Stavros Chatzopoulos, PhD

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2024

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Introduction

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In all categories of UFOs (ATIA), the most important factor in the observation is connected to the human witness and their psychological state prior to the recording of the anomalous phenomenon. Although this conclusion is obvious, it has been neglected by the majority of researchers. Vallée (1969) was one of the first analysts of the phenomenon to recognize the witness as the main key to understanding its aspects.

Among the classic categories of observations, close encounters of the third kind (CE3) appear to represent those cases in which the abundance of available data could contribute to a much better understanding of the phenomenon. However, the extensive presentation of CE3 reports by Jose Antonio Caravaca (2019, 2022, 2023) and the formulation of his Distortion Theory contributed to the emergence of serious doubts about the usefulness of broad statistical analyses of such cases.

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1.2. Elements from Caravaca’s Distortion Theory

The Spanish ufologist writes in his latest book The External Agent (2023):

 

UFO researchers can only study the “during,” since the “before” and “after” of the projection simply do not exist. And it is because of this “psychic mechanism” that, to this day, we have not been able to formulate many solid hypotheses about UFOs, as their action is spontaneous, not pre planned, and actually orchestrated not by the phenomenon itself, but by the “creativity” of each witness who interacts with the external agent. Everything is “created,” “managed,” and “projected” at the moment of connection between the human witness and this unknown external factor, including the aesthetics of the supposed extraterrestrials, their behavior, and their actions. In every ufological episode we witness a new staging of the concept of “extraterrestrial contact,” but under the particular “viewpoint” and “decoding” of each witness, who significantly modifies the internal framework that defines this paradigm (e.g. how the spacecraft and its occupants are structured). The phenomenon appears to draw on data related not only to ufology or space travel, but to virtually any content that can be repurposed by this creative process. And this is why ufologists “amuse themselves” trying to speculate about an unstable psychodimensional process that probably neither contains nor reflects the intrinsic nature of the phenomenon, but is rather the fruit of a personal fantasy.

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1.3. The Hypothesis of an Ideographic Data Bank or the Collective Unconscious

In his book Science Fiction et soucoupes volantes (1978), the French sociologist Bernard Méheust mentioned some very strange coincidences between early 20th century French science fiction stories and various CE3 incidents. The general pattern was that ufological incidents had, in a sense, been described many years earlier in SF stories, even though the witnesses had no conscious knowledge of those tales. It should be noted that the coincidences were indeed striking, although not statistically proven. Hilary Evans, in his book Visions, Apparitions, Alien Visitors: A Comparative Study of the Entity Enigma, proposes the idea of a collective unconscious as the generating force behind these visual associations. Theoretically, each individual could access this information (under certain conditions), which might be discreetly channeled either by the witness themselves (even unconsciously) or under the influence of the “unknown external agent,” according to Caravaca’s hypothesis.

The basic problem with Evans’ theory is how the selection of specific information takes place within an infinite data bank. By contrast, it is entirely understandable that when the human mind is faced with data it does not recognize, it uses “familiar” elements to interpret what it perceives, potentially distorting the information collected by the human senses (see further comments on this point in the section on microwaves).

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1.4. Joseph Burkes’ Virtual Experience Model

The high number of CE3 reports has occupied ufologists for many years, starting with Vallée (1968, 1990). As a result, the theory of staged UFO events has become quite popular. This theory proposes that CE3 incidents are imaginary, do not correspond to reality, and that the staged contact scenario is somehow technologically transmitted to the witness. In 2019, the American ufologist Joseph Burkes developed the Virtual Experience Model. Burkes suggests that the witness perceives and interacts with a projected hologram, which can certainly explain why there are not always tangible elements in close encounters of the third kind. He believes that this kind of technological illusion is deliberately used for specific reasons.

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1.5. Extending the Illusion Hypothesis to CE4 Cases

As mentioned in the previous sections, CE3 cases exhibit a certain uniqueness. The elements of the encounter (characteristics of the craft, its pilots, the nature of communication with the witness, etc.) do not repeat themselves. Each is a unique experience of a witness interacting with an unknown phenomenon.

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In contrast to CE3 cases, CE4 cases (abductions) have many common patterns. The witness is abducted from their bed, usually by grey extraterrestrials, subjected to a series of strange medical examinations, implanted with various devices, and finally returned to their bed. All of this information becomes known through hypnosis of the witness. A comparison of these two categories suggests that the phenomenon behind CE3 encounters is not the same as that which causes CE4 encounters. At the same time, the parallelism of details in CE4 reports may indicate a terrestrial presence in the whole matter. Disinformation in the CE4 field need not be deliberate it can very easily be guided by specific repetitive scenarios.

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Of course, no one can question the work of certain researchers like the American psychiatrist John Mack (1994, 1999), who dealt extensively with CE4 cases. In contrast to Mack’s work, there are various elements in the international literature that raise many questions about CE5 cases.

Psychologist Andrew Lawson (1977) hypnotized 16 normal volunteers and told them to imagine an extraterrestrial encounter in which they see a UFO, board the craft, undergo a physical examination, receive a message from the aliens, etc. Lawson concluded that the hypnotically suggested reports were not, in fact, essentially different from reports from CE4 cases. These findings (and others mentioned in the Vortex article) indicate the possibility of reproducing imaginary events under certain conditions, in which the human mind receives specific “commands.” The very fact that normal individuals can reproduce memories of “abductions and strange medical examinations” means that the triggering stimulus perceived by CE4 witnesses could be any cultural or social factor.

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1.6. How Electromagnetic Radiation Can Create Auditory and Visual Hallucinations

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In a chapter by Michael Persinger in the book UFOs and Abductions, edited by David M. Jacobs, titled “The UFO Experience: A Normal Correlate of Human Brain Function,” the author writes:

 

All of your experiences are generated inside your brain. Therefore, any underlying stimulus capable of producing specific patterns of activity within groups of brain cells can create experiences that are just as real and compelling as actual events. What Persinger proposes is that observations of certain phenomena can be remarkably subjective not because the human observer has sensory impairments, but because the senses of hearing and sight can be compromised by the presence of specific electromagnetic radiations. One such radiation is microwaves, which can alter or damage human biological functions. This type of radiation has a major “informational advantage”: because it is characterized by very short wavelengths, it is highly focused and can transmit information with very low signal loss.

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For the past seven years, the research group of Dr. Stefano Panzeri (Neural Computational Laboratory, University of Trento, Italy) has been studying the transmission of visual information through microwaves to the human optic nerve. Although this technology is still in its infancy, Dr. Panzeri is convinced that in the near future it will be possible to transmit to the human optic nerve a series of signals that can create for the user a visually artificial reality. This artificial reality is essentially a visual hallucination. In this context, the observer may see something that exists only for them and not for other nearby individuals. It should be noted that the ufological literature is full of such cases. Another application of electromagnetic radiation with effects on the human brain is the Ganzflicker phenomenon. The effect can be produced by switching a light source on and off, or by rapidly alternating bright colors in a rhythmic pattern (like a strobe). This can create an immediate psychedelic experience. Ganzflicker causes striking visual phenomena: people can see geometric patterns and illusory colors, and sometimes even complex objects such as animals or faces all without chemical stimulants. Occasionally, Ganzflicker can even lead to altered states of consciousness (such as loss of the sense of time or space) and emotional changes (ranging from fear to euphoria). In the ufological literature, there are numerous observations of disc shaped objects with various colored lights that suddenly begin to rotate. It is quite likely that, using such a technique, the observer is being prepared to accept specific visual and auditory hallucinations.

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1.7. Final Thoughts

The elements presented in the last section suggest that the human observer can be easily “deceived” through a series of false auditory and visual stimuli and convinced that what they perceived (CE3 & CE4 cases) is indeed something real. Even if we accept that the witness may be manipulated via some form of technology (from terrestrial or non terrestrial agents), many questions remain about the high variety of settings and testimonies in CE3 cases. 

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What could be so unknown that each observation of it becomes a unique experience? Chapter 3 is based on an article by Dr. Chatzopoulos presented in Vortex 5, 2024, Locus-7 & Alloste editions.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Stavros Chatzopoulos was born in 1957 in Athens. He is a professor at the University of Ferrara (Dept. of Neurosciences) in Italy. He has a background in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, with an emphasis on Hearing Science and Medical Audiology. His interest in the UFO phenomenon began in the early 1970s after meeting George Balanos and Omiros Karatzas. In 1975 he became a founding member of the Panhellenic Union of Researchers of Unknown Phenomena (P.E.E.A.F.). Since the early 1980s, following the research findings of Jacques Vallée, he has developed a paraphysical model for approaching the UFO phenomenon.

He is an active member of the Italian Center for Ufological Studies (Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici – CISU), the European groups EuroUfo.net and UAPcheck, the American group Society of UAP Studies (SUAPS), and the Greek group GRUFON – ErENZo.

Dr. Chatzopoulos can be reached at sdh1@unife.it.