud formations; experimental military technology; hoaxes; time travelers from our future; beings from other dimensions?
      The UFO Phenomenon is insightful, thought-provoking, and fair in its assessment, both pro and con. Dr. Davis presents the facts, and it is up to the individual reader to determine whether or not to believe. It’s one of the best reads I’ve had in a long time, and the bibliography has given me enough books, papers and websites to do years of research of my own.
- Curtis Quint

No comments:

Post a Comment