Calibrating the Instrument: How Reliable Is Eyewitness Testimony?

UFO reports of low and high strangeness depend on witness reports, but this anecdotal evidence holds little scientific credibility. From perception to conception, recollection, and communication, every step in the career of a UFO experience is fraught with risks for distortions and alterations, exemplified in the 1968 Zond IV reentry and the 1997 Phoenix Lights. Abduction reports face even worse distortions. Yet most eyewitness accounts stick close to the truth or at least preserve basic facts even when the observer misconstrues their nature. A test sample of highquality unknowns gathered from trained and experienced “elite” witnesses reveals a consistency that suggests a unitary anomalous phenomenon as the source.