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Starstruck: Cosmic Visions in Science, Religion, and Folklore
We live in an era of exploding scientific knowledge about the universe, and our place and future within it. Much of this new knowledge conflicts with earlier wisdom, and some has frightening implications. Cosmic evolution, space exploration, the search for extraterrestrial life, and concerns about humanity’s future prompt us to seek new answers to old existential questions. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Are we alone? What will become of us? In our search for answers, we turn to science, religion, myth, and varying combinations thereof. Exploring an ambiguous region between recognized findings and unfettered imagination, Starstruck explores the multifaceted, far-reaching, and often contentious attempts of people with contrasting worldviews to develop convincing and satisfying interpretations of rapidly accumulating discoveries in physics, astronomy, and biology.
244 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2007
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August 19, 2023
A SURVEY OF VARIOUS ‘FOLKLORE’ ASPECTS OF UFOs, ETC.
Author Albert A. Harrison wrote in the Preface to this 2007 book, “We begin with a brief review of scientific discoveries that challenge former understandings of our place in the universe. Different worldviews, based on varying mixtures of science, religion, and folklore, help people understand and interpret these discoveries … Religion thrives in an age of science, and remains important bedrock for people’s cosmological views. Many ideas from religion have entered into discussions of our place in the universe. These include multiple paths to knowledge, hidden realities, and superior forms of intelligence beyond Earth. We explore superficial parallels between God, UFO passengers, and putatively wise and benevolent aliens that may be beaming microwave transmissions to earth. Scientists, who claim that the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would represent the final triumph of evolution over creationism, confront theologians, who counter that the discovery would provide further testimony to God’s greatness. We review lowbrow flying saucer religions, and introduce highbrow theologies that are formulated to accommodate a universe brimming with life.” (Pg. viii-ix)
He continues in the first chapter, "In this book, we explore the complex roles of science, religion, and folklore in ongoing attempts to understand the universe and our place within it…. Folklore refers to the stories that are widely accepted within a given culture, and whatever else they may or may not be… folkore … is laden with symbolism and meaning for insiders. Folklore tells the members of a given culture what is important and helps them come to grips with issues that concern them.? (Pg. 3, 5)
He notes, “The SETI Committees … have worked over the years to encourage careful deliberation before revealing ourselves… many people may speak for Earth. If an extraterrestrial civilization is bombarded by different and sometimes conflicting messages, whom should they believe, and how could we maintain a rational dialogue? Another worry is that we will attract the attention of a civilization that chooses to exploit Earth, or eliminate humankind as a possible threat…. For this reason, many SETI supporters prefer passive SETI---simply listening and watching---to initiating communication… Hundreds, even thousands of years could pass between a transmission of launching of a probe and our receipt of a response… The reply from extraterrestrials could be quite a surprise and catch our descendants completely off guard.” (Pg. 56-57)
He points out, “Astronomers, who have an appreciation of immense interstellar distances, are highly skeptical of travel between adjacent stars…The time and energy requirements would be enormous, and any ship traveling at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light could be battered to bits by cosmic dust… the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Program… sought to achieve three goals. First, reduce mass by eliminating the need for propellant… Second, work around the limits set by the speed of light, thereby making deep space travel practical… Third, find radical new power sources that would yield unlimited energy that could be used for interstellar travel.” (Pg. 71-72)
He states, “Two assumptions make it tempting to attribute extraterrestrialswith god-like qualities… the first assumption is that any extraterrestrial civilization that we will find is likely to be older than our own. The basic idea is that our Sun is relatively young…the second assumption is that extraterrestrial civilizations will be benign, even benevolent… Third, mathematical modeling shows that nations that practice collective security, that is, do not initiate war that but do go to one another’s defense, survive longer than states that follow more aggressive foreign policies… Finally, historians foresee, within maybe two hundred years, a world without war.” (Pg. 97-99)
He observes, “Therapists’ expectations and support groups mold and reinforce people’s beliefs that they may have been abducted… researchers investigate abduction accounts in such a way as to make them consistent with the investigator’s preconceptions and biases… The researcher or therapist responds favorably when the subject or patient utters something that is consistent with his or her pet theory, and remains quiet when the subject says something that the researcher doesn’t want to hear.” (Pg.121-122)
He recounts, “Perhaps the most sensational conspiracy theory of all is that artifacts recovered from a UFO serve as the basis for much of modern technology. In the late 1990s this gained widespread exposure with the publication of Philip Corso[‘s] … book, ‘The Day After Roswell.’ This … autobiography presents a fascinating account of Corso’s top secret activities to transfer extraterrestrial artifacts to major American corporations… Can we accept this history of modern technology? Since Corso’s work was ‘secret’ there was no paper trail, and fifty years later, when Corso got around to telling how he spread alien technology, the senior scientists and business executives who might have been able to confirm his claims were dead. Corso’s account was riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies, and despite his much earlier achievements in the military and government there were growing concerns about his credibility. Corso’s arguments had a strong ring of implausibility, and apart from some tired old documents that had been circulating for several years he had no backup. But Corso’s claims did fit in with some people’s suspicions of government cover-up.” (Pg. 139)
He reports, “In September 2005, Bill Clinton commented on life in the universe, UFOs, Area 51, and Roswell. The former U.S. president … was convinced, on the basis of scientific findings, that within the lifetimes of many people … scientists will discover some form of extraterrestrial life. Clinton also confessed that, as president, he tried to find out more about UFOs. He concluded that the crash landing at Roswell was an illusion. However, many people in his administration were convinced of alien artifacts at Area 51 in Nevada. He sent someone to Area 51 to ‘figure it out’ but his emissary reported that it was simply a secret defense installation where they did boring work. If there were UFO secrets, Clinton said, they were ‘concealed form me too’… There ‘may be some career person sitting around somewhere, hiding these dark secrets from elected presidents… if so, they successfully elude me… and I am embarrassed to tell you that I did try to find out.’” (Pg. 201)
He concludes, “As we come of age in the universe, many of the ideas that heat today’s discussions will prove worthless and will be abandoned. Like disintegrating musket balls lodged in ancient oak trees, they will have served---or failed to have served---their purpose at an earlier point in time. In the mean time, keeping an open mind may give us a fresh take on human existence and prepare us for discoveries that are yet to come.” (Pg. 200)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying such issues.
Author Albert A. Harrison wrote in the Preface to this 2007 book, “We begin with a brief review of scientific discoveries that challenge former understandings of our place in the universe. Different worldviews, based on varying mixtures of science, religion, and folklore, help people understand and interpret these discoveries … Religion thrives in an age of science, and remains important bedrock for people’s cosmological views. Many ideas from religion have entered into discussions of our place in the universe. These include multiple paths to knowledge, hidden realities, and superior forms of intelligence beyond Earth. We explore superficial parallels between God, UFO passengers, and putatively wise and benevolent aliens that may be beaming microwave transmissions to earth. Scientists, who claim that the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would represent the final triumph of evolution over creationism, confront theologians, who counter that the discovery would provide further testimony to God’s greatness. We review lowbrow flying saucer religions, and introduce highbrow theologies that are formulated to accommodate a universe brimming with life.” (Pg. viii-ix)
He continues in the first chapter, "In this book, we explore the complex roles of science, religion, and folklore in ongoing attempts to understand the universe and our place within it…. Folklore refers to the stories that are widely accepted within a given culture, and whatever else they may or may not be… folkore … is laden with symbolism and meaning for insiders. Folklore tells the members of a given culture what is important and helps them come to grips with issues that concern them.? (Pg. 3, 5)
He notes, “The SETI Committees … have worked over the years to encourage careful deliberation before revealing ourselves… many people may speak for Earth. If an extraterrestrial civilization is bombarded by different and sometimes conflicting messages, whom should they believe, and how could we maintain a rational dialogue? Another worry is that we will attract the attention of a civilization that chooses to exploit Earth, or eliminate humankind as a possible threat…. For this reason, many SETI supporters prefer passive SETI---simply listening and watching---to initiating communication… Hundreds, even thousands of years could pass between a transmission of launching of a probe and our receipt of a response… The reply from extraterrestrials could be quite a surprise and catch our descendants completely off guard.” (Pg. 56-57)
He points out, “Astronomers, who have an appreciation of immense interstellar distances, are highly skeptical of travel between adjacent stars…The time and energy requirements would be enormous, and any ship traveling at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light could be battered to bits by cosmic dust… the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Program… sought to achieve three goals. First, reduce mass by eliminating the need for propellant… Second, work around the limits set by the speed of light, thereby making deep space travel practical… Third, find radical new power sources that would yield unlimited energy that could be used for interstellar travel.” (Pg. 71-72)
He states, “Two assumptions make it tempting to attribute extraterrestrialswith god-like qualities… the first assumption is that any extraterrestrial civilization that we will find is likely to be older than our own. The basic idea is that our Sun is relatively young…the second assumption is that extraterrestrial civilizations will be benign, even benevolent… Third, mathematical modeling shows that nations that practice collective security, that is, do not initiate war that but do go to one another’s defense, survive longer than states that follow more aggressive foreign policies… Finally, historians foresee, within maybe two hundred years, a world without war.” (Pg. 97-99)
He observes, “Therapists’ expectations and support groups mold and reinforce people’s beliefs that they may have been abducted… researchers investigate abduction accounts in such a way as to make them consistent with the investigator’s preconceptions and biases… The researcher or therapist responds favorably when the subject or patient utters something that is consistent with his or her pet theory, and remains quiet when the subject says something that the researcher doesn’t want to hear.” (Pg.121-122)
He recounts, “Perhaps the most sensational conspiracy theory of all is that artifacts recovered from a UFO serve as the basis for much of modern technology. In the late 1990s this gained widespread exposure with the publication of Philip Corso[‘s] … book, ‘The Day After Roswell.’ This … autobiography presents a fascinating account of Corso’s top secret activities to transfer extraterrestrial artifacts to major American corporations… Can we accept this history of modern technology? Since Corso’s work was ‘secret’ there was no paper trail, and fifty years later, when Corso got around to telling how he spread alien technology, the senior scientists and business executives who might have been able to confirm his claims were dead. Corso’s account was riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies, and despite his much earlier achievements in the military and government there were growing concerns about his credibility. Corso’s arguments had a strong ring of implausibility, and apart from some tired old documents that had been circulating for several years he had no backup. But Corso’s claims did fit in with some people’s suspicions of government cover-up.” (Pg. 139)
He reports, “In September 2005, Bill Clinton commented on life in the universe, UFOs, Area 51, and Roswell. The former U.S. president … was convinced, on the basis of scientific findings, that within the lifetimes of many people … scientists will discover some form of extraterrestrial life. Clinton also confessed that, as president, he tried to find out more about UFOs. He concluded that the crash landing at Roswell was an illusion. However, many people in his administration were convinced of alien artifacts at Area 51 in Nevada. He sent someone to Area 51 to ‘figure it out’ but his emissary reported that it was simply a secret defense installation where they did boring work. If there were UFO secrets, Clinton said, they were ‘concealed form me too’… There ‘may be some career person sitting around somewhere, hiding these dark secrets from elected presidents… if so, they successfully elude me… and I am embarrassed to tell you that I did try to find out.’” (Pg. 201)
He concludes, “As we come of age in the universe, many of the ideas that heat today’s discussions will prove worthless and will be abandoned. Like disintegrating musket balls lodged in ancient oak trees, they will have served---or failed to have served---their purpose at an earlier point in time. In the mean time, keeping an open mind may give us a fresh take on human existence and prepare us for discoveries that are yet to come.” (Pg. 200)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying such issues.
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