A closed mind is a waste of space and the closed mind is one that maintains something is absolute even in the face of contradictory evidence.

Within Ufology we have two groups that keep closed minds. One group we call Debunkers and the other group we call True Believers. Both groups are a vexation to the group that I call discoverists.

A discoverist is somebody that willingly looks at everything and although they will eventually come to a conclusion, they will keep an open mind to the possibility that they could be wrong and will be among the first to admit that they have been mistaken.

I am a discoverist. I have come to the conclusion that "Something is Out There", however, I have yet to determine what that Something is! I am not foolish enough to think that everyone who has ever reported seeing a UFO is lying or is seeking some kind of fame. I also do not believe that everyone has seen a ship from another planet; same as I do not believe that everyone has mistaken the planet Venus for what appears to be an intelligently piloted craft from another world.

True Believers scare me more than debunkers. The true believer is someone who still buys into the story that Jonathan Reed (or whatever name he is using this week) had an encounter with an extraterrestrial life form named Fred.

Why do True Believers scare me the most? Because when people come across them, they immediately place Discoverists into the same "crackpot, loony, nutcase, and saucerhead" boat along with them. In other words, one bad apple does spoil the whole bushel.

But what about the debunker? Isn't the debunker scary because they are always providing logical answers to UFO sightings? No gentle listener, that is where the discrepancy exists. The debunker provides what sometimes could be the logical answer but when contrary evidence emerges that shows the debunker's theory is false, they conveniently ignore it! All pleas for clarification from those asking the questions and pointing out the problems fall on deaf ears... or... run into a closed mind.

The Pelican Theory espoused by a debunker regarding Kenneth Arnold's sighting of 9 silvery discs in the Washington State area is one of my favourite examples of Debunker Logic... or lack thereof.

Things like relative speed of the objects, the quality of a very reliable observer, migrating habits of the Pelican and even contradictory testimony provided in Kenneth Arnold's report fall on closed minds.

The True Believer will emphatically state that what Kenneth Arnold saw on June 24, 1947 were nine extraterrestrial craft flying in formation and nothing will dissuade them from that conclusion. The debunker will maintain that Kenneth Arnold saw nothing more than a group of migrating Pelicans and also, nothing will convince them otherwise. The discoverist will say that Kenneth Arnold saw something unusual flying in the sky with him and although they aren't 100 per cent convinced that the objects came from another planet, they are convinced by the abundant evidence that the objects were not Pelicans either.....

But that's just my take on it.....