THE MAINSTREAM AND THE MAVERICK

This paper first appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of the 'Skeptical Intelligencer', pp 2-3.

Back in the early 1980s I attended a talk by a gentleman who believed in the reality of telepathic communication. He first announced that there was indisputable evidence that telepathy is a fact of life and presented an uncritical review of this evidence, almost entirely anecdotal. He then outlined his theory of why telepathy is possible: we each have an unconscious mind (which for men he called George and for women, Georgina) and, by some medium as yet unknown to science, information can be communicated between each George and/or Georgina. He believed that this was the basis of spiritualism, rather than communication with the deceased. As far as I recall, the audience (which clearly included members of the public already sympathetic to his message) showed the speaker polite respect throughout both his talk and question time. I include myself here, being a late developer so far as my critical faculties were concerned.

The venue of the lecture was the University of Kent and the speaker was a Professor of Electronics (or Electrical Engineering or similar). Aha! I hear you say knowingly: the phenomenon of 'the maverick expert', the highly qualified individual who challenges the consensus of the specialists, often on matters outside his or her (note 1) area of expertise. Readers of Mark Newbrook's contributions to the Intelligencer will be familiar with this phenomenon (also, 'the maverick scholar').

Mark has drawn on his expert knowledge of linguistics to contribute to an article in this issue of the Intelligencer on claims of reincarnation-i.e. reports by people who sincerely recall having had a previous existence. Reference is a made in the article to a prominent scientist in this field, the late psychiatrist Professor Ian Stevenson. Professor Stevenson devoted many years of meticulous research to this phenomenon, during which time he and his co-workers interviewed numerous claimants, including children in different parts of the world. The unit that he established at the University of Virginia is still functioning. Yet he is still often described as 'a maverick' and his findings are not taken seriously by most mainstream scientists, in particular psychologists and psychiatrists.

Actually, 'the maverick expert' (or 'scientist') is a fuzzy concept. There are plenty of examples of experts who are, or were, considered to be mavericks in their day because they promoted ideas and theories in their own speciality that were considered highly implausible by their mainstream colleagues. Some such 'mavericks' are occasionally vindi-cated, but most are not ('They all laughed at Newton/ Darwin/ Einstein/ …. didn't they?' is a common defence for any whacky idea). There are also scientists who create ructions both within and outside their discipline. One such character (note 2) was the astronomer Fred Hoyle, a stereotypical, thumbs-in-braces Yorkshireman (check if you're still allowed to say this-Ed.) who was notorious not only for his hostility to the Big Bang Theory (a term he himself coined), favouring the discredited steady state theory, but also for his alternative theories of the evolution of the earliest forms of life, the causes of viral epidemics, and the origin of petroleum.

Often, the maverick expert turns out to have no expertise in any scientific discipline at all. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have seen no limit to the number of people-scientists and non-scientists alike-elbowing their way to the front of the stage to contest the findings and opinions of those who, unlike themselves, spend their lives studying the relevant evidence and testing their theories and predictions. But distinguishing the expert from the non-expert is not always clear-cut.

As with the case of Fred Hoyle and his steady state theory, you are unlikely to lose any money betting that the maverick expert or non-expert will go to their grave still insisting they were right when all the evidence has shown otherwise.

Expert opinion on sightings of UFOs and big cats

Related to the above are news reports concerning common sightings of two anomalous phenomena, namely UFOs and the appearance of big cats, such as pumas and lynxes, in places where they are not meant to be. At the time of writing, the world is eagerly awaiting the publication of a US congressional report on UFOs, or 'unexplained aerial phenomena' (UAPs), featuring the opinions of top intelligence and military officials (see 'Of Interest' on UFOs in this issue). In 2020, the US Department of Defence declassified three videos of UAPs. In May, the influential CBS television programme '60 Minutes' presented an alarming account of regular sightings of UAPs by the military (note 4). Most people in positions of authority have never taken seriously the idea that these are extra-terrestrial spacecraft, but just at the moment, informed and influential voices have been challenging the consensus (note 5).

Big cat sightings in the UK (mainly lynxes, pumas and leopards) have been reported in the media on a regular basis for decades. Google this topic at any time and you can guarantee you'll find recent reports in the newspapers from all over the country. Animal experts are skeptical that these are sightings of the real thing, but there are dissenters, including Rhoda Watkins (note 6) who has long experience tracking wildlife in different parts of the world and considers that there is definite evidence of large breeding populations of leopards and pumas across the UK (note 7).

I recently learned that Australia has its own history of big cat sightings. Recently 'a panther' was reported to be roaming in Mitta Valley in Victoria (note 8). As in the UK, there have been hundreds of such sightings reported in this location over the years but a 2012 study by the Victorian government found that it was almost certainly feral domestic cats that were being spotted

Not taking it seriously

The reality is that the discourse concerning these claims and others like them, which if they were true would have far-reaching consequences for our lives and our understanding of the world, shows no inclination to move forward, but rather around. Year after year, decade after decade, the same stories are told, rarely, if ever, fading way, yet showing no evidence of significant progress, breakthroughs or resolution. Contrast science. Perhaps we need these stories in the same way we need entertainment and diversion, the implicit message being they are not meant to be taken seriously. For, in reality, they aren't.

One test of how seriously they are taken is what action is adopted by the powers that be. If, for example, animal experts genuinely considered that that there may be dangerous animals marauding the landscape wouldn't the appropriate authorities be expressing concern about public safety and taking measures to warn and protect people? There appears to be very little of this (though most recently the MP for Delyn, Rob Roberts, following a spate of reports in North Wales, has written to the Welsh Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths expressing concern and it has been announced that the Welsh Government is to carry out an investigation [note 9]). Or how about public reactions to proposals to rewild parts of the countryside by, amongst other things, introducing big cats such as lynx, a move that has delighted some but alarmed others such as farmers anxious about the threat to their livestock. Surely if the authorities, not to mention farmers, took seriously the hundreds of sightings of these creatures, their message would be 'Don't bother, they're already here!' And, likewise, surely if experts in high places at least accepted as a real possibility the presence of spacecraft from alien worlds, wouldn't sightings of them make headline news, a statement from our leaders, and the placing of our defence systems on some kind of alert? (note 10).

Notes

1. Nearly all the ones that come to my mind are men.
2. These people are often called 'contrarians'. Google 'the psychology of the contrarian' for further study.
3. https://tinyurl.com/sw2h7vjc
4. https://tinyurl.com/am9bezfa
5. In this connection, a noted maverick in the past was the psychiatrist John Mack, famous for taking seriously the idea of abduction by extra-terrestrials.
6. https://www.rhodawatkins.com/
7. https://tinyurl.com/jwrnphmw
8. https://tinyurl.com/e285u2fz
9. https://tinyurl.com/287x7r5z
10. In fairness, the congessional report on UFOs, which came out since writing this article, does not dismiss outright the idea that some UFOs (UAPs) are extraterrestrial in origin-see: https://tinyurl.com/uxrtabh4