People who
claim to have been abducted by space aliens seem to invariably describe a very
similar picture. Space aliens are described as having large heads, big eyes,
gray skin, smooth features and small mouths.
 |
| (Mom?) |
Psychologist Frederick
Malmstrom, currently a visiting scholar at the U.S. Air Force Academy, believes
that these 'visions' of space aliens are actually the image of the prototypical
female face that is hardwired into every baby human's brain. When Malmstrom
altered a picture of a woman in a way consistent with the characteristics of a
newborn's vision (astigmatism and a shallow focal plane), the result looked
very much like a big-eyed alien.
 |
| (Dr. Frederick Malmstrom) |
Malmstrom was asked why
people see this prototypical mother face, rather than some other important
figure. He replied that the answer had to do with the fact that cases of
abduction that are considered credible enough to study were those in which
abductees reported that they were falling asleep, or were under hypnosis.
For those whose belief
systems have been severely shaken by this revelation, consider reading Catholic
Belief and Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life; those who would like a bit of
distance on this topic might consider reading Find
Extraterrestrial Civilizations By Their Works. Reference articles may be
found here and here.
(This Science Fiction in
the News story used with permission from Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction.)
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