Equivocal Encounters: Alien Visitation Claims as a Societal Problem

Tony Milligan

Equivocal Encounters: Alien Visitation Claims as a Societal Problem

Tony Milligan

Theology & Religious Studies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

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Abstract

The contention of this paper is that alien visitation claims are a societal problem when they (a) move into the mainstream of discourse to the extent that government policy has to respond to them; (b) when they generate background noise which impedes science communication; and (c) when they become entangled with indigenous origin narratives, making it hard to recover the latter. Where this is the case, periodic debunking looks like a failed paradigm. Something closer to a scientific research pro- gram (SRP) might be called for, at some point. This is an idea which has already been advanced by Avi Loeb and Martin Elvis (albeit in signifi- cantly different ways and for different reasons). It is not clear that we are already at the stage where an SRP is required, but such a requirement does seem to be on the near horizon.) The paper concludes by setting out a number of framing requirements for any such SRP.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Subtitle of host publication	IAUS (387)
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 28 Aug 2024
Event	Kavli-IAU Symposium, "(Toward) Discovery of Life Beyond Earth and its Impact" - University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom Duration: 15 Apr 2024 → 19 Apr 2024 Conference number: IAUS 387

Conference

Conference	Kavli-IAU Symposium, "(Toward) Discovery of Life Beyond Earth and its Impact"
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Durham
Period	15/04/2024 → 19/04/2024

Keywords

UAPs
'Oumuamua
background noise
policy
indigenous cosmologies

Access to Document

IAU Equivocal Encounters Paper 2024Accepted author manuscript, 126 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Equivocal Encounters: Alien Visitation Claims as a Societal Problem",

abstract = "The contention of this paper is that alien visitation claims are a societal problem when they (a) move into the mainstream of discourse to the extent that government policy has to respond to them; (b) when they generate background noise which impedes science communication; and (c) when they become entangled with indigenous origin narratives, making it hard to recover the latter. Where this is the case, periodic debunking looks like a failed paradigm. Something closer to a scientific research pro- gram (SRP) might be called for, at some point. This is an idea which has already been advanced by Avi Loeb and Martin Elvis (albeit in signifi- cantly different ways and for different reasons). It is not clear that we are already at the stage where an SRP is required, but such a requirement does seem to be on the near horizon.) The paper concludes by setting out a number of framing requirements for any such SRP.",

keywords = "UAPs, 'Oumuamua, background noise, policy, indigenous cosmologies",

author = "Tony Milligan",

year = "2024",

month = aug,

day = "28",

language = "English",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

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T1 - Equivocal Encounters

T2 - Kavli-IAU Symposium, "(Toward) Discovery of Life Beyond Earth and its Impact"

AU - Milligan, Tony

N1 - Conference code: IAUS 387

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Y1 - 2024/8/28

N2 - The contention of this paper is that alien visitation claims are a societal problem when they (a) move into the mainstream of discourse to the extent that government policy has to respond to them; (b) when they generate background noise which impedes science communication; and (c) when they become entangled with indigenous origin narratives, making it hard to recover the latter. Where this is the case, periodic debunking looks like a failed paradigm. Something closer to a scientific research pro- gram (SRP) might be called for, at some point. This is an idea which has already been advanced by Avi Loeb and Martin Elvis (albeit in signifi- cantly different ways and for different reasons). It is not clear that we are already at the stage where an SRP is required, but such a requirement does seem to be on the near horizon.) The paper concludes by setting out a number of framing requirements for any such SRP.

AB - The contention of this paper is that alien visitation claims are a societal problem when they (a) move into the mainstream of discourse to the extent that government policy has to respond to them; (b) when they generate background noise which impedes science communication; and (c) when they become entangled with indigenous origin narratives, making it hard to recover the latter. Where this is the case, periodic debunking looks like a failed paradigm. Something closer to a scientific research pro- gram (SRP) might be called for, at some point. This is an idea which has already been advanced by Avi Loeb and Martin Elvis (albeit in signifi- cantly different ways and for different reasons). It is not clear that we are already at the stage where an SRP is required, but such a requirement does seem to be on the near horizon.) The paper concludes by setting out a number of framing requirements for any such SRP.

KW - UAPs

KW - 'Oumuamua

KW - background noise

KW - policy

KW - indigenous cosmologies

M3 - Conference paper

BT - Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union

PB - Cambridge University Press

Y2 - 15 April 2024 through 19 April 2024

ER -

Equivocal Encounters: Alien Visitation Claims as a Societal Problem

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Keywords

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