Cults and Cognition: Programming the True Believer

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... in 1997, a former music professor named Applewhite persuaded 38 people to commit suicide with him, with plastic bags and purple cloths over their heads and Nike sneakers on their feet, in an effort to reach a UFO hiding behind Comet Hale-Bopp. This UFO was to take them, via what they termed Heaven’s Gate, to an unspecified interplanetary reward.

By Matthew J Sharps Ph.D. www.psychologytoday.com 10-2-20

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Do We Believe in UFOs? – Wrong Question

Reporting on the Pentagon program that’s investigating unidentified flying objects is not about belief. It’s about a vigilant search for facts. We’re often asked by well-meaning associates and readers, “Do you believe in U.F.O.s?” The question sets us aback as

By Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean The New York Times 7-28-20

being inappropriately personal. Times reporters are particularly averse to revealing opinions that could imply possible reporting bias.

But in this case we have no problem responding, “No, we don’t believe in U.F.O.s.”

As we see it, their existence, or nonexistence, is not a matter of belief.

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UFOs: Belief Vs. Knowledge

Over the four years of this blog’s existence, I’ve been asked repeatedly by fans and reporters whether or not I “believe in UFOs.” I am of the opinion that a person’s outlook on UFOs should not be put in the context of “belief.” I think the whole thing comes down to belief vs. knowledge.

By Cheryl Costa www.syracusenewtimes.com 7-21-17

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In many societies we frequently associate belief with blind faith acceptance. Traditionally this sort of conviction usually falls into the category of dogmatic religious doctrine. You either believe or accept the doctrine, or you don’t.

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With regard to UFOs, our society carries this same sort of view, which labels or judges the character of those who state a position with respect to the existence of UFOs. I argue that UFOs and off-worlders are not a matter of faith but rather a case of knowledge based on some criteria of confirmation.

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X-Files Star David Duchovny Absolutely Doesn't Believe In Aliens

By Ellie Walker-Arnott
www.radiotimes.com
6-14-15

He might have found fame playing Special Agent Fox Mulder - serious believer in the supernatural - but the actor himself just isn't convinced...

     FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder was known for his unshakable belief in the supernatural and the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

The character's obsession with unexplainable phenomena was what drove him through the series. It's the reason he was working on the X-Files to begin with. And he was even abducted by aliens himself in the season seven finale.

But David Duchovny, the actor who played him for 9 years, still remains unconvinced about the possibility of alien life.

"When you started making X-Files and there was all that zeitgeist happening, how much UFO research did you find to be actually interesting enough to believe in?" Reggie Watts asked Duchovny recently on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

"I remember I used to try to answer my fan mail because there wasn't much of it, and they would bring it to me. There were stories that people would tell me about being abducted," revealed Duchovny. "They would just make me sad. I thought that these people had issues that they had to deal with." . . .

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