How Likely are UFO's?

By Charles Neely

A whimsical and lightly written chronicle of UFO history and a great deal of conjecture about who they are and where they came from. A view is advanced that tackles two of the most troubling aspects of UFOs: Winking in and out of existence and the high speed right angle turns.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Neely
• Release date: Apr 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452427263

Book preview

HOW LIKELY ARE UFO's?

by

Charles Neely

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Charles Neely on Smashwords

How Likely are UFO's?

Copyright © 2010 by Charles Neely

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a whimsical work of a mixture of fact and conjecture about UFO's. A serious attempt has been made not to falsify fact and the conjectures have hopefully been structured to agree with known science or what science might produce in our near or distant future.

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How Likely Are UFO’s?

Preface

First, why am I writing this book? And, of all things, about UFOs? (Why does anybody write a book?) Robert Heinlein, the noted science fiction writer, has stated that anyone who writes for any other reason than money is crazy. Therefore, I must be at least a little crazy because I really love the subject of UFOs. But, I will not mind at all if this book makes me some money.

Do not expect this work to be overly scientific. Also, I shall attempt to offer evidence both for and against the very existence of UFOs. This should not be taken to indicate that I’m without bias. Personally, I grew up with the TV saga of Star Trek and would very much like to believe that at least some of what was portrayed could actually (someday) be possible in real life. But I’ll endeavor to make a special effort NOT to let this bias color my work nor, on the other hand, will I be overly negative.

Reports of UFOs are not a new phenomenon and many date back prior to the eighteenth century. As the historical record expanded over time, it became evident that few of these sightings had descriptions that matched each other with the exception that a number of sightings have reported disc shaped objects and hence the coined name of Flying Saucers. Even so, these varied greatly in perceived size and shape. However UFOs of nearly every imaginable shape have been reported and the implications of this will be dealt with in one of the book’s chapters.

This work will not, nor is it intended, to bear up under microscopic scrutiny and true scientists may smirk when I use 186,000 miles per second for the speed of light. (The actual figure contains other numerals than the three zeros when increased accuracy is demanded). But the rounded off figure is entirely satisfactory for my purposes as you, the reader, will see as you move through the text.

If the reader gets the opinion that my text is basically suggesting that intergalactic (star) travel is utterly impossible, I can only say that I do not want to be favorably compared with two historical figures. The first, when retiring from the United States Patent office in 1897, declared that he was retiring because everything that could be invented already had been and, second, the man who said that if God had intended man to fly, he would have given him wings. However, my text will point out that the challenges and conditions imposed on science, as we currently know it, to an expectation of star travel represent hurdles and obstacles several orders of magnitude greater than those previously experienced in the creations of past inventions and new techniques of applied science. One full chapter will be devoted to covering at least some of these positions.

The reader may suspect (rightly) that I repeat myself on several issues. This is absolutely true. For example, UFO's speed is described in its own right and later again when coupled with right angle turns. Also, I have found it more convenient and just possibly a device for making my case more effectively by reminding the reader of material additional times when in support of other issues. It is my hope that this will be found to the reader's advantage and not be found objectionable.

Finally, as Mark Twain might have said, anyone who seeks organization in this work should probably be institutionalized and anyone who looks for a plot will be shot. With these caveats, we now move on into the actual substance of this book.

Chapter one

Holy smoke, they’re fast!

Radar installations around our nation’s capitol have reported UFOs moving at 25,000 miles per hour. These sightings seem to offer strong evidence of at least two things. 1) The speed of the objects and 2) The fact that since they appear on radar, they seem to be actually there. (Notice that I did NOT say that they WERE there.) Later in this work, the validity of radar will be rendered suspect in light of the possibility that it could be trying to accurately depict an event that is happening in more than three dimensions. This subject will be taken up again in several future chapters and the possibility of supernatural events will not be neglected.

A feature of a great many sightings involve an observer seeing something strange in the sky