SUBJECT: NEIL HITS THE MARK - - RPD FILE: UFO2519
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Date: Tue Apr 12 11:42:08 1988
From: RICHARD P. DELL'AQUILA (ab114)
Subj: Neil Hits the Mark--RPD
COPY OF LETTER TO DR. LAMBE
Since Dr. Lambe, moderator of the SF Reviewers' SIG has seen fit
to delete all reference to UFOs from his board, I am uploading
this copy of the beginning portion of a rather lengthy upload to
the SF OPEN Forum Board. (Apparently Dr. Lambe has concluded
that his OPEN Forum was to be closed to matters pertaining to
Ufolog. Thankfully, Page has not come to a similar conclusion.
Dear Dr. Lambe:
Thank you for your letter concerning your opinions on
UFOs, but I believe you are operating under a misperception.
I do not presume to know what UFOs ARE, because I really don't
know; but the evidence does establish beyond a reasonable doubt
that they are not ALL misperceptions or hoaxes. Indeed, the
reports that stem from IDENTIFIABLE sources do not, obviously,
fit the definition of an UNIDENTIFIED Flying Object.
UFOs have been reported by entirely competent witnesses
whose sightings have been corroborated by other independent
witnesses and instrumentation, such as radar. To make the a
priori assumption that all UFOs are the result of misperceptions
of known objects or phenomena simply misses the mark. I can
therefore only conclude that you have not adequately informed
yourself on the subject. With all due respect to your opinion,
I am uploading this reply to the Science Fiction SIG, as you
suggested, and I hope it will generate additional discusssion of
the subject. In the end, it is only by thorough review,
discussion and a legitimate scientific inquiry into UFOs that
any answers will be found.
In 1895, the philosoper William James berated his
scientific colleagues at Harvard University, saying "They show
such a lack of scientific imagination that it is hard to see how
one who is actively advancing any part of Science can [say that]
all the fundamental conceptions of truth have already been found
by Science. Think how many absolutely new scientific
conceptions have arisen in our generation...Is this credible
that such a ushroom of knowledge, such a growth overnight as
this, CAN represent more than the minutest glimpse of what the
universe will really prove to be when adequately understood? NO!
Our Science is but a drop, our ignorance a sea..."
Almost a century later, James has been fully vindicated by
discoverys such as relativity, quantum mechanics, and associated
new concepts that overturned the previous scintific "truths."
Our scientific knowledge continues to grow exponentially.
The focus of your reply seems to be that UFOs do not exist
as such, but your opinion is based on a false assumption. The
issue of UFO existence cannot be dismissed on the basis of any
such a priori assumption, but must be premised upon
investigation. The evidence to date indicates that UFOs are
phenomena not completely understood by our present Science, but
which fall into one or several of the followi categories:
that conform to the laws of physics, but require
extraordinary explanations;
that conform to undiscovered laws of physics;
action, conforming to known and unknown psychological
principles, or
( ETC. )
In reviewing the recent upload by Neil, I believ his
approach most accurately "hits the mark." We don't KNOW what
UFOs are or will prove to be. We can make some educated guesses
to explain all the many credible reports, and the
extraterrestrial hypothesis is only one among many of the
possible alternatives.
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