At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Monday 21 April 2014

GORDON IN THE LIBRARY

I understand that Stan Gordon, veteran researcher into the paranormal, was to give a lecture or presentation at the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville (Pennsylvania) last Saturday.  I hope it went well.  I believe it was to deal with Bigfoot and UFOs.

However, this morning I read an article on the presentation (then forthcoming) in theSOP, written by a specimen called Robert Paul Reyes.

This individual seems quite horrified that such a presentation should be given in a library.  He feels that such an event is an "abomination" and goes on to label it "junk science and tomfoolery".  Mr Reyes seems oblivious to the fact that today's fringe science (to give it a more polite name) can well become tomorrow's mainstream science, as it has in the past.  One wonders whether he has actually investigated any of this "tomfoolery" or whether he is just repeating what constitutes the current opinion of many mainstream scientists.

He implores us to keep the library a UFO-free zone (does this mean libraries should not stock UFO books?) and bewails the fact that it is impossible to keep UFOs off the Internet.

The implication seems to me that he feels the study of UFOs belongs among the Foolish and Ignorant.  I suspect he finds, like many, things outside the sphere of his own experience so incredible that he cannot imagine anyone of any intelligence actually believing them. 

If he finds UFOs incredible, fair enough; but the idea that we should not be able to study such things and make up our own minds in an educational setting is surely untenable.

I believe theSOP stands for the Student Operated Newspaper.  My feeling is, if this is the standard of its articles,the students should try operating something else. 

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