Scientifically Exploring UAP in the Age of Scientism

By Kevin Wright

Please note the following column appeared in the June 2nd edition of the Roswell Daily Record and is republished with permission.

As you sit down this morning, eager to dive into my newest column, I’ll be at the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies’ (SCU) international Anomalous Aerospace Phenomena Conference (AAPC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville, also known as Rocket City, where the rockets that put a man on the moon were designed, is the perfect venue for the SCU to gather scientists, government personnel, and academics for the weekend to explore the global enigma of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).

A scientific approach to investigating UAP is crucial. Even if government departments or agencies of the executive branch were to confirm long-rumored crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs involving technologies of a nonhuman intelligence, we would still need science to answer critical questions: What energy sources do UAP utilize? How do they maneuver and accelerate at such remarkable speeds? How do they, and possibly their occupants, withstand extreme g-forces? How would these other-world technologies transform our way of life? Only through rigorous scientific study can we hope to find these answers.

However, the science of UAP can also be a game of “Gotcha.” Skeptics often wield “science” as a weapon to dismiss UAP sightings or accounts as mere earthly phenomena without sufficient scientific evidence. Yet, evidence – defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “facts, information, documents, etc. that give reason to believe that something is true” – is plentiful in historical records and recent studies, challenging the skeptics’ dismissive stance.

Consider the 2004 US Nimitz case, a pivotal incident that SCU members Dr. Kevin H. Knuth, Robert Powell, and Peter Reali meticulously analyzed in a study published in December 2019 titled “Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles in the 2004 Nimitz Encounter.” This study revealed astonishing insights into the capabilities of the UAP observed during the event, challenging our conventional understanding of physics and aviation.

The study detailed how radar systems detected UAP in low Earth orbit before they dropped to 80,000 feet and then descended to 28,000 feet. Most astonishingly, these technologies of unknown origin periodically dipped from 28,000 feet to sea level (around 50 feet) or below the surface in just 0.78 seconds—a feat surpassing any known technology’s capabilities and boggling the mind.

One of the most extraordinary revelations from the study is the estimated accelerations of the UAP, which ranged from 75g to over 5000g. Remarkably, these extreme accelerations occurred without any observed air disturbance, sonic booms, or excessive heat—anomalies that defy the expected behavior of any known aircraft operating under such conditions.

To put these findings into perspective, the researchers estimated that the UAP was roughly the same size as an F/A-18 Super Hornet, which weighs about 32,000 pounds (14,550 kg). For a minimal power estimate, they assumed the UAP had a mass of 1,000 kilograms and experienced an acceleration of 5,370g. During their descent, these vehicles would have reached a maximum speed of approximately 46,000 mph, or 60 times the speed of sound. At this velocity, the required power peaked at an astonishing 1,100 gigawatts (GW), which would exceed total US nuclear power production by more than a factor of ten.

These extraordinary findings challenge our current scientific paradigms and highlight the genuinely bizarre nature of the 2004 Nimitz encounter. The implications are profound, suggesting that these UAP operate using principles and technologies far beyond our current understanding. The study’s findings also demonstrate how science and evidence combine to help us understand better what is occurring in our skies.

But of course, skeptics tend to ignore the science and the evidence, resorting to ideology to undermine UAP accounts and analyses. For example, skeptics frequently cite Carl Sagan’s adage, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” in an attempt to provide gravitas to their perspective. However, as Senior Scientist Patrizio Tressoldi at the University of Padova explains, this standard has become a social construct rather than an objective measure.

Skeptics also frequently cite the “scientific method” to cast aspersions, dismissing UAP as mundane or natural when accounts don’t fit neatly into a box of standard physics and mathematics. But how scientific is the scientific method? As Naomi Oreskes, a world-renowned Professor in the History of Science at Harvard University, notes, the notion of a singular scientific method is itself unscientific and often misused to stifle legitimate inquiry.

None of this is to say that a healthy dose of skepticism isn’t a good thing. Skepticism is vital to scientific discourse, ensuring rigorous analysis and critical thinking. However, some skeptics fall into the trap of scientism, the excessive reliance on science as the sole arbiter of truth. This perspective can hinder our understanding of phenomena like UAP and other complex topics.

While science involves systematically studying the natural world through observation, experimentation, and analysis, scientism is the belief—one might even argue that it is a new religion—that science is the ultimate authority on all aspects of life and reality. This misplaced belief leads to dismissing UAP as unreal if no scientific explanation is available. Such an approach contradicts genuine scientific inquiry, which should remain open to exploring all possibilities. Authentic scientific inquiry embraces uncertainty and the unknown, which is essential for unraveling mysteries like UAP.

The journey to understand UAP is not just a scientific challenge but an opportunity to expand the horizons of human knowledge. As we stand on the cusp of potentially groundbreaking discoveries, we must approach this frontier with an open mind and a rigorous scientific spirit. Scientists, researchers, and policymakers must advocate for and invest in comprehensive UAP research. We need to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, fund advanced studies, and foster a culture that values curiosity and innovation over rigid skepticism.

We shouldn’t box ourselves into the confines of traditional scientific paradigms, but instead embrace the unknown, recognizing that today’s anomalies could be tomorrow’s breakthroughs. By committing to thorough and open-minded investigation, we can hope to unlock the secrets of these enigmatic phenomena and perhaps transform our understanding of the universe.

Join the movement to explore, question, and discover. Support UAP research, demand transparency, and champion the scientific quest for knowledge. Our future may very well depend on it.