I enjoy a good story. I'll entertain most folklore and myth. There are many stories about UFOs, government conspiracies, and paranormal events, but before you buy into anything, ask yourself, "Did it really happen?"
Monday, June 8, 2015
The Roswell Slides: The seduction of the will to believe.
One would think that the mystery was solved concerning the Roswell Slides. Definitive proof was offered that the slides depicted the mummified remains of a two year old child in the settings of a Colorado museum in Mesa Verde. This coming about by deblurring the placard associated with the mummy. But apparently this is not how professional UFO researchers go about their business. There appears to be another aspect to their research...rebranding the product.
For the past few weeks, all of those responsible for this sordid affair have hitched their respective horses to a new hypothesis: "The mummy is not that of a child, but that of a mummified ET and that it is possible that disinformation agents had intentionally produced the language on the placard as a means of misdirection."
This is a rather convoluted approach, but highlights the powerful aspects of the "will to believe." The US government falsified the placard writings to hide the fact that the mummy was actually that of an alien, yet allowed this historical find to go on display for the general public to view. I assume this could be construed as "hiding in plain sight."
According to Jamie Maussan, et al, the bizarre appearance of the mummy continues to baffle his medical "experts." The bizarre physical appearance apparently has led these so-called experts to conclude that the mummy can't possibly be human. I might remind the reader that all of this "expert" analysis is coming from a mere photograph. There is no actual body to thoroughly assess and render a real expert opinion. Most are left with speculation at best.
If one ventures over to Kevin Randle's blog, the seductive power of the "will to believe" is currently being displayed in full force. The comments rendered on Randle's site display magnificently the art of the circular argument and/or the vain attempts just to argue a point to death regardless of the evidence that has been offered and accepted by most sensible individuals. It is as if Occam's Razor has been defecated on and tossed aside. Yes, I'm well aware that Occam has been discarded by Ufologist and ET believers, since it's basic and primordial premise is to separate the logical from the illogical. I assume that such thoughts are not to be considered as sacrosanct.
Some of Randle's blog commentators have resorted to the tactic of: "The universe is so vast and complete with billions of galaxies that we surely can not be alone and it's not out of the question that we have been visited by ET civilizations." Despite this being totally out of context to the Roswell slide issue, no one from the RSG has argued against this assertion. This tends to be a poor attempt to deflect from the issue that the slides depict a mummified human child, yet a prime example of ET proponents presenting illogical evidence combined with poor arguments defending the illogical.
In the end, believers get the brand of ufology that they deserve. They must overcome the suductive powers of their own cognitive biases. We, the RSG, have attempted to help in this area despite the push back from others. The RSG has offered up how we (collective we) deciphered/deblurred the placard. This process has been shown to be repeatable resulting in the same conclusions...scientific method prevails on this point so the issue has been resolved with the exception of a few delusional souls. BTW, this was offered free of charge and without dramatic fanfare.
The truth, as painful to some as it may be, is that the image is that of a mummy of human origin, bizarre as it's appearance may be to some. I'm still awaiting to see if David Rudiak has sent his request to have the images reviewed and assessed by a forensic anthropologist that he knows...no info back from David at this time. Nothing wrong with this approach as I feel confident that any half-assed anthropologist will come to the same conclusion...mummy of human origin.
Tim -
ReplyDeleteFunny how Schmitt, the postal worker, retracted his apology. As if he was told, "Hey, there's still money we can make from this hoax!". And Maussan (lol, Maussan), over at Jose Antonio Caravaca's site is sabre rattling; childishly claiming he has hired lawyers in the U.S., the U.K. & Spain to sue all those who have (in his moronic little mind) libeled him. Of course this will not happen. If he followed through on this threat, the depositions would be pure gold. He & his cohorts would have to testify under oath all the particulars of their fraudulent activities.
Oh, & Maussan says he is planning another event on the Slides. Beyond pathetic.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that any district court here in the US would take this farce serious. Supposedly, Mexican media outlets were looking into the financial data concerning Maussan's pay per view sales and those who bought tickets for the event. As of now, I've heard nothing developing on that front.
The last medical experts to weigh in supporting Maussan happen to be a vascular surgeon and an anesthesiologist. How these learned individuals can come to any logical conclusions based on a mere photo is beyond me. And this based on the assumption that both are board certified and legit.
It's a crappy story that is like a rotting fish that smells even worse after a few more days. Such is either the will to believe or to cover one's ass.
Mornin’ Tim,
ReplyDeleteI would argue that there never was a mystery to begin with.
From the start, this was/is the poster child for piss-poor research (it’s now the greatest stain to Ufology in recent memory, although given its sad state, hardly anyone has noticed [and it continues]); it was amateur hour from the beginning. Information was leaked early on; hints of it, i.e., new Roswell evidence was published as early as January, 2013 and the fact that we were talking about photos came out not to many months afterward.
Supposition was then pitched as fact from one of the slide promoters—thus began this environment where human shortcomings became prevalent; where conclusions and corresponding arguments were bandied about based on tidbits of unvetted information—this was your first example(s) of the will to believe, which included opposing mindsets depending on the ideologue. This is what I deemed the Soap Opera Stage.
The ridiculous would crescendo into a full blown scandal and if we are to believe the statements made—crimes were committed by way of e-mail hacks. Again the worst would come out in people by way of actions and ad hominem vitriol. This was the Scandalous Stage.
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse in comes Jaime Maussan and Adam Dew with the announcement of the documentary (of course) and the circus show in Mexico City—now we’re at the Fiasco Stage.
The trailer of the documentary revealed the one frame that wasn’t blurred and that in my view evidenced the fact that this was/is a mummy (deciphering the placard was icing on the cake). Additionally and to your point—the notion that a pair of photos could prove alien visitation ala Roswell is absolutely ludicrous and negates any letters that follow the names of the men and or women that (were paid to) say other wise!
Which brings us to the elephant in the room, in that this is a systemic problem; it seems to have become acceptable, that scientific method and or investigative journalistic standards at the very least have been replaced with tinfoil conferences and or Pt Barnum style shows akin to the one in Mexico City. That the definition of Ufologist means to publish a book, get on the Tin-Foil-Hat circuit to hawk it, and pitch any and every B-docu-drama producer you can find!
In a real field of study/research the Roswell Slide Promoters would have run out on a rail and never heard from again. In this faux field, the sun sets and they’re re-embraced by an organization (and other folk) that touts scientific investigation as their credo (ad nauseam)!
Since the public face of Ufology condones this behavior it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Roswell Slide Promoters are rescinding previous mea culpas and are doubling down.
The Roswell Slides Fiasco is our Piltdown Man and Today’s Ufology is simply a bad word!
Cheers,
Frank
Ufology? Why ufology when it's Identified Flying Objects. Why are you also perpetuating the myth?
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16B3IP1Bbg
Hi Frank,
ReplyDeleteYour comment, always welcomed here, is spot on. As I stated earlier in an email to you, I'm at the point where so many moving parts are now in play and seemingly to be ever changing, that I simply can't keep up with the story.
As stated in the post, what we have now is a simple marketing ploy of rebranding a damaged product. The sad part is that it tends to work all too well.
Tim
Great piece Tim. This has been the year of the big UFO stories that embarrassingly fell apart under closer examination. Back in January we had the Project Blue Book "first time ever release of thousands of recently declassified UFO documents" which crumbled when it was found out the The Black Vault had actually retrieved the material from another website which had the entire Blue Book collection already posted. That actually got much more media attention than the recent Roswell Slides fiasco and went largely unchallenged and uncorrected.
ReplyDeleteThe will to believe is indeed strong and it allows people to gloss over inconsistencies and missing information. After all, why dig deeper when it may reveal a truth that shatters the story? The Roswell Dream Team was attempting to construct a monolith and with their new wonder they would become UFO Town legends and sell many books, lectures, DVDs and media appearances. They know the game, many of the players have been involved with this genre for decades. They gave the slides sufficient back story and allowed several years for it to simmer in the minds of those that follow such things.
Many quote/unquote researchers and investigators in this field also give themselves an out, such as, when they state that they are not responsible for the origins of the material but they had to look into it because it was compelling and they would be bad investigators if they didn't at least look further. Compelling to whom? Anybody could tell that was a mummy at first glance.
The saving grace of this whole thing is that the Roswell Slides Research Group was able to counter Maussan's bunk within days. I'm guessing that Schmitt, Carey, Maussan and company felt it wouldn't have been sufficiently debunked for some time and when it was debunked the damage would have been done and nobody would have really noticed, allowing the promoters to continue with their false narrative.
Good work Tim and great analysis above, Frank.
Shepherd
Shepherd, thank you much for your kind words and a great comment to augment my post.
ReplyDeleteYou probably are aware that an earlier photo of the mummified child has been found. In the real world, this would be enough to put this whole episode to bed. Yet, I wonder what sort of a cult following will arise from all of this. Reputation and, most importantly, self-respect appears to have no value.
Kind regards,
Tim
More like the Will to Deceive. There's been a full court disinformation press against the truth since the 1940's. With the proliferation of the internet the deceivers have the upper hand without question. Who cares let them have their way no one can overcome the truth forever.
ReplyDeletean idiot says what?
DeleteWhat's a 'professional ufo researcher', PUR, anyway when we know they are ifos. Is a PUR somebody just perpetuating the myth that ufos are some unknown craft, from an uknown planet, piloted by unknown beings?
ReplyDeleteTry the Pleiadian Mission by Randolph Winters, based on www.theyflly.com for open et contact. Scienc fiction? Yeah, right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16B3IP1Bbg