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Life, liberty and the pursuit of aliens | page 1, 2
Dr. Richard Berendzen, a NASA consultant and professor of physics and astronomy at American University, thinks there's a different reason why serious scientists have steered clear of ufology. "It does not meet even the minimum threshold of admissibility in the court of science," he says. Berendzen has appeared on "Nightline" and the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" to discuss ufology's pitfalls. "One of the first tenets in science is that a subject has to be vulnerable, it has to be testable, so that it can potentially be disproved." And ufology, Berenzen says, comes up short in the testability department. When academics do get around to investigating ufology, they often take a folklorist approach, studying the people who study UFOs rather than the UFO data itself. Many skeptical scientists view ufology as a cult of mystics who, as Berendzen puts it, "deserve only a passing reference, like other belief systems such as astrology or witchcraft. It's a religious belief, and you can't dissuade a believer." Schuessler points out that the MUFON board includes consultants from all branches of science, engineering and astronomy. And though some academics are finally coming out of the closet to study UFOs, he still thinks that mainstream academia hasn't delved into the subject nearly enough. "There's a larger database for the study of UFOs than most any other subject," he said, "and it's good data. It extends back 50 years and there's a lot of thorough research -- a lot done by the government, a lot done by university professors. We have an embarrassment of riches." So what does Schuessler think is the reason that most mainstream academics refuse to even consider the data? "A lot of people are intimidated by ridicule," he says, "so they won't take the risk. Other people are afraid to touch something that they feel is on the fringe of science because it might affect their research money. Your income drives your beliefs." Schuessler believes that if more grant money were going to universities to fund UFO research, professors would be shoving each other out of the way to scan the skies for flying saucers. "They give grants to university professors to determine why children fall off tricycles, the mating habits of owls -- all kinds of silly things," Schuessler says. "The professor who studied tricycles went on the Johnny Carson show, he got laughed at. But he got paid for his research, so he didn't care. The bottom line is money." "That's just a standard argument used by pseudo-scientists," Berendzen says. "It's very dangerous to guess someone else's motivation." He says that plenty of astronomers engage in extraterrestrial study -- through astrobiology and exobiology, for example -- in the quest to find the origins of our own terrestrial life. "Many of us believe there could be life off planet Earth. But these are serious scientists conducting serious research. The problem with ufologists is that there's not a scintilla of verifiable evidence to support their claims." In John Schuessler's perfect world, well-funded research departments would employ scientists to systematically examine each element of the UFO phenomenon, breaking the data down to its barest elements to see what, if anything, the mystery means. Berendzen says, "That would be a horrendous ploy played on American taxpayers. Do you want your money to go to study these claims? Let's fund studies of unicorns and sea serpents while we're at it." For Berendzen and most UFO naysayers, there's one fundamental question: "Where is your proof?" he says. "Put up or shut up." Schuessler, like all ufologists, can't put up any proof, but he won't shut up, either. Although he continues to hold out hope that intellectuals will begin to investigate alien life more seriously, he's not waiting for Harvard to found an institute. Bypassing the world of books, peer-reviewed panels and irritating academic standards, he's aiming straight for the stars, with individual space exploration. Recently he's embarked on a second career as a consultant in space tourism, which might eventually lead to more independent investigations of alien worlds. "I believe that there is a vital role for humans in space," he said. "Everyone who wants to go should be able to."
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