Well That About Wraps It Up For Budden?

[Anonymous]

Albert Budden in his 1995 book 'UFO's - Psychic Close Encounters' (Blandford) - put forward the proposition that a large number of UFO events were caused by electromagnetic fields (EMF).

The book is quite convincing, and at least puts forward a testable hypothesis - something all too rare in Fortean literature.

One of Budden's main propositions is that human made sources of EMF are responsible for UFO events. He argues that these include BoL type phenomena, and curious experiences.

Budden's thinking, and his ideas about how EMF's could afffect human beings, causing hallucination, 'mystical' experiences etc., echo those of 'earthlights' researchers. He quotes a number of cases where he makes a convincing argument for the importance of the role of radio masts, power lines and the like.

However, in 1995, he did not anticipate the phenomenal growth in mobile phone masts. If Budden was correct, we would have expected this to produce a massive escalation in UFO reports, yet, as far as I've noticed, this hasn't happened.

Seems to me that leaves Budden's theories as yet another candidate for the dustbin of history. Any thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

Some points for you to consider:
Budden postulates a condition of electromagnetic sensitivityin an "experiencer". The number of people who have this condition is not known. This condition could vary with cycles of electro magnetic activity on the sun, or geomagnetic activity, known to affect chemical reactions naturally. The number of official reports in a climate of scepticism is not valid, anyway.
He suggests that artificial sources interact or clash with natural sources, a point you conveniently left out, unless you did not read the book properly. Despite the growth in mobile phone towers, the natural sources still remain rare.

It also has been said that artificial radio waves may cancel out naturally produced standing waves that would normally produce the listed effects such as UAP.

It is still too early to write this theory off. It presents an excellent alternative to the ETH and the "nutter" theory, and will bear valuable fruit in the future.

 

[Anonymous]

And just to over-stress my point:

A professor from a Japanese lab recently demonstrated for the world's media the creation of BoLs that actually passed through a solid tile. This has been done in other experiments where Bol's or ball lightning passed through glass. These effects have been produced using current field theories such as wave intermodulation.

These experiments have been set up in order to test theories like Budden's, and there is more and more testable evidence mounting. I would refer you to my posts on the poltergeist machines and the Hutchison Effect.

 

[Anonymous]

Oviously any summary of Budden's work in this format is going to be a cartoon version. I didn't, for example mention any of the various critiques of the book.

I take the point about the interaction between natural sources being the core of the phenomenon. However, from my reading of the book, its also possible for artificially generated EMF's to creat similar effects.

Even if the phenomena relies on natural sources being 'amplified' or 'focused', by artificial EMF fields, I'd still expect the recent construction of huge numbers of mobile phone masts all over the country to have some effect in terms of the number of cases.

We could argue about what constitutes proof of such an increase, but my point is that with such a massive increase in EMF generating devices in the environment, you might expect such a dramatic increase in cases that it would be pretty apparent to all.

I'm actually fairly well disposed to Budden's work, as it reflects a fair amount of my own thinking on the UFO problem. However, that doesn't mean that I accept it uncritically.

My purpose in raising this issue was not to slag Budden off, but to try and get a debate going.

 

[rynner2]

It should be pointed out that strange mental effects caused by electromagnetic fields do not necessarily refute a 'nuts and bolts' (and possibly ET) UFO hypothesis.

If such machines exist, it may be that part of their operating system does involve strong e/m fields, and that the effects of these fields creates the wierdness (or Oz factor) often reported by witnesses, hence possibly distorting their perceptions of what they actually saw.

Alternatively, these fields might be deliberately created by UFO occupants to create confusion in the minds of witnesses, as a means of concealing from mankind the true nature and activities of these machines.

Indeed, it could almost be argued that Budden's results actually offer some confirmation of UFO sightings!

I have no particular beliefs on UFOs either way - I just thought it worth pointing out that "it's all in the mind" theories are not necessarily a complete explanation for anything.

Another possibility is that e/m fields somehow retune the mind so that it experiences different levels of reality... But that's getting in pretty deep!

 

[Anonymous]

My own sighting of a "structured metallic craft that appeared to be intelligently controlled" fits perfectly with the emf theories, as does research I have conducted in the years since. I believe BoL phenomena can refract light in the day due to water vapour content or layers, appearing to be silver "craft".
I do not rule out Gaia, aliens, conspiracies, or a 'spiritual' factor as playing a part in this. As a serious researcher, Budden has to distance himself from these areas of thought.
I would also point out that weird incidents, particularly those involving large numbers of people, (Mexican UFO wave, Chupacabras, ABC's, abductions and the crop circle phenomena) ARE on the increase, ARE more widespread and have become more complex. This is in an environment where tv and radio transmissions are already abundant. It would be safe to assume that with the introduction of "Bluetooth" this will continue.
I would again stress the point of natural emissions such as the Earth's cycles, the solar and lunar cycles, natural lasers in space that pump radio waves into the Earth's atmosphere ( and are regularly discharged from the atmosphere according to fluctuations of the Sun's magnetic field), and the fact that molecular biology is only just beginning to understand how these fields affect cell membranes.
Budden makes a link between Major Electrical Events in an experiencer's life.
The poltergeist machines artificially reproduce the listed affects. They are known to be unreliable, both in the effect they produce and whether they produce any affect at all. This still indicates to me a random element that catalyzes the effects. Until we know more about this aspect, observations will have a certain amount of unreliability also.

Professor Otsuki's work with BoL's has come directly out of his research into the crop circle phenomenon, and I can point you to cast iron cases of crop formations appearing in impossible situations which can only be explained by emf.
Cases where people have had an abduction experience and yet were seen by witnesses never to leave the room can also only be explained by this.