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157 After studying ancient folklore and religious belief systems in the context of modern UFO reports, researcher Jacques Vallee concluded that con- temporary accounts of UFOs and their occupants are merely the modern variant of a complex of experiences that infuse the folk memories of all cultures. He noted a remarkable similarity between reports of UFO occu- pants and reports of fairy sightings of an earlier age.** People in ancient Greece, Rome, or medieval Europe did not talk about spaceships or extraterrestrials, observed White. The appearance of lights or phenomena interpreted as objects in the sky were not in general associ- ated with visitors or fantastic creatures, but with religious beliefs; they were treated as manifestations of supernatural forces. Physicist Dyson dismissed UFOs as “mythical animals,” the contemporary reincarnation of phoe- nixes and unicorns.” Davies—like Baird and Hall—concluded that, in most cases, UFO wit- nesses are sincerely reporting genuine experiences. Those experiences are largely subjective and reflect deep-seated human desires and anxieties of a quasi-spiritual nature. “What we see in the UFO culture,” he posited, “seems to be an expression in the quasi-technological language appropriate to our space age of ancient supernatural beliefs, many of which are an integral part of the folk memories of all cultures.” Even though the facts may not support actual contact with aliens, the desire to connect remains intriguing. Steven Dick suggested that UFOs, along with science fiction, are a way of working out the biological universe world view in popular culture. These stories of mythic proportion broaden our horizons. They force us to consider our place in the universe; they make us wonder whether that universe is full of good, as in “E.T.,” or evil, as in the Alien film series.” Aerospace historian Curtis Peebles, noting that earlier myths had addressed interactions between humans and humanlike supernatural beings, also thought that the flying saucer myth was an attempt to find a relationship with extraterrestrials. “The function of mythology is to allow a society to relate to the larger world,” he wrote. “This has not changed.” Grinspoon was more dismissive, arguing that “these fantasies carry an unrealistic expectation that our interactions with aliens will be safely within the realm of our previous experiences, including, especially, our TV watching experiences.” Psychology professor Albert Harrison occupied the middle ground. UFO reports represent a mixture of what actually happened with imperfections in our perceptual and memory processes, our personalities, attitudes, and beliefs, and the influence of our friends, acquaintances, and the culture in which we live. As a result of science’s abdication from any area that might be consid- ered New Age, Vallee claimed, charlatans and hoaxers are given a free Myths Past and Present Myths Past and Present