18 November 2012

Alien Abduction: Fantasy or Reality?





Greetings, Earthlings. Ever wonder if alien abductions actually exist? Particularly in recent times, scientists have been interested in this phenomenon as well. In the article “Abducted!” written for Scientific American, Michael Shermer, studies alien abduction and claims that these “imaginary traumas” are purely psychological. According to Shermer, “The human capacity for self-delusion is boundless, and the effects of belief are overpowering. Thanks to science, we have learned to tell the difference between fantasy and reality” (Shermer 3).
While skeptics like Shermer think that alien abductions are pure fantasy, many other scientists can prove that they are, in fact, reality. According to modern scientific reports, millions of galaxies exist in the universe making the possibility of extraterrestrial life extremely likely (Jacobs 3). In addition, modern-day researchers have been conducting studies with a wide range of abductees who all seem to be reporting the same kind of evidence.
Budd Hopkins is an acclaimed UFO researcher wrote the book Missing Time in 1976, which explores similarities between several alien abduction cases. He worked with a diverse group of abductees including a college instructor, a Wall Street lawyer, a golf pro, two nurses and a painter. His research includes 19 possible alien abduction cases, involving 37 people total. Many of these victims reported similar details in their abduction incident, such as being abducted while driving, a bright light and buzzing noise before the abduction and strange body marks after the abduction (Hopkins 65-68). In an interview for Open Minds magizine, Hopkins describes his research supporting alien abduction:



Hopkins worked with Dr. Aphrodite Clamar who conducted hypnosis sessions to draw out the victims memories. Dr. Clamar concluded that “the events recounted by a variety of people from scattered places are strikingly similar, suggesting that there might be more to the whole business than mere coincidence” (Hopkins 102). Questioning the credibility of Dr. Clamar? Not so fast, because the conclusions drawn by Dr. Clamar seem to uncannily reflect the research done by Harvard University psychologist John E. Mack.
In his book Abduction John E. Mack studied the abduction phenomenon by putting 76 abductees through hypnosis and found similar patterns in their accounts. Again, the patients were a diverse group whose age’s range from two to 57 and occupy a wide range of professions: psychologists, musician, writers, and even computer industry employees. Like Hopkin’s patients, Mack’s patients usually reported being taken from their home or their car, and the abduction would usually begin with a bright white light and buzzing sound. They would return with scratches, cuts and even fully formed scars on their bodies. In an interview for the film “Thinking Allowed,” Mack describes similarities between alien abduction cases. He argues that these cases are distinguishable from fantasy because they involve unquestionable physical evidence.



Patients in Mack’s study usually reported the aliens to be small grey beings, less than four feet tall with large, pear-shaped heads, and large black eyes that curve upward. According to their claims, the aliens usually looked like this:


Budd Hopkins and John E. Mack also have similar theories as to why aliens are abducting us. Hopkins thinks that aliens are perhaps conducting experiments on humans: taking sperm and ova samples and then blocking their traumatic memories. This would explain why abductees usually don’t remember their experiences afterwards and must use hypnosis to retrieve their memories (Hopkins 151). Mack also suggests that abduction occurs because of  genetic or quasi-engineering to create hybrid human alien offspring (Mack 52-62).



Still not convinced? An internet survey on alien abductions was conducted by Malevolent Alien Abduction Research (MAAR) over a span of seven years. Between 1997 and 2005 over 13,270 people participated. Pranksters and people who signed up with illegitimate email addresses were eliminated, leaving about 6,900 legitimate replies. Check out the incredible results of this survey by clicking on the link below.
So what does it take to convince skeptics? If so many people have reported similar abduction experiences, can scientists like Shermer really insist that abductees are delusional? Especially if the victims are so diverse and seem to report the same type of evidence over and over again. Besides, if alien abduction is supported by acclaimed modern-day scientists, don’t you think that there’s more to it than just fantasy? Think about it. Do your research. Alien abduction is real.
           

Works Cited
Hopkins, Budd. Missing Time. New York: Merek Publishers, 1981. Print.
Mack, John E, M. D. Abduction. New York: Scribner, 1994. Print.
Shermer, Michael. “Abducted!” Scientific American. 292.2 (2005): 34. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 12 October 2012.








3 comments:

  1. Aliens huh? They could be real, and with so many galaxies in the universe, it’s probably likely. But abductions? That’s just a myth that people tell around a campfire to scare each other. Or, as H.G. Wells can attest to, an easy way to make money by feeding on the fears of uneducated people. Aliens could be real, but they definitely haven’t visited Earth before. If they had, it would be reported in the news. No, not just some phony magazine you see at the check-out in the grocery store. The New York Times would jump on something like this if any of these reports were real, because based on your argument, these aliens are violent, which means it would be of great interest to many people. Not like other mythical creatures or theories, which are often neutral and won’t attacked unless provoked, such as Bigfoot.
    In your argument you say that hypnosis is required for abductees to recall what happened during their abduction. Did their body then float in the air, and did a video of the interview process then become fuzzy and make it impossible to tell if what you’re seeing is fact or fiction, as what happened in the movie The Fourth Kind? Very convenient. Also, why should we trust Budd Hopkins’ credibility? Because he wrote a book over 25 years ago? How is that data relevant now? Alien abductions are a scheme that smart people use to con dumb people into spending their money on. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wasting their time.

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  2. I’m still not convinced. Alien abductions don’t seem real to me. First of all, the “evidence” used to support this argument is from 1975. More than 10 years ago. A source from the times when people thought hiding under their desks would protect them from a nuclear bomb. The people that claim to have these experiences all described Hollywood’s interpretation of an alien. In Macks experiment, he did not check to see if any of his “abductees” had mental illnesses. Also he conducted the experiment with people ranging from 2-57. I don’t know what a 2 year old can contribute to the experiment. Also when a person is abducted why would the aliens return them? I doubt aliens are conducting experiments on humans. With the technology we have known and all the satellites we have in space we would be able to tell if there are any aliens in our atmosphere. Also it is weird how no one else seems to notice when these abductions take place. Conveniently no one else is there to witness it. I’m pretty sure the government would have space on lockdown if these events were really occurring.

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  3. After doing my own research in respect to alien existence in the universe and UFOs, I will go ahead and make the claim that UFO abductions are just as much a “paranormal hoax” as UFO sightings of the UFO craze era that began in 1950s. There is substantial evidence that these people that said they have been abducted are actually in need of treatment themselves. The reason they all have the same symptoms and tell the same story is because they are all experiencing the same thing: sleep paralysis. I will quote Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, where he says “Moreover, a growing number of scholars believe that sleep paralysis may help explain many ancient reports of attacks by witches and modern claims of abduction by space aliens.” In this respect I believe that this post’s claims on UFO abductions are discredited.

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