(CNN) Pentagon officially releases UFO videos

(CNN) Pentagon officially releases UFO videos.

Previous discussion:

Official release of the tapes does nothing to enhance their value. The tapes have been available for years. So what is the significance of release? This is a more tractable problem for enterprise journalism than the existence of UFOs.

The possible reasons include the mundane, and the curious. UFOs have never been more than a peripheral interest of DoD. Possibilities:

  • Pure sloth. Sign-off forms to declassify sat on multiple desks for years, with the occupants worrying that sign-off would come back to bite them.
  • A low priority technical investigation determined that the images do not represent a vulnerability of the weapon imaging systems  that made these recordings. These systems are very complex. Light scattering inside the optics could interact with data reduction software to create artifacts.
  • A really thorough investigation would have isolated the optics, the raw sensor, and the software, challenging these parts with extreme imagery generated in the lab. This is a job for one of the national labs, probably Lawrence Livermore. With low priority, it took years to complete.
  • An invitation to dialog with other pockets of interest.

UFOs: Let’s Get Serious; Why a Program Goes “Black” Part 3 offers UFO explanations that a good percentage of readers need an acid trip to feel comfortable with.  We grew up thinking that the mysteries of the Universe truth would eventually be reduced to simple truth. What if this is wrong?

The hydrogen atom seems to be a dividing point between things larger and smaller. The major features of hydrogen have notable simplicity. Every physics student learns the simple quantum mechanics  of hydrogen by separation of variables. At scales both smaller and larger than hydrogen, problems get way too complicated way too fast. Instead of simple truth, truth may have infinite complexity.

People who understand the scientific method know that physics is not a complete system, and that nothing is unconditionally true. Concrete thinkers don’t get this. They go for the extremes, absolute truth or absolute nonsense. For example, the Laws of Gravity are not laws; they are observations that seem to hold. So how do you explain the possibilities outside the box to someone who lives inside it?

We can pry the box lid off  with intelligent discussion. We can redirect interest away from sheet metal curios and religious revelations, to more important questions about the Universe, and our place in it. With a future that in some ways seems rather dim, UFOs beckon with a bright (and sometimes flashing) light.