Category Archives: Hopkins, Paul

New Hope for Extraterrestrial Communication?
Paul Hopkins

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From Merseyside UFO Bulletin, volume 1, number 6, November-December 1968

Ever since Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity theoretical evidence has been weighted against any body travelling with a velocity faster than that of lights. In other words, the velocity of light, about 186 000 miles per second, is considered as being the ceiling velocity that a body or particle may attain.

The simple explanation of this phenomenon is that as a body is accelerated towards the speed of light, the mass of the body increases, and thus more energy is required to maintain the acceleration of the body, Such a process forms a vicious circle represented by Einstein’s equation E=MC2 where E is energy, M is mass and C is a constant, the speed of light. As Einstein said concerning velocities greater than that of light: “They have no possibility of existence.”

It is obvious that such a law of science limits space exploration in a very negative manner. Consider the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which lies approximately four and a half light years distant from the Earth. Such a journey to Alpha Centauri in a hypothetical rocket that could travel at the speed of light would take nine years for the round trip. Since rockets will never be able to attain the speed of light because off the energy/mass relationship the journey would take many times longer, The undertaking of such a journey by conventional standards would be impossible.

Radio links with extra-terrestrial civilisations would also be a long drawn out process since radio waves travel with practically the same velocity as light. Should our astronomers locate an advanced civilisation in the neighbourhood of, say, Epsilon Eridani a message beamed from the Earth would take eleven and a half years to reach its destination. The answer to our message would be received twenty-three years after the original transmission. Under such conditions one tends to ask whether such a link would be of any value, apart from the extreme cost and difficulty involved in searching for such civilisation. The modern trend in scientific thinking is that the Earth is one of millions of inhabited planets in a universe teeming with life, and yet we are isolated beyond all comprehension.

Now the revolutionary theory of an American physicist, Dr Gerald Fienberg, of Columbia University, may challenge our whole concept of the universe. He has postulated the existence of a new particle, the tachyon (from a Greek word meaning ‘swift’) which he believes permeates the universe travelling in some cases with almost infinite velocity, which it achieves by losing energy as it gains velocity. Dr Fienberg’s  hypothesis itself derives from the basis of Einstein’s equations and at least appears plausible to some theoretical physicists.

Attempts to detect the tachyon, have so far failed. It can only exist above the speed of light and it may not be electrically charged. Consequently the task of developing a suitable technique for detecting it is very difficult indeed.

Should Dr Fienberg discover the tachyon, then the dreams of science fiction writers may come true. It could provide a tool for instantly communicating across the vast reaches of space and time. Actual space travel at or above the speed of light would still remain an impossibility, but tachyon beams might be able to transfer energy over tremendous distances – something that is at present impossible due to the inverse square law.

Still, the possibility of communicating with an extraterrestrial civilisation via a tachyon beam is an exciting prospect that could either bring great benefits to mankind, or complete destruction through misuse. We hope that Dr Feinberg’s research will not be fruitless.

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Adamski, Aetherius, Fry, Diophantes, et al: Farewell!
Paul Hopkins

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At the dawn of the space-age, Paul Hopkins takes a pessimistic look at the implications for ufology and humanity. From Merseyside UFO Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 5, November 1970

That man has reached the moon is now history. That he will shortly reach out to the planets is no longer confined to the realms of science fiction. Gone with man’s journey to the moon is a good deal of mystery, imagination and romanticism. Indeed the moon is dead, as expected. No air, no water, no life, or even signs that life may have existed there in the past.

Where then, Adamski’s are your moon bases? Where are those outposts of alien civilizations that contactees claim?  The footprints of Armstrung and Aldrin, and those of the following lunar missions will remain on the moon’s surface for many years to come, as they are slowly covered by accumulations of cosmic dust and meteoric debris. An advanced civilization with resources and man power as grand as that which the majority of the UFO contact books and cases infer would surely have at some time left lasting scars on a relatively inert body such as the moon? Unless of course these aliens have a broom like appendage with which they are able to cover their tracks and sweep up their cosmic garbage. I think not.

I also think that they were never there in the first place.

We are entering an age of stark realism and chronic symptoms of cosmic loneliness. Science on earth, through materialism, has steadily decreased old beliefs, fears and hopes about the supernatural world on earth, and in its place the world of the supernatural has moved into outer space. As the progress of science has shown that each planet, save the earth, in our solar system is devoid of intelligent life, so these infertile spheres have been filled with a proliferation of spirit creatures existing on different planes, in different dimensions, in different states, and God knows what.

Of course it is possible to contact these entities, not through radio or laser beam, but through the mind, telepathic contact. The meanderings of insanity mixed with personal beliefs and subconscious urges are given as messages from the great Aetherius, from Diophantes of Sirius Six, and from other intangibles. From a host of telepathic messages there has not been, to my knowledge, a single, properly authenticated gem of information that has proved of value or use to mankind. The prophecies such as they are, are completely withoat impact, since we are told such obvious and daft things as our sun will become part of aa binary system, and. that the orbits of the planets will be displaced, or even such brilliant foresight as ‘a new age will dawn’.

We are surely moving out of the era of sensationalist and unbounded speculation (just as we moved out of the dark ages) as the solar system is reduced to its essential physical and chemical equations by scientists and mathematicians. Thus the romantic flying saucer will die away in the minds of the cranks and nuts as generation gives way to generation. The flying saucer mystery will be killed largely by natural causes. Still, I believe an element of truth will still remain. Life must exist elsewhere in the universe, as mathematical probability is in favour. Must we keep it at arm’s length, or is it not kept from us by some divine plans or perhaps through man’s innate inadequacies

One Sunder paper recently carried a report on the dangers of seeking contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, and in particular warnings from Professors Zdenrik Kopal and Clyde Tombaugh. Both men agreed that it could be disastrous to contact other intelligent beings as we may well end up being treated like ants and put in test tubes, or treated little better than animals.

The fact is we are animals and our technological explosion has made us conspicuous by the amount of radio energy that this planet emits into space. I do not think it idle speculation to say that there is probably in the galaxy at least one race of intelligent beings thousands of years ahead of our technology who, having mastered the problems of interstellar flight, are quite aware of what is going on here on earth. Yet we are left alone. It is a process of civilization that there comes a point when intelligent beings realize that there is no need to ill-treat or eradicate lower forms of life without very good reason. A lesson that is only slowly dawning on the more enlightened homo sapiens after a million years or so of brutality, not only to animals in general but also to his own species.

If man lives or, should I say, survives a million years more, though he probes the universe to its outermost limits and the atom to its innermost secrets, he will never realize the meaning and purpose of the universe that imprisons him. We watch, and are watched. We observe, and see nothing. Yet we are ourselves observed and seen. We are as ants in a test tube, and when the experiment is done our owners will pour us down the galactic sink, and nothing we can do shall prevent it.

Is this the mystery of the flying saucer, and man’s sole purpose on earth? If so, what price religion now? What price admission to the human zoo?

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Of Many ‘Things’
Paul Hopkins

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From Merseyside UFO Bulletin, volume 3, number 4, September 1970

lightningsunset

It is now [September 1970] almost six years since the “Thing” came to Warminster. Not forgetting that, as the Daily Mirror once put it, ‘It Started on Xmas Morning’, papers in general had a field day and were for a while seemingly full of such gems as – ‘It’s the “Thing” from Space’, ‘The Thing Probe’ and ‘What shall we do about the Thing?’ Then alas, ‘That THING appears again’, (Daily Mirror, 11/9/65) or as the Express said, ‘The Thing Pops Back Again’. Mind you a little over a month previously the Daily Mirror had reported that the Thing had returned to a town of fear, and with the recent report in FSR (Vol.16, No .4, pp.4-7) it seems that the ‘Thing’ really never left.

With the colossal amount of both sense and rubbish printed in papers and UFO magazines on the subject of Warminster, it is almost needless to say that the area has become almost a shrine to the hardened believer of the space brother cult; to the sceptic an area of interest, and to the scientifically minded researcher an area in which there are still a great many questions unanswered and consequently a lot of scope for experiment and level headed observation.

It is I believe pertinent that in spite of almost six years of alleged activity in the area, the serious UF0 investigator is seemingly no nearer the truth as to the exact nature of the manifestations in the skies above Warminster despite its persistent nature, but then, is this not a characteristic of UFO research ever since the UFO aroused keen interest in the post war years?

Considering the brain power involved in attempting to solve the mystery over a good twenty-five years we are still very much at the starting post. Perhaps the reason why many UFO groups fold up, is that once the novelty has worn off and the frustration of inactivity sets in, the social activities of the group are too weak to hold the group together for any appreciable time or purpose. Surely this process of group fragmentation could be avoided if groups would only take on a subsidiary interest. A project of some nature to keep the group the tight knit, hard working communty it ought to be. Consider the variety of talents and skills to be found in many groups where the members are drawn from all walks of life. There is I believe through this fact, a great potential for inventiveness that could be harnessed not only for the paper work, but also for the construction of scientific equipment of an analytical nature.

It is, I believe, futile to attempt the investigation of phenomena as complex as that occurring at Warminster armed only with a note pad, a pair of low power and often cheap binoculars and perhaps a camera. About all such equipment is liable to achieve is a riotous evening as the antics of the local cretins are related in some smoke-filled bar, or meeting hall. The aim of all good UFO researchers should be good and sound scientific methods by which they should strive to add to the advancement of science, rather than to attempt to knock orthodoxy for six as so often happens with disastrous results and subsequent ridicule by great minds who have based their knowledge on the foundations of past scientific experience.

The derivation of scientific knowledge evolves from old facts and fallacies, experimentateon, observation and consistent results and the subsequent remodelling of existing ideas. Of course genius, flashes of insight and chance play their role, but there is no shortcut to any scientific knowledge or achievement to be found by disregarding present day science as a load of bumbledom to be replaced by some new science, as some of the ‘space brother’ pundits would have us believe. Luckily, the enlightened investigator no longer sees every mysterious crater as being derived through the effects of some equally mysterious alien space creature landing on our planet, but realises that there are other possible natural and artificial causes to be investigated before jumping on the bandwagon of sensationalism, Alan Sharp has shownn in previous writings how such craters can be formed through a variety of agencies: lighting, water, meteorites, or even fencing posts.

Perhaps one of the most recent fields of investigation regarding UFO explanations is that of ionisation which may it is now realised, manifest itself in a variely of forms, and with a variety of effects. The type of ionised air that the UF0 investigator should be most concerned with is highly ionised, that is where the electrons surrounding the atoms of the gas in question are stripped off, the gas becomes neutrally charged and, as far as conduction is concerned, the gas which under normal circulstinces is insulating acts rather like a metal, being able to pass a high current. When the charges (positive ions and negative electrons) within the gas are in equilibrium, then the plasma, as it is called, becomes relatively stable, and thus may persist for some time. Such plasmas may be produced artificially – accidentally, as in the case of overrated high tension power lines – and also by natural agencies.

According to our present day knowledge, the most common occurrence of this phenomenon is through the action of lightning. Considering that a typical lightning discharge from a cumulonimbus cell releases nearly 100 million volts over a path of around two miles long, and passes a current of 250,000 amps, the temperature along the path of the discharge may reach a peak of 30,00O degrees celcius, roughly five times the temperature of the surface of the sun. Under such conditions it is hardly surprising that plasma may form, Luckily the conditions for stable plasmas to form are very stringent since the strike must ionise a packet of air differing slightly from the surrounding air by virtue of some degree of contamination as well a other parameters such as local magnettic and electric field strengths. The degree of contamination can be satisfied by a number of agencies such as methane, ammonia, or even fine dust particles, thus very few lightning discharges result in plasua formation, otherwise each thunderstorm would really be like an aerial bombardment with fiery balls exploding left, right and centre.

A plasma once formed becomes subject to the changing magnetic and electric fields around itself and will thus move accordingly. Donald J. Ritchie, who has made an extensive study of ball lightning (plasma formed through the agency of lightning) observations, concludes that there are probably two main types. The first is a diffuse red ball that fades slowly without doing any apparent harm, and the second is a bright, bluish-white ball that decays rapidly with a loud report, often causing, severe damage to surrounding objects through burning and blasting. The average size for such lightning balls is one foot in diameter, though they may range from one inch to as large as 40 feet. Their form is by no means confined to spheres, but may take on a variety of curved forms amongst which are saucer, dumbell and cigar-shaped bodies. The duration of such lightning balls is between a few seconds to three minutes on average, though lifespans far in excess of these figures have been observed.

Work also done on the subject of plasmas by Drs M. A. Uman and C. A. Helstrom. who aided by a computer constructed mathematical model that could predict the properties of ball lightning, showed that the temperatures within a ball are of the order of 60-100% of that of the sun’s surface, so it is not surprising that an eight inch diameter ball with a 5,000°C centre would glow as bright as a one kilowatt bulb, and would indeed be a veritable headlamp in the sky at night.

Thus the theoretical latent energy of a plasma ball is quite high, and in practicee this certainly seems to be the case from numerous observations of then phenomenon, as well as the odd unfortunate human contact. The movement of such balls often leads the casual observer to assume that they are under some form of remote control: remember reports of the form and antics of the foo-fighters of WWII. Plasma balls have been observed rolling down roofs, along gutters, rising over hedges, passing through houses and even entering moving aircraft.

Another peculiarity of some plasmas is the ability to generate noise. Witnesses may describe it as a buzzing, whirring, hissing, or even humming, though the exact mechanism for such noise production is not yet clear. It is also interesting to note that, some fireballs (meteors) make similar noises. Such noises are also
attributed to flying saucers,.

There is some evidence that plasma balls may be capable of travelling some considerable distance away from the vicinity of the storm, and as far as natural production of these events is conerned, a thunderstorm is possibly not the only agency that can produce them. Some plasmas may be formed at extreme heights in the atmosphere and further research is required into their production before all natural mechanisms are accounted for. What is known for sure is that plasma balls do periodically turn up in strange places without an apparent cause. So don’t get too near that landed flying saucer – it may well fry you in your own fat!

To me it is little surprising that strange objects should be persistently sighted over Warminstor considering the number of skywatchers and nuts concentrated into such a small area by virtue of the tradition of the place which, you may well remember, ‘started one Xmas morning’. For I have one simple recipe for anyone wishing to see some strange aerial phenomenal that is, to sleep during the day and watch by night. If by the end of the first week you see nothing, try again the next week, and again and again. This method works for me and I have seen numerous satellites, even more meteors, a few plasma balls pretending to be flying saucers, and some objects that remain unidentified by all known artificial and natural processes.

I will admit to the strong possibility of alien intelligences observing us by some unknown process of their super-advanced science, but I must object strongly when one reads as I did recently such fuss over a small light moving in the sky, and photographs of the offending luminescence taken under atrocious conditions. So next time you encounter a strange light buzzing your car, or zig-zagging across the sky, is it not better to say – it isn’t a planet, star, or plasma, etc. therefore it is unidentified, rather than it is a UFO because it isn’t lightning, will o’ the wisp, etc. After all, are there not more ‘Things’ in heaven and earth than are dreamt in your philosophy of flying saucers, O space brothers?

 

References

  • HAEREDEL, G. & LUST, R. Artificial Plasma Clouds in Space, Scentific American 219,  5.
  • KALSS, P.J. ‘UFOs Identified’, Science Journal, April 1967, p25.
  • MICHAELIS, E.I. ‘Thunderstorms’, Practical Electronics, 2, 10.
  • New Scientist. UFOs and Plasma, 31, 453.
  • SMITH, ALLEN B. Lightning, Plasma and Balls of Fire, Radio Electronics, April 1967.
  • NEWTON, H. W. The Face of the Sun, Pelican Books (p 17 ).
  • ROMIG, M.F. & LAMAR, D. R.M., 3724. ARPA. Rand Corp.
  • GAMOW, GEORGE. A Star Called the Sun, Pelican Books, (pp.103-107)
  • Flying Saucer Review, 16, 49, pp.4-7

Of Hoaxes and Hoaxing. Paul Hopkins

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From Merseyside UFO Bulletin, volume 3, number 6, December 1970′

This article was published in Merseyside UFO Bulletin nine months after David Simpson and SIUFOP conducted their famous experimental hoax at Warminster. Despite comments and suggestions made over the years Paul Hopkins was unaware that SIUFOP had conducted their experiment when he wrote this piece. The nature of the experiment did not become publicly known until summer 1972, when Flying Saucer Review published an editorial exposing the hoax. A link to David Simpson’s MUFOB article revealing full details of the hoax/experiment can be found at the foot of this article

Wherever there is a mystery or intrigue, or when man hovers on the brink of dicovery, hoxes will inevitably occur. Great hoaxes of the past such as the Piltdown Man have made scientists and authorities ever cautious, with some good reason since their reputation as experts is vulnerable through the mass media. Of all subjects that come under the shadow of hoaxing, the UFO receives more than its fair share, which is unfortunate since it is so easy for both the public and the experts to disregard any evidence in favour of the UFO, and thus to class any number of events as due to the unquestioned activities of hoaxers. Looking at hoaxes, so far the UFO scene is concerned they can be roughly placed into three broad categories. The first, hoaxes perpetrated for sheer amusement and performed in a light-hearted manner. Secondly, hoaxes perpetrated by cranks for a number of devious reasons, such as a genuine belief that they are messengers or ambassadors for alien creatures. Also a need to be accepted as a prominent figure in UFO activity; to create an aura of mystery about themselves, and through sheer insanity. Thirdly, hoaxes by publicity addicts and those that are in the game for personal and financial gain.

There is of course no strict dividing line between one category and the next, and a hoaxer will more often than not cover all three of these categories, but will be heavily biased towards one. In the examination of a hoax one must consider the quality of that hoax as regards the total cost to the hoaxer in terms of time, finance, and possible enhancement or damage of reputation, and on the other hand the total barrage incurred by the hoaxed, and finally the success of the whole operation as far as the hoaxer is concerned. It is the determination of success that is perhaps the hardest factor to assess, since the motives of the hoaxer, or suspected hoaxers have first to be determined, Allowance must be made for the time factor between event and investigation, thus the investigator, in order to initiate his works and to have a reference point from which he may follow a line of investigation, will have to use a great deal of conjecture as regards the personality of any persons connected with the observations.

UFOs are very much transitory phenomena, and even more so when they appear as lights in the sky. From such sightings or claims there is little that the investigator can deduce since he has not only to consider the possibility of a hoax, but also such things as mistaken identity of common objects under peculiar circumstances, or ignorance on the part of the claimant of astronomical objects and atmospheric phenomena. A hoaxer has little to gain from remote observations except perhaps a mention in the local rag, unless the ‘observation’ is an intricate part of a larger hoax, and the hoaxer is relying upon the cumulative effect.

The cumulative effect may operate in a number of ways according to the control the hoaxer has over his situation. Opportunists may operate immediately after a sighting elsewhere so that momentum is added to their own story; while some will rely upon others coming forward with similar stories. The subsequent influx of investigators, gullible tourists (hoping to witness an event) and the lunatic fringe then primes the locality so that a carefully planned hoax may be carried out fairly successfully, since the influx of the differing factions causes confusion to the serious investigator. This, I suspect, is what happened at Warminster. Though such a situation is hard to rationalise owing to its complex nature which often affords some degree of protection to the hoaxer or hoaxers.

Another way in which the cumulative effect may influence a hoax is in the case of a fairly simple ‘class one’ hoax where the hoaxer, seeing that the public — at least some elements of the public — are taking him seriously, carries the hoax a little further. As long as he remains relatively undetected the hoaxing continues until the hoaxer suddenly realises that his fame has spread beyond the confines of his country, and also that some eminent persons are taking a keen interest in the whole affair. The hoaxer is now faced with a dilemma. He must either admit to his wickedness and be castigated through the press, or maintain a front until the whole issue dies away. If we consider the Adamski saga in this context, as a man trapped by his own hoax, then the peculiarities of the story are self explanatory. Certainly the Adamski affair was, and still is, an integral part of a cumulative hoax due to the numbers that jumped onto his band wagon before and after his death. Two of the best known factions (at any rate to me) being the IGAP, USA, and in England the Aetherius Society. Both these societies rely upon the fact that human beings of this modern age are essentially insecure especially in the West where Christianity is slowly dying, and the world is seemingly balanced on the edge of a nuclear holocaust. The new religions centred about Adamski-type space beings fill to some degree this religious void since they provide the security of extraterrestrial guardians of the earth. The appeal of such a religion attracts and fulfils the needs of many people and as such the hoax of Adamski has become a self-proliferating legend.

From the experience of Adamski, it is evident that in order to perpetrate a successful hoax with a long life and the probability of good returns in terms of support and finance one must resort to a contact claim with some mythical or imaginary being bearing a message for mankind. Such were the essences of the claims of Dan Fry, Truman Bethurum and many others. Alternatively one can appeal to man’s aggressive instincts by attributing acts of violence and interference with machinery to visiting aliens. Such claims however do not seem to be as successful as those of friendly visitors.

Each new contact claim, each close observation, and claim of UFO photography presents both a challenge and a burden to the UFO investigator that may extend for several months with no definite result forthcoming at the end of that period. Apart from mistaken identity, one is invariably left with the conclusion either that an extraterrestrial event did indeed occur, or that a hoax was perpetrated and the hoaxer is intent on keeping quiet. (Persons often talk about the ‘men in black conspiracy’, but it seems to me that there is just as much evidence for a world wide hoax conspiracy.)

Those readers who have been to Warminster will probably appreciate my meaning when I refer to it as a hoax-sized town

The point is, in my opinion, that we probably know more about UFO phenomena than the phenomena of hoaxing, and to this end I suggest adding a fourth class of hoax to the three already given. Namely, hoaxes perpetrated for the purpose of the study of hoaxing and its cumulative effect upon people. To suggest deliberately setting up a hoax would no doubt invoke a great deal of controversy in the UFO world. No doubt this has been done before on a small scale. Many amateur photographers fake UFO pictures just to prove that it is easy, for indeed it is. Yet such pictures seldom take the serious investigator in for long. Likewise the more nutty or occult tinged stories. I suggest that there is a case for the setting up of a carefully planned and controlled hoax on a grand scale. In effect it would be desirable to create a second Warminster for the sole purpose of examining the time it takes to get a hoax off the ground, to observe the influx of parasites and nutters, to take account of the total cost, and most important of all, to study witness reactions.

Those readers who have been to Warminster will probably appreciate my meaning when I refer to it as a hoax-sized town. It is too large for its inhabitants to know each other intimately, and yet information would spread fairly rapidly via the various media. Being situated on a main trunk route it has a fairly large itinerant population, especially during the tourist season, Further relevant properties of this town are that it is situated in a region of the country that is deeply imbedded with man’s primitive history. As well as the conventional historians, the area is very much a shrine for those occultists who believe that the Holy Grail is still to be found, or that a new age will dawn with Avebury or Stonehenge at the centre of the universe. The Army encampments naturally add interest and help further the mystery of the area both by their presence and weird activities, especially when it comes to making noises.

In such an area it is little wonder that a hoaxer could, after acquainting himself with the surroundings and the traits and haunts of the local populace (and also accounting for the small influx of new-ageians keeping their vigils) guarantee himself an audience. Thus for an experimental hoax, the investigators would have to find a town that has very similar properties to those of Warminster. This done, their troubles are only just starting, if they are not to transgress in any manner the law. It is a simple matter to make lights appear in the sky at will, providing one has an assistant. A couple of polythene clothes bags filled with coal gas and tied together will lift a small battery and bulb high into the air. Strictly speaking this is illegal, unless you have obtained permission from the Ministry of Defence and also notified local airports.

Again, it is not too difficult to make a crater appear in a farmer’s field, and to experimenters I would suggest they try the following method. First obtain an iron pipe, say about five feet long and l½ inch diameter. At one end films a couple or more sharp cutting teeth, and at the other drill a hole to take a tommy bar. Armed with this device and a large hammer the tube can be driven deep into the ground and cores of earth removed by a number of repeated borings until you are left with a fairly smooth straight hole. To add interest you can scoop out several radiating channels from the central hole and make several other interesting depressions round about. Fill the central hole with a finely divided mixture of magnesium, aluminium and tin, (the three supposed constituents of flying saucer metal) insert an igniter wick and retreat. With a high proportion of magnesium in the mixture an extremely hot and brilliant flame will be produced that should attract some attention. Should you have got your timing wrong and there was nobody within the vicinity, then the farmer is sure to come across the desecration of his field some time or other. This is to be preferred since it may give rain time to wash away the tell-tale traces of white ash.

We can now see what the score is. First there is the cost of the tubing. Then several pounds will be required to pay for the cost of filling the bore with an explosive mixture. You will have fallen foul of the law on several counts. For trespassing, and doing damage to a crop, (Remember, grass is a valuable asset to a farmer, let alone barley, oats or potatoes.) and for discharging and possessing explosive materials. As your hoax gained momentum so also I suspect would the number of antisocial acts that you committed rise in proportion.

Which brings us to two points. Firstly a hoaxer most probably has antisocial tendencies. This would explain why so many saucer contactees want to kick, modern science and society in the teeth. They want to be considered apart from the herd, as selected beings often guided by superior intellects from above. Like so many restless ‘students’ they want to give convention a jolt; to have reporters and camera men rushing about on a wild goose chase while they themselves sit back enthralled by their powers of disturbance, while their egos swell. Secondly the hoaxer of a large hoax runs the real risk of being sued or prosecuted. Thus he is often forced to remain anonymous.

With these points in mind the setting up of an experimental hoax is not the sort of thing that should be attempted overnight. Neither should it be set up by an amateur body, since the results are not only likely to be disastrous but also wasted. The co-operation of local bodies would be required, including the police and the local council. Permission would have to be obtained from the Ministry of Aviation if one wished to eject objects into the sky, and so on.

To sum up, a large scale, will organised UFO hoax could provide valuable insight into how people think and react to what they think is an unknown phenomenon. By facing then with artificial UFO situations modelled on past case histories, even though the stimulus is false, the reaction would be the same as would most probably occur under the genuine conditions of a UFO sighting and flap. Then, and then only, will the UFO investigator really know what he is about.

Read the story of the actual experimental hoax at Warminster HERE