New book alert - "The UFO Singularity."

Hi all,

There's a new book on the shelves of your local bookshop. It's "The UFO Singularity" written by Micah Hanks, published in 2013 by New Page Books, Pompton Plains, NJ. ISBN 978-1-60163-240-1. (Click here.)

"With this book, the primary goal has been to pare down the various sundry elements into a few likely possibilities, or maybe some intricate fusion between them, that bears greater promise in terms of explaining the UFO enigma in a new and perhaps even more technologically plausible way than past attempts." (p.26.)

Looking for an alternative to the unusual explanations for UFOs the author writes "...an intelligence 'explosion' conducive to the technological  creations of some form of intelligence that far surpasses that which humans are naturally capable of. What this statement embodies is something many refer to as the singularity." (p.27.)

He considers four ways in which "...'singularity' and the technology it would comprise may be introduced on Earth." (p.31.) These are:

1. Extraterrestrial.
2. Secret military or private industry.
3. Extraterrestrial technology introduced by humans.
4. Humans from our future.

Hanks reviews the history of the thinking about a "singularity" noting that as early as 1965, British cryptologist and mathematician Irving J Good, (click here) had begun using the expression "intelligence explosion." (p.58.) Mathematician Vernor Vinge ( click here) in 1983 wrote "...we will soon create intelligences greater than our own. When this happens, human history will have reached a kind of singularity." (p.59.)

The author then reviews some of the thoughts of such individuals as Jacques Vallee, Whitley Strieber; then proceeds to examine the 1896-1897 "airship" wave. He goes on to take a look at some of the UFO reports of 1973, such as the Pascagoula incident, and then spends some time on a little known event which occurred in November 1973 at Locust Grove, Georgia.

The topic of abductions receives the author's attention taking a look at the work of such researchers as Kevin Randle, Kathleen Marden and Martin Cannon.

"No matter what their true origin may be, we nevertheless must accept the likelihood that UFOs and their associated technologies will likely prove to represent some form of what we could call near - or even, post - singularity intelligences." (p.175.)

In Chapter 6, Hanks writes "Throughout the last several decades, a number of well-respected scientific minds have come and gone, grappling amid footholds along the slippery slope that constitutes modern ufology." (p.179.)  James E McDonald's work is used as an example of one such individual.

His "conclusion" chapter, includes:

"...but if, in the event that some UFO craft were found to be originating from our future, or from secret technology already in our midst, or from outer space - or from any place else, for that matter - by the time we have technology that would allow us to recognise or study these, our own technological capabilities will likely be nearing or intersecting with 'theirs.'..." (p.253.)

Micah Hanks is an author, musician, journalist and radio personality (click here for more information on Hanks.)