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ARE WE ALONE?Science, The Media,

Public Opinion, Religion And Extra-Terrestrials: The Ongoing Debate

Kathleen Cutsforth & Aram NadjarianHonors 240 | On The Nature Of Things

Professor Timothy ShanahanLoyola Marymount University

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• From Orson Welles, The War of the Worlds, to researcher Roy Craig and his “Exposé” on US Government non-disclosure about ET’s.

• Get ready for a bumpy ride!!!

War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

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In The Beginning

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Timeline:

Plato (427-347bce): “the maker of the universe distributed souls equal in number to the stars, inserting each in each”

Democritus (450-???bce): Atomism: the world was made by a coming together of atoms, so there is nothing special about Earths’ so this same coming together could happen elsewhere in the universe

Aristotle (384-322bce): Our world is unique

Epicurus (341-270bce) There’s an infinite number of worlds, and life exists in these worlds

Plutarch (ad 46-120): the moon has “seas” (therefore there must be life on it)

Ptolemy (90-168): Earth is the center of the universe and orbits in a complex way

Pythagoreans: The moon is inhabited by people smarted than humans on earth

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Timeline:

Galileo: observation of Jupiter causes problems

Kepler (1571-1630): God created the moon for our benefit, and the moons of Jupiter for its inhabitants

Bentley (1662-1742) and Huygens (1629-1695): there are a vast number of stars in the universe, more than we can see, therefore God must have created them for the benefit of those that can see them

Franklin: There are an infinite number of worlds, we are not that important

Darwin: Natural Laws are universal, therefore...

For life to exists elsewhere, need to assume:

1. Natural Laws are universal

2. There is nothing special about Earth

3. If something is possible, nature tends to make it happen

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The Science/Discovery Phase

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Life Or No Life…

That Is The Question“From Bacteria to Little Green People”

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The circumstances for life (as we know it) to exist on any planet, the conditions need to be just right.

Temperatures: too high = too hot

too low = too cold

Does it need water?

But….

The Goldilocks Principle: “This one is Just Right!”

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Of all the billions of stars in the universe which contain billions of galaxies, surely there can exist conditions that are ripe for life?

Not all stars have planetary systems

The formation of planets is not uniform, so not every third planet with a Jupiter-like planet, a certain distance from the sun will end up with the same conditions at Earth

Then there is the whole issue of being able to observe any planet outside out solar system, not to mention get there...

Casablanca Response: “Of all the planetary systems in all the galaxies of the universe…”

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Not only do planetary conditions need to be right for life to exist, things in the body need to be right for humans to evolve and other things need to happen for there to be intelligence. Intelligence doesn't seem to be inevitable, and it doesn’t necessarily have a survival advantage.

Consciousness v. Intelligence (and/or Self-consciousness)

But the universe is infinite...

From one thing to the next…

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The Laws of Nature are uniform for all galaxies

All species are always increasing in complexity, leading towards intelligent life

We are not special (Earth is not atypical, its biology follows the laws of nature)

Then perhaps we are not alone…..

If You Believe...

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Contacts: Small set backs

The Language Barrier

Time Change Problems

The Mind

Visits from Beyond….

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Contacts: How to do it:

Current Projects:SETI: Project PhoenixPlanetary Society: BETA telescope

Spacecraft:Pioneer 10Voyager

What if we are looking for them in the wrong places...

Visits from Beyond….

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Visits from Beyond….

Contacts: Aliens on Earth

Crop Circles: Hoax/CIA cover-up or real communicate from beyond?

Abductions: True tales or tales of dilusion?

Flying Saucers and Sightings: Is it a bird, a plane or an alien?

Roswell: Flying saucer or weather balloon?

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The Government’s Stance

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• The Condon Report

• Roswell

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CONDON REPORT

• Many instances of “Unidentified” objects were discovered.

• Some claim the Condon Committee only investigated 1% of UFO sightings, and refused to talk about the sightings they were unable to explain.

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The Condon Committee 1966-1968

•Background:

•1965-67: Air Force receives 3,000 sighting reports

•To “get rid of the UFO problem” the Air Force looked to Edward Condon at University of Colorado

•The general conclusion:

“ nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the last 21 years that has added to the scientific knowledge. Careful

consideration of the record as it is available to us leads us to conclude that further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be

justified.”

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The Condon Committee Report

It was divided into 5 categoriesAstronaut sightings

Optical and radar sightingsUnidentifiable visual, but identifiable radarUnidentifiable visual and radar

Old Cases

Current Cases

Photographic evidence

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The Condon Committee Report

•As far at the Air Force was concerned

•UFOs did not threaten national security so they could give UFOs attention with its current surveillance technology.

• “The subject of UFOs had not been shrouded in official secrecy”

•“there is no direct evidence whatever of a convincing nature…for the claim that any UFOs represent spacecraft visiting Earth from another civilization”

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Roswell, New Mexico July 2, 1947

• Background: June 24, pilot Kenneth Arnold reports seeing flying machines in Washington• Flying saucer reports are common for weeks

• Myth: July 2,1947:• The Wilmots see some strange, glowing, oval object

crash near Corona• The Woodys, near Roswell Air Base, also see a

glowing object, like a meteorite, crash beyond the horizon

• Ranch manager, Mack Brazel sees/hears a spaceship crash his ranch, J. B. Foster ranch, 80 miles from Roswell

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Roswell Happenings

•July 6 Brazel reports his findings to the AAF Base•July 7 Marcel and Brazel collect debris•July 8 This myth of a spaceship at Roswell was announced•Funeral Home worker, Glenn Dennis received strange calls from the AAF mortuary about embalming bodies.

•Frank Kaufmann, civilian personnel clerk at AAF HQ, claims to be part of the cover-up: claims to have seen authorities carry away alien bodies (the spaceship’s crew)•Dennis, also saw strange happenings on the base, while delivering coffins. July 9 U.S. Air force weather officer, Irving Newton, says it was a weather balloon.

•1978: an intelligence officer, Major Jesse Marcel, an officer who collected debris, says that the wreckage was a spacecraft and his superiors ordered a cover-up.

•He also spoke with a nurse that was to prepare these bodies for autopsy. Dennis was warned and threatened by the local sheriff, Wilcox

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Roswell Continued…and concluded?

•1994 the incident was officially classified as part of a secret atomic spying program.

•1997 Pentagon investigation, Roswell: Case Closed

•But what about the bodies?

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The Media Response & Public Opinion

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• Orson Wells presented a false yet chilling reminder of the effects radio can have on society’s reactions to UFO existence.

• The War of the Worlds created a lot of hysteria. Find out why: dun..dun..dun...

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The Religious Debate

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(And Darwin thought he had problems)

• From monkeys to man is a step up in the evolutionary process, but is man still special with God if there are aliens out there? What about religion?

• Well, perhaps God expanded his creativity to other planets, ones that we just cannot communicate with

God and the Aliens

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God and the Aliens

God’s special relationship with Man

Man’s uniqueness (exclusiveness?)

Origin of life: Creationism and Evolution; still unique/exclusive?

In his image: God as a little green man?

Morality

Souls

Purpose...

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Intelligent Life On Other Planets???

We asked and here’s GARTH!!!