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Ufology, a word not recognised by the dictionary, yet a word well recognised around the world. The study of the UFO phenomena and it's related subjects. But is Ufology changing and are we starting to see new faces with their own way of investigation?
Since the early 20th century there have been many famous and well known UFO investigators, such as Robert Charroux, Jacques Vallée, Jenny Randles, Stanton Friedman, Jaime Maussan, Robert Dean, Steven Greer, Budd Hopkins and John Mack to name but a few as there are too many to list in this article.
Read more here: 20th Century Ufologists
Picture: John Mack & Bud Hopkins. Copyright Darren Perks.
But as modern times move forward and our lifestyles change with it, so does Ufology, and we are now seeing a new generation of UFO investigators. These investigators are fresh and have their own way of doing things, without following the 'sheep' of Ufology doing things the way that the older generation like things doing. In other words, 'enough of the text books' and boring stuff, lets get 'hands on'.
It's quite easy for anyone starting out investigating the phenomena to get sucked in and led by the ways of old, relying on second hand information and research. But now we see fresh ways of doing things with investigators who physically get involved and get outside with their own equipment, getting their own results and information. I'm not saying that the older generation of UFO investigators didn't do this, but it's clear that in some respect, many of them simply did not bother to get their hands dirty.
Read about new generation investigators: UFO Shropshire
More and more people have access to good quality cameras and video devices, and with added extras such as digital night vision and thermal imaging, its now easier than ever to kit yourself out and go investigate. Take a look at some of the equipment used today in UFO investigation: Digital Night Vision and Thermal Imagers
This has led to the new generation of investigators going out day and night in all weathers to different locations, getting results and speaking to witnesses. Also using their own minds to evaluate and report back to the public.
Image Copyright Darren Perks
How many of the well known Ufologists around today of the older generation, actually go out and stand on the side of mountains watching the skies? How many go and speak to farmers or witnesses first hand to get their accounts? How many have actually witnessed a UFO incident in real life? How many produce their own images and video footage?
The list could go on and while I respect many of the older generation of investigators for their hard work and research, I simply wish to point out that things are changing. If investigation into this phenomena is to continue and the information be given to the masses, then it's this new generation who will provide it moving forward.
Recently we have seen the notions appear that UFO investigation is 'dead' and that it's just the old UFO incidents that everyone talks about. But this is not true and every day, week and month, real life UFO investigators on the front line in their everyday walks of life are reporting new incidents. Some are good and some are bad, but the investigation goes on. Quite frankly I personally think that those recent notions and comments were rubbish and may be just another attempt to ridicule the UFO community.
There will be those that go on about not having good quality images or footage and those points are listened to. But thousands of people are getting results of things that conventionally cannot be explained, basically the 5% of sightings that 'raise eyebrows'.
Think what you like about Ufology, but the fact remains that it's here to stay, and stay for a very long time. Investigation into this phenomena is taking a new direction and with it maybe that big question will finally be answered and confirmed....
Are we alone in the universe?
Follow Darren Perks on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DarrenPerksUFO
Rubbish. You did not even look.
All these these long-established dictionaries have a stand-alone entry for “ufology” (not just subsumed under “UFO”)
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/ufology
Collins English Dictionary
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ufology
Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ufology
Compact Oxford English Dictionary
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ufology?q=ufology
I also found it in these dictionaries on my bookshelf:
Gage Canadian Dictionary (Gage, 1983)
World Book Dictionary (Doubleday and Company, 1982)
> many of them simply did not bother to get their hands dirty
Try it yourself sometime -- it's better than guessing or relying on your prejudices.
You learned what was in the sky by looking. I saw one of my first UFOs spending a warm August night in a field with my boyfriend. And at the local group in Manchester long before I wrote a book we did nothing but field investigations often at remote spots. We even solved a case by stationing teams at locations watching the sky with equipment whilst manning air traffic radar.
You cannot learn about UFOs by reading books. But local UFO teams were all over the UK investigating. There are advantages with modern tech that if used in conjunction with common sense can lead us forward.
UFOlogy is not dead. It has evolved beyond its false expectations. Too many people have sat around waiting for the 'truth' to be handed over by the 'government' or the 'aliens'. But the only way to find answers is to ask the right questions and seek hard evidence to answer those questions.
Anecdotal testimony won't convince sensible person that UFOs are more than misperception. Quite rightly science demands more and that is achievable only if we commit to finding it. So I applaud anyone who espouses such thinking in UFOlogy today.
I think he is right in what he says here though, because ufology needs this 'new genration' to move forward. If you listen to what Darren say when he does talks etc he will be the first to tell you that he is no expert and does not consider him self one at all. No one in ufology is an expert on UFOs.
Rather than the negatives we should be supporting people like him who take the time to go an find out what really is going on. There are too many of you so called investigators that just rely on the internet and books....
I think it's likely we'll see more (new) people claiming much more information than they possibly can, to an unknown phenomena. To help others understand what's going on? That would mean dismantling UFOlogy as it stands and creating real standards and employing peer review - just as a start.
To help others understand, you have to understand something yourself. So I'll be curious to see what your stance ends up being. Right now I have to say it seems a bit presumptuous to speak for the whole of the "new UFOLogy".
The inherent issue with that is the ideology which someone has when entering the "field". You can have all the equipment in the world, and not know to effectively understand the data. Junk and misinterpreted data floods in like dust orbs in ghost hunting.
One should have some background, education or skill set to offer this study. To have the garden variety paranormal ambulance chaser involved, perhaps looking for his/her big reality TV break - who sees every unknown object in the sky as a scintilla of the phenomena being thrown out from the unknown, isn't "the future of UFOlogy". It's the further marginalization of it - it's also fuel for more fundamentalist skeptics to continue to point out poorly defined and misinterpreted data, along with spotlighting a few screwballs as "researchers", and demean the subject.
UFOlogy as we know it now, needs to die. This subject is awash with opportunists, con men, and some very gullible people without a shred of critical thinking skills. Then again, that's been for the past 10 or 12 years.
Newcomers who like to do things "their own way", will learn quickly it's not about them, abandon the sense of entitlement and potential "fame" - and realize there are rules of evidence.
There are many people out there who have vast experience in UFO's, to many to mention in this short memo.
One has to look back in time, the cave drawings of craft done by primative man, the indian sub continent and what was written in their texts regarding strange craft. Even Alexanda the Great witnessed craft on his conqest of these regions.
Until such time we actually see with our own eyes alien creatures we can only speculate, Mr perks is new at this game and he has so much to learn.
zacharias
This subject poses severe challenges to investigators and has long been steeped in controversy. A focus on the data and the relative merits of the competing interpretations would have been far superior to an apparenlty thoughtless dismissal and uninformed speculation regarding the man's beliefs. However, the reply does reveal how discussions of this topic veer from productive so swiftly into something personal.
By the way, your conclusion that the challenge to your ideas was based on religion and god is wrong. A simple Google search of the man's name might have helped prevent this error.
Also, digital cameras do not equal better equipment. They're actually worse. Digital photos are easier to manipulate.
Are more investigators "getting their hands dirty" or are more people untrained in photography/photo & video analysis snapping shots of stop lights at a distance and swearing they are alien ships? This, because (in America, at least) live in an "I, Me, Mine" society that increasingly considers education judgmental and thinks all facts are equal opinions. If you say "I'm an investigator," then you are one. Like magic!
No, sir. We're far worse off than ever before with this type of shallow mindset. Is poor investigation a lesser evil than debunking? Sure. But let's not live there and pretend it's an advancement.
Finally, in your opening, you list famous and well-known UFO investigators. MOST of them are nonsense peddlers. The fact that you would include Jaime Maussan, Robert Dean, Steven Greer, and Budd Hopkins with the likes of Jacques Vallee, for example, is so outrageous as to call into question anything that comes next. And YOU'RE the one defending the forward momentum of ufology!