Case file · Non-fiction & research literature
McDonald, 'Science in Default'
Atmospheric physicist James McDonald's lecture to the 1969 AAAS symposium, arguing that science had failed to investigate UFOs properly.
1969 CE · 32.23, -110.95 · status: account
The account
McDonald, of the University of Arizona, had re-interviewed hundreds of witnesses and argued that the best cases defied conventional explanation and supported the extraterrestrial hypothesis. His paper, later printed in the symposium volume, is regarded as the strongest scientific case of its era.
The sceptical view
Skeptics say McDonald overestimated the reliability of witness testimony.
Connections in the atlas
- James E. McDonald
- Science in Default
- Condon Report