The Extraordinary UAP File Distraction
Of the many distractions foisted upon us by the current administration to remove our collective attention from the theft of the American republic to the fallout from the Epstein Files, the UAP Files release may be the most insulting. And I genuinely consider it insulting because as a newly technological species, we look to the stars and dream and “want to believe” that we are not alone. We yearn for the scope of our understanding of this vast cold universe to be expanded. We dream for greater meaning that passes empirical muster. This distraction cheapens that impulse and will feed genuine hope for answers with more blurry photos and videos of what could be anything. I predict that there will be no conclusion and that the very same questions we’ve always harbored will go on unanswered.
I am pessimistic not only because of who is curating this release, but due to the extraordinarily high bar any conclusions about any association with the existence of intelligent alien life these files may have. Carl Sagan popularized the phrase “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” - a phrase that we’d be wise to remember in these times rife with misinformation and “bullshit” in the technical sense as defined by Frankfurt. Talk of disclosure of intelligent alien life is orders of magnitude more extraordinary than proving even the most virulent misinformation wrong. The Fermi Paradox still reigns despite our ever-improving ability to eye our cosmic neighborhood and pick out extrasolar planets, to find biosignatures and technosignatures, and we may very well be on the cusp of finding many instances of evidence of biological processes out there, but evidence that technologically superior intelligent beings are visiting our planet either in person or through space-faring drones remains elusive such that even the hardest working and most driven researchers on the subject continue to lack convincing evidence. We have blobs and blurs and tic-tacs and black delta-shaped pictures of indistinct detail, about which we cannot say with certainty that they are not from this earth.
Think about the extraordinary challenge that the cold, inhospitable universe presents to living beings, especially when we consider the laws of physics that turn the fantastically fast universal constant of light speed into an unbearable crawl considering the sheer vastness of space. Think also that evidence of human technological progress spreads from earth at that same speed. Only those within 100 to 150 light years from earth will know anything about us. Consider also that they would need to recognize the signs that we are here, care enough to decide to visit us, and then actually do so. Even if they have found ways around the cosmic speed limit, the resources needed to come here would no doubt be great. And for what? Speculation veering from these truths is wishful thinking at best. These things tell me that until aliens want to reveal themselves to us in an undeniable and clear way, we will continue to grasp at these same straws.
I am incensed that the Trump Administration is playing with the child-like hopes that so many of us have that intelligent alien life is out there, visiting us, even trying to help us avoid destroying ourselves. Influenced by science fiction and fantasy, humans want to believe in a better, more idealized future in which humanity somehow comes together after the discovery of ET and sheds the chains of a more primal and unjust past. Ronald Reagan had these same hopes. And these genuine hopes are being abused by people who just want to avoid bad press and to dodge facing their own horrific deeds. And so, I chalk all this up to a stunt unless, in fact, they have and will disclose truly extraordinary evidence. I’m not holding my breath.