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I'm disappointed by this article. There is an amazing story here, and the author missed it: a collection of UFO believers and pseudoscientific quacks manage to

by jml7c5 7y ago

I'm disappointed by this article. There is an amazing story here, and the author missed it: a collection of UFO believers and pseudoscientific quacks manage to get $26 million in funding from the US government. They produce mostly nonsense, yet somehow the project runs for years. The author collected all the pieces to tell the story, but wrote yet another "well, I'll let you decide, but it seems there's something to it ;)" article. I mean come on, look at the people involved! Look at the papers they've written and the views they've espoused! There's all sorts of nonsense: remote viewing, telekinesis, harnessing zero-point energy, anti-gravity. The guy who received most of the funds believes Skinwalker Ranch is some sort of nexus for paranormal activity! This could have been a great story, but the author was just too damn credulous.

stult 7y ago
A slightly more charitable interpretation: DoD hired a bunch of loonies to keep Harry Reid happy and they used the opportunity to evaluate whether public information about UFOs could be used to compromise actual SAP research projects (imagine if the conclusions of the report had been, “yeah this particular set of sightings could easily be explained by this hypothetical near future technology” and the tech described was an actual black project). Which actually isn’t a terrible idea from a counter intelligence perspective, though they definitely over paid for the product. Ultimately that’s on Harry Reid’s shoulders, though.
zuckluni 7y ago
the first two are real, I've seen it. RV is used as a signal for stock picking, is a not very well known but real niche industry. There are people who consistently perform above 75%. telekinesis is real, but humans are pretty weak at it. just watch YouTube. as for the last two, I haven't seen anything that proves it but the reports of tech and others stuff make it sound possible. your editorial stance is just one of many possibilities ellipsis why you so attached to it?
tgflynn 7y ago
Yeah, one possible explanation for a lot of this is that the US military has been scammed by a bunch of quacks and they lack personnel with sufficient scientific competence to evaluate what they are being sold. I don't see how it could explain the 2004 Nimitz incident though.
- jml7c5 7y ago
  The they're-a-bunch-of-quacks story doesn't have to explain the Nimitz incident. They were given footage and reports of the incident, but the existence or nonexistence of the event is independent of them.
  - tgflynn 7y ago
    Sorry I don't understand what you're saying here. Could you please elaborate ? (It might help to clarify who the different instances of they and them are referring to.)
    - jml7c5 7y ago
      Apologies! It was late and my proofreading became less rigorous. I'll rewrite it: "The they're-a-bunch-of-quacks story doesn't have to explain the Nimitz incident. The AAWSAP/AATIP group were given footage and reports of the incident, but the existence or nonexistence of the event is independent of what that group says." By analogy: People see a man in the distance stumbling through the woods covered in blood. They go to help, but can't find him. A hunting camera catches something moving through the trees around the same time the man was spotted. The police investigate, but it goes unresolved. Years pass. A private detective appears in our story. This detective has unconventional views, such as believing that dogs can see dead people, vampires exist, Hitler is alive and imprisoned under the White House, etc. The detective has written about these subjects. In past unsolved murders, he has claimed Dracula was the murderer. Once, he tried to get a homeless man arrested after a stray dog led him from a grave to a back alley. The private detective convinces the police chief, who already has some suspicion that vampires exist, of the danger posed by vampires. The police chief decides to fund the private detective, telling him to investigate the vampire angle. Whatever the truth is regarding the blood-covered man, the police chief should have looked at the detective's wide range of bizarre beliefs, considered the severe deficit in judgement that those beliefs indicate, and not given him funds to investigate the case. Especially as it turns out he's using some of the funds to investigate all of his other wild beliefs, and even used funding to pay the costs of a group of Hitler-is-under-the-White-House believers.
deleted 7y ago
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by jml7c5 7y ago

stult 7y ago

A slightly more charitable interpretation: DoD hired a bunch of loonies to keep Harry Reid happy and they used the opportunity to evaluate whether public information about UFOs could be used to compromise actual SAP research projects (imagine if the conclusions of the report had been, “yeah this particular set of sightings could easily be explained by this hypothetical near future technology” and the tech described was an actual black project). Which actually isn’t a terrible idea from a counter intelligence perspective, though they definitely over paid for the product. Ultimately that’s on Harry Reid’s shoulders, though.

zuckluni 7y ago

the first two are real, I've seen it. RV is used as a signal for stock picking, is a not very well known but real niche industry. There are people who consistently perform above 75%. telekinesis is real, but humans are pretty weak at it. just watch YouTube. as for the last two, I haven't seen anything that proves it but the reports of tech and others stuff make it sound possible. your editorial stance is just one of many possibilities ellipsis why you so attached to it?

tgflynn 7y ago

Yeah, one possible explanation for a lot of this is that the US military has been scammed by a bunch of quacks and they lack personnel with sufficient scientific competence to evaluate what they are being sold. I don't see how it could explain the 2004 Nimitz incident though.

jml7c5 7y ago
The they're-a-bunch-of-quacks story doesn't have to explain the Nimitz incident. They were given footage and reports of the incident, but the existence or nonexistence of the event is independent of them.
- tgflynn 7y ago
  Sorry I don't understand what you're saying here. Could you please elaborate ? (It might help to clarify who the different instances of they and them are referring to.)
  - jml7c5 7y ago
    Apologies! It was late and my proofreading became less rigorous. I'll rewrite it: "The they're-a-bunch-of-quacks story doesn't have to explain the Nimitz incident. The AAWSAP/AATIP group were given footage and reports of the incident, but the existence or nonexistence of the event is independent of what that group says." By analogy: People see a man in the distance stumbling through the woods covered in blood. They go to help, but can't find him. A hunting camera catches something moving through the trees around the same time the man was spotted. The police investigate, but it goes unresolved. Years pass. A private detective appears in our story. This detective has unconventional views, such as believing that dogs can see dead people, vampires exist, Hitler is alive and imprisoned under the White House, etc. The detective has written about these subjects. In past unsolved murders, he has claimed Dracula was the murderer. Once, he tried to get a homeless man arrested after a stray dog led him from a grave to a back alley. The private detective convinces the police chief, who already has some suspicion that vampires exist, of the danger posed by vampires. The police chief decides to fund the private detective, telling him to investigate the vampire angle. Whatever the truth is regarding the blood-covered man, the police chief should have looked at the detective's wide range of bizarre beliefs, considered the severe deficit in judgement that those beliefs indicate, and not given him funds to investigate the case. Especially as it turns out he's using some of the funds to investigate all of his other wild beliefs, and even used funding to pay the costs of a group of Hitler-is-under-the-White-House believers.

deleted 7y ago

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