UFOs: Reframing the Debate

I bought this e-book because I saw Jack Brewer had an essay in it, and I read his blog. I think he's one of the most level-headed voices on the subject of UFOs and high strangeness. His essay did not disappoint! I would recommend this book for that alone.My problem with most of the other essays was not "closed-mindedness", as is implied by some, but the dismissal of actual science - particularly in the areas of cognition, memory, perception, and neuroscience. Yes, experts like Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is mentioned, in one sentence, and there are a few sentences devoted to Dr. Michael Persinger's work involving electromagnetic fields and the temporal lobes, but...When OBEs are mentioned as if they are a fact, and Persinger's work left unexplained except to say "many people don't accept his work", red flags go up for me. His work can be replicated - no one has to "accept" it. There is no such standard of "proof" for OBEs, remote viewing, etc. There is no evidence those things are replicable under rigorous conditions.Additionally, when I see the word "scientism", I know I'm going to be annoyed. That word is a pejorative that equates science with belief. The truly scientific mind doesn't work that way. Science is not belief or religion.Also, there are statements regarding memory and perception indicating we don't know how they work. Having spent my time at university getting a master's degree in cognitive psychology, I can confidently state that we most certainly do have some idea how the brain works. We can even create AI models to illustrate this. And experiments can be replicated and published in peer-reviewed journals. It is intellectually dishonest to state that it's a big mystery and that anybody's idea is just as valid as anyone else's.I don't discount the consciousness angle of UFOs - I am a big fan of Jacques Vallee. But I do object to the idea that there is no reality, that all consciousness resides outside the brain (some might, but not all), that "contact" via drugs or meditation is as "real" as encountering someone in the flesh (though it might seem that way to the contactee). If no one knows what's real,then that leads to a dead-end and does nothing to advance knowledge.Also, using theoretical physics to promote what is indeed "woo" is a bs attempt to appear intellectually superior to regular folks, and that leads to exploitation and elitism - which do not advance knowledge, either, but certainly contribute to the "enlightened ones'" bank accounts.There are other points that I take issue with, but this review is already too long. The final thing I'll say is, as a therapist (yes, I worked in experimental and clinical settings), the treatment that UFO experiencers receive at the hands of investigators is truly harmful and exploitive. On that, I can agree with most of the authors.I recommend this book, but be wary of the post-modernist intellectual dishonesty in some of the articles.

There is a disturbance in the ufology force, and it is a book titled, UFOs: Reframing the Debate. Edited by Robbie Graham, this anthology brings together pieces by 14 different authors who each bring a unique and cutting-edge perspective to a field which of late seems to have lost its way, with many researchers zealously fixated on the ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) and focusing their efforts exclusively on nuts-and-bolts explanations.As Diana Walsh Pasulka points out in the foreword, “leaving behind the ‘nuts-and-bolts’ approach and embracing the complexity of how the phenomenon affects and shapes belief frees researchers and allows them to gain a broader view of the mechanisms of the phenomenon.” That is the case with the 14 authors included here, who expose the reader to everything from personal experiences to thought experiments in an effort to understand -- not make conclusions -- about what is going on with UFO contact events.After Dr. Pasulka’s cogent foreword, editor Graham -- no stranger to ufology -- presents an introduction framing the anthology and providing a concise summary of each author’s contribution. A brief biography of each author is included at the end. One of the extremely valuable features of the book are the extensive and relevant citations within the entries as well as in the endnotes. One could follow this path of literary breadcrumbs and easily go down a ufology reading rabbit-hole for months if not years.There’s something here for veteran ufology fans and researchers as well as for beginners, but a word of caution is in order: there is some tough going here. The authors do assume a certain amount of prior knowledge, plus they are not afraid to challenge longstanding beliefs and perspectives. There are times when readers will be tempted to put the book aside because an author’s perspective is so out of alignment with their own, but as Graham advises, “Don’t do that.” There is a great pay-off for thoughtful persistence through each of the entries.In this wide-ranging and brilliant collection regarding the current state of ufology, the reader can expect to learn about parapsychology, the role of belief, parasociology, cultural influences, religious connotations, high strangeness aspects, a new classification system, the back story of the Roswell Slides debunking, co-creation, anarchist subversion, trauma analogies, the importance of empathy, and more.What does all of that have to do with ufology? Get a copy of the book and find out. You won’t be sorry.

This book presents a collection of essays, and authors, whose theories should be at the forefront of the UFO debate. The ETH (ExtraTerrestrial Hypothesis), though an entertaining belief is in reality mostly untenable.I follow the authors that are on social media. Greg Bishop and Susan Demeter St Clair as well as a few of the others are my favorites.Well written and evenly balanced between belief and a demand for evidence, this is an excellent book.

Simply put, the best most levelheaded investigation of the UFO question I've ever read.Every essay comes at the issue from its own viewpoint, some I don't agree with, but that's the point. The last book on the subject that made me think as much outside the box was passport to magnolia, so that should give you an idea of how great this book is.Can't wait for a volume two... please perhaps try to get Gordon White to contribute.Five stars, just buy it and have your assumptions blown away.

This is, without a doubt, the most useful book on this field of inquiry I have come across - if your objective is to get a very good sense of where thoughtful commentators are at in their collaborative effort to rethink things there is no better place to start. You will find your bias here, rubbing shoulders with other POVs that will perhaps seem strange or irresponsible.What recipe is there can we imagine that will turn this collection of seemingly incompatible ingredients into a palatable dish we can all share? We necessarily frame our understanding by what we know. We cannot use what we are ignorant of to build an argument or theory. And we cannot work with ideas if we neither know them nor esteem them as valid. It’s the old blind blokes and the elephant thing. Its not a very mature way to think.Who/what is this alien other from elsewhere? In terms of how we understand our reality the alienness of form and conduct is indisputable. But are these attributes of an actual alien or just alien our understanding? Is there, in fact, a distinction? How do we know whether what we think we know is a tool to open, or an impediment to, understanding? There is a thin line between confidence and hubris.These questions matter to me because I have seen a thing in the sky – back in the 60s. It was a huge silvery thing, long like the familiar cigar holder. UFO? Back then I knew nothing about UFOs, and nothing about cigars. It was just a vast and strange thing in the predawn sky. I have also had experiences that may point to being abducted. But I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that it matters hugely to me whether and what ET is. I grew up with the ‘we are alone in the universe’ message, and then I discovered Sci Fi – and in my imagination we are just part of a vast ecosystem that may not only span space but dimensions as well. Is that just imagination?How we build and shape our intellectual, emotional and spiritual life is our responsibility- and we can choose to strive to see things on our terms, or as they are. But how do we push beyond the habituation of culture to even imagine is more than we think we know? How do we turn that personal responsibility into shared and collaborative endeavour to know what is really going on?The logic of this book is that seeing things to be as we think they should/must be isn’t serving us well. The notion that we can clearly delineate what is by describing neatly bounded ideas as tidy theories is an unfortunate one. Our culture’s propensity for contestation to realise a champion truth neglects our better impulse to collaborate.So we can read essays here that stroke our hubris or agitate our egos. Dare we countenance the validity of contrary voices?For many of us it matters hugely whether ET is real. But does it matter enough to pierce our conceits and shatter our confidences enough to soften us and make us malleable - to reform our thoughts collaboratively? I can’t imagine a better place to start to rethink our notions than here. We are not going anywhere in our own individual thought bubbles.

This book is a complete 180 degree turn from conventional ufology. It explores the theories beyond the extraterrestrial one that has been around at least since Roswell.Most of the authors do not dismiss that possibility but that a new perspective is needed and I agree. UFO's exist...end of story but where and why are the real questions of course.This is a must read for anyone interested in the subject imo.

great alternative p o v's. refreshing go through.

Dull as ditchwater