UFOs: A Componential Overview – Part I


Call this a mental exercise. I haven’t thought this all out in any great detail. Also, I doubt what I am proposing will provide any great philosophical or metaphysical insights. Many others have probably made similar observations but with different terms.

But at the same time this componential overview is a quick way for me to look at the UFO issue. When I say UFO I mean Unidentified Flying Objects, i.e., something unusual is observed in the sky that can’t be readily explained. I’m not limiting my use of the term to nuts-n-bolts ET vehicles.

Up front: this overview assumes an objective reality. Some people don’t believe in such a concept. These individuals think that “reality” is a shared illusion. Fine. To such a thinker I say go outside, locate a brick wall and then smash your forehead into it. Then ask yourself as the blood runs down into your eyes if objective reality is a valid concept.

To get a grasp on what happens during an UFO incident, I look at the problem with a simplistic breakdown involving four main components: perceiver – perception – projection – subject.

Nutshell: A human perceiver detects what is being “projected” by a subject (UFO). His perception is filtered through his own individual mindset and sensory abilities. This perception interacts with the appearance of the subject, what details that the object projects.

When I refer to projection, I don’t necessarily mean than a subject is consciously revealing certain details about itself. I’m using the word in a broad, neutral sense that can be applied to inanimate objects under certain conditions.

For example, a black bowling ball lying on a windowless, gray-painted room. When the ceiling lights are on, the ball appears as a black sphere against a gray background. It visually projects its location to anyone with good eyesight.

Turn off the lights. Allow no illumination. Now the bowling ball projects “invisibility” to someone whose normal perception isn’t aided by a flashlight or night-vision goggles. Its location can’t be readily determined – until the perceiver trying to find his way around the room stubs his toe against it.

Objective reality can hurt.

So with an UFO incident, I try to consider all the components, looking at each one and how it interacts with the others.

At the same time, projection can mean that a subject is being intelligently controlled, revealing only certain aspects to a perceiver. The UFO operator – or even the UFO itself – could be playing with the perception of the observer.

A topic for another time.