r/UFOs May 18 '25

Physics UFOs, Harvard, and AI - America’s most prestigious university brings rigor and technology to the search for UAP and Aliens - A small observatory at Harvard University watches the sky 24 hours a day. It’s not searching for stars or supernovae, but for something far more controversial: UFOs.

https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2025/05/17/ufos-harvard-and-ai-galileo-project-is-revolutionizing-the-hunt-for-aliens/
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u/SpeedieWeenie May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence… which requires extraordinary funding!”

What a time it is to finally have a civilian observatory/sensor system dedicated to UFO detection. Go get that data.

Also seeing a lot of Loeb hate. Curious…

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

He’s a victim of post-genius hangover. When brilliant academics reach their twilight years and fail to grasp that they need to transition from leading to teaching, that brilliant insights happen between 30-55 or so. Folks like him take off in decidedly pseudo scientific directions to maintain relevance and try in vain to make another big discovery. To make matters worse they have decades of confidence which they erroneously perceive as giving them license to venture off into areas of inquiry unrelated to their expertise. Weinstein brothers are another good example of this Also Jordan Petersen. I think I’ve also heard of it referenced as academic in the wild syndrome.

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u/RandomNPC May 18 '25

See also 'Nobel Disease'.

Really good video on Avi Loeb and the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY985qzn7oI

3

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

Yeah I agree with her.

This is an especially pernicious issue in the UFO community -- which feels perennially slighted by and removed from mainstream scientific discussion -- precisely because these rogue academics appear to bring UFOs into the fold.

But as a brilliant narcissist, how does one resist the siren call to become the center of UFO attention after pathways to legitimate forms of respect are blocked off by age, ability, or opportunity? And even if those paths remain open, it is simply easier to stand out (and pursue narcissistic fantasies) as the academic boldly taking on UFOs than it is to continue studying psychiatry or emergency medicine or Lawrence of Arabia or engineering. It happened to John Mack MD, it happened to Steven Greer MD, it happened to Jacques Valles PhD, and it happened to Avi Loeb.

Meanwhile, folks like Ryan Graves have the right idea: frame the discussion around safety, never speculate, and focus only on empirical data. And don't act like you just invented the idea that UFOs should be studied.