Tuesday, November 14, 2006





George Dvorsky gets it wrong on UFOs. Again.

Citing the outrageously headlined Daily Mail story about former MoD UFO project head Nick Pope ('Aliens could attack at any time' warns former MoD chief), the Sentient Developments blogger writes: "I would be remiss to pass up this post: The former British Minister of Defence, Nick Pope, is warning his fellow Brits that extraterrestrials may 'attack at any time.'"

A neat trick, since Pope says nothing of the sort. Ignoring the sensationalized headline and actually reading the story, we find Pope urging investigatory caution in the face of what he's come to identify as a potentially intelligent unknown. It's pretty obvious that Pope uses the prospect of an alien "attack" (a word he never uses) as a rhetorical device, especially given his insistence that there's no evidence UFOs pose such a hazard in the first place.

Dvorsky revels in what what he likely considers proof that even "serious" UFO investigators are fear-mongering nitwits -- an admittedly easy thing to do if you limit your research to a cursory scan of mainstream "paranormal" coverage. To my mind, the disingenuous take on ufology served up by Sentient Developments (and other ostensible bastions of rationality) is far more disturbing than any illusory alien menace.

Let's conclude with Pope's own words, studiously excluded from both the Daily Mail's headline and Dvorsky's condescending attempt to smear what he doesn't understand unless couched in the comfortably familiar language of true believers and "X-Files" buffs:

"Every [report] is a piece of a puzzle but no one takes it seriously. There needs to be more resources and people who are prepared to look past the philosophical issues, look at the reports and investigate them properly."

Maybe it's just me, but Pope sounds pretty sensible for a crank.

5 comments:

Paul Kimball said...

W.M. & Mac:

Nick is indeed an interesting fellow, who I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing back in June. I don't agree with everything he says, but I find that he keeps a level head.

As for the "Minister of Defence" headline, that's not sensationalizing, that's simply getting it wrong. Shame on whoever the editor was for not catching it.

Paul

Mac said...

As for the "Minister of Defence" headline, that's not sensationalizing, that's simply getting it wrong. Shame on whoever the editor was for not catching it.

I suspect the attitude was "Well, it's just a UFO story, so who cares?"

Dustin said...

I was really skeptical of this guy at first. I read the headlines when I was sick, posted the article, and then went back and not only read the article(yeah, do that before you post...I know, I was sick!) but reviewed everything we knew about the guy and figured he was in it for his book writing career. Which, yes, he does write "fictional" books about UFOs and the like.

However, Philip Gardiner says the guy's very down to earth, very likable and certainly seems to be very honest. In fact, after meeting with him Michael Bourne and Philip Gardiner are interviewing him for an upcoming documentary, and while I still, personally, am not 100% certain of where the guy's coming from, I do know that those two are not trying to scam anyone and I look forward to their honest analysis of their interview.

Paul, may I ask how your interview with him went? I'd be curious of any details you'd like to share. ;-)

Mac said...

I haven't spoken with Pope in person, but his nonfiction books on UFOs are sensible and worth reading. I'm pretty sure we exchanged email at one point or another. No "red flags" with him on my end.

Dustin said...

Interesting stuff Mac. I'll have to check out his books and see where he's coming from. Thanks for the heads up.