In this interview, Garry Nolan and Avi Loeb talk about the future of the study of UAP and its serious consideration by the scientific community.
From the outset, Dr. Loeb, just as in politics, returns to the polarization that touches the subject: on the one hand, most scientists who refuse to take into account the possibility of unconventional explanations and, on the other, fervent partisans of the most exotic hypotheses.
During the study of fast and dark objects by Ukrainian astronomers, Avi Loeb sided with a conventional explanation (missiles, shells) by highlighting a possible error in judging distances rather than having to immediately call upon unknown “parts” of physics. He considers that a more central and open scientific approach must be made on the subject.
Garry Nolan is a renowned immunologist and holds a chair in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University. He emphasizes that, in a scientific approach, it is not necessary to reject data that is disturbing or seems false, but rather to take a greater interest in it and study it more deeply.
The accepted standard of evidence differs from person to person, but when it comes to science, the availability, and reproduction of data are important for reaching consensus.
When preliminary data is available, it is significant to be able to share it and have it verified by third parties. He deplores the fact that some scientists act more as believers than as scientists, as well as the need to reach consensus through publications controlled by recognized experts and peers in the field concerned.
Dr. Nolan & Dr Loeb
Dr. Loeb points out that there is often a conflict between spiritual values and the boundaries of science, and believes that one should never prejudge the outcome of a study in advance. He cites the example of mathematicians who have been working on hypothetical additional dimensions for 50 years without any conclusive evidence of their existence. He insists that we must be humble and respectful of data, even if it disturbs our beliefs. The second significant point in science is the signal-to-noise ratio: in the case of the Ukrainian study cited above, the war most likely artificially increased the level of “noise” studied and thus distorted the study.
Garry Nolan was contacted by a U.S. government agency to conduct an expert assessment to understand how their military personnel could have been injured by UAP. He therefore studied the biological impacts (altered blood, etc.) on certain victims with one of the best available devices.
Dr. Loeb is astonished at the conception by most cosmologists of a universe that is almost at the disposal of the human species when it will never be able to fully explore it, while most often rejecting the idea of much more intelligent competitors in our interstellar environment. Religious beliefs, he says, further amplify this false perception of man's centrality in the universe when we live on a grain of sand lost in an immensity of abundant and unreachable beaches. He goes on saying our Ego tends to give itself a central place and reject our obvious cosmological insignificance, adding that the Church, in adopting this doctrine of the centrality of man in her time, had concluded that it would enable her to seduce more believers and to reap political gains.
Garry Nolan discusses the theory of panspermia and the probably very central role of DNA mechanics in the development of simple viruses to complex living species. According to him, there seems to be a form of Moore's Law that applies to living things, i.e., a complexity that evolves gradually and almost exponentially. When, on the other hand, one analyzes the temporal framework of the evolution of life, it seems to point to a beginning eight billion years ago, at least if we attribute a linear property to it. So there are two possible solutions: either life did not come from the Earth, which justifies panspermia, or there have been very sudden gains in complexity on Earth.
Progress
Dr. Loeb reminds us that after less than two centuries of scientific and technological progress, man is on the verge of knowing how to create or begin to modify forms of life, which in religions are the exclusive prerogatives of a God. From this perspective, the possibilities of creating a science millions of years ahead of our own are enormous, even beyond the reach of our imagination. Such scientific knowledge could have combined the knowledge of quantum mechanics and gravity for exceptional achievements, not very predictable for today's humans, nor very discernible from supposedly divine manifestations. He adds that we need to prepare the general public for this possibility of intelligence beyond our own to avoid too much of an abrupt culture shock.
On the subject of the search for life in the solar system, Garry Nolan explains that the elements necessary for its emergence are largely present there, and Avi Loeb implies that the sudden rise in oxygen levels on Earth could be linked to a sudden external influx of microorganisms producing it, which has been a determining factor in the development of life as we know it on earth. The hype about global warming pales in comparison to the change that the planet may still experience before all life on its surface disappears, as was certainly the case when Mars's atmosphere disappeared. An acceleration of the sun's fusion reactions could cause all of Earth's oceans to evaporate in less than a few hours.
Dr. Loeb believes that the majority of interstellar probes launched were probably launched when exogenous civilizations realized that they would not survive on their home planet and that this would inevitably be the case for the human species in a billion years, or even much sooner.
Nolan believes that evidence of biological life elsewhere in the solar system will hardly affect popular beliefs and cultures. Scientific research allows us to uncover the field of reality, whatever it may be, but will not necessarily be pleasant to accept and integrate into our cultures: this can lead to significant conflicts with our previous belief systems.
History
The significant stigmatization of the UFO phenomenon is a perfect example of this, and has been amplified by 70 years of the Pentagon withholding information and refusing to communicate transparently on the subject. The Galileo project consists precisely in not passively waiting for official announcements from the authorities to start studies, and in making sensitive data on the subject available to the public. Paradoxically, the funds allocated to such projects depend on the decision of scientific committees, which are often very little in tune with the general public's enthusiasm for subjects such as UAP.
These committees focus on the study of dark matter or supersymmetry, the existence of which is usually unknown to the general public. This has the effect of cutting out funds for innovative research without taking into account legitimate collective aspirations. The fact that we send gravitational waves while refusing to allocate funds to search for those potentially emitted by other civilizations is symptomatic of academic failings.
As for the study that NASA is going to undertake on UAP, the very participating experts have already taken a very negative position on the subject, even before the work has begun. The SETI institute, for example, which should in principle be one of the major allies in this quest, announced a year ago that it refused entirely to talk about the UFO subject at each of its conferences. It appears completely inconsistent for an organization searching for extraterrestrial civilizations to refuse to study data from private or public sensors that raises this subject. This demonstrates an attempt at academic control outside any logical thinking.
Referring to the Nimitz incident, Dr. Loeb notes that a flotilla of objects has been detected and that the narrative or radar measurements of an object that has traveled several tens of km in less than a second could be undermined by the presence of a second similar object. But he considers the soldiers' testimonies intriguing enough to trigger further studies and develop platforms with multiple sensors to deploy them to the affected areas in case such incidents are repeated. If the military data recorded in 2004 were downgraded and available for scientific study, the standard of proof required in terms of science would quickly be reached.
The very possibility that some civilizations will be able to pass through the filter of their planetary extinction and that their technology will be detected on Earth is in itself a tremendous message of hope and future for humanity. Are Garry Nolan and Avi Loeb writing their names in golden letters in science History, by providing proof of what they are saying? Ongoing studies could quickly confirm this.
The full YouTube video in English and source of this summary up to the 1h20mn point can be found here.
Main picture: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
