I begin with certain claims that may stimulate some of you to disbelief. Surveys accomplished by well-known polling organizations suggest that about one in four adults in the United States “believes” that intelligent beings from outer space have been in contact with humans (Gallup and Newport 1991, 138; TIME, 23 June 1997, 66). And Jon D. Miller's surveys, which asked US adults whether or not they believe that “some of the unidentified flying objects reported are really space vehicles from other civilizations,” elicited affirmative replies from 54 percent of the respondents in 1985, 57 percent in 1988, and 54 percent in 1990 (Frazier 1992, 346).

Extrapolations from the polls suggest that millions of people in the United States “believe” that extraterrestrial beings have actually contacted earthlings, and that even larger numbers affirm the reality of at least some unidentified flying objects as spacecraft from distant worlds. These figures, as one may expect, are welcomed by members of the UFO community. Thus, for instance, Robert J. Durant, a ufologist writing in the International UFO Reporter of November/ December 1993, exults as follows:

Now, there are serious questions that can and should be raised about these polls.