Popular Culture Review Vol. 15, No. 2 | Page 115

Skepticism about Selected Paranormal Events 111 Skepticism and Our Cultural Preference for Truth As previously discussed, the intent of projects designed to discover the existence of life in any form or at any level of intelligence within or beyond our solar system is a worthy pursuit of knowledge, especially given the enormous cultural and scientific implications of such a discovery. Finding answers to questions of this nature will likely diminish skepticism about such issues and, simultaneously, better inform us all. Moreover, pursuits of this nature are in keeping with mankind’s historical quest to learn as much as possible about the universe and our origins as inhabitants in it (Rasool, DeVincenzi, and Billingham, 1977). For example, quite a stir was caused by a recent NASA announcement about a meteor that contained deposits resembling earth-like fossils. The controversy rages on because the object was said to have come from Mars. If NASA is able to prove to the satisfaction of the scientific community that the fossil-like structures are those of life forms that once lived on Mars, then the idea that life is a common occurrence everywhere else in the cosmos would all but replace the current idea that life is unique to this planet. Arguably, then, such pursuits have become part of the many accepted roles of science: to gather reliable evidence that might increase our sense of truth about our world and the stars and planets, including new ones, now known to exist (Engel Brothers Media, Thomas Lucas Productions, and the Public Broadcasting Service, 1997). Times have changed since the Brookings Institute Report of 1960 (i.e., as cited by Weller and Grossman, 2003). Hence, the truth about paranormal events thought to be alien-related are more likely to be accepted by the public; even when the ‘Iruth” about such events may present conflicts to our ordinary understandings (SciFi.com/Ufology Resource Center, 2002). Perhaps the perspectives expressed in the aforementioned poll are further evidence that the search for truth permeates our secular and religious lives and that we must follow that path no matter where the search takes us. Therefore, in order that they not engender disdain, official explanations must also obey the laws of reason and the scientific process. In many cases, however, the explanations defy, with ridiculous explanations, what so many have reportedly observed (Hynek, 1969). For those whose duty it is to carry out official investigations, it has been suggested that they do so in ways that will not show disdain for “ . . . scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of leaning over backwards”(Feynman, as cited by Wudka, 1998, pp. 2-4). After all, none who seek the truth would want to arrive at it as a result of a rush to judgment (see, for example, Sturrock, 1990, p.l8). Finally, if the Condon Report and Project Blue Book are the final words on the subject of UFOs, then information presented in this paper indicates that either new benchmarks are needed or that the old ones should be revised by persons not predisposed to forming conclusions before reviewing all available