Physical Evidence

Skeptics are sometimes criticized for demanding physical evidence of alien visitations. It is an unreasonable demand, believers say, because aliens are intelligent and cunning, and one cannot expect them to leave physical evidence of their presence on Earth.

Well, such an argument may make sense to somebody who is prepared to believe in alien visitations as an act of faith, in the same way that some people believe in angels. But the undeniable fact of the matter is that there is no probative physical evidence that compels us to conclude that aliens are visiting the Earth.

There simply is no alien space ship on display in a museum somewhere, in fact, there is no object in existence on Earth of which we can say "this must have been made by aliens". Of course it is possible to believe in alien visitations nonetheless, as an act of faith, but the great majority of scientists do not believe it, because it has not been proven in a rigorous scientific manner.

Those believers that reject the more extreme claims of popular UFOlogy, such as cattle mutilations, crop circles and even perhaps alien abductions, tend to fall back upon government and military reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. A well-known example is the US Air Force's own Project Sign "Estimate of the Situation", issued in 1948, that concluded that flying saucers were real and that they came from outer space.

To what extent is such a report authoritative? A scientifically trained individual looking at such a statement would ask "is this conclusion justified by the data presented?" That is to say, is such a conclusion forced upon us as the most economical way to explain that data, or is it the result of sloppy analysis and/or wishful thinking? In the case of the Project Sign "estimate," General Hoyt S. Vandenberg did not believe that the report's evidence was sufficient to support its conclusions, and he rejected it.

For those among us that are not prepared to believe in alien visitations simply as an act of faith, physical evidence is the key to everything. We will believe, if some artifact can be found on Earth that is demonstrably alien. Let us note here that "unidentified" and "demonstrably alien" are not synonymous. Just because a given UFO sighting cannot be explained it does not follow that it has been proved to be an alien space ship.

Short of a flying saucer landing on the White House lawn, where lie the best chances to obtain a demonstrably alien artifact? If we are to believe the stories told (or "remembered" under hypnosis) by those claiming to have been abducted by aliens, it seems that we should direct our attention first to those "alien implants" recovered from these people.

The stakes here are extremely high. If these "implants" can be shown to have been manufactured by aliens, then people really are being abducted by aliens. If, on the other hand, it cannot be shown that the "implants" are alien, then we must ask serious questions of the "researchers" who have elicited the testimony from the "abductees".

With the stakes so high, it is essential, in our opinion, that these analyses be conducted in accordance with the highest standards of scientific inquiry. Most importantly, we must demand that the UFOlogists prove what they claim. They are claiming that the "implants" have an alien origin. It is therefore not enough to show that they are "100% pure" or that they have an "unusual composition" or that they contain chemical elements also found in radio transmitters. They have to show that aliens made them.

One simple test would be enough to grab the attention of most scientists - an isotopic analysis of the material from which the implant is composed. We can reasonably expect that a device made by aliens from materials obtained in another solar system will exhibit isotope ratios different than those found on Earth. Such a test goes straight to the heart of the claim being made for the "implant" and would avoid all the obfuscation and hyperbole about "100% purity" and the like.

We urge the UFOlogical community to adopt properly scientific standards of investigation and proof in their work. They have to support their conclusions with probative evidence and rigorous reasoning and to confront the skeptics with the evidence they so dearly seek - a demonstrably alien artifact.

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