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:
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.
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.
ReplyDeleteIn 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteAfter 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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