March has come and gone, and the poll results have been finalized.The question was "Who is the greatest ufologist ever?"
The winner? Dr. Jacques Vallee.
The rest of the top five, in descending order, were Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Stanton T. Friedman, Dr. James McDonald, and, in what some might see as a bit of a surprise, James Moseley, Supreme Commander of Saucer Smear. I'm a big Moseley fan, so I'm glad to see he got solid support.
The biggest surprise for me was the low vote total for Keyhoe, and the fact that Edward Ruppelt didn't get a single vote. At the end of the day, however, I think these admittedly limited results really show that Vallee, Hynek and Friedman are the popular giants of ufology (perhaps for different reasons),
while McDonald gets the votes of the cognoscenti (I know more than a few of those who voted for him, and they were all "serious" ufologist types), and Moseley has a base of support who appreciates his "Court Jester" role within ufology (and the serious contributions he's made over the years, which are often forgotten or overlooked). They make a worthy top five, because they all have, or had, something of real value to offer. Of course, so do all the others, in their own ways, especially Dick Hall, Brad Sparks and Jerry Clark, who received a grand total of 3 votes between them, but have made tremendous contributions to the serious study of the UFO phenomenon over a period of decades (and, in Dick's case, half a century).Thanks to everyone for stopping by and voting. Don't forget to vote in the April poll - Mac's love-life is on the line!
Paul Kimball
P.S. I'm curious who the 28 "others" were - if you voted "other" leave a comment here, and let us know who, and why.
6 comments:
Maybe in a few months you can have a follow-up poll: "Most famous living Ufologist"
That might be interesting as well.
Will
Hail the Supreme Commander!
(A little surprised by his
great vote getting ability.)
Mike Jamieson
Will:
It would also be interesting to have a run-off, like many countries (i.e. France) do if no-one in a presidential election wins 50% plus 1 on the first ballot. In this case, it would be Vallee and Hynek, and I'm willing to bet that Hynek would come out well on top, probably picking up most of the support that went to Stan and McDonald, as well as Hall, Keyhoe, and most of the others.
In other words, if this was a political party leadership convention, I would say thay Vallee has maxed out on the first ballot, and that Hynek is the one with room to grow.
Paul
Mike:
Hail the Supreme Commander indeed!
May the space gods continue to treat him kindly.
Paul
I voted Keyhoe: ufology as I look it, is basically the same that Keyhoe helped to construct.
DM:
Keyhoe was an icon, yes indeed. I suspect he doesn't have quite the name recognition anymore, certainly not when compared to a Vallee, Hynek or a Friedman, and I think the serious scientific types are much more likely to give the nod to James McDonald, or perhaps Hynek.
Still, without Keyhoe, and NICAP, the history of ufology would be a lot different, wouldn't it?
Paul
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