Univ. of Calif. article on James Harder
From: "Joshua E. Reed" <jed@ocf.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 15:23:25 -0800
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[This is an article on Dr. James Harder from the campus newspaper at
the University of California, Berkeley. It is reprinted here mainly as
background on Harder. The article was transcribed by Joshua Reed.
-- Moderator]
From The Daily Cal -- U.C. Berkeley -- November 4, 1998
by Sara Maamouri
The search for extraterrestrial life has been an ongoing venture
for decades, wavering on a thin line between science and science-fiction.
The motivation? The hope that "we are not alone," is best expressed by
Jodie Foster in the film interpretation of Carl Sagan's novel, "Contact."
"There sure is a lot of space out there if it's just us," she said in the
movie.
But the search is not fiction. Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence, the program that Foster's character worked for, is very real
and alive here on the Cal campus.
SETI is an ongoing scientific research effort aimed at detecting
radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. The UC Berkeley branch
of the program, Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby
Developed Intelligent Populations -- called SERENDIP -- is currently using
a 1,000-foot dish at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
The program's goal is to "provide an answer to the age-old
question: Are we alone?" by monitoring radio signals. Recently, the
program began another search, this time using laser signals.
"Extraterrestrials might use lasers to contact us," says Dan
Wertheimer, co-director and principal designer of the SERENDIP machine.
But there are others who believe that SETI's research is too
narrowly focused.
"SETI just can't believe that anyone can get here from there when
we can't," says UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus James Harder. "They think
that radio is the way to communicate. Extraterrestrials don't use radio
any more than we use smoke signals. They use telepathy. It travels
instantaneously."
But Stuart Bowyer, professor emeritus of astronomy and the
principal investigator of the SERENDIP program, says he questions how
Harder knows how extraterrestrials communicate.
"It's amazing that he understands how the extraterrestrials are
communicating," says Bowyer. "This must be by direct experience, except
maybe those walking along Telegraph Avenue.[sic] The majority of the
world has not been communicating with extraterrestrials."
Harder taught civil engineering and hydraulics at UC Berkeley,
where he obtained his masters in civil engineering and a doctorate in
fluid mechanics.
But UFOs have always been his passion. He discovered an interest
in the subject in 1952 when the Air Force initiated Project Bluebook, a
program that investigated more than 12,000 UFO reports and that, says
Harder, "plainly spoke of an extraterrestrial craft, but got shot down by
the government."
He became involved in the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization,
one of the first civilian organizations devoted to the study of
extraterrestrial phenomena.
Soon, he became well known in what was then a small group of
professional university professors interested in the topic. Today, there
are about 300 academics in the United States studying UFOs.
In 1968, he was one of six people called in to testify on UFOs
before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and
Astronautics. Harder, who has continued to give lectures on the topic, is
also expected to speak at the New Science and Ancient Wisdom conference
this weekend.
Based on surveys, Harder says he believes that there are
extraterrestrial beings on earth.
"They're here, there's no doubt about that," says Harder. He says
that when studying any group of people that attended his lectures, it was
common to find that one-seventh of the audience reported remembering a
close encounter.
To determine this, he would typically pass out a questionnaire.
The first half would be aimed toward establishing whether the subject had
had a close encounter that they may or may not have been aware of. The
second developed a psychological profile of the person.
Harder says it is common for people who have had a close encounter
to be highly idealistic, spiritually developed, interested in the ecology
of the planet and working for world peace. Subjects were generally above
average in terms of socioeconomic status and education.
Bowyer says it is amusing who the aliens have been communicating
with.
"It's surprising that these aliens that are visiting have made it
this far only to crash and burn in some desert in New Mexico," he says.
"The lucky ones are more interested in talking to rural housewives than to
any authority figures."
Harder says that only about a third of the witnesses described
their encounter as a scary experience.
"Maybe five percent of the encounters are ominous," he says. "Most
have been well-treated."
Harder has studied several hundred cases over the past 35 years
and has accumulated a wealth of data.
One common technique used to study witnesses is hypnosis. Hypnotic
regression is a technique Harder uses with many of his subjects to allow
the subject to "remember" a past experience.
He says that under hypnosis his subjects can even become channels
for extraterrestrials and allow him to have a two-way conversation with
alien beings.
"An (extraterrestrial) is sometimes able to take over a subject
and speak to us directly," says Harder.
There are, however, many debates about the validity of hypnotic
regression. Some psychologists suggest that it is an unreliable procedure
because it unlocks the patient's imagination. If a hypnotist is known to
be a UFO researcher, there is subconscious pressure on the subject to
provide a UFO story for the research.
"It's always possible that hypnosis brings up elements from the
imagination," says Harder. "But there is always some evidence that can be
verified."
For example, a large number of witnesses say there are 57
extraterrestrials while under hypnosis that they would have no way of
knowing otherwise.
"There are 57 members of the Galactic Federation," says Harder.
"Many subjects seem to repeat that number."
According to Harder, the Galactic Federation is similar to the
United Nations except the members consist of extraterrestrial groups.
The arguments about the validity of hypnosis are part of an
ongoing battle between the believers and the skeptics.
"There are a lot of politics involved and a lot of battles that go
on," says Chris Carlisle, New Science and Ancient Wisdom conference
organizer. "It is part of a major conspiracy campaign of denial, stories
are sensationalized and smeared in the tabloids."
The U.S. government is one of the biggest opponents, according to
Harder.
"Some witnesses have had remarkably close contact that has been
positively bizarre," he says. "No wonder there are elements of the
government that are absolutely scared shitless."
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: UFO personalities
Index: James Harder (#2)
Created: Nov 8, 1998
