So an amateur golfer hitting the ball around with other amateur golfers has a right to tell those other people they can't talk about certain topics? Who defines what's science and what isn't, Daniel? Is it you? You take the position that Brent's UFO story is OK because he determined it was a satellite -- but what if he had seen exactly the same thing and had not been able to determine that? If that were the case, should he have just kept it to himself even though he did see something puzzling? That's a pretty controlling attitude. -- Joe ________________________________ From: daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 2:07 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS history document I guess I don't see what all the fuss is about. Brent's UFO story turned out to really by an IFO story because he correctly determined it was a geosynchonous satellite. Another member told me about a moving dot on the face of the moon which he researched and concluded was a migrating bird. These guys did the due diligence of science and the UFO became an IFO. Another club member saw flashing lights in the east but needed to be told that there was a thunder storm fifty miles in that direction that night and yes you can see them from that far away. UFO turned into IFO. Best to call them IFO stories. As an amateur astronomer I do more than just observe and report. I like to intepret and explain, because that's part of the science process, and astronomy is a science. As an amateur photographer still shoot pictures and process them into their final form. Amateur golfers still hit the ball around. So amateur status in a science field doesn't mean you're free to shut off your brain and pretend. The real world is much more interesting and challenging. But it requires some effort. DT _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".