Skeptical Info Overload

I decided to compile a little reading on skeptics and general UFO skepticism My goal is to look into any general concepts that all skeptics seem to have, what is being talked about by the skeptics and generally why they remain so. I hope to dabble here and there, so if I ramble and go off topic forgive me. This is a thread I created over time.

First off, lets get to know some popular skeptics.
www.ufoevidence.org...

Philip J. Klass
en.wikipedia.org...
Interview with him: members.aol.com...

Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919–August 9, 2005) was born in Des Moines, Iowa and died in Merritt Island, Florida. He was an electrical engineer by training, and also a journalist, but he is probably best known as a leading debunker of UFOs, arguing especially against the extraterrestrial hypothesis.
In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass tends to inspire strongly polarized appraisals. Klass has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy" by supporters. And in a 1999 interview, fellow debunker Gary Posner wrote that despite some recent health problems, the 80 year-old "Klass's mind -- and pen -- remain razor sharp, to the delight of his grateful followers and to the constant vexation (or worse) of his legions of detractors."
However, Klass' critics have accused him of using pseudoscience explanations and propaganda techniques to advance his anti-UFO arguments. He has also been accused of being vindictive and resorting to character assassination and other "dirty tricks" against UFO witnesses and opposing UFO researchers. A notable example were his attacks on atmospheric physicist Dr. James E. McDonald after McDonald had demolished his ball lightning theory for UFOs as scientifically invalid.

Related Reading:
www.csicop.org...
www.amphilsoc.org...
www.johnemackinstitute.org...
www.chicagosuntimes.com...


Dr. Donald Menzel
en.wikipedia.org...

Donald Howard Menzel (April 11, 1901 – December 14, 1976) was an American astronomer.
He studied at the University of Denver and did his Ph.D. at Princeton. He then went to Lick Observatory but left in 1932 for a position at Harvard.
He did solar research at first, but later concentrated on studying gaseous nebulae. His work with Lawrence Aller and James Baker defined many of the fundamental principles of the study of planetary nebulae.
He wrote A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, part of the Peterson Field Guides.
Research by Stanton Friedman (including perusal of Harvard's archives) has shown that Menzel was a known consultant of the National Security Agency.

Related Reading:
ncas.sawco.com...
www.ufoevidence.org...
www.virtuallystrange.net...
ufos.about.com...


Robert Sheaffer
www.debunker.com...

A member of CSICOP's UFO subcommittee and author of several UFO debunking books. As with Klass, Sheaffer remains vociferously active in this department. Jerome Clark suggests one assess Sheaffer's arguments "in the context of his ferocious hostility to UFOs in general." And adds that Sheaffer feels that "sympathetic consideration of UFO sightings" is not only "irrational" but threatens a "new dark age." UFOlogy of any sort, even a cautious methodological variety is, in Sheaffer's estimation and his italics, "fundamentally a reaction against science and reason."


Related Reading:
www.debunker.com...
observers.org...


Michael Shermer
en.wikipedia.org...


Michael Shermer is a science writer, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. Shermer also produces and co-hosts the 13-hour Fox Family television series, "Exploring the Unknown," and is a monthly columnist for Scientific American magazine.
Shermer is the author of several books that attempt to explain the ubiquity of irrational or unsubstantiated beliefs. Why People Believe Weird Things, treats a variey of "weird" ideas and groups (including cults), in the tradition of the skeptical writings of Martin Gardner. He has devoted entire books to Holocaust deniers (Denying History), and to belief in God (How We Believe). Shermer, once a fundamentalist Christian, is now, according to his book The Science of Good and Evil, a nontheist and an advocate for a materialist philosophy.
Shermer received his bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University in 1976 in Psychology/Biology, his master's degree from California State University, Fullerton in Experimental Psychology two years later, and his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University in History of Science in 1991 (with a dissertation entitled "Heretic-Scientist: Alfred Russel Wallace and the Evolution of Man: A Study on the Nature of Historical Change").


Related Reading:
www.skeptic.com...
www.pbs.org...



Now that we have gotten to know a few of the more prominent skeptics better, lets look into some common objects that are mistakenly said to be UFO’s. (yes these are actually stated, I am not making them up)

I will try give some general info where possible.

Part 1. MATERIAL OBJECTS
1. Upper Atmosphere
Meteors:

A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star or falling star. The visibility is due to the heat produced by the ram pressure (not friction, as is commonly assumed) of atmospheric entry. A very bright meteor, brighter than the apparent magnitude of Venus, may be called a fireball or bolide.

If a meteoroid survives its transit of the atmosphere to come to rest on the surface, the resulting object is called a meteorite. A meteor striking the Earth or other object may produce an impact crater.

Molten terrestrial material "splashed" from such a crater can cool and solidify into an object known as a tektite.

Meteor dust particles left by falling meteoroids can persist in the atmosphere for up to several months. These particles might affect climate, both by scattering electromagnetic radiation and by catalyzing chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere.

www.spaceweather.com...
comets.amsmeteors.org...
comets.amsmeteors.org...
www.namnmeteors.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

Satellite reentry:

Satellite re-entries can be quite spectacular and viewed by large numbers of people as the craft will often be seen over a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers before it finally succumbs. For example Sputnik 2 was witnessed by many people during its descent on 14th April, 1958. In the ten minutes it took to travel from over New York to the Amazon, it descended from 130 km to around 60 km, leaving a trail of `sparks' some 100 km long, the satellite itself a multitude of brilliant colors.

satobs.org...
www.windows.ucar.edu...
www.space.com...

Rocket firings:
www.nasa.gov...
en.wikipedia.org...


Ionosphere experiments
www.news.cornell.edu...
www.haarp.alaska.edu...
grison.colorado.edu...
en.wikipedia.org...

Sky-hook balloons (discontinued)

Skyhook ballons were balloons developed Otto C. Winzen and used by the United States Navy Office of Naval Research in the late 1940s and in the 1950s for atmospheric research, especially for constant-level meteorological observations at very high altitudes. Instruments like the Cerenkov detector were first used on skyhook balloons.

en.wikipedia.org...
www.csicop.org...
roswellproof.homestead.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...


2. Lower Atmosphere
Planes, reflection of sun, running lights, landing lights, weather balloons

A weather balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde. To obtain wind data, they can be tracked by radar, radio direction finding, or navigation systems (such as the satellite based Global Positioning System).

The balloon itself produces the lift, and is usually made of a highly flexible latex material. The unit that performs the actual measurements and radio transmissions hangs at the lower end of the string, and is called a radiosonde. Specialized radiosondes are used for measuring particular parameters, such as determining the ozone concentration.

Before launch, the balloon is commonly filled with helium (though hydrogen can be used as a substitute) gas. The ascent rate can be controlled by the amount of gas the balloon is filled with. Weather balloons may reach altitudes of 40 km (25 miles) or more, limited by diminishing pressures causing the balloon to expand to such a degree (typically by a 100:1 factor) that it disintegrates. The instrument package is usually lost. Above that altitude sounding rockets may be used.

en.wikipedia.org...
www.usatoday.com...
www.infoplease.com...
www.space.com...

clouds

High clouds (Family A)

These generally form above 16,500 feet (5,000 m), in the cold region of the troposphere. However, in Polar regions they may form as low as 10,000 ft (3,048 m). They are denoted by the prefix cirro- or cirrus. At this altitude water almost always freezes so clouds are composed of ice crystals. The clouds tend to be wispy, and are often transparent.

Middle clouds (Family B)

These develop between 6,500 and 16,500 feet (between 2,000 and 5,000 m) and are denoted by the prefix alto-. They are made of water droplets, and are frequently supercooled.

These are found up to 6,500 feet (2,000 m) and include the stratus (dense and grey). When stratus clouds contact the ground they are called fog.

Vertical clouds (Family D)

These clouds can have strong upcurrents, rise far above their bases and can form at many heights.

Other clouds

A few clouds can be found above the troposphere; these include noctilucent and polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds which occur in the stratosphere and mesosphere respectively.

en.wikipedia.org...
schoolscience.rice.edu...


Contrails
en.wikipedia.org...
cimss.ssec.wisc.edu...

blimps (advertising, illuminated )
military test craft
military experiments (magnesium flares)
en.wikipedia.org...

birds migrating ( flocks, individual, luminous)


3. Very Low Atmosphere (these are funny)
paper and other debris
kites
leaves
spider webs
insects (swarms, moths, electrical discharge)
seeds (milkweed, etc.)
feathers
parachutes
fireworks

4. On or Near Ground (again these are funny)
dust devils
power lines
transformers
elevated streetlights
insulators
reflections from windows
water tanks
lightning rods
TV antennas
weathervanes
automobile headlights
lakes and ponds
beacon lights
lighthouses
tumbleweeds
icebergs
domed roofs
radar antennas
radio astronomy antennas
fires
oil refineries
cigarettes tossed away


Part 2. IMMATERIAL OBJECTS
1. Upper Atmosphere
Auroral phenomena
www.iop.org...

Noctilucent clouds
lasp.colorado.edu...
www.nlcnet.co.uk...
www.nlcnet.co.uk...

2. Lower Atmosphere
reflections of searchlights
lightning (streak, chain, sheet, plasma phenomena, ball lightning)
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

sundogs

A sundog is a relatively common atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with the reflection/refraction of sunlight by the numerous small ice crystals that make up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.

en.wikipedia.org...

reflections from fog and mist (haloes, pilot's halo)
mirages(superior, inferior)


Part 3. ASTRONOMICAL
planets
stars
artificial satellites
sun
moon
meteors
comets


Part 4. PHYSIOLOGICAL
after images( sun, moon, reflections from bright sources, electric lights, street lights, flashlights, matches)
autokinesis
www.reference.com...

autostasis
ncas.sawco.com...

eye defects (astigmatisms, myopia, failure to wear glasses, reflection from glasses)
entoptic phenomena (retinal defects, vitreous humor )


Part 5. PSYCHOLOGICAL
Hallucination
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
www.nlm.nih.gov...
www.priory.com...


Part 6. COMBINATIONS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS


Part 7. PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDS
Development defects
internal camera reflections
www.photogs.com...


Part 8. RADAR
anomalous refraction
scattering
ghost images
angels
birds
insects
multiple reflections

en.wikipedia.org...
This link will explain all sections of Part 8. (by now I am very sleepy)


Part 9. HOAXES
Related reading on UFO hoaxes. These links are generally considered to be bogus by skeptics.
www.af.mil...
www.parascope.com...
www.blather.net...
www.inexplicata.com...
www.inexplicata.com...
www.csicop.org...
skepdic.com...
www.ufo.net...
www.bighoax.com...
www.temporaldoorway.com...
www.trudang.com...
www.debunker.com...
ufos.about.com...
skepdic.com...
www.balloonlife.com...
www.rense.com...
www.temporaldoorway.com...
www.strangemag.com...
www.unmuseum.org...


More Information about objects mistaken for UFO's
www.cufon.org...
www.unmuseum.org...
library.thinkquest.org...


Pages written from a skeptic point of view:
members.aol.com... This link contains many articles. Hopefully it stays up for this thread.
www.ufoskeptic.org... (these are .pdf form)
csicop.org...%2Fsi%2F9601%2Fautopsy.html
www.ncas.org...
www.debunker.com...
www.strw.leidenuniv.nl...
www.fortunecity.com...
mypage.iu.edu...
www.reall.org...
www.geocities.com...
skepticnews.com...
ufos.about.com...
www.ianridpath.com...
www.ufoevidence.org...
www.astrosociety.org...
www.skeptics.com.au...
www.scepticism-inc.com...
www.cincinnatiskeptics.org...
www.eb-skeptics.org...
www.eskimo.com...
www.voicenet.com...
home.earthlink.net...
www.ncas.org...
www.reall.org...
www.skepticplanet.com...
www.geocities.com...


Maybe I will add more later. My brain hurts.

Nice work.

If i had the powers, i'd give your post a little green up arrow because there's way too much info there to just be taken in with regular browsing - but as a reference post it shines and is worth coming back too.

This thread is not sticky worthy. Thats my opinion.

I would like people to add more known skeptics to the thread. I also forgot to do one thing, I was going to list skeptic opinions found in ATS threads, but I didnt.

LOL some of those are funny

"Omg dude i just saw a freakin alien spaceship!!!!"

"Um dude....thats a lake"


ROFL

i certainly hope no one ever mistook a lake for a alien spaceship
because that is rediculous!

makes for a heck of a laugh tho !

Btw great research job

This is like a sociology project , its Cool

"Thats not an alien spaceship Bob, thats a Streelight!"

"Dude stop freaking out, i only tossed my cig down"

Those are classics lol

I just gave u my vote 2 dude
GJ really, i dont usually give those out

[edit on 3-11-2005 by muzzleflash]

Excellent post Dulcimer...

Just as a reminder though...that in many cases there ARE logical explanations...and mistaken objects. However, as I've often said, if even ONE out of thousands of sightings is an extraterrestrial craft, then there you go... I approach cases first as a skeptic, just to weed out what are (to me) the best ones. Certainly nothing wrong with that, and often these skeptics can help with this.

Many of those you mentioned though, go beyond this, and are guilty of EXACTLY what they accuse UFOlogists of...their belief overriding the evidence. For example, because the Outer Limits had an episode featuring aliens, prior to the Hill abduction, Phil Class BELIEVES this to be an open and shut explanation for the encounter, regardless of the facts, or that the Hill Case also has radar contact confirmation, examination by one of the most renowned psychiatrists around, military interest, an inexplicable star map, etc. THAT is when skeptic truly becomes a dirty word....

Let's not forget a skeptic turned believer, J. Allen Hynek.

When Project Grudge hired Hynek, he was initially skeptical of UFO reports. Hynek suspected that UFO reports were made by unreliable witnesses, or by persons who had misidentified man-made or natural objects. In 1948, Hynek said that the “the whole subject seems utterly ridiculous”, and described it as a fad that would soon pass. (Schneidman and Daniels, 110) Hynek was a member of the Robertson Panel, which concluded that there was nothing anomalous about UFOs, and that a public relations capaign should be undertaken to debunk the subjet and reduce public interest.

Eventually, however, after examining hundreds of UFO reports (including some made by credible witnesses, including astronomers, pilots, police officers, and military personnel) Hynek concluded that some reports represented genuine new empirical observations. When the fad did not pass and UFO reports contiuned at a steady pace, Hynek devoted some time to studying the reports and determined that some were deeply puzzling, even after considerable study. He once said, "As a scientist I must be mindful of the past; all too often it has happened that matters of great value to science were overlooked because the new phenomenon did not fit the accepted scientific outlook of the time."

en.wikipedia.org...

Nice work Dulcimer.

edit: fixed spelling his name correctly

[edit on 11/3/2005 by Hal9000]

There's a great quote in there...thanks for the new sig!

And another excellent point...

You also left out the late Carl Sagan, a man who spent much of his life searching for extra terestial life, yet he was a great skeptic of the common UFO claims.

Sagan had an open mind as to the possibility of UFO’s, but he also had a rigorous set of criteria for acceptance.