Dr. Eltjo Haselhoff— Chilbolton Crop Circles a ‘Quantum Leap' In Design

YOWUSA.COM, 31-August-01
Marshall Masters and James van der Worp

The stated objective of SETI is to establish communications with an extraterrestrial intelligence. Now that their 1974 Arecibo message seems to be answered, the possibility that SETI has achieved its goal is unwelcome news for SETI.  If these crop circles are real, then SETI will have achieved its goal and there goes its funding.  Consequently, their response has is more about their own financial self-interest, as opposed to science.  On the other hand, the real science of analyzing these crop circles continues, as dedicated, reputable researchers like as Dr Eltjo Haselhoff continue the process of validation.  Even though Dr Haselhof warns us that we lack sufficient analysis to form a judgment at this time, he does state that these new crop circles "reveal a ‘quantum leap' in crop circle design." 

This article will present an initial report filed by Jacco van der Worp who is following  Dr Haselhoff's efforts.  This e-mail interview presents a good summary of Dr Haselhoff's initial findings and concerns in his own words. 

Following that, Marshall Masters, a long time volunteer member of the SETI@home project and who has personally processed over 422 Arecibo work units, will categorically respond to the issues raised in an article recently posted by an anonymous author on the SETI web site.  

Dr Eltjo Haselhoff Interview
by Jacco van der Worp

This report contains the first answers from Dr Eltjo Haselhoff of the Dutch Centre for Crop Circle Studies.  Founded in 1994 by ex-chairman Herman Hegge, and with a current number of 25 active volunteer members, the DCCCS is the oldest and the largest crop circle research group in the Netherlands. The DCCCS is chaired by Dr. Haselhoff.

While Dr. Haselhoff remains cautious, he clearly has an open mind to exciting possibility that  the 1974 Arecibo message has been answered.

• Jacco van der Worp: Have you taken a look at this formation already? If so, what is your opinion of it?
• Dr Eltjo Haselhoff: I have not visited the formation personally, but I have seen many aerial and ground shots and read many reports. These two crop circles are not only amongst the best that have ever been reported, they also reveal a ‘quantum leap' in crop circle design. In that respect, they are unlike any crop circle reported so far.
• Jacco van der Worp: Is this a man-made event or not, and what would it take to have a credible answer to that question?
• Dr Eltjo Haselhoff: IF it is a man-made event, it clearly creates a paradigm shift with respect to man-made crop circles. However, just by looking at photographs, it is not possible to make a final judgment.
• Jacco van der Worp: What kind of research is needed to establish if this is a 'true' crop circle or a man-made hoax?
• Dr Eltjo Haselhoff: There are several relatively simple biophysical tests that have been performed on crop circles. These tests have revealed biologic anomalies to the crops, that have not yet been reproduced by manual flattening. Such tests, if positive, could at least give a strong indication that the crop was not flattened with planks and ropes.
• Jacco van der Worp: And do you perform this type of research yourself?
• Dr Eltjo Haselhoff: To some extent, yes.

What is refreshing about this short dialogue is that is about science. No personalities, and the entire dialogue is absent of arrogant self-serving diminutives  Keep that in mind as you read SETI's take on this event.

No Bucks -- No Buck Rogers

In a galaxy far far far away, and a long logn long time ago, NASA funded SETI.  Then, congress looked at the money that was being used to fund SETI as opposed to the various pork barrel projects that grease the wheels of legislation, and SETI was promptly sent out into the hard cruel world to fend for itself — hat in hand.  

Since then, SETI has survived on private donations and as is keenly aware of the tenuous thread that connects it with basic solvency. Or as they phrased it in the move The Right Stuff, "No bucks -- no Buck Rogers." 

Consequently, we many think of SETI with this image in mind: The National Astronomy and Ionospheric Center's 305 meter telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico.   

However, if you visit the online SETI gift shop, the page proudly proclaims, "The primary purpose of the SETI Institute Gift Shop is education and outreach."  And then it proceeds to offer SETI tee shirts, SETI coffee mugs and SETI swatches.  We're talking real science here folks, and this not a joke.  

First and foremost, SETI has to be ever mindful of its own financial health.  Consequently, should the public come to believe that SETI has fulfilled its mission to make contact with an advanced off-world civilization the need for SETI goes the way of the dinosaurs.  After all, even radio astronomers have to pay for orthodontia.   

Consequently, the Chilbolton crop circles have triggered an instinctive financial self-interest, which is full evidenced in their latest article, "Is the Latest Crop Circle a Message from E.T?."

Singularly absent in this article, is any interest in whether or not the Chilbolton crop circles are man-made.  They assume they are as a given and apply their assumption across the board with complete disregard for the credible scientific facts published in respected scientific peer journals, that warn us not to make such sweeping assumptions. 

But then, science is really not the issue here.  This is because SETI's reaction is typical of someone who feels financially threatened. OK troops, man the wall, and we'll impeach the perceived threat with specious arguments designed to deflect attention from the real scientific issues at hand. 

In this robust deflective attack, the SETI article raises a plethora of issues.  However, the following 5 truly stand out: 

1. Method of Communication
2. Similar Physical Appearance
3. Unintended Audience
4. Alien DNA
5. Why Are They Avoiding the USA?

Fair enough. Let the games begin. 

The SETI Institute Online
Is the Latest Crop Circle
a Message from E.T?

This is highly improbable. There is no evidence to suggest an other-than-earthly origin for these graphics. Some of the reasons why we are skeptical that this is a "signal" from afar are as follows:

1^st Objection — The Response

The SETI Institute Online
Is the Latest Crop Circle
a Message from E.T?
Continued...

The aliens, if they've received this signal, would obviously be aware of our capability to send and receive high-frequency radio. After all, they would only know of the 1974 transmission by receiving it. And, of course, they've made a point about radio by leaving their message next to a radio antenna.

So why would they resort to an extraordinarily crude method of "replying" - carving simple messages in our wheat? Why don't they use radio? The wheat graffiti only conveys a handful of information - roughly the equivalent of a few sentences of any text.

The issue here is not wheat.  Rather, it is about control. 

To illustrate this point, let's first take a look at what happened to Galileo during the Inquisition.

Galileo Galilei (born 1564) is considered a key pivotal figure in the Scientific Enlightenment. On April 12, 1633 he was forced to appear before the Inquisition on for the first time to defend his work titled "Two Chief World Systems."  His arguments were persuasive, and the Inquisition agreed to let Galileo modify it so that it would be clear of all suspicion of heresy.  

However, the pope rejected the Inquisition's solution and wanted Galileo  charged with heresy. Consequently, he was brought before the Inquisition a second time and was accused of being a heretic and threatened him with torture.

Galileo said he was not a Copernican and that he had abandoned the opinion in 1616. Then he said "for the rest, here I am in your hands; do as you please".   Well, that certainly seemed agreeable and Galileo was found guilty of "vehement suspicion of heresy" which is a lesser change to heresy and "Two Chief World Systems" was put under the index of banned books.

 Galileo was also forced to "abjure, curse, and detest" the Copernican heresy and to promise to denounce all such heretics.

Now keeping this in mind, let's point our attention to SETI's final thoughts on this event: "Bottom line? The crop circles are decorative, but not informative. We can expect better from true extraterrestrial intelligence."

By its own admission, SETI has stated that it has a bias in the form of its own expectations.  Therefore in terms of expectations, who is to say what is, or what is not heresy.  In this manner, there is really no difference between the SETI researchers who are profoundly insulted by the manner of the reply, than those who judged Galileo a heretic during the Inquisition. 

Wouldn't this be an excellent reason for an advanced civilization to respond in the manner demonstrated at Chilbolton, so as to avoid running the same kind of hurdles as Galileo.

Remember, Galileo was forced to modify his work in order to avoid an adverse judgment during his first Inquisition trial.   In the same vein, if SETI received the message before anyone else in the world, SETI could arguably modify that signal to make it comply with their own perceptions and beliefs, before releasing it to the public. 

If these crop circles were created by an advanced civilization, what they demonstrated with these crop circles is that they known an Inquisition when they see one, and that they gracefully sidestepped it by placing their answers in the field next to the telescope for everyone to see.

2^nd Objections — Similar Physical Appearance

The SETI Institute Online
Is the Latest Crop Circle
a Message from E.T?
Continued...

How come they look like us? Hollywood aliens always look pretty humanoid, but this is an anthropocentric conceit. Visit the local zoo, and you'll find critters that share 3.5 billion years of evolution and a lot of your DNA. But they don't look like you - they look like fish, or alligators, or…

In reading this, the first thing that comes to mind is: Are radio astronomers cross-trained and competent genetic researchers as well?    

We just finished mapping the human genome, and yet there is still so much we do not know.  Actually, we have still yet to definitively identify that which we still do not know about genetic evolution.  Nonetheless, it appears that SETI has a George Lucas view of the world, which will no doubt encourage some hoaxer to create a Jabba the Hut crop circle.   

In other words, isn't SETI stepping a bit outside of its own field here?