Eric Ouellet. Illuminations: The UFO Experience as a Parapsychological Event. San Antonio and Charlottesville: Anomalist Books, 2015. The question that kept occurring to me as I read Eric Ouellet's challenging, lucid, at times brilliant book: to what extent do you have to be a believer in … [Read more...]
UFOs and Parapsychology – Donald Menzel, Ernest Taves
"There are no such things as flying saucers. The government has told you that. ... If you believe in Donald H. Menzel, President Eisenhower, and Government announcements you need have no fear of being frightened by this story. Read it on a stormy night, or in the middle of a graveyard if you wish. … [Read more...]
The Biochemist and the Raccoon – The Alien Abduction of Dr. Kary Mullis
Suppose I were to tell you that an alien abduction has been reported by no less a scientific authority than a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist. You’d be impressed, wouldn’t you? But suppose I were to add that said Nobel Laureate has a long history of experimenting with psychedelic drugs. That he … [Read more...]
“Can It Be Coincidence?” – Barney Hill, Whitley Strieber, and the Sinking of the Titanic
"The single most important thing to understand is that in most cases of startling coincidences it is impossible to make even a rough estimate of their probability. They are what mathematicians call problems that are not 'well formed.'" --Martin Gardner, The Wreck of the Titanic Foretold? How … [Read more...]
From Superman to Whitley Strieber – Reflections on a “Super-Story”
"I am not denying the obvious. I am simply suggesting that there is also a 'secret life' to Superman that extends far, far beyond his latest incarnation and 'descent' (or crash landing) into American pop culture." --Jeffrey J. Kripal It takes a big book to encompass between the same two covers … [Read more...]