Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I SAW A UFO, JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT


Back in September of 2005, a family from Fort Smith, Arkansas spotted what appeared to be a UFO emerging from a "wormhole" in the sky one evening. The incident began with a low ruble the turned their eyes skyward. There, approximately 400 yards up, was a strange craft the witnesses claim was as wide as two city blocks. The principle witness had claimed sightings of odd craft to her family before. If they had doubts, those doubts were now vanishing as they stood on the porch watching this UFO disappear toward the Arkansas/Oklahoma border.

Days later, the witness claimed a strange, persistent itching sensation arose that lasted for weeks. Thinking that perhaps radiation was involved, the witness sends a summary of this event in to renowned radio personality George Noory. Later, the computer the witness uses at home had become mysteriously erased. All data was gone.

I find it curious that this witness (from the account, we don't know his/her name) doesn't seek medical attention if there is a concern for radiation exposure. Okay, I'll be honest. I don't find it curious at all and here's why:

In the description, the "event" seemed to last long enough that someone could have taken the time to grab a camera - even if that meant going next door to borrow one. Surely, anything that large would have been spotted by countless witnesses. There is only this tale with no pictures, only a witness diagram. The even happened in 2005, and I assume the story was posted more recently, yet the witness still claims the effects of the craft. However, he/she states that the cause is as yet unknown, and no mention of a physician is made at any point. If one was truly concerned about some bizarre radiation and their health... Need I say more. Lastly, computer hard drives can get wiped or corrupted for any number of reasons, including viruses picked up while trolling websites to bolster one's own paranoid UFO delusions.

I know it might sound as if I am being unduly harsh on this witness. But, frankly, is this not the same word-of-mouth testimony that we've heard countless times before? Has UFOlogy been relegated to census takers? Are UFOlogists the file clerks of paranormal phenomena, ceaselessly taking notes, cross-referencing, and filing away uncorroborated witness statements? If we are to move beyond this, move into a sphere of closer scrutiny and better understanding, we need to begin to separate the wheat from the chaff. This is, in my humble opinion, surely the chaff.

2 comments:

RRRGroup said...

C:

I'm curious as to why people make up sightings.

What's to be gained, except derision (usually)?

The psychology of UFO witnesses has never been fully addressed, whether their accounts are supposedly real or not.

Cullan Hudson said...

I would agree wholly. Too often, in various disciplines of paranormal study, the psychological motivations of witnesses are completely passed over by the eagerness of investigators to seek out those details that validate the beliefs they came in with.