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UFOs: The Research, the Evidence

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Rramjet has presented the same arguments which have all been refuted in some way or other in this thread. It has now got to the point where people are unwilling to keep going round the merry-go-round re-presenting their refutations.

But the real sticking point I think is this definition of UFO.
Rramjet wants us all to accept his (convoluted) definition because his whole case rests upon the ASSUMPTION that a UFO has to be something other than mundane in origin.

Perhaps if you could expand on why that ASSUMPTION is necessary Rramjet?
You just can't prove a negative, it makes one look foolish. There is no way to prove that no mundane explanations are possible. Which is why the real definition of UFO includes objects that are unidentified.
 
What, you think UFOs HAVE a plausible mundane explanation? If so, then it is NOT a UFO at all, it becomes an IFO (Identified Flying Object). If on the other hand you contend that there are "unknown" mundane explanations that explain UFOs - then you are committing the fundamental logical fallacy of attempting to explain one "unknown" with another "unknown".

Yes, I believe they have a mundane explanation, with some being more mundane than others. For example, not knowing that Venus is over in that direction is more mundane than glints off satellites in LEO, or even hoaxes. There are millions of possible mundane explanations. But until which mundane explanation is determined, the UFO remains unidentified.

As a parallel, if I am camping in the woods, and hear noises, and see an indistinct shape, it's an unidentified thing. It might be a raccoon, or it might be an owl. There are thousands of animals it might be, some more likely than others. It might not be an animal at all, but the wind dislodging a stick from some place it's been stable for years and moving some branches. The fact that I don't know all the species in the world does not mean that it is therefore a Bigfoot or chupacabras. It's unidentified, and it won't be identified until it is determined what it was. I may never have enough information to determine what it was, and so it will remain unidentified. Even if I am able to rule out bear, or raccoon, or marmot, it remains unidentified, and does not turn into a unicorn just because I have no evidence it was a bear or a raccoon.

The rules don't change if it is giving off light and apparently moving through the air. It's unidentified until it is determined what it is.
 
"On a warm day"? Let me ask you this, have you ever seen heat haze produced over a wide flat river on ANY day, let alone a "warm" day? Heat haze is a "ground" effect phenomenon... but why do I even think you would know something like that? But then also you have not seen the penultimate point in my article”

When looking at something 1 or 2 miles away and 5000 feet up, then yes. Or are you now claiming that the UFO was following the river a few feet above the water 100 feet from the boat?

the witnesses using binoculars used terms such as “resolved” and “it was then possible to see…” so it is reasonable to assume that any haze, pollen, dust, etc was not sufficient to obscure their view of the details of the object.

And I'm assuming that the viewing conditions were bad enough to blur out details. I am right, you are wrong. Have you ever used binos under these conditions? You should try it and then come back here.

If the object’s distance from the observers was greater (> 5000 feet), then its actual size would have been greater (> 65 feet), and critically its speed would have been greater also (> jet plane speed). Conversely, if the distance from the observers was less (< 5000 feet), the object’s size would have been less (< 65 feet), and then the object’s speed would have been slower (< jet plane speed). This factor becomes critical in examining possible plausible mundane hypothesis, as we shall see later.​

…and go on to make the point that this makes the blimp hypothesis implausible. If you have an argument against the points I present above, then please put them forward for consideration.

There were differences also in estimated distances. The speed was never precisely estimated, but given all but Mrs A (and perhaps Mrs D) were probably reasonably familiar with seeing jets fly over, then “speed of a jet plane” was accurate to the extent of the factors outlined above. However, shape, an easily identified feature NOT dependent so much on the above factors WAS consistent.

You just proved a point that several people have been trying to explain to you. There are too many unknowns to claim anything for certain in this case. For example to categorically claim that it could not have been a blimp.

Ughhh.. then in your haste to dismiss the whole thing as containing “nothing new” you have obviously missed the detailed discussion of these very aspects. Perhaps you should go back to those places in my document and then post a reply that directly refutes the points I make about your contentions.

Then maybe you should try to not repeat yourself ad nauseam? It's very tedious to plow through the same arguments time and time again to see if there is something new.

I stated:
Some skeptics have raised the issue that the binoculars might have been damaged in some way so that they might cause misperceptions (cracked or dirty lenses, faulty prism alignment, etc). However, all (or most) of the faults mentioned by the skeptics would cause the binoculars to be practically useless​

Oh but again you ignore the phrases the witnesses utilised after they applied the binoculars ((“resolved” and “it was then possible to see…”). And “small blurry dot”? No, now you are just flat out ignoring the evidence before you. You have descended from rational argument in the beginning of your post to the ridiculous. You have possibly not read Astrophotographer posted “conditions” for rational scientific research to be taken seriously? This applies to ALL people at ALL times. If you want to have your arguments heard and accepted, then you MUST rationally and logically address the evidence.

You believe the binos were good enough. That's not evidence.

I stated:
Could such an observation “platform” have contributed to “misidentification” of the object? First the boat was anchored, so there was no lateral movement to disturb observations. What about the condition of the River (waves rocking the boat for example)? At the point on the Rogue River at which the party were anchored the river is quite wide and slow moving. The time of year (summer) also meant that the river was carrying a relatively low amount of water compared to other times. Indeed, Google Earth images of the river at the point where the witnesses were anchored show a wide, flat riverscape in a shallow valley. It must also be remembered that the witnesses were there on a fishing expedition. Thus it is implausible to imagine that, given the location and time of year, the river was very much disturbed at all, and considering also that they were fishing, it is equally implausible to imagine that they would have anchored anywhere that might have made it uncomfortable and difficult for them to fish. It is implausible then that the condition of the river (rocking the boat) made observations of the object difficult enough to cause misidentification.​

Have you ever been in a boat? It doesn't matter if there's no wind and no waves. It moves...a lot. And, the more people aboard, the more it moves. I claim that this will make it harder to discern details (and that's pretty bl**dy obvious to anyone). If you claim otherwise, then substantiate that claim.

I have supplied a great deal of evidence that categorically rules out USN and USNR blimps. Do you know what that evidence is? No, of course you don’t.

You have been shown other sources with counter evidence. Why do you ignore that? What makes your sources better?
 
For lurkers:
Rramjet has nothing achieved in round 63, evidence of aliens is as weak as on page one.
Nothing new to see, just round and round the broken record goes.
Please, can someone pull the plug?
Even a trainwreck needs some news and not the same old, same old, same old...
 
This seems to have developed into a mere slanging match, from both sides - to start making assumptions about binoculars etc.. is pure speculation and supposition – remember Occam’s razor.
Ramjet has backed down re the aliens, and stated that it was a UFO, and many others have agreed that a UFO fits the bill.
Although a play on words, maybe by calling a UFO, a UFO, we can say that we have identified ‘it.’ It’ therefore ceases to be a UFO, but merely a flying object, thus removing the emotions associated with the word UFO. This is where our starting point should always be. What is this flying object – if indeed it is a flying object?
Jumping to conclusions is not the answer. Even by dismissing the 95% of these flying objects as explained i.e. hoaxes, birds, balloons, and increasingly in the west, Chinese lanterns, this cannot simply lead to the conclusion that the remaining 5% must therefore be of an extra-terrestrial origin. The remaining 5% are still merely flying objects. Our duty is to apply the knowledge we have, including psychology, mathematics, laws of physics, geology, history and the media to guesstimate, at best, what the remaining 5% are.
I have just shown my son, (who has started to ask questions about UFOs having seen some when drunk on a camping trip, I managed to convince him that they were more likely to have been Chinese lanterns), a rerun of the Channel 4 documentary - http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ufos-the-secret-evidence/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1 - highly recommendable.
All the best
 
What I meant - and you selectively snipped because it would refute your statements - is that is is irrational to "explain" one unknown with another unknown.

You mean like "aliens" ?

Since when is a blimp an unknown ?

A UFO is a UFO. It is NOT mundane and it is NOT alien. It is a Unidentified Flying Object.

It doesn't follow that it can't be identified. In fact it's certain that it HAS an identity, and in trying to deduce it one must give a higher priority to the NON-unknown explanations.
 
<snip>...Thus I contend, IF we are satisfied that UFOs exist (according to the above definition) AND that Rogue River IS a case where we must admit the veracity of the assertion "UFOs exist", then we CAN move on to the next step.

The NEXT step is to show that not only do UFOs exist, but also that they perform outside the boundaries of what we take to be the limits of the natural world. Rogue River established "UFOs exist", and I contend that the Iranian UFO establishes that they DO perform outside the limits of the known world.

Each step toward my "alien" hypothesis MUST be taken. If I miss a step, then we simply end up back where we started with the same old arguments.

Can you see that if this happens when I present evidence FOR "aliens" then I will STILL have to go back and start again - arguing over all that we have already been arguing over. Therefore I will take it one step at a time, presenting the evidence in a step by step approach, until..."aliens!

If anyone at this point decides to "tune out" until that ultimate step is taken, then they better NOT come back to me with ANY of the arguments being discussed along the way.

The NEXT step is to be found here:

Tehran UFO Incident (19 Sep 1976)...

Heya Rramjet.
Quick question; is there a reason why Step 1 would the RR incident, and Step 2 would be the Tehran incident? How would you logically connect these separate incidents? Is there evidence that they ARE somehow connected? Why not pick just one incident, and move through your steps within that one incident?
 
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
:boggled:

I know, I know -- sorry. I didn't really mean it as a suggestion. I should have worded it as "Why HAVEN'T you picked just one incident?" I certainly don't intend for him to start over... :o
 
Yeah, sure. You merely stating it does NOT make it so. Unfounded assertion is not a really clever way to begin a refutation to a detailed presentation of the evidence and the arguments surrounding that evidence. Perhaps you care not about your own credibility?


I actually used BOTH the 1948 and 1949 produced documents to make the point. The first document I used was the May 1949 document, the second WAS the June 1948 document. But you totally missed that didn't you!


Well, not exactly. Granted there is a lot that has been stated, but there IS new stuff there as well. And you are going to "snip out the long parts with no context? Well ...I suppose if everyone could understand my arguments I would be home free! That there are people who do not, does not surprise me.

I stated:
To assess the veracity of the claim of “UFO” for the Rogue River, Oregon sighting (24th May 1949) we must decide on two things.

First, the reliability of the eyewitness descriptions, and
Second, any plausible mundane hypothesis that might fit the eyewitness descriptions.

To address the reliability issue we must also come to a decision concerning two factors.

First, could the sighting have been a hoax, and if not,
Second, could the eyewitnesses have been mistaken in their descriptions of the object.​


The two sentences are similar, yes. But there is a subtle distinction. The first goes to speaks to the reliability of BOTH the witnesses AND the descriptions they present. The second concerns itself with just the descriptions. Perhaps it could have been worded a little more clearly – but the distinction is there.


Yes, sure, But I think we all have been shown to be wrong at one point or another. It would be a brave or foolhardy person to contend that they have been correct about every assertion they have ever made. We all are after all, human (I think…);)


"On a warm day"? Let me ask you this, have you ever seen heat haze produced over a wide flat river on ANY day, let alone a "warm" day? Heat haze is a "ground" effect phenomenon... but why do I even think you would know something like that? But then also you have not seen the penultimate point in my article”

As a final note on the viewing conditions: Even though it was a “clear” day with no clouds, it is possible there might have been some haze in the air which the witnesses did not think to mention - but if the object were as huge as a blimp and only a mile or a few miles away, it would have been visible unless there was so much haze that the witnesses would have most likely mentioned it. It must be pointed out, concerning this haze issue, that typical the phrase "clear air and visibility unlimited" during the daytime means one can see objects up to 15 miles away (or further if bright enough) - so to see for a few miles ought to have been relatively "easy" for the observers at the time. This then adds a final note of implausibility to the blimp hypothesis.​

Also the witnesses using binoculars used terms such as “resolved” and “it was then possible to see…” so it is reasonable to assume that any haze, pollen, dust, etc was not sufficient to obscure their view of the details of the object.


Yes, sure. That is why I merely point out that there WERE differences in size estimates.

If the object’s distance from the observers was greater (> 5000 feet), then its actual size would have been greater (> 65 feet), and critically its speed would have been greater also (> jet plane speed). Conversely, if the distance from the observers was less (< 5000 feet), the object’s size would have been less (< 65 feet), and then the object’s speed would have been slower (< jet plane speed). This factor becomes critical in examining possible plausible mundane hypothesis, as we shall see later.​

…and go on to make the point that this makes the blimp hypothesis implausible. If you have an argument against the points I present above, then please put them forward for consideration.

There were differences also in estimated distances. The speed was never precisely estimated, but given all but Mrs A (and perhaps Mrs D) were probably reasonably familiar with seeing jets fly over, then “speed of a jet plane” was accurate to the extent of the factors outlined above. However, shape, an easily identified feature NOT dependent so much on the above factors WAS consistent.


Yes, with the naked eye, the witnesses had less chance, but WITH binoculars they used the phrases as I have mentioned above (“resolved” and “it was then possible to see…”).


Ughhh.. then in your haste to dismiss the whole thing as containing “nothing new” you have obviously missed the detailed discussion of these very aspects. Perhaps you should go back to those places in my document and then post a reply that directly refutes the points I make about your contentions.


Again you have merely ignored the detailed discussion and arguments about this very point. If you reject my arguments or assertions on this point you NEED to point out HOW and WHY you do so. Merely ignoring my arguments and evidence on this very point gets noone anywhere. You started out in this post well enough, but now you have returned to merely contending “It IS so, because I SAY it is so” and THAT is not a logical or rational argument.

I stated:
Some skeptics have raised the issue that the binoculars might have been damaged in some way so that they might cause misperceptions (cracked or dirty lenses, faulty prism alignment, etc). However, all (or most) of the faults mentioned by the skeptics would cause the binoculars to be practically useless​


Oh but again you ignore the phrases the witnesses utilised after they applied the binoculars ((“resolved” and “it was then possible to see…”). And “small blurry dot”? No, now you are just flat out ignoring the evidence before you. You have descended from rational argument in the beginning of your post to the ridiculous. You have possibly not read Astrophotographer posted “conditions” for rational scientific research to be taken seriously? This applies to ALL people at ALL times. If you want to have your arguments heard and accepted, then you MUST rationally and logically address the evidence.

I stated:
Could such an observation “platform” have contributed to “misidentification” of the object? First the boat was anchored, so there was no lateral movement to disturb observations. What about the condition of the River (waves rocking the boat for example)? At the point on the Rogue River at which the party were anchored the river is quite wide and slow moving. The time of year (summer) also meant that the river was carrying a relatively low amount of water compared to other times. Indeed, Google Earth images of the river at the point where the witnesses were anchored show a wide, flat riverscape in a shallow valley. It must also be remembered that the witnesses were there on a fishing expedition. Thus it is implausible to imagine that, given the location and time of year, the river was very much disturbed at all, and considering also that they were fishing, it is equally implausible to imagine that they would have anchored anywhere that might have made it uncomfortable and difficult for them to fish. It is implausible then that the condition of the river (rocking the boat) made observations of the object difficult enough to cause misidentification.​



Now you are contending things I did NOT say. I made a number of substantive points and ridicule is NOT an argument against those points. Address my points with refutations and you might get a better response.


If you have any substantive points to make against the evidence I present, then I suggest you make them. Once again you are merely stating “It IS so because I SAY it is so” and THAT is NOT an argument for or against anything.


The first is true, but then you have not addressed my points against the Goodyear blimp. Do you even know what those points were? No. I thought not.

I have supplied a great deal of evidence that categorically rules out USN and USNR blimps. Do you know what that evidence is? No, of course you don’t.

You simply have not read my post! Or, if you have, you have simply ignored the evidence presented. You keep making the same mistakes over again. Just because you SAY something, does NOT mean that something is true!


Here again you show your ignorance of my evidence. I HAVE used the document in question! I HAVE presented the evidence it contains. If you refute that evidence, then do so by stating HOW and WHY I might be in error.

No? Of course you cannot.


See, you missed all the new bits in my arguments! You don’t even know what (or where) those bits in the document are do you? You simply make unfounded assertions, hoping (having faith more like) that no-one will bother to check. I can assure you that people DO check and people DO take notice of the evidence when it is presented to them – even if you do not. Call yourself a skeptic? Not on this performance my friend.

Roger there's a word for doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
 
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