Are we alone? This is one of the ultimate questions and there is no definitive answer yet. However, this fact is contradicted by the steady stream of credible but unsubstantiated UFO claims coming from prominent politicians, journalists and podcasters.
Add to this the widespread and ongoing influence of entertainment movies, deceptive pseudo-documentaries, and sensationalized releases of government and military documents, and it’s no wonder that more than a third of Americans believe that intelligent extraterrestrials have visited Earth. According to a survey by Chapman University, 35.3 percent of American adults believe that aliens have visited Earth in modern times, and 42.7 percent believe that aliens have visited Earth in ancient times.1 These are disturbing numbers for claims that don’t even remotely come close to being scientifically proven.2
A story is just a story until someone backs it up with enough relevant and verifiable evidence. To date, all we have for UFOs are eyewitness accounts, vague images and information, and conspiracy theories. Therefore, there is no logical reason to conclude that aliens were here.
Tips for evaluating UFO claims
The following list of thoughts will help guard against delusions during the inevitable close encounters with UFO noise. After reading, share the list with others to help you think clearly about the topic.
- UFO enthusiasts often question the sanity and honesty of people who claim to have seen alien spacecraft. A false or disingenuous inference is that the witness is mentally disturbed in some way, a lieor seen a real alien spacecraft. This misses another possible explanation: eyewitnesses may be sincere, but remember what they saw. Competent, sincere people always do wrong things.3
- UFO (unidentified flying object) is not synonymous with “alien spacecraft”. “U” means “unknown”. The question is not the answer. A secret is not a revelation. Anyone who cares about the truth must recognize that an unusual observation, an interesting tip, or an interesting story may start an investigation, but it does not end the investigation.4
- Human vision and memory not entirely reliable. The eyes and brain do not work like a video camera system. What we see and what we remember are both constructions of the brain. Everything we see is heavily edited representation from the truth. Every memory is distorted and sometimes they are completely fabricated. Furthermore, the fact that our vision and memory can be strongly influenced by prior beliefs is directly related to UFO sightings.5
- When you hear someone with no relevant physics background proclaiming that UFOs “defy the laws of physics,” your skepticism should go red-alarm. Much of physics is intuitive. Objects can behave in surprising ways in the atmosphere and in space. Complicating matters further, the observer can determine the size, direction, speed or person may struggle to accurately analyze an airborne object. For example, it is very easy for an unknown object to appear to be moving or moving in impossible ways. In the age of drones, this has never been more relevant.6
- An unidentified radar blip does not confirm an alien visit. Cars are not perfect. Radar systems can malfunction, be misconfigured, or produce data that well-intentioned people can misinterpret.
- The experiences of some witnesses, especially military and commercial pilots, are a popular selling point among UFO enthusiasts. However, all pilots rely on the same faulty vision and memory systems as others. This means that their observations and memories cannot be the only reliable evidence.7
- Wanting something to be true can lead the best of us to irrational beliefs. Therefore, we should be careful when we are tempted by a claim that excites us. I am a lifelong sci-fi fan; Star Trek practically my religion.8 I will pay attention to UFO news. I read countless books on astronomy and astrobiology, visited the headquarters of the SETI Institute, and talked to various relevant experts. Fortunately, I am aware enough of my own emotional vulnerabilities on this subject to avoid it fantasy somewhere along the way. I want to believe – but not at the expense of my intellectual integrity and personal dignity.
- The late astronomer Carl Sagan popularized the phrase, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” This general concept could not be more applicable to UFOs. The visit of intelligent extraterrestrials to Earth may be the most important event in our history. His evidence must therefore be held to an appropriately high standard.9
Some people in the field of UFO propaganda advocate skepticism rejection. This is not true. For example, many scientists are just as open-minded and curious as anyone else. But they are responsible enough to wait for the evidence.10 Given the vastness of the universe and the vast number of worlds that could harbor life, a reasonable argument can be made that extraterrestrial life forms, including technological civilizations, could exist somewhere out there. Despite the lack of strong evidence, intelligent aliens may have reached us. However, until someone uses the methods and principles of science to determine that this has happened, there is no reason to believe.
