Sorry, I have to disagree here, for a couple of reasons. First, since UFO means 'Unidentified Flying Object', if it's flying, and people can't figure out what it is, it's a UFO. Since people are into studying the sky here, it would seem natural to include stories where they saw something while out stargazing, and can't figure out what it is. Second, since nobody has ever disproven the existence of things like alien visitors(The common explanation for a UFO, as defined above), it is not "non-scientific" to ask questions about what they are. Third, anecdotes are just as important as a dry recitation of facts. Stories about your skywatching experience outside of journals about the exact time you saw Jupiter, how log it was visible, etc. are fine, but a working history that people are going to want to read needs to include their experiences outside of the log-keeping. these might include run-ins with Park Rangers, encounters with bears or moose, getting out on a clear night, setting everything up, and immediately having a storm roll in. They might also include UFO stories, sure, but that is the experience of the person telling the story, all inclusive, and it's still a part of the skywatching experience. This is just my own opinion, and I'm not a trained scientist, but as I remember, investigating something that has not been disproven is a part of science. Besides, history should be fun, as well as informative. Mike Wells On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 10:43 AM, daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote:
Ann and Kelly:
Whether anyone likes it or not, Astronomy is a science and not one of the humanities. It's about discovering the truth about the world we live in and dispelling myths, no matter how popular they are. I don't see the UFO stories as quaint or charming. They come from the world of conspiracy theories and just plain goofball ideas. We open the door on UFO's and we have to also hear long monologues about how "Bush brought down the towers", "Einstein is all wrong about space travel", "Evolution is a atheist conspiracy" and "Cigarettes don't cause cancer". I've endured this drivel at SLAS events because there is a core of people there who really are interested in the science. I've also seen dozens of people wander away from SLAS because they don't want to listen to this constant rain of tripe. These people we are losing tend to be the most intelligent, educated, and our club is greatly diminished by their departure. It's not just good clean fun. It's a big problem.
Daniel Turner
________________________________ From: Ann Blanchard <a.blanchard@ugs.utah.edu> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 8:24 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document
I'm open to the stories. The hard part is prying them out of people. Dave Berenson is a font of information and has been promising to write up some of his adventures for years, but . . . So anything folks want to e-mail me, tell me about, whatever, I'm happy to work on including more. The personal anecdotes are my favorite too.
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kelly Ricks Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 7:48 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document
Wow! This must have taken loads of time. I loved reading through this...especially the personal anecdotes...many of them made me laugh out loud! If anything I'd enjoy seeing more of these added.
I'm wondering if it might be possible to include a couple of the club member's infamous UFO stories...or is this too controversial to be included? While I was a member of SLAS, I remember these curious stories incidents referred to from time to time, and I always felt that their presence created a mysterious sort of undertone to many SLAS gatherings. If club romances can be accounted for, why not UFOs? Just an idea.
~Kelly Ricks _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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