“the most sophisticated piece of technology on the planet…”

This post’s title quotes Colm Kelleher’s characterization of the human being as an instrument for detecting and recording anomalous phenomena. However much one might agree with Kelleher, doubtless the UFO/UAP witness is an essential aspect of the phenomenon. And it is just this aspect that is investigated in the wide-ranging volume compiled by V.J. Ballester-Olmos & Richard W. Heiden in their recently published book The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony.

Now, questions concerning the being of the UFO/UAP and the epistemological problems surrounding that question are not, strictly, the purview here at Skunkworksblog. Nevertheless, Ballester-Olmos’ and Heiden’s volume deserves notice. The collection is bracingly interdisciplinary, comprehending the social, physical, and biological sciences, including psychology (predominantly) as well as psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, folklore, religion, journalism, engineering, computing, medicine, and education. These perspectives on the book’s central question are organized into seven sections: Case Studies, Psychological Perspectives, On Witness Testimony, Empirical Research, The Anthropological Approach, Metrics and Scaling, and Epistemological Issues. Marshalling fifty-seven varied researchers in this way is as impressive as promising.

We haven’t had a chance to read the book’s 711 pages, but we share news of its publication here for interested, motivated parties. Ballester-Olmos is a hard-working and productive researcher; those who pass over his contributions to the field do so at their own peril.

The book has been released online in the Academia.edu portal, from where it can be downloaded for free.

Simultaneously, UPIAR Publishing House (Turin, Italy) has published two softcover editions, one in black & white, another in full color (ISBN: 9791281441002). You can purchase the book, here.