[ PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS ROBERT SHEAFFER Sheaffer’s “Psychic Vibrations” column has appeared in the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER for more than thirty years; its highlights have now been published as a book (Create Space, 2011). Sheaffer blogs at www.BadUFOs.com, and his website is www.debunker.com.

MUFON Jumps the Shark

From the UrbanDictionary.com: To jump the shark: The precise moment when you know a program, band, actor, politician, or other pub- lic figure has taken a turn for the worse, gone downhill, become irre- versibly bad, is unredeemable, etc.; the moment you realize decay has set in. UFON (Mutual UFO Network), the largest UFO organization Min the United States, presents itself as being dedicated to the scien- tific investigation of UFOs. Its web- site describes “MUFON’s Use of the Scientific Method”: the UFO Files, where “Hangar 1” is sup- rect—but still misleading. When Jan C. posed to be the place MUFON’s sup- Harzan became MUFON’s director in In the reporting and investigation of UFO sightings, MUFON strives to posedly vast collection of UFO data (or 2013, MUFON’s headquarters moved use the scientific method.... In order UFO stories) is kept. Since MUFON to his hometown of Newport Beach, to augment scientific research into does not exactly own buildings or any- California. No word on whether Har- the study of the UFO phenomenon, thing, and its headquarters keeps mov- zan procured a new airplane hangar for MUFON created a Science Review ing as its directors change, some folks all those files. Board (SRB) in 2012. The SRB consists of 8-9 scientists with back- doubt that there even is such a place as And what exactly does MUFON grounds in electrical engineering, “Hangar 1” (think of that huge storage serve up from its precious archives? physics, chemistry, geology, biology, building at the end of Raiders of the Lost Some of the most preposterous, sen- computer science, and astronomy. Ark). MUFON people reply that there sationalized, and unsubstantiated sto- MUFON has just debuted a tele- is (or was) indeed a Hangar 1. It is the ries in the UFO literature. President vision series on the cable channel H2 property of MUFON’s former direc- Dwight Eisenhower interrupted a (History Channel #2, placing it in the tor, David MacDonald, who is in the golf trip to Palm Springs, California, august company of shows such as An- civil aviation business near Cincinnati. in 1954 to dash off to Edwards Air cient Aliens and The UFO Hunters). In So if MacDonald wheeled a couple of Force Base for a meeting with extra- it, the scientific method is nowhere to file cabinets into his airplane hangar, terrestrials. President Richard Nixon be seen. The series is called Hangar 1 the claim is (or was) technically cor- stopped by, alone and unannounced,

16 Volume 38 Issue 4 | Skeptical Inquirer one midnight at the Florida house of bers don’t want to hear about caveats and who are ready to denounce hoaxes his friend Jackie Gleason. The two of and uncertainty. But when an organi- and humbugs wherever encountered. them drove, unescorted, to Homestead zation follows the spotlight and ignores People like these cannot possibly be Air Force Base to view the bodies of proper skepticism, it defines itself as a happy about MUFON’s plunge into dead aliens. fringe, “crackpot” organization and is tabloid sensationalism and can scarcely Actor Dwight Equitz is presented laughed at by anyone who understands afford to have their names associated as a fake “UFO researcher” who scram- science. with such trash. bles up facts about the Roswell “UFO What is really interesting is that And finally, we learn from John crash.” Blogger Jason Colavito showed the people who seem to be the most Ventre, a MUFON state director and that MUFON took a quote from one upset about the absurdities of Hangar one of the “stars” of Hangar 1, that of Stanton Friedman’s books and fab- 1 are not skeptics, who expect pro- the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight ricated a document from it to make UFO organizations to act irresponsi- 370 was abducted by extraterrestri- it look like a genuine secret govern- bly, but instead those I call “skeptical als (http://goo.gl/zhgnha). What is ment UFO document (http://goo.gl/ believers”: those who believe that some MUFON coming to? DhS2P1). Hangar 1 presented this as if UFO incidents might represent genu- it were authentic, with no explanation ine mysteries beyond science but who * * * or disclaimer. If that isn’t downright recognize that the great bulk of UFOl- dishonesty, I don’t know what else to ogy consists of error, exaggeration, and In my “Psychic Vibrations” column, call it. humbug. And the “skeptical believer” January/February 2013, I wrote about In a sense, this is nothing new. is just as ready to denounce humbugs an uncritical pro-UFO panel spon- When the notorious Gulf Breeze UFO hoax photos first surfaced in 1987, MUFON’s Director Walt An- drus embraced them wholeheartedly, resulting in the resignation of some of When an organization follows the spotlight MUFON’s best-known investigators. Andrus was so protective of that hoax and ignores proper skepticism, it defines that when some of MUFON’s most itself as a fringe, “crackpot” organization and is respected investigators checked it out firsthand and declared it a hoax, An- laughed at by anyone who understands science. drus’s reaction was to fire the investi- gators and perpetuate the hoax (this column, Summer 1991; more in my book Psychic Vibrations, http://goo.gl/ v0OK54). And the reason was obvious: as is any skeptic. After all, the only sored by the Smithsonian-affiliated these dramatic but hokey photos were way to convince science that the UFO National Atomic Testing Museum enormously popular with MUFON’s phenomenon is worth studying would in Las Vegas that promised UFO subscribers, who wanted to see more be to toss aside all of the accumulated “secrets” revealed. One would hope “red meat” in UFOlogy. Propelled by humbugs and accentuate the (hope- that in that intervening time things the momentum of the Gulf Breeze fully) solid cases. So when MUFON would have gotten better, owing to hoax, MUFON grew significantly. gives itself over to humbug without the bad publicity they received over Unfortunately, given the success reservation, it destroys all hope of pre- this. Unfortunately, things seem to be of such trashy cable TV shows as An- senting a convincing pro-UFO case getting worse. cient Aliens, Hangar 1 probably will be to the skeptical scientific world. So I was at the recent International a commercial success. It gives viewers much for the “scientific method”! In a UFO Congress near Phoenix, Ari- what they want: exciting stories about very real sense, the skeptical believers, zona, and so was the National Atomic alien encounters that sound credible along with skeptics, are allies who can Testing Museum of Las Vegas and its because they are presented in an ex- be characterized as realists—those who director, Allan Palmer. In the dealers’ tremely biased and inaccurate way. care very much what the facts are about room, nestled in with the Adamski And it probably will be successful in UFO cases and try to stick to the facts Foundation and other New Age and bringing new members to MUFON, as best as possible—as opposed to un- UFO organizations, the museum set so look for plenty more such absurdi- realists who are ready to embrace any up a table to promote itself to the ties to follow. More cautious organi- absurd UFO tale if it is exciting and UFO aficionados. Among their offer- zations, for example MUFON under ignore all facts to the contrary. ings was a discount coupon, exclusively James Carrion, do not excite and re- There are still some fine investiga- to attendees of the UFO Congress, tain their followers nearly as well and tors in MUFON, who do not make for entry into their exhibit on Area tend to lose membership. The mem- claims beyond what the data will allow 51, which presumably still includes an

Skeptical Inquirer | July/August 2014 17 [PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS ROBERT SHEAFFER

“authentic alien artifact” from Russia the subject matter was UFOs. (Fellow In November of last year, I received given to it by George Knapp, a frequent UFO skeptic James McGaha tells me it an email from Lee Speigel, who writes guest host of the all-night paranormal was him who called up the Smithsonian “Weird News” for The Huffington Post. and conspiracy radio program Coast to to complain about the museum’s UFO He said he was going to be giving a talk Coast AM. As I wrote in the referenced presentation.) at the National Atomic Testing Mu- “Psychic Vibrations” column: But, Palmer replied to them, you seum the following month and wanted During the question and answer have presented a program on UFOs to know if I had any photos or other in- session, Las Vegas skeptic John yourself! And he reminded them that formation about the Smithsonian UFO Whiteside asked about the supposed on September 6, 1980, the Smithso- Panel. (Speigel attended that panel, “authentic alien artifact” in the Area nian Institution sponsored a half-day which is where I first met him.) I sent 51 exhibit. The moderator referred UFO Symposium in Washington, him all the information I had. the question to reporter George Armed with that information, Pal- Knapp, in the audience, who (scan- D.C. It was held in the large lecture dalously) was the source of that hall of the Museum of Natural His- mer apparently went back to the folks “artifact.” Knapp has made a career tory. Six leading UFOlogists, pro and at the Smithsonian and filled them in out of reporting on weird stuff like con, were invited to participate. On the with the details on their own forgot- alleged saucers at Area 51, Robert ten chapter about UFOs. After which, “pro” side were the late J. Allen Hynek, Bigelow’s Haunted Ranch in Utah, Palmer said, they told him, “Do any- etc. Who had verified that supposed Allan Hendry (who at that time was thing you want, just don’t put our name artifact? The Russians and others. The Center for UFO Studies’ chief in- on it.” So on the flier for the talk “The Who exactly? No answer. vestigator), and Bruce Maccabee. On Real Roswell Story” given at the Mu- the skeptical side were the late Philip At the UFO conference, I had the seum on March 28, 2014, by Stanton J. Klass, James E. Oberg, and myself. opportunity to meet the executive di- T. Friedman, the words “Smithso- rector and CEO of the museum, Allan (If you’re going to have a panel to dis- nian-affiliated” do not appear. A small victory, I suppose. Very small. More Smithsonian history: on April 19, 1978, I attended a debate there on Throughout the presentations, Stanton Friedman the existence of ESP, between the fa- mous parapsychologist Joseph Banks could be heard muttering and loudly declaiming Rhine and skeptic and humanist Paul comments whenever any speaker said Kurtz. Clearly, it was another balanced discussion by experts. Kurtz wrote that something with which he disagreed. the transcript of this debate was pub- lished by the Smithsonian Institution Resident Associate Program as “Key Issues in Science Today—The Para- normal: Science or Pseudoscience?” I would love to find a copy of it. cuss UFOs, that is the way to do it! The Palmer. He is a personable sort of fel- In the March/April 2014 issue of UFO Panel at Palmer’s museum con- low and, I thought, much more of a the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, there was showman than an educator. (Earlier, sisted solely of UFO proponents.) We a short News and Comment piece, when he was the head of the San Diego each gave our presentations and took “Pseudoscience Creep: Science Muse- Air and Space Museum, he brought in questions in writing from the audience. ums, Universities Host Pseudoscience” the exhibit “The Science of Aliens.”) My presentation is online at http:// by Jessie Haynes. In it, she notes how I thought that perhaps he might be www.debunker.com/historical/Smith- in 2005, the Smithsonian Institution upset concerning what I had written sonianUFOtalk.html. One member of hosted the screening of an antievolu- earlier about his museum, but that did the audience who was furious at not tion film by the Discovery Institute, in not seem to be the case. As we men- having been selected as a panelist was return for a $16,000 contribution from tioned last year’s controversial panel of Stanton T. Friedman, a professional that organization. She also notes other pro-UFOlogists who presented dubious UFO lecturer who bills himself as the dubious presentations by museums and UFO claims at his museum, Palmer ex- “Flying Saucer Physicist.” Throughout schools, concluding, “Pseudoscience is plained the difficulties he had with the the presentations, Friedman could be rampant in museums and schools across Smithsonian over his museum’s use of heard muttering and loudly declaiming the United States, and unfortunately the tag “Smithsonian-affiliated.” They comments whenever any speaker said the media and likewise the public don’t ■ didn’t like his use of that label when something with which he disagreed. seem to care.”

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