5 things we know, for certain, about the UFO or UAP situation. A “no bullshit” review of where we’re at.
There’s so much nonsense talked about UFOs or UAP that it’s frequently embarrassing. This messy situation doesn’t help reduce the taboo or stigma surrounding what should be seen as an important subject. It’s therefore vital to cut through all of the bullshit and ask a basic question: what do we really know, for certain?
1. Some cases remain inexplicable - suggestive of advanced, exotic technology.
It’s always prudent to seek a conventional explanation for any sighting of a UFO or UAP. Misidentification of known objects is common. Hoaxes are not uncommon. The vast majority of UFO cases can be adequately explained.
What remains is a core of tantalising instances that are genuinely suggestive of some advanced, exotic technology. And a number of these sightings of anomalous objects date back to many decades ago, when our technology was a lot less developed than it is today. The most intriguing cases feature intelligently-controlled unknown craft which appear to be able to overcome Earth’s gravity with no visible means of propulsion - and with no flight control surfaces, such as wings or propellers - demonstrating incredible velocities, often described as “impossible”, perhaps involving near-instantaneous acceleration and rapid changes of direction that no human pilot could survive.
This photo of a UFO, taken in 1950, still remains unexplained and could depict a genuine anomalous craft from elsewhere (Credit: Paul Trent)
Our first article in the UAP section of evolvefirst.org was aptly titled Too real to ignore. It outlined the 2004 Tic Tac case, involving Commander David Fravor and three other aircrew in two Super Hornets. Fravor is a real-life TOPGUN US Navy fighter pilot. His assessment of what was encountered is simple: “I think it was not from this world. I have never seen anything in my life, in my history of flying, that has the performance, the acceleration - keep in mind this thing had no wings.”
The second in our recent mini-series of three films about UFOs looked at the best cases. The film was shot outdoors in the US, and provides a serious introduction to these instances of unidentified anomalous craft.
2. Human beings are still at a semi-primitive stage of evolution, an emerging intelligent species, untrustworthy.
Regardless of how people might view themselves, the facts are unambiguous. We’re responsible for the various global crises: war, other armed conflicts, overpopulation, habitat destruction, extinction of species, climate change, pollution, terrorism, cruelty to animals, torture, genocide, and more. Then there are the many criminal acts: murder, rape, child abuse, robbery and theft, fraud, kidnapping, arson, drunk driving, vandalism, assault, human trafficking, blackmail, domestic violence, etc. The personal suffering includes insecurity, anxiety, self-pity, isolation, the hurtfulness of bitching and gossip, bullying, greed, financial debt, hatred, prejudice, boredom, comfort eating and obesity, anorexia and bulimia, depression, self-loathing and self-harm, alcohol abuse, plus drug abuse, and so on.
This is all highly relevant in answering the Fermi paradox - which, wondering about other civilisations elsewhere in the universe, asks the question: “Where are they?” None of the above - the global crises, criminal acts, or personal suffering - makes us look good if anyone is watching. At our current level of development, we’re untrustworthy. Often, people don’t even want to know what the problem with themselves is, making solving things extremely difficult. Psychological avoidance is ubiquitous. Yet the silly excuses, irrational blaming of someone or something else, minimisation, etc etc don’t work. They keep the human race stuck, backward, full of contradictions and hypocrisy. These behavioural weaknesses are invariably normalised and therefore accepted, when they could be unlearnt and overcome.
The bottom line - the root cause - of these numerous inadequacies and mass suffering is the self-orientated psychology. It’s an immature strategy, inherently problematic, leading to some degree of dysfunction or limitation. Simply put, it’s the “me, me, me”, “me, first”, or “me and mine” mentality. It’s learnt through the social conditioning of monkey do what monkey see.
We’ve outlined this human situation in the first of our three films on UFOs and in a more detailed series of 42 films, so there’s no need to expand on this crucial topic here.
3. “Ufology” is a mess, reflecting the wider current human situation.
Cliques of bland individuals, vying for attention, don’t help. They’re “Desperate to know”, but know almost nothing. In the absence of an abundance of solid data, there’s usually an obsessive “Need to waffle”. Their ignorance is hidden under a heap of mindless guesswork, innuendo, and conspiracy theories.
The inevitable hindrance of “I want to believe” is almost always underestimated. Or this human tendency is just plain ignored. Once again, psychology is massively relevant. It mustn’t be overlooked, yet it usually is. To make matters worse, many of those in “ufology” have jumped on the bandwagons of psychic phenomena and consciousness, further exposing their ignorance and overeagerness to believe. We urge every reader to follow the links to the three articles we’ve recently written on these matters, simply because further education is desperately needed.
Even earlier, we’ve drawn attention to the widespread problem of witness testimony. Every professional in law enforcement knows it’s notoriously unreliable. Although eyewitness testimony shouldn’t be ruled out, a bystander’s account can be distorted by poor viewing conditions, brief exposure to an event, and personal biases. Furthermore, someone’s memory can be later contaminated by erroneous information and misleading questions. Memory distortion and confabulation is a known psychological effect that can be thought of as “honestly lying”. Once more, most of those in “ufology” ignore or underestimate this human reporting problem in their rush to believe. Greater critical thinking skills are required, including a detailed understanding of how psychological avoidance sabotages perception and resulting understanding.
Whereas those in science and government tend to be more cautious in their approach - less silly - a heap of taboo, stigma, and other prejudices get in the way of honest enquiry. With very few exceptions, scientists and those in government have failed in their duty when it comes to understanding what’s going on with UFOs or UAP.
4. We know there are unimaginable numbers of exoplanets, star systems, and galaxies.
Astronomy is doing a good job in unravelling knowledge about the universe. We’ve known for quite a while that there’s a mind-boggling number of other star systems and galaxies out there. We’re talking at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone, with somewhere between 200 billion to possibly two trillion other galaxies in the universe.
There are mind-boggling numbers of galaxies out there (Credit: NASA)
My colleague, Victoria, wrote an excellent summary article on exoplanets. It touched on the prejudice amongst astronomers about the possibility of planets beyond our own solar system, prior to 1992, when the first one was discovered. Now, there’s a lot of work being done - especially on habitable planets elsewhere in the Milky Way, estimated to be somewhere between 300 million and as many as 40 billion.
The possibility of other life existing beyond our own planet is looking increasingly likely as more facts are established, although opinions about this still vary enormously from zero to an abundance.
Within “ufology”, there’s much speculation about a multiverse, interdimensional travel, ultraterrestrials, and time travel. But that’s all it is: speculation. There’s zero evidence - nothing, zilch - to support such ideas. To state the obvious, by contrast, we are rapidly learning that alternative homes for life elsewhere in our galaxy, or beyond, will exist. If we’re considering possible origins for the anomalous craft being observed, this extraterrestrial explanation should be the first to consider before jumping to look at less likely ideas. And, yes, of course, we need to understand how significant problems might have been overcome regarding the hostile nature of space travel and the phenomenal distances involved. But, if craft from elsewhere are here, this would imply there’s a way.
5. Technological know-how and human overpopulation are accelerating at an unprecedented pace.
Many are convinced by the concept of a Great Filter. This clever intellectual idea has been repeatedly postulated as part of a possible explanation for the Fermi paradox. It states that even if a number of lifeforms elsewhere in the universe have arisen - perhaps reaching the intelligent stage - they’ll nevertheless sooner or later obliterate themselves, or else otherwise die out. Very few, if any - so the argument goes - make it through to the other side of this alleged filter or barrier.
If this Great Filter idea is true, then it doesn’t look hopeful for humanity because we’ll soon be facing self-annihilation or extinction ourselves.
There’s some tentative evidence to support the idea of civilisations disappearing, here on Earth, in the past, but they weren’t global ones with our level of technology - so any comparison between then and now regarding “collapse of civilisations” is somewhat unjustified. We’re certainly stupid, blind, aggressive, and more - but we can also be smart when it suits us. The selfish psychology isn’t great for individual survival - just look at all the wars throughout history, for example - but, as a species, we’ve nevertheless managed to get to this point. We’re still in the game, even with our mix of intelligence and semi-primitive behaviour.
We don’t buy into the idea of a Great Filter. Instead, we suggest there’s loads of evidence to support our alternative concept of a Great Hurdle. This Great Hurdle summarises the long history of failure in trying to fundamentally change ourselves. Despite millions of sincere individuals attempting to significantly improve themselves, with this collective effort happening for at least the last few thousand years - regardless of the various religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs - the overwhelming evidence shows that the same self-orientated psychological problems still persist today, largely unchecked, assisted by the ubiquitous strategy of avoidance. It seems that human beings are inherently stuck at a basic level, when the actual reality is that there is “just” a massive hurdle to overcome.
The many problems, which we bring upon ourselves, are now being seriously complicated by two recent significant developments. Human overpopulation has exploded during my lifetime. When I was a boy, there were three billion people (already too many). Last year, when I was aged 65, we reached the staggering number of eight billion people. Add to this the rapid increase in technological know-how. The combination of these two major factors are presenting us with unprecedented challenges - largely being ignored at present, as the drastic changes are quickly normalised - but they might possibly lead to catastrophe. The outcome could, perhaps, be disastrous, even proving the idea of a Great Filter. Equally possible, faced with adversity, we might finally begin to wise up, reconsider our fundamental behaviour, and begin the process of further education so as to pull ourselves out of immaturity.
To go beyond this point would be to venture deeper into the speculation of future choice, which of course is uncertain and therefore outside the brief of this “what do we know, for certain” article. However, we’re extremely confident - as a result of decades of our specialist expertise - that we have the answer to why visitors from elsewhere are here, and we’ve outlined this in the third of our mini-series of films about UFOs and what’s going on.
Written by Iain Scott, 21st February 2023