CURRENT RESEARCH
"...Scientific thought is self-correcting as long as there is reasonable
freedom of research and publication."
-- Isaac Asimov
Perhaps the question most commonly asked by scientific experts with regards
to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and - more specifically, UFOs or unidentified
flying objects - is "Where is the evidence?" In the scientific community,
material is submitted by white paper for peer review and debate. In this way
it can be determined if the investigation that led to the claim followed the
rules of science and can be considered a contribution to the sum of knowledge.
Though significant studies of UFOs have been conducted and published, the
broader scientific community has not examined them.
The development of knowledge requires a logical progression. In the case of UAP, which includes UFOs, that progression might follow this line of logic. First, gather foundational data and examine it for patterns. Second, establish the existence of and the need to study a category of phenomena that have not been documented yet. Thirdly, determine through further study, publication and debate whether these phenomena are natural or not. Fourth, depending on the answer to the third step, determine what natural or other process causes the phenomena.
So, where in this progression is the current state of knowledge? Amazingly enough, after over fifty years of documentation of UAP/UFOs over nearly every region of the Earth, we are only in the first step of the logical progression towards knowledge. Data is still being gathered and very little analysis has been completed to date. International efforts are only beginning to compare data. There is no strong statistical information regarding frequency of occurrence, densities of observations by location, scope and variety of manifestations, etc. There are some convincing studies that demand careful consideration and certainly there have been incidents to cause concern for public safety. The documentation, debate, and peer review have not yet occurred and, to date, there has been no study of UAP that has been definitive in demonstrating the source or cause of at least one category of UAP known as UFOs. However, there is convincing, mature documentation of observations and incidents that involve UAP that do indeed seem to be objects, and these studies may demonstrate the existence of a phenomenon in need of further scientific examination and analysis.
Many people claim that unidentified flying objects are manifestations of one or more extraterrestrial intelligences. Some suggest that "they" are visitors from our own future, or from another dimension, or from another world near another sun. It is clear that this speculation, though entertaining and perhaps somewhat warranted, remains speculation. There is no proof - not one definitive study in the public domain - that has effectively established a direct link between UAP/UFO and a non-terrestrial culture. There is also no definitive study establishing the source of UAP/UFO.
That is the work before us: To establish, without bias and through the rules of science and logic, a foundation of data that will lead us to the truth about the nature and source of UAP/UFO and to encourage examination of this information by the scientific community.
The Current Research section of the CFi website is offering scientific papers and analysis on the topic of UAP. To facilitate the conversation, we are also offering documentation regarding topics that are peripheral to the study, but related. It is our hope to broaden the discussion surrounding UAP and to encourage inquiry and discussion in the scientific community. We welcome and invite submissions from the research and scientific community at large for presentation under these general headings:
1) Interstellar
Travel- Feasibility and methods
2) Exobiology
- potential for life beyond Earth, current studies and research
3) Extraterrestrial
Intelligence- Searching for, communicating with, or examining ETI
4) Unidentified Aerial
Phenomena - Case Investigations, Photo-analysis, Historic documentation,
and current studies
Research News - news articles about recent, breaking research in these subject areas and beyond.
Ted Roe
Research Coordinator
tedr@freedomofinfo.org
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