Personally I think that taking a positive interest in people's experiences and combining it with standard investigative tasks ( locating independent corroborating witnesses, checking the site location ... etc. ) is the best methodology.
I agree but I also think that the more tools the the toolbox the better. In the case of
alien abduction claims the only thing available for investigation is the person making the claim and the story itself.
boomerang said:
ufology, I see your point. The last thing this field needs is more distrust and recrimination.
I've been a UFO buff for over 40 years or so and I've seen a lot of things come and go. I am of the strong opinion that what the field needs is a much stronger
distrust and a more aggressive
vetting of stories and their sources. The history of
the field is filled with liars, con-men, and hoaxers who have been exposed only to have their stories live on and become part of the UFO mythology in spite of it.
Ufology (and the study of the paranormal in general) is plagued by people who for whatever reason feel compelled to embellish their stories, backgrounds, and education. This is a historical and present day fact. To ignore this is counterproductive to any desire to know the
truth about these subjects. Someone who will lie to you about their work or educational background has already regulated themselves to the ranks of the tellers of tall tales and the untrustworthy. They want me to believe their extraordinary stories of uncanny paranormal experiences or discoveries and they cannot be honest with me about themselves? Please.
In this
field how many doctors have proven not to be doctors of anything? How many fake
veterans, navy seals, and the like have we seen? How many people claiming to be this or that have proven to be otherwise? A great many. There are undoubtedly more to come as well.
I've become disillusioned and very disheartened by what I see as a betrayal of the spirit of Ufology by these characters and the people who support or simply allow them to continue in their deceptions. People quite often make a great deal of noise about
truth but in the end its all about
entertainment and little else.
Given these facts I find that skepticism is the only rational response to this reality. An unapologetic examination of claims and claimants is the only avenue available to us if we want the truth rather than to be entertained. But the whole
paranormal business is just largely entertainment with any serious consideration of the subject being scuttled by dishonest folks who should just market their stuff as
fiction and be done with it. But maybe that is it. Maybe there is an inside joke that most of us just aren't in on.
Mostly a rag tag bunch of "investigators" with various levels of competence and motives. But, as for the padding of resumes. You will find that happens in all fields and at all levels. Just human nature and some systems pratically "demand" an overblown list of skills. But, I do agree in this day and age it's not wise to falsely "claim" somthing that can easily be googled or found by a large amount of people.