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Questions for Dr. Jacques Vallee

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David Biedny

Paranormal Adept
Folks,

I'm more than a little excited to announce that Dr. Jacques Vallee has agreed to come on the show and talk with us! This will be happening sometime next week, so now's your chance to get those questions posted up here. Please make them good, this is a rare opportunity and we want to make sure that we make the most of it.

dB
 
Wow! I knew you'd get him somehow, but still exciting all the same! I will start working on some Q's and post them here!

I enjoyed this, when asked his thoughts on the state of ufology in 2006:
JV: "It’s a mess. There is valuable research going on, but it is carried out by individuals working with almost no financial or logistical resources. The few scientists who are still actively involved are forming a new version of the old “Invisible College,” communicating privately to stay away from the sensationalism that has taken over the field. As for what remains of the organized groups, they are not playing the role of disseminating information, conducting field research or encouraging critique and open debate. They are little more than lobbies for a particular point of view. This is a pity, because periods of low UFO activity like the current one present the best opportunity to do quiet research. By centering the whole discussion of the phenomenon on highly-charged, but poorly-researched issues like Roswell and abductions, ufologists have lost credibility, alienated the scientific public and opened the floodgates to hundreds of Internet sites where the wildest rumors circulate. No wonder serious researchers are going underground!" - Not an ATS fan I see! :)

Questions:
1. Considering the above, what do you feel can be done to bring proper investigating to the UFO field?
2. You recently stated that you are now returning to the UFO field, in what capacity? Will you personally do research, and of so what will you concentrate on mainly? Why did you leave the research that you said "fundamentally challenges the nature of reality"?
3. You wrote the foreword to the book UFOs and The National Security State by Richard Dolan. Richard has recently mentioned that he believed Bob Lazar. What's your take on Bob Lazar?
 
Okaay ... Jacques Vallee on The Paracast ... ummm ... strewth :D ... I think my heart has just stoppe ... thud (sound of schtick hitting the floor but doing so in that elegant way Frodo did in the last instalment of Lord of the Rings :D)

Anyway, all I want to say is well done for getting him on. I'm sure, if he's as intelligent as I've heard, he'll enjoy the intelligent questioning from our good hosts.

Questions? Blimey ... where do you start?

Think I'll just say that all I'd want to know is whether or not he thinks that the movement away from 'nuts and bolts' is the only way 'ufology' as a subject will survive in any meaningful form in the future without it slipping into some sort of quasi-religious belief system ... if it hasn't already?

I could post up hundreds of other questions of course but I'll let other much cleverer and qualified people get their questions up since this may be such a landmark episode.
 
Off the top of my head:
1 - His thoughts on Project Serpo.
2 - How has his views on Ufology changed since he last "retired" from the field?
3 - Are ufos, ghosts, angels, etc. all of the same cloth? In other words, extra dimensional.
4 - Has he experienced any paranormal events?
 
Can you ask JV about actinic rays?

In the 60's the physical effects of UFO's were discussed alot...sunburn, irritated skin and eyes etc. also physicall ill, weak, etc. Don't hear too much of this these days.

John Keel...and if I recall correctly, JV also documented these effects with close creature encounters, and paranormal encounters that did not involve a UFO vehicle.

I'm interested to know what he thinks is the source of the radiation. Obviously a UFO suggests a machine that could generate radiation.

But how is an observed creature...mothman, bigfoot, alien, virgin mary, etc. generating the kind of energy that would cause physical effects on the skin.

Let me know if you need clarification to make a more concise question.

~Foo Fighter~
 
SR2 said:
Off the top of my head:
1 - His thoughts on Project Serpo.
2 - How has his views on Ufology changed since he last "retired" from the field?
3 - Are ufos, ghosts, angels, etc. all of the same cloth? In other words, extra dimensional.
4 - Has he experienced any paranormal events?
Click to expand...

3 - From what I am reading, he still has no idea what they are, but suspects they are related.
4 - He has seen UFOs, yes.

Frozen E.T. Burrito said:
I'd just like to know what he considers the top 5 or so most legit cases.

Come to think of it, I think you should always ask your guests this.
Click to expand...

http://www.dailygrail.com/node/3252
what are the three top cases we should be devoting attention to, in your opinion? Conversely, what are the cases wasting time and resources (from your comments above, I’m guessing Roswell is one of them?).

JV: I am not comfortable with the idea of basing the reality of the phenomenon on a few so-called “best cases.”
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, to be honest I didn't even know who he was until everyone got excited about the C2C interview. But with such a prestigious guest we should at least try to find out enough about him to ask educated questions... That's why I have only come up with 3 so far, still reading up on him :)

Here's some good reading on the man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Vall%C3%A9e
Many links at the bottom to papers he famous for writing, as well as a list of books.

It's especially important this time because his views on the subject differ quite a bit from all other UFOlogists in many ways. He actually started with believing/preaching the ETH, but later moved to where this show focuses a lot, that it is likely not ETs.

P.S. After all the excitement, I am hoping to see Jeff and Jeremy post some Q's here :)
 
Hallelujah and congrats to Gene and David. Major score! Please resist any temptation there may be to keep the interview accessible to the lowest common denominator. This is a rare opportunity to pick the guy's brain as much as possible.

I've read the vast majority of Vallee's books and pretty much everything on the web. Some of these questions he touches on in his books but in many cases the analyses are decades old and I think it important to know how he feels about certain things currently. Please pardon me in advance if I spam this thread.

-----------

My questions:

1. How may Gene and David best ingratiate themselves to you so that you will become a regular guest on the Paracast?

2. At this time, what statements do you feel can be made with certainty regarding the ufo phenomena?

3a. What SPECIFIC actions or approaches do you believe hold the most promise for advancing the study of the phenomena?

3b. What do you feel are valid scientific approaches when we do not have the luxury of repeated observation on demand as with the natural sciences? What constitutes valid scientific techniques, data or evidence of a given phenomena if there is an uncooperative intelligence at the other end?

3c. Do you have any sense of what the first testable hypothesis will look like or what will need to occur to formulate a testable hypothesis?

4. Are there any investigative approaches that you definitively feel have run their course and are no longer worth pursuing?

5. You've stated in the past that you believed that "There must be a building full of data somewhere." Do you still believe this to be the case and if so, what is your best guess as to who has possession of this data at present?

6. There seems to be a certain line of thinking in ufology that anyone claiming repeated success in observing or photographing ufos, psychic contact or anything other than fleeting observation is automatically suspect. What criteria do you use to evaluate the credibility of people involved in investigating ufo phenomena, especially those claiming contact or psychic communication with other intelligences?

7. I believe you have stated in the past that your research is interpreted by some, in regards to the Fermi paradox, as implying that we may be in some sort of "dimensional jail" and that you did not necessarily believe this to be the case. Can you expand upon this with specific arguments for or against the "dimensional jail" interpretation?

8. You've spent time with some renowned occult practitioners. Please summarize what you have learned as to how the phenomena is viewed in occult circles and also if there is anything meaningful therein which can be applied to the scientific study of the phenomena.

9. At present, are you aware of the existence of any physical artifacts (not sensor data or trace evidence) that you feel may be reasonably viewed as "alien" in origin?

10. As a "heretic among heretics" you've published many controversial analyses. Are there any data, experiences, or analyses that even you have not felt comfortable publishing to date? If so, do you plan to do so in the future or posthumously?

11. Please comment as to which researchers, both in the past and especially those presently doing active research, that you hold in high regard and feel are worth paying attention to.

12. Are there any relative books, researchers or other data that you feel have been largely ignored but that merit reexamination or closer attention?

13. Is there any work occurring in funded, mainstream science, unrelated to ufology but that you feel may be directly relevant to further study of the phenomena?

13a. Are there any new technologies or modern refinements of technologies such as various sensors types that you see as promising for observational purposes? Do you have any thoughts on Peter Davenport's passive radar proposal?

14. Many interpret your work as concluding that the "nuts and bolts" view is in error and that the phenomena is simply presenting itself in accordance with our expectations. With this is mind, how would you interpret the work of someone like Paul Hill, on whom you have commented publicly in regards to the Ubatuba magnesium fragments? Hill seems to have made a reasonable deductive case as a result of direct, informed observation, that at least some subset of the phenomena appears to be structured craft, abiding by known physical laws with the aid of some form of gravity control. This specific, physical component of the phenomena appears to convey a very precise and consistent message about the technology involved. You've referred to the phenomena as consisting of both a physical and psychic component. Psychic component aside, would you agree that the physical component seems to contain a specific technological "message" and if so, what is your present analysis of such? If you do not agree, what arguments do you offer that cast doubt upon the involvement of any specific technological message?

15. Many people involved in ufology seem to start off rationally and perform good work. There also seems to be a trend where many people gradually lose their perspective when dealing with these topics and over time, for lack of a more polite term, go off the deep end. Can you comment on what factors you feel may be involved in this observed trend and can you offer any advice on how to stay grounded and keep perspective while still openly examining these extremely esoteric topics?
 
Some great questions, dorkbot! But the zinger, at least to me is:

10. As a "heretic among heretics" you've published many controversial analysis. Are there any data, experiences, or analysis that even you have not felt comfortable publishing to date? If so, do you plan to do so in the future or posthumously?
Click to expand...

But I'd kill to have these answered too:

13. Is there any work occurring in funded, mainstream science, unrelated to ufology but that you feel may be directly relevant to further study of the phenomena?

13a. Are there any new technologies or modern refinements of technologies such as various sensors types that you see as promising for observational purposes? Do you have any thoughts on Peter Davenport's passive radar proposal?
Click to expand...

While the extradimensional aspect may be reasonable, I've wondered if those buggers spotted in the IR spectrum by the Mexican jet might not have something to do with a craft's sudden disappearance, one of altering its signature (which of course is more convoluted.) I don't know enough about the mechanics of doing that to say it must be or must not be an aspect of altering dimensional realities. But the IR thing bugs me. Would love to know what Vallee thinks of that particular sighting and what, if anything, it could mean to the phenomenon.
 
Poi said:
While the extradimensional aspect may be reasonable, I've wondered if those buggers spotted in the IR spectrum by the Mexican jet might not have something to do with a craft's sudden disappearance, one of altering its signature (which of course is more convoluted.) I don't know enough about the mechanics of doing that to say it must be or must not be an aspect of altering dimensional realities. But the IR thing bugs me. Would love to know what Vallee thinks of that particular sighting and what, if anything, it could mean to the phenomenon.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a good chance that there were no UFOs involved in that incident.

dB
 
He believes there to be an intelligence that "stages" UFO events for the purpose of manipulating human consciousness and society. Sounds interesting, and I would not at all disagree... but I wonder how far he is willing to take that? What of the possibility that EVERYTHING is staged? Here we are... we've found ourselves as modern men and women in a modern world with many astounding historical anomalies just laying all around... the pyramids and other mysterious "records of past civilizations", and perhaps even such things as the fossil record, stars and heavens themselves... all staged.

So if you take the whole "staged" theory, then one can draw a conclusion that we are part of some sort of game... so, what does he propose that the staged events are trying to push us towards, and would it be in our best interests to acquiesce or resist?

As a scientist, he may say that he doesn't have enough evidence to form any conclusions, but I'm sure he has some ideas... as a human.
 
Wow, I can't wait!

FWIW, here are my suggestions for questions or topics I'd like him to speak about:

1.) The "Purple Justice" case. Specifically, what motivations does he think government authorities would have for "simulating" a UFO experience? He has touched on this issue in at least one interview before, found here. But I'd still like him to speak on the Paracast about:

2.) The issues he brings up in his (well, co-authored) paper, "Incommensurability, Orthodoxy and the Physics of High Strangeness: A 6-layer Model for Anomalous Phenomena." Specifically,

a.) What he views as the problems or shortcomings of projects like SETI.

b.) To what extent does he think UFO reports are attributable to "mimicry" by either an intelligence or phenomenon, both physical mimicry (as in screen memories or other "disguises") and "semiotic" (as in events of high strangeness which he suggests could result from an attempt at mimicry of our concepts of meaning and modes of thought.) Does he have any views on what is causing the mimicry?

Or more generally, what he thinks of/means by "mimicry" and to expound on his ideas on the matter.

3.) Why did he leave the field for so long? Does he plan on any new books or other contributions? What new cases since his last books does he think deserve more attention?

4.) A purported NSA document has been released via a FOIA request which utilizes his concepts of "high strangeness" quantification, specifically his graph of the various levels of strangeness. (It can be found on the Black Vault site and elsewhere). Is he aware of this and what does he think of it? To segue into a next question.

5.) Is "high strangeness" an aspect of the UFO "experience" that humans can simulate (along with more mundane things like lighting, holograms, etc.)
 
I'd be interested to hear him give his personal perspective of the over-arching intelligence behind these phenomena that is possibly manipulating and directing human culture.

Judging from what he's learned thus far, what does he see as the motivation or function of this intelligence?

Does he see a single unified intelligence with a unified purpose, or multiple conflicting intelligences with cross-purposes, or perhaps a heirarchy of some sort?

Does he consider the intelligence to be positive, negative, or neutral from the point of view of humanity?

Does he see this cultural manipulation as pushing humanity towards a certain destination or end-point, or is the manipulation simply intended to maintain a certain status quo for as long as possible?

He's one of the people who I think would have an educated opinion on speculative questions like those, and they're normally the kinds of topics that ufo investigators talk about off the air and the listeners never get to hear the opinions.
 
I hope someone didn't already mention this on this thread. I'm too lazy right now to read them all. Plus, I'm at work and on my break, so I don't have time.

Ask him about the fatima event, the supposed Catholic miracle. Ask how he reconciles his argument that it was a UFO event with the Catholic assertion that the three children talked to the "virgin" Mary who told them that it would happen.
 
Chuckleberryfinn said:
I hope someone didn't already mention this on this thread. I'm too lazy right now to read them all. Plus, I'm at work and on my break, so I don't have time.

Ask him about the fatima event, the supposed Catholic miracle. Ask how he reconciles his argument that it was a UFO event with the Catholic assertion that the three children talked to the "virgin" Mary who told them that it would happen.
Click to expand...

Hm, I can't see what has to be reconciled there. If I were an advanced being who wanted to influence a more primitive race, one of the easiest tactics would be to pose as one of their religious figures.
 
I haven't checked the link...but here is JV's C2C audio from a couple weeks ago.

http://skinwalker.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/jacques-vallee-visits-c2c-feb12th-2008/

~Foo Fighter~
 
Poi said:
Thanks, David. I hadn't read an analysis as detailed as the link you provided.
Click to expand...

Poi,
Not to clog this thread, but you may look at this as well on the supposed Campeche sighting.

http://csicop.org/si/2004-09/campeche.html
 
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