Tuesday, September 12, 2017

A Skeptic on "UFO Classified"


On September 8, 2017 I appeared on the internet radio show UFO Classified on KCOR radio, hosted by Erica Luke. KCOR specializes in the "paranormal" and other far-out stuff. I first met Erica at the MUFON Symposium in 2015, and spoke with her again at the UFO Congress in February of this year. She was formerly MUFON's State Director for Utah, and even received a "Certificate of Appreciation" for "outstanding service to the Mutual UFO Network." However, she has since left MUFON and has formed an organization called Unexplained Utah, which includes "paranormal research" and cryptozoology, as well as UFOs.

Erica Lukes, with Ted Roe of NARCAP, at the 2017 UFO Congress.

On the internet radio show, we spoke for two hours about many things, including the Phoenix Lights, and the reasons to disbelieve former governor Fife Symington's hastily made-up yarn about seeing them, too. We also discussed the alleged anomalous lights that have reportedly been seen at Hessdalen in Norway for at least 34 years (think, "Brown Mountain Lights" or "Marfa Lights"). Erica is heading off to Hessdalen next week, to participate in a "science camp" where people come each year to camp out and look at lights in the sky, but ultimately learn nothing about them. She has said she will be bringing, in addition to various cameras, an "infra-red thermal scanner" and a "Tri-field meter." (think, "Ghost Hunters.") What's missing, I told her, are "binoculars,"or "a spotting scope on a tripod," or indeed any optical aid of any kind. They don't need no stinkin' binoculars or optical aid at Hessdalen - they study the lights by measuring their electromagnetic and spectroscopic properties!  But, hey, best wishes to Erica for what I'm sure will be a fun trip. I can't wait to hear what she has to say when she gets back.


You can listen to the recording of the show here: http://kcorradio.com/KCOR/Podcasts/UFO-Classified/2017/September/Robert-Sheaffer-Bad-UFOs-Critical-Thinking-About-UFO-Claims-UFO-Classified-Hosted-By-Erica-Lukes-KCOR-Digital-Radio-Netowrk.mp3

  






at

1 comment:

  1. Signifying NothingSeptember 18, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    Has anyone at Hessdalen considered moving closer to the lights, or is that too wacky of an idea?

    ReplyDelete

Keep your comments relevant, and keep them civil! That means no personal attacks will be allowed, by anyone, on anyone. Commenters are welcome to disagree with me, or with other comments, but state your arguments using logic, and with a civil tone. Comments in violation of these rules will be deleted, and offenders banned.

Comments should be in English, although quotes from foreign-language sources are fine as long as they're relevant, and you explain them. Anonymous postings are not permitted. If you don't want to use your real name, then make up a name for yourself, and use it consistently.