It seems to me that the 'powers that be' in America (those In The Know about the Alien Presence on good ole Terra, i.e. earth) as well as in other countries (think of Italy under Mussolini in the early 1930s who issued directives about not allowing Full Disclosure) will probably dribble it out to the public a little at a time over several decades in order to get us lowly terran humans (that is to say 'we earthlings' -or maybe I should say rather, 'MOST of us ' !) a chance to acclimate to the idea of the existence of ET and that knowledge of the Wider Universe does not always line up with established religious dogma---

You keep hearing things lon the news e.g. 'Scientists just have found 12 new planets that MIGHT sustain life in our galaxy...' (things they probably have known about since the 1940s---) in order to get 'the masses' to at least begin to accept the idea that (of course!) we're not alone in the universe and certainly not unique in terms of 'intelligent life'---I believe the younger generation (those now under 25 living on earth) are far more open to accepting the idea of extraterrestrial visitation than their parents or grandparents---but that's just my own take on it...

Otherwise one would imagine it would be War of the Worlds (1939, Orsen Welles) all over again, with people panicking and jumping out of windows, running for the hills, hoarding food and money (especially in the US whose citizens seem to be prone to that sort of thing) to say nothing of the damage done to the New York Crowd (read: Wall Street) and of course a complete annhialation of accepted ideas propounded by the socalled major 'organized religions' who would have to do a quick about face when it dawns on them they are not the center of the Universe with a 'flat earth' at the center, fixed and unmoveable, being surrounded by an 'inverted bowl' with water above and below it (Heb. Req'iak) = 'dome') e.g. 'and Elohim created the Dome' (Gen 1:5) ... and the idea that 'man' is somehow special or unique or at the top of some food chain...

Originally posted by vfrickey
I hate to throw cold water on the festivities, but Edgar Mitchell was also claiming to have conducted ESP experiments from lunar orbit while on that Apollo flight. He had four respondents back on Earth and claims that his ESP contacts with them succeeded more often they would under random chance.

Of course, an experiment with four subjects (OK, five with Mitchell) is not what we really call statistically significant. That's an unacceptably small sample size. And the holder of a PhD like Mitchell should know that a study with four subjects proves very little. If the experiment was worth doing, it was surely worth doing right - in a properly-designed study with controls and an adequate sample size to reduce the chance of observational error.

Thanks for this information but what's your point?

I'm not saying that this should automatically discredit his subsequent remarks, but it does give us some perspective on what he's said in the past... and his reputation for clear thinking.

No this indeed doesn't discredit his subsequent remarks, so the above information you posted has no point actually. Unless you just want to discredit him...

Mitchell is also the author of "Quantum Hologram and ESP," a book whose title really says it all.

What does it say according to you then? You obviously don't believe in the things that Mitchell writes in the book you mention, so he must be talking nonsense now also. A little shortsighted don't you think.

Before we all rush out and say that since Edgar Mitchell was an astronaut, his word that aliens exist is proof positive, we should take a hard look at what he's saying.

True we need to take a hard look at what he is saying. You ask to not rush out and say he is an astronaut, but you are clearly rushing things yourself by claiming he writes books "that say it all" and that he conducted experiments that are not statistically significant...

I think it's pretty clear what you are trying to accomplish. No offence though.

I mean, where's the PROOF here, people?

You are right he has no proof, but does that make him a liar?

Edgar Mitchell has accomplished much in his life and been places the vast majority of mankind can only dream about. You can't take that away from him. However that is in the past. That should not give him a free ride to spout this kind of nonsense (in my opinion) with out being challenged.

He should divulge the names and dates of those involved in his "briefings",
or just admit that he has an active imagination and his claims are baseless.

It just goes to show that the old saying, "There ain't no fool like an old Fool", is true. He is making a fool out of himself in my opinion by making these fantastic claims and then admitting that he is basing his beliefs on "Lore". Someone in his position, with his background should be able to provide proof if any of his claims were true.

A sad climax to his illustrious career.


[edit on 29-7-2008 by Sparky63]

Originally posted by Fastwalker81

Originally posted by vfrickey
I hate to throw cold water on the festivities, but Edgar Mitchell was also claiming to have conducted ESP experiments from lunar orbit while on that Apollo flight. He had four respondents back on Earth and claims that his ESP contacts with them succeeded more often they would under random chance.

Of course, an experiment with four subjects (OK, five with Mitchell) is not what we really call statistically significant. That's an unacceptably small sample size. And the holder of a PhD like Mitchell should know that a study with four subjects proves very little. If the experiment was worth doing, it was surely worth doing right - in a properly-designed study with controls and an adequate sample size to reduce the chance of observational error.

Thanks for this information but what's your point?

I'm not saying that this should automatically discredit his subsequent remarks, but it does give us some perspective on what he's said in the past... and his reputation for clear thinking.

No this indeed doesn't discredit his subsequent remarks, so the above information you posted has no point actually. Unless you just want to discredit him...

Mitchell is also the author of "Quantum Hologram and ESP," a book whose title really says it all.

What does it say according to you then? You obviously don't believe in the things that Mitchell writes in the book you mention, so he must be talking nonsense now also. A little shortsighted don't you think.

Before we all rush out and say that since Edgar Mitchell was an astronaut, his word that aliens exist is proof positive, we should take a hard look at what he's saying.

True we need to take a hard look at what he is saying. You ask to not rush out and say he is an astronaut, but you are clearly rushing things yourself by claiming he writes books "that say it all" and that he conducted experiments that are not statistically significant...

I think it's pretty clear what you are trying to accomplish. No offence though.

I mean, where's the PROOF here, people?

You are right he has no proof, but does that make him a liar?

I don't have a dog in this fight - I am totally neutral on the question of whether aliens exist or not. However, the Fermi paradox is worth considering (Enrico Fermi, the first man to produce a fission chain reaction with uranium, asked the pertinent question "If intelligent life exists in outer space, why haven't they come calling?").

Of course, the obvious answer to Fermi's question is "they HAVE come calling and we haven't been able to nail them down for an interview yet." But that's not a conclusive answer - it assumes so many facts not proven that it is itself logically very insubstantial.

I'd be just as happy as anyone else if Dr. Mitchell were right in every particular of his assertions, but we've also been down this road so many times that I've learned some skepticism at this point is useful in separating fact from fiction. If we just say "Great! This is the proof we've been waiting for!" then we have no way to test Dr. Mitchell's assertions for significance.

Hey, if you really want to PROVE that aliens exist and have been here before, you need to provide a way of testing what Edgar Mitchell says for accuracy. I'm not calling the man a liar, or even necessarily trashing what he has to say - just asking "How do we know it's true?" It's a real question, people.

And I'll be the first man to apologize if anything I may have implied or said about Dr. Mitchell's assertions regarding aliens and/or ESP is provably wrong or unfair to him. I just want to have a way of testing what he says for truth.

Before the earth was PROVEN to be round, humans believed it to be flat. Does that mean it was flat before it was proven round? Same with the earth revolving around the sun. My point? Things can be TRUE before they are proven so...