Moving the Ufological Goalposts.

Greetings. UFO investigations. Certainly a challenging job to tackle, pardon the football reference. The effort to explore possibilities that may or may not be supported by evidence, information that lies beyond the anecdotal. The effort to eliminate possibilities, to whittle down potential explanations, with the remaining options worthy of additional scrutinization.

While admittedly a painstakingly slow and methodical process, it is absolutely essential to any legitimate investigative effort. No exceptions. No wiggle room to loosen the grip of the scientific method. None. Any potential moving of the goalposts places any and all investigative results firmly in doubt, not to mention the integrity of the investigators themselves, for even considering such an ill-advised course of action. 

Why are investigative goalposts moved? There are several reasons: 

1. Fame and notoriety. The lure of the sensational is strong, the lure of celebrity attention is strong indeed. Science doesn't sell, the sensationalized does.

2. The unconscious need to confirm a bias. The biases that we all have pull at our emotional heartstrings all the time, which can result in the tainting of an investigator's approach and any subsequent work. It happens more often than we like to admit, for we are all imperfect bipedal mammals. 

3. The conscious need to confirm a bias. Related closely to the aforementioned reason, some "researchers" will actively seek out a pre-conceived explanation, one that is almost always the least likely, non-mundane option; aliens, aliens, aliens. 

4. Lack of investigative qualifications. Many people who are involved in UFO investigations are simply not qualified to conduct legitimate investigative exercises. The majority of the aforementioned people are ignorant of what should transpire during the course of an investigation, yet they continue to "work," producing results that are far from objective or defensible. As with many other factors, it happens all the time. 

5. Finally, enthusiasm. Many people, to their credit, are enthusiastic about UFOs and the effort to investigate them. Such energy is to be embraced and encouraged, but it should be tempered when necessary. Enthusiasm is fine, but it can be to the detriment of dispassionate investigations. 

UFO investigations are a challenging job to tackle, but if we keep the goalposts stationary, we can reasonably expect to score investigative touchdowns; scientific, legitimate, and dispassionate.  

Thank you for your time and consideration