All too often the answer to all problems is believed to be found in funding. If we throw enough money at a problem, a circumstance, or a situation, the problem is solved.
The field of UAP and UFO research and investigations has its own version of this way of thinking. "If we only had more data..." was a comment in the days following the first Congressional hearing on UAPs - said every scientist inclined to accept the idea such things deserve scientific study.
All through the years of Project Blue Book, data was collected. Many complained about the quality of that data, but a system always does what it is designed to do, and the truth was the public reports and pages of graphs and numbers were not designed to discover anything but merely to speak to the simplistic query - is it known or unknown? Every series scientist who examined them - and there were many - always pointed to the poor designs of the process. They collected data but there was no goal in mind and no real analysis of trends and common aspects.
Today, there is a wealth of data - stored in numerous databases and collections - but the problem is that no one is actually doing anything with that information.
Currently, there is no major scientific study into the commonalities, trends, and implications of the data already gathered.
Questions such as:
- Are there common origins points for categories of sightings?
- Are there specific times, seasons, and geographic locations that record clusters of events over a long period of time?
- Are there scientifically designed, measured, and compared studies in attempts to establish communications using technical and non-technical approaches?
- Are there scientifically designed and measured designs to merge various methods of data collection. analysis, and implementation of ideas?
- Are there widespread studies to correlate increased sightings and the presence of astronomical, electrical, environmental, geological, auditory, or other events?
- Are there widespread studies to correlate increased sightings and the activities of human aircraft, satellites, or surveillance activities?
- Are there multi-disciple studies of astronomical data as it relates to the possibilities of communication or contact with NHI?
One problem in the early work (as in Project Blue Book) was the issue of tunnel vision. Files were divided by place, date, and nation. There is little evidence available of any major work done in looking at the big picture. For example, UAPs spotted over north America heading toward the Atlantic. Did they emerge over Europe, Africa or elsewhere? Did they disappear over US soil (or whatever nation) and NOT appear anywhere else?
Over time there has been an attempt to create diversity when none was really needed. For example, the matter of perspective of visual sighting is seldom taken into account. An object from point A may appear to be a circle with small rings inside. From point B it may look like three lines stacked behind each other. As a result of this there are dozens of "shapes" listed on many sightings reports found in common resources. The truth is that probably there should be categories of shape. The Circle may include a sphere, etc. An Ovoid may include an egg shape, a balloon shape, etc. A square may include the rectangle, the triangle, a diamond etc. A Cigar shape may include the Tic-tac, pill, etc. As a result, major categories are reduced with related subgroups organized beneath that label.
