About Richard Dolan’s problematic approach to UFO=ET
mythology
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“So what is the thesis? Basically this: It’s all a
conspiracy. The entire governmental security apparatus, from the founding of
the CIA to compartmentalized information is a result of the government trying
to keep a lid on the UFO issue. It’s not that we’ve never heard that, it’s just
that Dolan has taken this issue to a new level of detail. He’s even more
detailed than Timothy Good. Dolan is strictly a nuts & bolts guy and
does not consider alternative hypotheses in the field. Sociological and
psychological issues are beside the point to him.
So what is the problem? The problem is that Dolan appears to take all evidence at face value. He will quote Morris K. Jessup on an equal basis with Jacques Vallee. He will talk of Gray Barker on the same level as J. Allen Hynek. He puts Philip Corso at the same level as Jerome Clark. In other words, he does not seem to discriminate between sources. He considers them all valid. Rather than sifting through vast amounts of disinformation for the Truth, it’s more like he’s amassing a mound of evidence without regard to its veracity or corroboration. He doesn’t even allude to the possibility that there might be some problems with some of this evidence. The clowns are thrown in with the professors.
Dolan also comes to some dubious conclusions. It’s quite clear he believes James Forrestal was killed for his knowledge that he might spill the beans. And what about Ruppelt’s early death? No one dies of a heart attack at age 37. Hmmm. And James McDonald. Did he commit suicide, really, or was he murdered because he was getting too close to the secrets? This stuff is not corroborated at all. His standards of proof are way too low. This would not be allowed in academia. You wouldn’t be able to get away with this and be considered seriously.
The third problem is that Dolan is now a star. There is no doubt that his various speaking engagements are contributing to his reputation and, by extension, to the monetary rewards of being in the spotlight. His next volume might not make him a millionaire, but it will not be insignificant. For those of you who always jump at monetary involvement, you absolutely must consider this for Dolan as well as Greer.
The fourth problem is that Dolan appears to hang out with discredited people in the field. He shares the stage with people like Greer and Bassett. His theories dovetail nicely with the Exopolitics movement, a cargo cult if there ever was one. If you are known by the company you keep, this is bad news for Dolan. You may say, as he does, that to get the word out he must take advantage of opportunities to do so, but for many, this leaves a sour taste.
Dolan writes well and deserves much of the attention he has received. It's a cut above most Ufological literature. The bottom line is that Dolan’s work appeals to a certain segment of our culture. We all love a conspiracy, and when the government is at fault, we nod our heads sagely in agreement that we knew it all along. Dolan feeds into this world view with detailed facts that suffer from credulity. His focus is very narrow and his work is not nearly as academic and scholarly as it looks. Detail does not substitute for scrutiny and discrimination.”–Schuyler
So what is the problem? The problem is that Dolan appears to take all evidence at face value. He will quote Morris K. Jessup on an equal basis with Jacques Vallee. He will talk of Gray Barker on the same level as J. Allen Hynek. He puts Philip Corso at the same level as Jerome Clark. In other words, he does not seem to discriminate between sources. He considers them all valid. Rather than sifting through vast amounts of disinformation for the Truth, it’s more like he’s amassing a mound of evidence without regard to its veracity or corroboration. He doesn’t even allude to the possibility that there might be some problems with some of this evidence. The clowns are thrown in with the professors.
Dolan also comes to some dubious conclusions. It’s quite clear he believes James Forrestal was killed for his knowledge that he might spill the beans. And what about Ruppelt’s early death? No one dies of a heart attack at age 37. Hmmm. And James McDonald. Did he commit suicide, really, or was he murdered because he was getting too close to the secrets? This stuff is not corroborated at all. His standards of proof are way too low. This would not be allowed in academia. You wouldn’t be able to get away with this and be considered seriously.
The third problem is that Dolan is now a star. There is no doubt that his various speaking engagements are contributing to his reputation and, by extension, to the monetary rewards of being in the spotlight. His next volume might not make him a millionaire, but it will not be insignificant. For those of you who always jump at monetary involvement, you absolutely must consider this for Dolan as well as Greer.
The fourth problem is that Dolan appears to hang out with discredited people in the field. He shares the stage with people like Greer and Bassett. His theories dovetail nicely with the Exopolitics movement, a cargo cult if there ever was one. If you are known by the company you keep, this is bad news for Dolan. You may say, as he does, that to get the word out he must take advantage of opportunities to do so, but for many, this leaves a sour taste.
Dolan writes well and deserves much of the attention he has received. It's a cut above most Ufological literature. The bottom line is that Dolan’s work appeals to a certain segment of our culture. We all love a conspiracy, and when the government is at fault, we nod our heads sagely in agreement that we knew it all along. Dolan feeds into this world view with detailed facts that suffer from credulity. His focus is very narrow and his work is not nearly as academic and scholarly as it looks. Detail does not substitute for scrutiny and discrimination.”–Schuyler
