SUBJECT: NEIL HITS THE MARK - - RPD                          FILE: UFO2519







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Date: Tue Apr 12 11:42:08 1988
From: RICHARD P. DELL'AQUILA (ab114)
Subj: Neil Hits the Mark--RPD
COPY OF LETTER TO DR. LAMBE
Since Dr. Lambe, moderator of the SF Reviewers' SIG has seen fit 
to delete all reference to UFOs from his board, I am uploading 
this copy of the beginning portion of a rather lengthy upload to 
the SF OPEN Forum Board. (Apparently Dr. Lambe has concluded 
that his OPEN Forum was to be closed to matters pertaining to 
Ufolog.  Thankfully, Page has not come to a similar conclusion.
      Dear Dr. Lambe:
      Thank you for your letter concerning your opinions on 
UFOs, but I believe you are operating under a misperception. 
I do not presume to know what UFOs ARE, because I really don't 
know; but the evidence does establish beyond a reasonable doubt 
that they are not ALL misperceptions or hoaxes.  Indeed, the 
reports that stem from IDENTIFIABLE sources do not, obviously, 
fit the definition of an UNIDENTIFIED Flying Object.  
      UFOs have been reported by entirely competent witnesses 
whose sightings have been corroborated by other independent 
witnesses and instrumentation, such as radar.  To make the a 
priori assumption that all UFOs are the result of misperceptions 
of known objects or phenomena simply misses the mark.  I can 
therefore only conclude that you have not adequately informed 
yourself on the subject.  With all due respect to your opinion, 
I am uploading this reply to the Science Fiction SIG, as you 
suggested, and I hope it will generate additional discusssion of 
the subject.  In the end, it is only by thorough review, 
discussion and a legitimate scientific inquiry into UFOs that 
any answers will be found.
          In 1895, the philosoper William James berated his 
scientific colleagues at Harvard University, saying "They show 
such a lack of scientific imagination that it is hard to see how 
one who is actively advancing any part of Science can [say that] 
all the fundamental conceptions of truth have already been found 
by Science.  Think how many absolutely new scientific 
conceptions have arisen in our generation...Is this credible 
that such a ushroom of knowledge, such a growth overnight as 
this, CAN represent more than the minutest glimpse of what the 
universe will really prove to be when adequately understood? NO! 
Our Science is but a drop, our ignorance a sea..."
      Almost a century later, James has been fully vindicated by 
discoverys such as relativity, quantum mechanics, and associated 
new concepts that overturned the previous scintific "truths."  
Our scientific knowledge continues to grow exponentially. 
     The focus of your reply seems to be that UFOs do not exist 
as such, but your opinion is based on a false assumption.  The 
issue of UFO existence cannot be dismissed on the basis of any 
such a priori assumption, but must be premised upon 
investigation.  The evidence to date indicates that UFOs are 
phenomena not completely understood by our present Science, but 
which fall into one or several of the followi categories:
         that conform to the laws of physics, but require
         extraordinary explanations;
         that conform to undiscovered laws of physics;
         action, conforming to known and unknown psychological
         principles, or
                    ( ETC. )
        In reviewing the recent upload by Neil, I believ his 
approach most accurately "hits the mark." We don't KNOW what 
UFOs are or will prove to be.  We can make some educated guesses 
to explain all the many credible reports, and the 
extraterrestrial hypothesis is only one among many of the 
possible alternatives.
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