John A. Keel WHY UFOS

the Air Force was right.Sensible research must be dictated by this basic precept:Any acceptable theory must offer an explanation for all thedata. The paraphysical hypothesis meets this criterion. Theextraterrestrial hypothesis does not. The UFO enthusiastshave solved this problem by selecting only those sightingsand events which seem to fit the extraterrestrial thesis.They have rejected a major portion of the real evidence forthis reason and, in many cases, have actually suppressed(by ignoring and not publishing) events which point tosome other conclusion. Once this process of selectionbegan, the problem became more confusing and themystery more mysterious. The UFO publications werefilled with selected sightings, and professional writerspreparing books and magazine articles sifted out the bestof those sightings, unaware that a major part of the realdata was being deliberately ignored.After the 1955 explosion of paraphysical information,ufology slipped into the dark ages. The Air Force paid onlytoken attention to the phenomenon, explaining it awaysuccessfully for years as natural phenomena. The UFO enthusiastsbecame convinced of "Air Force suppression ofthe truth," and a considerable part of the UFO literaturepublished after 1955 was devoted to wild-eyed speculationsabout why the government was trying to keep UFOs asecret from the public. Since the professional writers andresearchers had deserted the subject, the general quality ofUFO literature hit a new low; most of it filled withpseudoscience and amateurish speculation. The factionswithin the UFO camp spent most of their efforts on feudingand fussing with the Air Force and with one another. Therewas very little actual research into UFO matters at allbetween 1955 and 1966.There are other fine examples of sensible researcherswho managed to penetrate the thunder of the UFOenthusiasts and reach the lightning. In 1954, Wilbert B.Smith, superintendent of Radio Regulations Engineering,Department of Transport, Ottawa, Canada, became thehead of a semiofficial Canadian UFO study dubbedProject Magnet. Smith had fine credentials, and the UFOenthusiasts were thrilled with the announcement. But asthe years passed, Smith began to realize that the quickestway to the source of the problem was through a study of thecontactees. In some cases the UFO "entities" had actuallypassed on scientific information which Smith was able to