The Trained Observer

Many UFO debunkers could talk for hours about how all people who see intelligently
controlled flying machines that obviously were manufactured by extraterrestrial beings
are not “trained observers,” and that their claims must be thrown out on that basis.
Even police officers, jet pilots, military personnel and presidents are, in the opinion of
many debunkers, not trained observers. Astronomer and UFO debunker James McGaha
wrote in the January/February 2009 edition of the Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 33.1, that only
people who are experts in astronomy, the atmosphere, aeronautics, physics, physiology of
visual illusions, visual perception and human beliefs are trained enough to know whether
a flying object could hail from another world or not.

In a nutshell, McGaha and his ilk take no stock in the numerous reports of strange
flying objects reported by Joe and Jill America. These debunkers apparently believe that
everybody who sees a craft piloted by extraterrestrial beings are not smart enough to
know whether the machines were indeed manufactured by extraterrestrials.

These debunkers, however, apparently have never seen one of these machines in
operation or they wouldn’t make such delusional statements. Basically, debunkers –
many of the big names these days seem to come from the astronomy field – are trying to
tell someone like me who in 1994 saw an extraterrestrial flying machine hover two or
three stories above my head that I’m not trained enough to know what I saw.

Granted, I am not a “trained observer.” I’m just a simple human being with no
background in science whatsoever. I know for a fact that I am not trained enough to
know what I saw in 1994, but that is only because I’m stupid when it comes to the design
and propulsion systems of alien flying machines. I know for an absolute certainty that
the object was intelligently controlled, made no sound, at one point hovered almost
directly above my head, was only two or three stories off the ground and moved in such a
smooth, soundless manner that it did not fit the description of any human-made flying
machines I’ve seen before or since. After applying the principle set forth by Occam’s
Razor, which basically states that the simplest answer is usually the correct answer, the
craft I saw that night was extraterrestrial in origin. Do I have to hold a degree in
astronomy, or physics, or aeronautics to make such a statement? Is that a prerequisite? If
I did hold a degree in one of those fields, would that mean I’d also be an expert on
extraterrestrials and their flying machines?

Maybe a debunker will say I suffered from a hallucination on that fateful night in
1994? No, that’s not possible because there was somebody else there that night who saw
the same thing I saw. Maybe a debunker will say my friend and I were under the
influence of drugs and/or alcohol? The answer would be negative. No drugs or alcohol
were involved. Perhaps a debunker will say I saw Venus? No way could Venus move
from its spot in the heavens and position itself two or three stories above my head. Even
the dumbest astronomer would agree with this. Maybe a debunker will claim I’m a liar
or a hoaxer? No, I’m not a liar and I would never perpetuate a hoax. Maybe a debunker
will claim I’m suffering from a false memory? The answer would be negative. The
details of the sighting have been the same for the nearly 16 years since it happened.

Interview everybody in my family and all of my friends if you don’t believe me. Maybe
the object was caused by swamp gas? After all, the incident occurred near a pond that
my friend and I were fishing at, so wouldn’t swamp gas be a logical explanation posed by
debunkers? It probably would, but then they’d have to explain how the object didn’t
originate from the pond and instead moved toward it before moving away from it again.
Maybe a debunker will say we saw searchlights? Absurd, unless searchlights posses the
ability to transform into intelligently controlled physical objects. Maybe a debunker will
say we saw a cloud? If it were a cloud, then somebody figured out how to attach three
large lights to it, and that is impossible. Any expert on the atmosphere can tell you that.

Maybe a debunker will say we saw flares? No, these lights were not burning flares, they
were lights attached to some kind of intelligently controlled flying craft. Maybe a
debunker will say it was a mirage? That can be ruled out immediately because it was
dark out and it wasn’t hot. Maybe a debunker will claim the object was St. Elmo’s Fire
or ball lightning? No. This was an object under intelligent control. It was not some
atmospheric phenomena. Maybe a debunker will claim the object was a satellite? I never
heard of a satellite that travels around the earth only two or three stories off the ground
and has the ability to change directions. Maybe a debunker will say the object was the
moon? See the response for Venus. Maybe a debunker will say the object was a
balloon? No way. It was big, had three very large lights spaced out in a horizontal row,
and made sharp right angle turns. Maybe a debunker will claim that what we saw was a
top-secret military craft? SETI Senior Astronomer and UFO debunker Seth Shostek
stated during CNN’s Larry King Live show on July 11, 2008, “I think that if they (aliens)
were here, we’d know about it.” With that asinine statement in mind, would it be OK if I
said, “I think that if what I saw was a top-secret military aircraft, we’d know about it by
now?” No, I didn’t think so. Instead, I’ll just say this: If it were a top-secret military
aircraft, why in the world would our government be test-flying it over woods in a private
community near Hazleton, Pennsylvania where civilians could see it? What sort of idiots
would be in charge of our top-secret programs to allow something like that to happen?

Finally, maybe a debunker will claim that I’m simply insane. Well, let’s see. I don’t feel
crazy. In fact, I’m very lucid right now. No, I’m definitely not “nuts.”

Although I’m not a “trained observer” that fits the bill set forth by some of our
“experts” of the universe, I’m confident that the object I saw was manufactured by
extraterrestrials. But let’s pretend I do meet the criteria of a “trained observer.” Would it
make a difference if I boasted all of the proper credentials as required by those
benevolent know-it-alls of everything flying around our atmosphere, the astronomers?
No. It would not.

Case in point: Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14. Here’s a lovely collection of
UFO reports compiled by our own U.S. Air Force from 1947 through 1969, and a high
percentage of them were classified as “unknowns.” The very first “unknown” listed in
the document came from Maine resident John Cole who – are you sitting down – was,
you guessed it, an astronomer! Cole, on July 3, 1947, observed 10 “very light objects,
with two dark forms to their left,” move “like a swarm of bees to the northwest.” Cole,
who said the sighting lasted between 10 seconds and 15 seconds, also reported hearing a loud roar.

Was not Cole an “expert” on UFOs because he was an astronomer? He meets the
criteria of a “trained observer,” so does that mean if he was unable to identify the objects
then no prosaic explanation for the sighting can be determined?
Another “unknown” listed in the report occurred on April 5, 1948, in New Mexico,
when three geophysics lab balloon observers saw something they could not explain –
“two irregular, round white or golden objects.”

One of the objects “made three loops then rose and disappeared rapidly (while) the
other flew in a fast arc to the west during a 30-second sighting,” according to the report.
Would not three people considered “geophysics lab balloon observers” be considered
experts in physics and therefore “trained observers?” Obviously, yes, but why were they
unable to reach a conventional explanation for their sighting?

On Jan. 16, 1951 in Artesia, New Mexico, two members of a balloon project from the
General Mills’ Aeronautical Research Laboratory, along with the manager of the Artesia
Airport and three pilots, saw a “dull white, round object” appear near a balloon they had
launched, according to Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14. “It appeared larger
than the balloon, but made no movement,” according to the report. “Later, the balloon
crew and the others saw two objects from the airport, flying side-by-side, they circled the
balloon and flew away to the northeast. The second observation lasted about 40
seconds.”

The Artesia Airport manager along with the three pilots would not be considered
“trained observers,” according to some debunkers, but what about the two aeronautics
experts? They should be considered “trained observers,” right? Of course, but how come
they were unable to explain what they saw that day?

It all boils down to this: Astronomers who claim they are “trained observers” and
come equipped with prosaic explanations for every UFO sighting are nothing more than
modern day mythmakers. These people are the reincarnations of the same clowns who
insisted a long time ago that the world was flat. They are the witch finders of medieval
Europe. They are the villains of science because instead of trying to find truth, they made
up their minds before they even knew the facts of the matter. “Expert” debunkers of the
extraterrestrial reality don’t want to deal with truth. They want to keep the status quo. A
massive change in where we humans stand in the universe would be too difficult an
adjustment to deal with in the mind of the professional debunker. These people stink.
Instead of trying to advance science, they work hard to keep it stagnant. They should be
ashamed of themselves for posing as scientists.

Copyright 2010 Jim Quirk

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