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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. 7 …of advanced technological ma- chinery manned by some kind of intelligence, that is, the extrater- restrial…
  • p. 9 …American Association for the Advancement of Science; Astronomy Society(secretary). Specialty: Astrophysics. Fields of Interest: Stellar…
  • p. 19 …The Air Force has no evidence that UFO's are extra-terrestrial or rep- resent advanced…
  • p. 24 18 (The biography of Dr.McDonald follows:) DR. JAMES E. MCDONAI,D Born: Duluth, Minn., May…
  • p. 29 …from some advanced technology sufficiently advanced to do what we cannot do in the sense of…
  • p. 32 …The possibility that these are extraterrestrial devices, that we are dealing with surveillance from some advanced…
  • p. 40 …THE UNCONVENTIONAL NATURE OF THE UFO PROBLEM To both laymen and scientists, the impressive progress that…
  • p. 48 …At first, they thought it was a jet, whose exhaust was somehow accounting for the advancing…
  • p. 59 …advanced civilization of extraterrestrial origin, the pattern of the observa- tions, the motivation of the surveillance…
  • p. 75 …To ignore most of the salient features of a sighting in order to advance an easy…
  • p. 94 …Now, if we want to assess the likelihood that there are intelligentcivilizations somewhere in advance of…
  • p. 95 …be far in advance of our own,and this,therefore raises the question of how likely…
  • p. 96 …that an advance civilization comes here very rarely. But I again emphasize the great uncertainty in…
  • p. 97 91 So, to conclude what I understand is the main reason why this committee has asked…
  • p. 100 …the possibility of its development by other civilizations. But if each of, say, a million advanced…
  • p. 101 …a race of advanced and benign creatures were devoted to our welfare. The interest in unidentified…
  • p. 111 …The possible value of contact for purposes of advancing our knowledge of our technology. Let's…
  • p. 112 …again the same possible great value from under- standing the phenomenon in order to advance our…
  • p. 116 …We must then concern ourselves with the possible consequences of contact with technologically advanced civilizations whose…
  • p. 117 111 the task. We must also 'be concerned with the risks of panic resulting in people…
  • p. 124 …Gravitation remains one of the enigmas of modern science, although there have been some advances in…
  • p. 125 …This will depend upon advances in many fields of science. Some of the things required will…
  • p. 130 …Gravitation remains one of the enigmas of modern science, although there have been some advances in…
  • p. 132 …Baker's professional society memberships include the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, Phi…
  • p. 140 …There have been many debates on the technical capabilities or limits on the capabilities of advanced…
  • p. 141 135 area of forecasting the social characteristics of an advanced extrater- restrial civilization. Philosophers, social scientists…
  • p. 142 …in the environs of the earth, or to make dubious speculations either concerning "their" advanced scientific…
  • p. 143 …the gross characteristics of an advanced civilization. These studies (probablynot Government funded) should include the social…
  • p. 150 …Applications and Advanced Topics, Academic Press, New York, pp. 112-115 and pp. 376 to 392…
  • p. 153 147 00015 "Recent Advances in Astrodynamics," (with Samuel Herrick), Jet Propul- sion, 28, No. 10, 1958…
  • p. 154 …00040 "State-of-the-Art-1960 Astrodynamics,"Astronautics, 5, No. 11, 30, 1960. 00041 "Novel Orbit…
  • p. 157 …Makemson) 00071 Astrodynamics - Applications and Advanced Topics, Academic Press, New York, 1967. 00072 "Recent Advances in…
  • p. 171 …In the past five years, he has advanced from assistant bookkeeper to teller to head teller…
  • p. 174 …He has no desire to advance any further up the bank totem pole, says he never…
  • p. 189 …advanced radar systems air being de- vekii2ed for our missile defense systems, such as the ALTAR…
  • p. 190 …of the Earth or to make very dubious speculations 191, t101 either concerning "their" advanced scientific…
  • p. 203 …The primary attribute of an advanced intelligent civilization is its ability to create its own environment…
  • p. 204 …Menzel became acting Director of Harvard College Observatory and, in 1954, was advanced to the Directorship…
  • p. 207 …approach it or advances as you move away. As we look over the Air Force files…
  • p. 210 …Or at least that is the com- mon argument advanced by UFO buffs. Radar is cursed…
  • p. 212 …Life Member of American Association for the Advancement of Science. Professional Organizational Activities: State delegate to…
  • p. 217 …our level of advancement? As noted in the Special Report of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board…
  • p. 219 …Friedman has a relatively unique background in advanced technology, hav- ing been actively involved in the…
  • p. 222 …the existence of advanced civilizations. We frequently forget that the resolution of present photographs of the…
  • p. 223 …36, 37) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science is planning a UFO seminar…
  • p. 224 …reason, would not examine the data relevant to UFOs or advanced technology. Marcowitz was totally wrong…
  • p. 225 …reason, would not examine the data relevant to UFOs or advanced technology. Marcowitz was totally wrong…
  • p. 226 …B., "The Phenomenological Aspects of Magnetogasdynamic Re-entry." Presented at the 10th Midwestern Mechanics Conference, Colorado…
  • p. 227 …not alone in the Universe and surely some civilizations are more advanced than ours, but interstellar…
  • p. 233 …possible sites in advance, we could simply move in to recover the desired information after an…
  • p. 234 …The effectiveness of the proposed procedure would depend very heavily upon the amount of thought, care…
  • p. 237 …listed in advance on a 'standardized rating sheet. However this part of the experiment will not…
162
IV.
Neurologic Evaluation
A.
Neurologic History:
Subject
is
right-handed and
denies
any
degree
of
ambidextry.
He
denies periods
of
euphoria,
uncontrolled behavior
or
delirium.
He denies recent
changes
or
difficulty
with dressing, eating,
or
writing.
He
states that
he
does
not feel that he has recently
become clumsy
or
weak. He
said
he
had
never
had
the
experience
of
deja-vu episodes
or
of
performing
acts over
which he
had
no
control and
no
unpleasant
tastes
or
odors
that
he couldn't explain.
He
states
that
he
is
not
aware
of any
increased difficulty in expressing himself
or
under-standing
the
speech
of
others.
He
has
no
problem with calculation
or
with
seeing
objects
as
smaller
or larger than
they
really were.
He is not aware
of any
difficulty with
color
vision, flashing
lights,
or
other
forms of
visual hallucina-
tions.
He
admits
to
headaches which occur after
he
has
been
drinking
heavily;
these
have been decreasing in frequency.
He
states
that
he has never
lost
consciousness
(with
associated tongue
biting, incontinence,
or
period
of
confusion upon awaking).
He
denies
trauma
or
infections
of
his
head, eyes, ears,
or
neck.
B.
Neurologic Examination:
Mental Status:
See
Section V
(Psychiatric Evaluation).
Cerebellar Function:
Finger
-to
-nose
and heel
-to
-shin intact;
rapid alternating
movements
are
rhythmical
and
coordinated;
no
awkwardness
or
other
abnormalities
in
any
gross
or
fine
movements.
Foot dexterity and Figure eight test are
performed
without difficulty.
No
broad-based gait
or
ataxia noted.
Cranial Nerves:
Olfactory:
Each nostril
perceived cloves
(stimulus was
identified
with
patients' eyes closed).
II
Optic Nerve: Reported
in detail
in
Section
III
(Neuro-ophthalmology).
III,
IV,
VI
Nerves:
See
Section
III (Neuro-ophthalmology).
V Trigeminal:
All sensory divisions
are
intact
to
pin prick.
The
corneal reflex
is
present bilaterally and equally.
The
masseter and pterygoid
muscles show equal strength
of
good quality.
The
jaw
jerk
is
normal.
VII Facial Nerve:
There
is no
asymmetry
of the
resting
facial
muscles.
There
is no
weakness
or
asymmetry
upon raiding
the eye brows, closing
or
opening
the eyes, or
showing
the
teeth. Taste was intact
bilaterally
for
sugar and salt.
VIII Acoustic:
a)
Cochlear Portion: Patient perceives normal
conversation without
difficulty.
Weber and Rinne testing show
no
lateralization. Air
conduction
isgreater
than bone conduction.
b)
Vestibular Portion: There
is
no abnormal nystagmus, past
-
pointing,
or
veering when walking.
IX,
X
Glossopharngeal and Vagus Nerves: The
palate
is
midline and freely
movable, with bilaterally equal elevation
on
stimulation. Gag reflex
is
intact
bilaterally.
No
difficulty in swallowing and
no
regurgitation occurred when
swallowing water.
XI
Accessory Nerve: The trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles have
good strength, without fasciculation, atrophy, and spasm.
XII Hypoglossal Nerve: The tongue protrudes in the midline; there is noevidence of atrophy
or
fasciculation; there
is
good strength in both directions.
There
is no
difficulty with articulation and
no
dysarthria.

Cases discussed

About this file

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