Where did Allen Hynek's interest come from?

Dear readers

Adelaide has just been through 6 days in a row where it rained - a bit of a winter record for us.

In a recent post about Jacques Vallee on Peter Sturrock, I noted that both Vallee and Sturrock, had early on in their lives, seen a UFO. I also noted that I didn't know where J Allen Hynek's interests came from.

Upon re-reading Vallee's book "Forbidden Science-Volume 1" I came across a diary entry dated 13 Nov 1966 which might answer my question (p.227.)

Hynek says to Vallee "Did I ever tell you how I became interested in science?"

"Wasn't your mother a schoolteacher? You told me she once gave you a book about astronomy that fascinated you."

"That's not what made me decide to take up science as a profession. So many people get into science looking for power, or for a chance to make some big discovery that will put their name into history books...For me the challenge was to find at the very limits of science, the place where it broke down, the phenomena it didn't explain."

"Had you studied the paranormal before you decided to become an astronomer?"

"I had spent a great deal of time reading about esoteric subjects...as a student I read everything I could find about the Rosicrucians and the hermetic philosophers...I never cease to be fascinated by the limitations of our science...Now we are about to see how it handles this phenomenon of UFOs that has become so familiar to you and me..."