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UFOs: The Research, the Evidence

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The actual truth is that J. Randall Murphy of www.ufopages.com had a genuine sighting of a UFO ( alien craft ) and has since become the target of mockery and ridicule by members of the JREF forum. He has also found that little useful information comes out of the forum in the ufology section and the largest portion of commentary by the so called critics and skeptics amounts to cyber bullying. He would not currently reccommend the website as a place for young people or students to participate in a truly constructive debate.

uhuh, from my perspective you have lied throughout this thread and others at other sites to the point that even other "alien" believers think you're a nut, the only thing you've promoted here is your own dishonesty and the only thing you've proven is that ufology is a pseudoscience because its populated by people like you
:D
don't like the truth, tough. Its here for all to read. You could be contacted by the supreme galactic council as an emissary for humankind but after your performance here no one would believe you, not even the other ufonuts
;)
 
The two logical fallacies are special pleading and equivocation.

We've been over this with him countless times in the last several months, and he completely ignores our appeals to reason. Most of the time he doesn't even address our arguments but simply denies them with accusations of "unfounded assertions," and then carries on reciting the same exact fallacies over and over. It's like trying to reason with a broken phonograph record.





I'm sure we all do.

I'm guessing you weren't here to witness his attempts at rewriting half the English dictionary with his own personal definitions, composed specifically to support his own position. This has been an ongoing issue for over 3 months now.

We went round and round debating not only the meaning of the word "evidence," but also the words "proof," "critical thinking," "pseudoscience," "UFOlogy," "objective," "reality," and "truth," among others. This whole thing started back in July with him making a thread entitled "Critical thinking in Ufology," wherein he attempted to rewrite the definition of "critical thinking" to essentially mean accepting extraordinary tales at face value. It's only snowballed since then.


Yup. Like I said, I've read most of the thread - I have to say I skipped parts that were just too repetitive for me, like the attempted redefinition parts :D

I thought I'd try a different tack and attempt to point out in simple terms how you can't get to 'earth visiting aliens' without showing first that E.T's and intelligent E.T's have been shown to exist.

I now see two problems with this approach.

1. It's been tried before

2. Nothing will change Ufology's mind on any of this.

And for Ufology, like I've said, I have read a lot of this thread and from an outside perspective I haven't seen any cyber bullying at all. Lighthearted puns at your expense yes. Bullying, no.

What I have seen from members here is a (relatively) patient attempt to help you understand your errors and from you, a refusal (inability seems to be the wrong word) to come to terms with this.
 
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The actual truth is that J. Randall Murphy of www.ufopages.com had a genuine sighting of a UFO ( alien craft ) and has since become the target of mockery and ridicule by members of the JREF forum.


Good try, but not very good acting. It seems you understand the need among the faithful to feign persecution. Of course nobody here is buying it, but that's because we're cooperative helpful skeptics and we know a sham when we see one. Some kids in an alien believers club might go for it though.

But that persistent dishonest effort to redefine the term "UFO"? That's been done to death. Here's a suggestion from the perspective of a helpful cooperative skeptic, when you mean to say "alien craft", you ought to just say it. Prefacing it with the term "UFO", which means something entirely different, is inefficient use of language, not to mention how it appears petulant and is transparently dishonest.

He has also found that little useful information comes out of the forum in the ufology section and the largest portion of commentary by the so called critics and skeptics amounts to cyber bullying. He would not currently reccommend the website as a place for young people or students to participate in a truly constructive debate.


A truly constructive debate would entail the recognition, by all participants, of the null hypothesis. They would understand how it is developed to accompany a claim and how it's purpose is to make it as easy as humanly possible to demonstrate the truth of a claim. One participant in this conversation refuses to understand that, and is therefore willfully and dishonestly resisting the possibility of a reasoned discussion, much less a debate.

Young people or students who come here are bound to see the way the alien believers shun the notion of a constructive debate in favor of prosthelytizing their faith, perpetuating their hoaxes, and trying to drive traffic to their web sites to sell a few trinkets. That would be quite educational, and as such it would serve the purpose of the JREF organization to a T.
 
Yup. Like I said, I've read most of the thread - I have to say I skipped parts that were just too repetitive for me, like the attempted redefinition parts :D

I thought I'd try a different tack and attempt to point out in simple terms how you can't get to 'earth visiting aliens' without showing first that E.T's and intelligent E.T's have been shown to exist.

I now see two problems with this approach.

1. It's been tried before

2. Nothing will change Ufology's mind on any of this.

And for Ufology, like I've said, I have read a lot of this thread and from an outside perspective I haven't seen any cyber bullying at all. Lighthearted puns at your expense yes. Bullying, no.

What I have seen from members here is a (relatively) patient attempt to help you understand your errors and from you, a refusal (inability seems to be the wrong word) to come to terms with this.

Ufology:

In case the eloquence here escaped you, allow me to ballpark it for you.

Former lurker says you're full of it.
 
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uhuh, from my perspective you have lied throughout this thread and others at other sites to the point that even other "alien" believers think you're a nut, the only thing you've promoted here is your own dishonesty and the only thing you've proven is that ufology is a pseudoscience because its populated by people like you
:D
don't like the truth, tough. Its here for all to read. You could be contacted by the supreme galactic council as an emissary for humankind but after your performance here no one would believe you, not even the other ufonuts
;)


Marduk,

Gee ... I had actually expected better from you ... maybe some cute graphics to support your routine.
 
uf, any chance of you ever addressing the numerous valid questions that have been raised which you have so far run away from?


RoboTimbo,

Try getting me something useful and constructive.
 
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J. Randall Murphy of www.ufopages.com...


A few questions:

Why do you keep on referring to yourself in the third person on the Internet?

Why do you refer to your website as an organization separate from yourself, and the opinions you promote through it as independent of your own?

It is clear to all of us by now that "USI" consists of nobody but yourself and its "official position" consists entirely of your own opinions.

I've seen you do this on other forums as well as here. You refer to "J. Randall Murphy" as a separate individual other than yourself, essentially citing yourself as an expert authority.

I've also seen you refer to "Ufology Society International (USI)" deferentially in the third-person plural, as if it is a legitimate research organization instead of your own personal UFO-themed website.

I've seen you post on other Web forums under various pseudonyms and fake personas, also referring to "J. Randall Murphy" and your website as separate entities from yourself. I've seen you post under your own name as a "USI Field Rep," instead of the sole proprietor of your organization. You've done it here, you've done it on the Paracast forums, I've seen you do it in other places, like allexperts.com and the Wikipedia discussion pages.

It's not difficult to find these examples I'm referring to. I sought out and discovered these aliases quite easily, after seeing how you parroted the exact same arguments on the Paracast Forums as you have done here. You've even used the exact same language and phraseology verbatim, exactly as you have used them here. All it took was a few minutes on Google looking for "J. Randall Murphy," "USI," plus various keywords. It is obvious that these various postings are all you and nobody else.

I'm asking you now, why do you use these obvious, dishonest SEO techniques to misrepresent yourself and your website? It really is a feeble attempt, and transparently dishonest as well.


The actual truth is that J. Randall Murphy of www.ufopages.com had a genuine sighting of a UFO ( alien craft ) and has since become the target of mockery and ridicule by members of the JREF forum. He has also found that little useful information comes out of the forum in the ufology section and the largest portion of commentary by the so called critics and skeptics amounts to cyber bullying. He would not currently reccommend the website as a place for young people or students to participate in a truly constructive debate.


You are egregiously misrepresenting your history here on the JREF forums. The mild sarcasm you have received at the hands of forum members has been a proportionate response to the stubborn arrogance and ignorance you have displayed from the moment you first showed up here.

Back in July you started a thread, ostensibly to discuss UFOs and UFOlogy within the context of "critical thinking," but you imposed the caveat that we all must accept a certain vague, meaningless definition of what "critical thinking" means. That caveat is of course preposterous, so your definition was rejected by consensus. Instead of giving the benefit of the doubt that we might know something you don't about critical thinking (considering what the JREF is all about), you obtusely insisted on your definition by your own misplaced authority.

Since then you have proceeded to tell us we're wrong about nearly everything we know, even things which you obviously don't have the first clue about (like the scientific method, critical thinking, formulation of hypotheses, basic math and physics, etc.). All along, you've posited your own opinions as facts without providing sufficient evidence to back them up. You've committed numerous breaches of informal logic. Perhaps some were accidental, but others were clearly dishonest. You've asserted your own personal redefinitions of terms and expected us to just pretend the English language means something other than what it really says. When these errors are pointed out, you hand-wave, dodge the subject, spout even more fallacies, and allege a conspiracy of persecution. Thus, you have arrogantly resisted every attempt by us to correct your mistakes and teach you the basics of critical thinking. In fact, the longer this discussion drags on, the further you seem to retreat from rational thinking.

Your own obstinacy and willful ignorance is what has earned you the mockery, J. Randall Murphy. Your credibility and that of your pretend organization, "Ufology Society International," was shot to hell long before you ever started to relate the hoax of your UFO sighting. If you showed even the least bit of intellectual integrity, I'm sure the criticism would be a lot less harsh.
 
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John Albert,

The real question is whether or not you'll ever provide any constructive commentary. Will you?

Question is whether you'll provide any evidence for your claims.

Actually, no one's holding their breath. Turning purple is the fear.
 
A few questions:

Why do you keep on referring to yourself in the third person on the Internet?

Why do you refer to your "organization" as an entity separate from yourself, and the opinions you promote through it as independent of your own?

It is clear to all of us by now that "USI" consists of nobody but yourself and its "official position" consists entirely of your own opinions.

I've seen you do this on other forums as well as here. You refer to "J. Randall Murphy" as a separate individual other than yourself, essentially citing yourself as an expert authority.

I've also seen you attribute your own opinions to "Ufology Society International (USI)" as a group, as if it is a legitimate research organization instead of your own personal UFO-themed website.

I've seen you post on other Web forums under various pseudonyms and fake personas, also referring to "J. Randall Murphy" and your website as separate entities from yourself. I've seen you post under your own name as a "USI Field Rep," instead of the sole proprietor of your organization. You've done it here, you've done it on the Paracast forums, I've seen you do it in other places, like allexperts.com and the Wikipedia discussion pages.

It's not difficult to find these examples I'm referring to. I sought out and discovered these aliases quite easily, after seeing how you parroted the exact same arguments on the Paracast Forums as you have done here. You've even used the exact same language and phraseology verbatim, exactly as you have used them here. All it took was a few minutes on Google looking for "J. Randall Murphy," "USI," plus various keywords. It is obvious that these various postings are all you and nobody else.

I'm asking you now, why do you use these obvious, dishonest SEO techniques to misrepresent yourself and your website?





You are egregiously misrepresenting your history here on the JREF forums. The mockery you have received at the hands of forum members has been a proportionate response to the stubborn arrogance and deliberate ignorance you have displayed from the moment you first showed up here.

Back in July you started a thread, ostensibly to discuss UFOs and UFOlogy within the context of "critical thinking," but imposed the caveat that we all accept your own vague, meaningless definition of what "critical thinking" means. That caveat is of course preposterous, so your definition was rejected by consensus. Instead of accepting that we might know something you don't about the subject (considering what the JREF is all about), you insisted on your definition by your own misplaced authority.

Since then you have proceeded to tell us we're wrong about nearly everything we know, even things which you obviously don't have the first clue about (like the scientific method, critical thinking, formulation of hypotheses, basic math and physics, etc.). All along, you've posited your own opinions as facts without providing sufficient evidence to back them up. You've committed numerous breaches of informal logic. Perhaps some were accidental, but others were clearly dishonest. You've asserted your own personal redefinitions of terms and expected us to just pretend the English language means something other than what it really says. When these errors are pointed out, you hand-wave, dodge the subject, spout even even more fallacies, and allege a conspiracy of persecution. Thus, you have arrogantly resisted every attempt by us to correct your mistakes and teach you the basics of critical thinking. In fact, the longer this discussion drags on, the further you seem to retreat from rational thinking.

Your own obstinacy and willful ignorance is what has earned you the mockery, J. Randall Murphy. Your credibility and that of your pretend organization, "Ufology Society International," was shot to hell long before you ever started to relate the hoax of your UFO sighting. If you showed even the least bit of intellectual integrity, I'm sure the criticism would be a lot less harsh.

Interesting how dishonestly ufology snipped all of that constructive commentary and then asked for constructive commentary. Perhaps ufology, who is famous for the J Randall Murphy UFO ( firefly ) Hoax, should have a second chance to read it. It would do him a world of good to actually respond to it and answer for the dishonesty he is splattering all over the internet.
 
John Albert,

The real question is whether or not you'll ever provide any constructive commentary. Will you?


I'm just setting the record straight because you're so persistently dishonest.

You're also very wrong about the "real question." Have another look at the title of the thread.

The real real question is when you will ever provide any evidence to falsify the null hypothesis, which (in case you've forgotten) is:


All UFO sightings are mundane in origin
 
John Albert,

Perhaps you don't understand the concept of "constructive commentary". Have you got nothing better to do than disparage people in the name of "skepticism and critical thinking"? What have you uncovered lately that might actually be useful from a skeptical or scientific point of view that would be interesting to people who enjoy ufology?
 
John Albert,

Perhaps you don't understand the concept of "constructive commentary". Have you got nothing better to do than disparage people in the name of "skepticism and critical thinking"? What have you uncovered lately that might actually be useful from a skeptical or scientific point of view that would be interesting to people who enjoy ufology?


I asked you a few questions, which I see you have declined to answer.

As I said above, I was merely setting the record straight in defense of myself and others here against your own disparagement of this community.

I also offered what I feel to be some very "constructive commentary," by explaining precisely why people on these forums show you so little patience. If you displayed any intellectual integrity at all, any common courtesy to answer the well-reasoned and articulated questions asked of you, or (especially) the humility to admit when you're wrong, you might find the goings a lot easier around here.
 
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What have you uncovered lately that might actually be useful from a skeptical or scientific point of view that would be interesting to people who enjoy ufology?

What has UFOlogy (the pseudoscience, not the poster) done for humanity in the last 60 years? You were aksed that question before but didn't answer. I'm not sure if it is your dishonesty that keeps you from answering or not.
 
I asked you a few questions, which I see you have declined to answer.

As I said above, I was merely setting the record straight in defense of myself and others here against your own disparagement of this community.

I also offered what I feel to be some very "constructive commentary," by explaining precisely why people on these forums show you so little patience. If you displayed any intellectual integrity at all, any common courtesy to answer the well-reasoned and articulated questions asked of you, or (especially) the humility to admit when you're wrong, you might find the goings a lot easier around here.


John Albert,

I didn't ask anyone here for a critique of my character. I asked if anyone had any constructive commentary e.g. news of the latest hoaxes, faked credentials or interesting science applicable to ufology. So could you please keep your opinions regarding me personally to yourself and try to address the issue?
 
I didn't ask anyone here for a critique of my character. I asked if anyone had any constructive commentary e.g. news of the latest hoaxes, faked credentials or interesting science applicable to ufology.


I did not attack you personally, or critique your "character" outside of your own arguments and the fraudulent way you promote yourself and your fake organization. That kind of activity could definitely be considered a "hoax" and "faked credentials" by some standards.


So could you please keep your opinions regarding me personally to yourself and try to address the issue?


The issue is "UFOs: The Research, the Evidence"

Instead of bellyaching about your imagined persecution complex, why don't you present some evidence to falsify the null hypothesis?

You remember what the null hypothesis is, don't you? Or do I need to repeat it yet again?
 
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