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144 dismiss the UFO phenomenon or avoid the subject because of potential damage to their careers. Hynek, who served for years as a consultant to the Air Force, observed that data on the UFO phenomenon had to run an insidious gauntlet that meteorites had been spared. Discoveries of meteorite falls did not become material for cultists and pseudo-religious aberrants; meteorites were not regarded as sent by alien intelligences. Nobody concocted stories about riding meteorites to other planets or meeting perfected beings. The people who generated such stories, although few in number, were vocal and insensi- tive to ridicule; they were given ample press and often generated a cultist following. Hynek believed that the controversy over evolutionary theory was the only other one in which basic emotional responses, buttressed by deep- seated religious and personal prejudice, played so major a role. However, the flow of opinion was reversed. The concept of biological evolution first was slowly accepted at the top echelons of biological science before filtering down to popular levels, where the greatest emotional responses were gener- ated. By contrast, the UFO phenomenon arose at the grass roots level. “It was the highest scientific echelons that generated the emotional storm against allowing unprejudiced examination of observations made by persons judged sane by conventional standards,” wrote Hynek. “The UFO evidence has not been properly presented at the Court of Science.” The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence provides an intrigu- ing parallel with evolutionary theory. SETI, originating among a small number of scientists and being slowly accepted by a larger number of their colleagues, has been a top-down phenomenon that has won popular support. However, much of the public already was predisposed to believe in a plurality of inhabited worlds. Many also were prepared to believe that more technologically advanced beings could visit the Earth. To the general public, UFO sightings and tales of contact with extrater- restrials are the primary introduction to the question of alien minds. Laymen, including influential ones, still link SETI and UFOs. Sociology professor David Swift proposed in 1982 that NASA recognize this connec- tion by taking on SETI and UFOs as a package; not surprisingly, NASA has not done so. Yet, as recently as 1999, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Extraterrestrial Intelligence restated that linkage, focusing on UFOs and visitors rather than on SETI.* If you believe that democracy is the way to decide issues... you will not doubt that many kinds of aliens have visited us for a great variety of reasons. The UFO Controversy Ancient Sightings —Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart, 2002°