As a first time attendee of the International MUFON Symposium, the first thing that hit me during the dinner on Friday night is that everyone in the room shared an interest in serious ufological discourse. Sure, that goes without saying, I know. But having only joined MUFON shortly before attending, it was a refreshing shift for someone accustomed to being the token “UFO Girl”. I spent most of the symposium with my ears open and my mouth shut, learning from those who have spent the past thirty years or more paving the way. What an incredible ride.

Speaker Lineup

• Stanton Friedman, The Pseudoscience of Anti-Ufology
• Dr. Frank Salisbury, Reflections of an Old UFO Chaser
• John Ventre, UFOs Over Pennsylvania
• Dr. Jeffrey Bennett, Beyond UFOs: The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Life
• Ted Phillips, Dramatic Changes in Trace/Landing Events
• Marc D’Antonio, How to Talk to a Skeptic About UFOs
• Dr. Kevin Randle, Moving Ufology into a Scientific Arena
• Peter Robbins, Politics, Religion and Human Nature: Roadblocks On The Path To Disclosure
• Chris Rutkowski, 20-Year Longitudinal Study of Canadian UFOs
• Bruce Maccabee, A 35 Year Perspective on UFO Photo Investigation
• James Carrion, New Research Avenues for Ufology

Ufology, Science and The Unknown

I was particularly taken with Stanton Friedman’s talk on “The Pseudo-Science of Anti-Ufology” and the disclosure lecture by Peter Robbins. There is a tendency to dismiss ufology based on a) the cultural stigma against the possibility that there is actually something to the phenomenon and b) the belief that studying an inherently elusive set of phenomena is a waste of time. My involvement in the field makes it obvious that I don’t share these viewpoints, but given the historical context of ufology, I understand how they came to be.

Food for thought from the symposium included the future of ufology as a science and how to approach the roadblocks inherent in studying something that doesn’t always provide qualifiable, measurable, reliable sets of data. We approach sightings by eliminating them from the pool of “unknowns”, but the remaining unknowns are still, well… unknown. There are ideas, theories and beliefs about the nature of the unknowns, but conclusive evidence remains elusive. Unfortunately, debunkers will take that as a sign that there is nothing significant to the phenomena and write the entire field off as a waste of time.

It surprises me; nothing is more exciting to the science-minded than an unexplained phenomenon. The mystery surrounding UFOs and anomalous encounters is the very thing that attracts so many of us to the field.

You know the drill. If they’re real, why haven’t they landed on the White House lawn? And so forth. This is fallacious thinking masquerading as a reasonable argument. How are we to know the motivation behind whatever force or intelligence is behind the sightings and encounters people have been reporting for hundreds of years? Whatever it may be– natural, manmade, extraterrestrial or otherwise– we can’t assume an understanding of what drives the phenomenon. Our knowledge is limited, and so is our perspective.

And therein lies the problem. We can report our observations and the limited data we collect, but we can’t claim to see the entire picture no matter how convinced we are. We see what we see, make our observations, and move forward from there. It’s a constantly evolving field that has to allow for the inevitable variation of data. The lack of conclusive answers doesn’t preclude the need to study the questions. Quite the opposite.

MUFON 2.0

Several speakers underscored the importance of attracting younger generations to the field. I can’t say this with absolute certainty, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my friend and I were among the youngest MUFON members in attendence by a large margin. Certainly among the youngest females. We heard speakers ask again and again, “How do we get younger people involved?”

Speaking from the perspective of someone from one of the younger generations, I can say that we were met with mixed reactions. On one hand there were the enthusiastic welcomers, the members and investigators who encouraged us to get more involved and invite our friends. The Chief Field Investigator for MUFON in Colorado was particularly encouraging and has convinced me to become a field investigator myself. The speakers we had the pleasure of meeting were also warm and supportive of our involvement.

On the other hand, there were the occasional members who approached us with caution and a wary eye, asking us why we were there and whether or not we take this seriously. While the caution is understandable in a field that’s constantly under fire, I think it’s important to offer a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the younger newcomers.

Suggestions from younger members should be taken seriously. We need these fresh perspectives in addition to the wisdom of seasoned members if we want to move MUFON into the next wave of research. I believe it was Chris Rutkowski who mentioned the internet as a valuable tool for outreach to younger people, and I couldn’t agree more. Much like the phenomena themselves, the people interested in ufology are moving into new modes of operation and communication, and it would be wise to pay attention.

Over all, the MUFON 40th Annual International UFO Symposium was a remarkable experience and I encourage anyone with a serious interest in the field to attend next year’s conference. Beyond that, get involved! Check out the MUFON website for more information about the organization, ufology and how to become a member.