Some scientists and commentators have asserted that because in their view UAPs are paranormal or supernatural, they are beyond the realm of nature and incapable of scientific investigation. NHIR would argue this dismissiveness towards the subject of UAPs is itself unscientific and that such a view has hindered efforts to study the phenomenon in the past.
UAPs are unidentified by definition, but in recent years, stigma directed towards the phenomenon has been replaced by mounting public interest and increasing government recognition that UAPs are an authentic mystery worthy of further intense investigation.
In 2021, the US Director of National Intelligence [ODNI] recognised the need for UAPs to be investigated, recognising they pose a safety of flight issue and that they may pose a challenge to US national security[1].
ODNI acknowledged the US currently possesses only a very limited dataset on UAPs but stated that data continues to be collected and analysed. “Consistent consolidation of reports from across the federal government, standardized reporting, increased collection and analysis, and a streamlined process for screening all such reports against a broad range of relevant USG data will allow for a more sophisticated analysis of UAP that is likely to deepen our understanding,” the ODNI report found.
It went on to admit that some UAP appeared to demonstrate advanced technology[2]. It is important to note that the ODNI position on UAPs is very different from the Pentagon’s UAP investigation office AARO, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (As we will explain, in its 2024 Historical Review Report, AARO has recently adopted a more aggressively skeptical line on UAPs, suggesting the vast majority are obvious misidentifications of prosaic objects).
America’s Space agency NASA also acknowledges the importance of continued UAP data collection. In September 2023, NASA, the United States’ National
Aeronautics & Space Administration) acknowledged that analysis of UAP data was
hampered by poor sensor calibration, the lack of multiple measurements, the lack of sensor metadata and the lack of baseline data
but it recognised that
Making a concerted effort to improve all aspects is vital, and NASA’s expertise should be comprehensively leveraged as part of a robust and systematic data acquisition strategy within the whole-of-government framework.[3]
It stated that,
…to understand UAP, a rigorous, evidence-based, data-driven scientific framework is essential.[4]
So, in summary, NHIR acknowledges that there are many claims made about UAPs that are currently unverifiable, but NHIR’s view is that it is possible to gather data on UAPs and NHIR intends to follow that evidence where it leads us.
NHIR proposes to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena using the scientific method. As is well known, throughout modern scientific history since the enlightenment, the scientific method has been developed as a process for endeavouring to establish facts through the process of hypothesis, testing, replication, and experimentation.
This broadly accepted methodology of scientific investigation is generally well understood but, in practice, what is and can be done to test a hypothesis often varies according to what is being examined. This is especially so with the mystery behind UAP.
It should be acknowledged, there are practical limits to how UAPs can be investigated. One of the most important and effective ways of scientifically testing a hypothesis is to repeat the experiment to see if the results can be replicated. For example, a proposed new drug treatment might be tested on patients, including using blind controls. This repeatability test poses a problem with UAPs, for it is next to impossible to predict when and where they will appear, as we simply do not know enough about them to make them repeatable. (We note that some in UAP research
suggest for example that UAPs can be attracted and targeted through purported CE5 meditative techniques, and that is exactly the kind of claim that NHIR may at some stage attempt to scientifically test).
NHIR’s view is that scientific investigation should not be blocked by the limitations of existing human knowledge about UAPs or the stigma surrounding them. This difficulty in investigation does not mean we should not still seek to observe and explain this mystery phenomenon.
Some scientists and commentators have asserted that because in their view UAPs are paranormal or supernatural, they are beyond the realm of nature and incapable of scientific investigation. NHIR would argue this dismissiveness towards the subject of UAPs is itself unscientific and that such a view has hindered efforts to study the phenomenon in the past.
UAPs are unidentified by definition, but in recent years, stigma directed towards the phenomenon has been replaced by mounting public interest and increasing government recognition that UAPs are an authentic mystery worthy of further intense investigation.
In 2021, the US Director of National Intelligence [ODNI] recognised the need for UAPs to be investigated, recognising they pose a safety of flight issue and that they may pose a challenge to US national security[1].
ODNI acknowledged the US currently possesses only a very limited dataset on UAPs but stated that data continues to be collected and analysed. “Consistent consolidation of reports from across the federal government, standardized reporting, increased collection and analysis, and a streamlined process for screening all such reports against a broad range of relevant USG data will allow for a more sophisticated analysis of UAP that is likely to deepen our understanding,” the ODNI report found.
It went on to admit that some UAP appeared to demonstrate advanced technology[2]. It is important to note that the ODNI position on UAPs is very different from the Pentagon’s UAP investigation office AARO, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (As we will explain, in its 2024 Historical Review Report, AARO has recently adopted a more aggressively skeptical line on UAPs, suggesting the vast majority are obvious misidentifications of prosaic objects).
America’s Space agency NASA also acknowledges the importance of continued UAP data collection. In September 2023, NASA, the United States’ National
Aeronautics & Space Administration) acknowledged that analysis of UAP data was
hampered by poor sensor calibration, the lack of multiple measurements, the lack of sensor metadata and the lack of baseline data
but it recognised that
Making a concerted effort to improve all aspects is vital, and NASA’s expertise should be comprehensively leveraged as part of a robust and systematic data acquisition strategy within the whole-of-government framework.[3]
It stated that,
…to understand UAP, a rigorous, evidence-based, data-driven scientific framework is essential.[4]
So, in summary, NHIR acknowledges that there are many claims made about UAPs that are currently unverifiable, but NHIR’s view is that it is possible to gather data on UAPs and NHIR intends to follow that evidence where it leads us.
NHIR proposes to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena using the scientific method. As is well known, throughout modern scientific history since the enlightenment, the scientific method has been developed as a process for endeavouring to establish facts through the process of hypothesis, testing, replication, and experimentation.
This broadly accepted methodology of scientific investigation is generally well understood but, in practice, what is and can be done to test a hypothesis often varies according to what is being examined. This is especially so with the mystery behind UAP.
It should be acknowledged, there are practical limits to how UAPs can be investigated. One of the most important and effective ways of scientifically testing a hypothesis is to repeat the experiment to see if the results can be replicated. For example, a proposed new drug treatment might be tested on patients, including using blind controls. This repeatability test poses a problem with UAPs, for it is next to impossible to predict when and where they will appear, as we simply do not know enough about them to make them repeatable. (We note that some in UAP research
suggest for example that UAPs can be attracted and targeted through purported CE5 meditative techniques, and that is exactly the kind of claim that NHIR may at some stage attempt to scientifically test).
NHIR’s view is that scientific investigation should not be blocked by the limitations of existing human knowledge about UAPs or the stigma surrounding them. This difficulty in investigation does not mean we should not still seek to observe and explain this mystery phenomenon.
