According to the Google Adwords keyword tool, across the English speaking countries of the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India, there are zero searches per month for the phrases ‘how to study ufology’ and ‘how to study ufos’.
Although there are about 720 searches per month for the phrases ‘ufo research’ and ‘ufo researcher’, those figures compare to 40,500 searches per month for the phrase “ufo sightings’.
So one could guess that perhaps plenty of people are interested in seeing UFOs but very few actually want to study the subject in any depth.
This is not surprising as it’s common to all forms of human activity.
Tens of millions watch sport, thousands participate at an amateur level, and only a few have the dedication and self discipline to devote most of their waking hours to become an expert, setting the standards to which others aspire.
But we’re not talking about sport.
We’re talking about a subject that has the potential to change everything we know about our place in the Universe, our religions, our economies, and all the other aspects of the current human civilisation on Earth.
Ufology – UFO Studies
Ufology has more similarities with a religion, or perhaps even a cult. A common statement by those joining one of the many Facebook groups centred around the subjects of UFO and extraterrestrials is, “I’m a believer.”
That statement begs the question,” Believer in what? UFOs? By definition, they exist. Aliens? Which ones?” and so on.
Ufology has been around for seven decades or more. There are current researchers, like Richard Dolan and Steven M. Greer, carrying the torch forward in this generation, and there are those now deceased, like Stanton Friedman, who have left us their rich legacy.
Each generation needs its researchers. Will you become one? Ufology has plenty of spectators but too few dedicated researchers.
Anyone can become a UFO researcher but to add value to the collective pool of information takes dedication and a considerable amount of time, not to mention money.
It takes humility to keep an open mind and to be prepared to change your mind if you later discover your assumptions or conclusions were wrong.
Errors and Truth
Errors, like lies and disinformation, repeated often enough become accepted as truth. Few people have the patience and dogged persistence to check so called facts and trace them back to their source.
For example, a piece of ancient text is mistranslated and the conclusions are printed in a book. Other researchers refer back to that book and that quote again and again. The translation is accepted as truth until someone qualified enough to read the original ancient text points out the errors in the translation.
You also need to develop a thick skin and the ability to shrug off ridicule and criticism. If you become a ufologist you will not attract the same prestige or respect as a biologist, a criminologist, or even a sociologist.
But you might gain some respect and followers from those seeking out the truth about UFOs.
Do you remember the 1988 UK TV advert for British Telecom featuring the actress Maureen Lipman as the character Beatie (BT, geddit?!), with her immortal line, “Anthony, you get an Ology – you’re a scientist!”
There’s a link below if you need a reminder or haven’t seen it before.
If you study Ufology and perhaps even become qualified in it then remember Beatie’s words, “You’re a scientist!”.