Documents / Hearing transcript

Symposium on unidentified flying objects: hearings before the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninetieth Congress, second session, July 29, 1968.

U.S. House of Representatives · 1968-07-29 · 256 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is the printed record of a July 29, 1968 symposium on unidentified flying objects held by the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives, chaired by Rep. J. Edward Roush. The committee heard statements from six scientists: J. Allen Hynek, James E. McDonald, Carl Sagan, Robert L. Hall, James A. Harder and Robert M. L. Baker. It also printed papers from Donald Menzel, Stanton Friedman, Frank Salisbury and others. Hynek argued that puzzling UFO reports from competent witnesses deserve serious scientific study.

  • p. 12 …in a peasant society whose eyes were never turned toward the skies. Can we afford not…
  • p. 13 …for a proper and definitive study will never develop. I recall an encounter I had sometime…
  • p. 16 …A very character- istic statement by those making the reports is: "I have never seen anything…
  • p. 18 …They also usually request anonymity which is always granted. (4) UFO's are never seen at…
  • p. 19 …Other misconceptions are that UFO's are never reported by scien- tifically trained people, are never…
  • p. 20 …it has never been considered worthwhile to improve the data -gathering process because the whole subject…
  • p. 27 …he is looking at something he has never seen before. I like Dr. Hynek's phrase…
  • p. 37 …at the Ontario Hydro Commission plant has never been identified, but initially thetentative suspicion was centered…
  • p. 39 …cover- ing innumerable intriguing cases I had never before heard of, and (above all) after the…
  • p. 43 …diminish in sig- nificance, though they can never be overlooked. A frequent objection to serious consideration…
  • p. 45 …out- of-the-way rural areas but never over large cities? Why don't large groups…
  • p. 48 …Smith emphasized that they were never certain of sizes and distances, but that they had the…
  • p. 53 …is deceased), I believe that there has never been any dispute as to the observed facts…
  • p. 59 …Many other sources could be cited to show that the intimation that UFOs are never seen…
  • p. 65 …After the 'official "explanation" was publicized, he decided he'd never report another one. I predict…
  • p. 68 …In the ensuing two decades, he has never again seen anything like it. Clearly, the probability…
  • p. 69 …Moore never got a sufficiently clear view to identify any finer details if any were present…
  • p. 75 …the past twenty years, cases that ought never have been so labelled, had the evaluators kept…
  • p. 76 …Ground radar stations never detected the unknown that was seen visually and contacted by airborne radar…
  • p. 77 …strong, bright pips, said that "anomalous propagation never entered our heads as an explanation." Howard S…
  • p. 78 …7) but could never close with the unknown as its continued on its north- bound course…
  • p. 80 …All three said they had never before seen anything like it. Munger decided to phone his…
  • p. 81 …The photos were shortly taken by Base military authorities and were never seen again by the…
  • p. 87 …referred to repeatedly in Menzel's writings, never with any quantitative discussion of precisely what he…
  • p. 100 …visual observations of classical UFO's have never been made by profes- sional astronomers. For example…
  • p. 101 …how the promised political or social intervention never materializes. Psychological Factors. The psychologist Carl Jung pointed…
  • p. 125 …Oh, heavens, I never suggested that, I hope. Mr. BOONE. Well, let me say, science fiction…
  • p. 159 …He has not ever been exposed to any toxic substances, has never had to take any…
  • p. 168 …He said he had never had the experience of deja-vu episodes or of performing acts…
  • p. 171 …It never occurred to him to call anyone else's attention to the light (probably because…
  • p. 172 …He had never seen anything like it before and in fact had never previously had the…
  • p. 173 …He has taken only two sick days in the entire five years and is never late…
  • p. 174 …He never has fantasied actively taking his own life, however, and feels it would be very…
  • p. 175 …He never was one to participate in extracurricular activities, but always maintained a part-time job…
  • p. 176 …Prior to seeing that light, he apparently never experienced a deja vu, or any illusory or…
  • p. 194 …If the observer being studied is truly sociopathic and has never de- veloped a super -ego…
  • p. 203 197 This data, which most people have never seen or even heard of, is published in…
  • p. 206 …They never have had enough sCientists in the project. They have failed to follow up certain…
  • p. 221 …Isn't it true that UFOs have never been sighted on radar? No, it is not…
  • p. 243 …make such an all- inclusive negative statement. Never- theless, many of the arguments are highly compelling…
  • p. 244 …A balloon reported as a UFO was never out of sight of its launchers. A perplexing…
  • p. 247 …al- though he apologizes because he has never had the time to make a thorough search…
  • p. 249 …two leads appeared, but other witnesses could never be located), but his ap- parent sincerity was…
161
centrocecal scotomata
larger
for the
red object than
for the
white. There
is
a
superior
temporal quadrant defect bilaterally of approximately
30
0
with
the
red
object stimulus which
is
not
present
with
the
white object.
In
reduced
illumi-
nation the
subject
is
completely unable
to
see
any of
the test
objects.
7.
Ophthalmodynomometry
was
performed
with
a
Cuilbert-Routit
dynomometer
(using
1%
Pontocaine anesthetic) with direct
vision
of the
end
point
0.D.:
70/30 units; 0.S.:
65/30
units.
There were
no
carotid bruits
orthrills;
the
simultaneous systemic blood pressure
was 140/80
sitting and
130/80standing.
8.
Opticokinetics
(using
a
one meter
by ten
centimeter red
back-
ground
cloth with
a
10
cm
X
8
cm. white check) was
performed
at
a
distance
of
one
meter horizontally bilaterally
and vertically.
The nystagmus response
in
all
directions
was
normal.
D.
Summary of
Positive Findings
1.
A
history
of
6
- 8
weeks
of tearing, misty
vision, and
photophobia.
2.
A
pale
optic nerve with absent
cupping; sluggishly reacting
pupils; impaired
red
light
reflex.
3.
Confluent
retinal mottling,
obscured
macula,
mild
red-green
dyschromanopsia.
4. Bilateral centrocecal scotomata; bilateral superior temporal
quadrantanopeia
(for
red stimulus only. Vision
in
decreased
light
(10
foot-
candles):
grossly
impaired
to
absent.
E.
Discussion and Creditability Score
The
definite retinitis, field defects
for
red
vision, and red
-green
dyschromanopsia, along with
a
history of tearing, misty vision, and photophobia
are
all
consistent with
the
diagnosis
of
tobacco-alcohol amblyonia
(Ref. 1).
Thiscondition
is
also
supported
by the
findings
in
the General Medicine Evaluation,
where other effects
of
excessive smoking and alcoholism are evident.
The subject's retinal
pathology
is severe;
in
terms
of
the
specific
event he
claims
he saw,
it
is
extreme. His "sighting" is highly unlikely because
he attaches
both color and shape
to it
in
the face of
specific defiencies
in
each
of
these areas. His attestation
about
seeing
the
object best when looking
straight
at
it
(see
Psychiatric Anamnesis)
is
uncreditable because
his
central
macular vision has been
so
severely
compromised
by
retinitis.
It
is
conceivable
that what actually happened
is that he
1)
received
a
transient visual stimulus
(i.e.,
car
or
airplane
lights)
which
2)
set off
some abnormal receptor firing
in a
damaged retinal area
and
3)
in
turn
was
misperceived.
Creditability score 5%.
Ref.
1
Walsh, F.B.: Clinical Neuro-ophthalmologr Williams
&
Wilkins, Baltimore1957, p.
1182.

Cases discussed

About this file

Hearing transcript, from the govinfo collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 256 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.