The narrow path of science

"The optimal intention of scientists is to be critical but not rigid and at the same time open but not credulous"
H. Pietschmann (2005). Scientific conflicts. Conflict over water

UFOs driven by alien visiting earth, homeopathy, memory of water, extrasensory perception, illumination and Nirvana... where science does not have a solid explanation to offer, phenomena are often considered charlatanry. I don't intend to discuss these topics in detail, and even less to prove anything. My intention here is to provide a nudge or incentive for more seriously considering phenomena which can not yet be explained, and particularly to realize that some scientists seriously investigate these phenomena. It is also evident that important discoveries in the history (e.g. "the earth is round") contradicted knowledge which was considered as "the truth" at a given moment.

Therefore, according to scientific attitude (quote of Pietschmann above and  video below):

- I believe in the UFO phenomenon and even admit the possibility that it could have an alien origin, because of the testimony of my uncle Jean Charles Duboc, former Air France pilot, who saw a UFO in 1994 while flying towards Paris. This case was well documented because it was silmutaneously recorded by radar before the mighty object suddendly disappeared, thereby confirming direct observation by my uncle and his crew who saw the object becoming transparent and disappear. Additionally I can't reject the possibility of an alien presence on earth, indeed, not having seen is not a proof of nonexistence (although seeing something or believing to have seen, is often not a hard proof either). But because I only have a limited knowledge about the evidence of these phenomena I don't blindly believe in it either.

- Similarly, I tend to strongly believe in homeopathy after having experienced its benefits several times in my life, although I also experienced failure with this type of medicine, probably because it requires the experience of a good doctor for being effective.

Here a few links:

- The blog of Dean Radin, who conducts research about abnormal phenomena like extrasensory perception http://deanradin.blogspot.com/

- Michael Salla made one of the best contributions to the conference on Exopolitics 2009 (Sitges, Spain), by introducing a methodology based on evidence ranking of testimonies about UFOs & alien presence on earth. He thereby discussed the topic at a methodic and pragmatic level. However, his texts seem not to consider the possibility that alien MIGHT NOT be present on earth, despite the fact that testimonies claiming contact with alien are mostly based on non official positions and are still denied by governments. His website:  www.exopolitics.org

- And a video about the difference between science and skepticism (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7618367/):

For finishing, here is a video of a UFO above Jerusalem on Jan. 28, 2011. This is a superposition of 3 videos (ostensibly shooted independently), and probably represents one of the most stunning UFO recordings ever (if not a hoax), which requires a judicious use of scientific skepticism: