Tonnies on the Abduction Phenomenon (Paul Kimball)
Interestingly, both Mac and Kevin, Cone and Estes are in agreement that the sexual angle indicates that the abduction enigma is not an alien event. The difference comes with the conclusions (in Mac's case, more of a theory, to be fair) as to what this means the real answer is. For Kevin et al, the explanation is psychological - alien abductions are no different than the succubus legends (ahh... the good old days), and are the result of the same psychological processes.
For Mac, it may be the work of ultraterrestrials here on Earth, a hidden race / species that we vastly outnumber, but who have us beat in the technology department.
While debating the nature of "alien abduction" in recent posts, I've assumed, not without reason, that some abductions have occurred essentially as recounted. (I consider the Betty and Barney Hill case and the earlier Villas-Boas case particularly intriguing evidence of nonhuman intervention.) That said, I readily second Kimball's recommendation for Randle, Estes and Cone's "The Abduction Enigma," a well-researched book that throws many claims of alien contact in a troubling (and decidedly human) light.
My personal take on the abduction "epidemic" is that many reports can indeed be attributed to novel -- if perfectly nonpathological -- mental states. Having experienced sleep paralysis, I can't honestly deride the common debunking claim that a high percentage of "bedroom visitations" originate from the experiencer's state of immobilization and accompanying sense of presence.
But sleep paralysis is not the final word. It does nothing, for example, to explain encounters that occur when the participant if fully awake. Nor can it account for abduction cases with witnesses, or comfortably encompass cases in which a UFO is present at the time of the reported abduction.
The questions that logically arise, given the limitations of the sleep paralysis hypothesis (and related "explanations"), are simple: Who -- or what -- is responsible? And what are the implications?
If we allow ourselves to concede the existence of a nonhuman intelligence -- if only as a thought experiment -- answers to this conundrum begin to show themselves, faintly but evocatively suggesting deliberate intent.
4 comments:
Mac:
Kevin and his co-authors do not use sleep paralysis as the explanation for all abductions. They also point out the significant flaws in the training and methodology used by the leading abduction "researchers" (the end result of which is leading the witness), the influence of pop culture, some hoaxes, and the fact that some of the people reporting abductions do have psychological problems (something you'll never hear admitted by the abductionologists, who always seem to state that every alleged abductee is perfectly normal).
It is a must-read for anyone who wants to discuss the abduction enigma intelligently. Alas, I find that very few people in ufology have actually read the book, including some of the critics.
I tend to keep abductions out of any UFO discussion in which I enter, simply because I'm not convinced the phenomenon is anything extraordinary, and, even if it is, I'm not convinced that it has anything to do with the UFO phenomenon. As you suggest, the Hill case is an intriguing exception, but even it has flaws, and weak spots, and, at the end of the day, it relies on whether or not you believe Betty and Barney Hill.
Paul
Paul,
I suppose I wasn't entirely fair to Randle et al, since they certainly introduce more factors than sleep paralysis. But the "debunking" media at large seems more or less infatuated with it, which is why I singled it out as an inadequate "explanation."
For purposes of my "ultraterrestrial" thesis, I'm less interested in common stories of late-night bedroom encounters and more intrigued with close encounters with humanoids in broad daylight, with or without "spacecraft."
Mac:
I agree. I think the bedroom encounters can be pretty much discounted (just as IFOs can be discounted). The reported encounters with beings during the day are far more interesting (although I'm still not convinced).
Paul
i don't think that sleep paralysis-induced "bedroom visitations" and the possibility of actual interaction with non-human intelligence need be mutually exclusive. the line between dream and our cognitive map of reality is often rather blurry under such conditions.
that is not to say there is no external reality. the human brain, essentially a biological computer, has evolved to use its "software" to "map" reality, but only relevant to the owner's survival.
what if the gap between what is actually "out there" and what the brain maps is where these so-called "paranormal" (a term i don't particularly care for) events occur.
a higher dimensional being (or some analogous entity) could use this to their advantage. someone might be experiencing "sleep paralysis" but actually be in the control of a (to us) discarnate entity of some sort, using images stored in the experiencer's brain (from pop culture, mythology, etc.) to communicate with or control them.
perhaps there are beings who are literally made of information and ideas, using "memes" to create form as biological beings use genes. if information encoded in chemicals (DNA) can produce biological cells, organs etc., or grooves on a record can produce sound if struck by a needle, or electrical impulses on a computer disk can reproduce text, images, and words, then perhaps some form of intelligence can use our conciousness and perhaps natural phenomenon (freak electrical occurences, biological material, plasmas, ball lightning...who knows) to temporarily manifest or will themselves into this "plane" (in actuality merely the part of reality our cognitive "map" registers), thus occasionally leaving physical traces, vehicle interference, or showing up on radar.
the incredible varieties of humanoids and other beings encountered might be analogous to diving suits or (perhaps more accurately) even hunting decoys, dummies or puppets. costumes and props, essentially.
and advanced "technology" might have nothing to do with it. this all might be as easy for them as breathing is for us. the beings might not be actually superior to us, just of a totally different nature.
of course this is just metaphysical speculation, obviously. but i prefer it to literalized interpretations of abduction experience. the whole phenomenon seems too intimately tied to "paranormal" phenomenon and the peculiar qualities of human conciousness to be decisively uncoupled from them.
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