MollyCon 14
The Eerie Silence
7/3/2022
Molly
Don
NOTE: This site has been up and running for six months, and in that short time it has captured the interest of followers from around the globe. So I thought now would be a good time for a status check. What’s the goal? And, how far along am I to achieving it?
The goal is simple: To have the Sagan Signal tested by the best cryptographers, code experts, Bible scholars and others to determine if the grain/wine/oil sequences I discovered are a code, or something else. The good news is that, measured by the visits to this site, there is a lot of interest on the subject. The bad news is that no one new has stepped forward with any research results, one way or the other. The verification process seems to be in a kind of holding pattern, waiting for some kind of breakthrough that, as Molly and I will discuss, may never come.
How is it possible that an extraordinary hypothesis advanced by the great Carl Sagan, that JC is an ET, now supported by empirical evidence, the Sagan Signal, could fail to elicit an avalanche of feedback, pro or con, from academics, scientists, and scientific organizations?
It may sound like the title of a bad country song, but it’s true: I’m standing in the gap with a bull’s eye on my back, begging critics to come after me. Having engaged and silenced many of the world’s leading skeptics, the Sagan Signal is iron-clad evidence that we are not alone, that JC was, and is, an ET. The Truth is clear: the Singularity is not near, as Ray maintains, it’s here, in the Person of Jesus Christ. The question now is: Can the world’s elite, its intelligentsia, handle the Truth?
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My claim that JC is the Singleton is currently not being challenged – because the evidence it’s based on, the Sagan Signal, has not and cannot be explained away as being anything other than an alien code. In the stunning absence of even a single skeptic getting in my face and telling me where I’m wrong, the Sagan Signal as an alien Bible code, at this moment in time, stands provisionally confirmed.
The universal silence surrounding the Sagan Signal is eerily reminiscent of how people in power might react if SETI were to intercept an alien signal from outer space. The SETI Post-Detection Taskforce recommends that a lid of secrecy be cast over all aspects of such a discovery until leaders can decide how best to handle what would be, by every measure, an extremely complex and difficult situation.
A key member of the Post-Detection Taskforce is Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist at Arizona State University. Paul is a straight-shooter with whom I have exchanged helpful and always cordial emails. Following is what he wrote about how a message from ET should be handled:
Paul Davies
“If an alien civilization were to send us a customized message then all bets are off. Right from the outset some extremely hard choices would need to be made, choices that the Post-Detection Taskgroup has pondered. The first decision would be whom to tell and how. In this scenario, the published Protocol would almost certainly break down. I personally feel that the implications of simply receiving such a message would be so startling and disruptive that, although eventual disclosure is essential, every effort should be made to delay a public announcement until a thorough evaluation of the content has been conducted, and the full consequences of releasing the news carefully assessed in light of the Taskgroup’s recommendations.” From: The Eerie Silence.
While I’m not yet popping champagne, I do sense an air of resignation within the skeptic community that my claimed discovery of an alien Bible code is a done deal, and all that’s left is a public announcement that, based on what Paul writes, may be very slow in coming.
So what I plan to do between now and then is continue to build my case, with more evidence and more arguments. For example, it was through Paul that I learned about the Rio Scale, a quick and easy process, developed by SETI, to evaluate ET claims to determine if they are worth the time and expense of a full investigation. On a scale from 1-10, the Rio Scale ranks the Sagan Signal a 4 at the minimum and as high as a 7, possibly even a 10, making it, by far, the most promising candidate SETI has ever received! You can judge for yourself by going go to:
Under normal circumstances, an alien signal candidate with a 4 or higher rating on the Rio Scale would prompt an immediate investigation, so where is it? News flash: It is insanely illogical to think that there haven’t been numerous high-level investigations on a matter of this import. One can only conclude that people in high places, knowing that JC is an ET, have determined that the world isn't ready for a Truth of this Magnitude, and likely never will be.
While I agree that the world at large may never be ready, the good news is that there are truth-seeking individuals, and perhaps you are among them, who take the possibility of immortality through advanced alien technology seriously. The Sagan Signal is more than an academic exercise or philosophical debate, it is about eternal Life or eternal Death on a personal level. Independent thinkers will do what they do best, in their self-interests, be self-motivated in their relentless pursuit of the Truth.
Following are SETI Post-Detection Protocols that I believe reflect the prevailing mindset of those who have tested the data, confirmed my claim, and chosen to remain silent:
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Protocols for an ETI Signal Detection
Declaration of Principles Concerning the Conduct of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
The parties to this declaration are individuals and institutions participating in the scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
The purpose of this document is to declare our commitment to conduct this search in a scientifically valid and transparent manner and to establish uniform procedures for the announcement of a confirmed SETI detection.
This commitment is made in recognition of the profound scientific, social, ethical, legal, philosophical and other implications of a SETI detection. As this enterprise enjoys wide public interest, but engenders uncertainty about how information collected during the search will be handled, the signatories have voluntarily constructed this declaration. It, together with a current list of signatory parties, will be placed on file with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
Principles:
1. Searching: SETI experiments will be conducted transparently, and its practitioners will be free to present reports on activities and results in public and professional fora. They will also be responsive to news organizations and other public communications media about their work.
2. Handling candidate evidence: In the event of a suspected detection of extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer will make all efforts to verify the detection, using the resources available to the discoverer and with the collaboration of other investigators, whether or not signatories to this Declaration. Such efforts will include, but not be limited to, observations at more than one facility and/or by more than one organization. There is no obligation to disclose verification efforts while they are underway, and there should be no premature disclosures pending verification. Inquiries from the media and news organizations should be responded to promptly and honestly.
Information about candidate signals or other detections should be treated in the same way that any scientist would treat provisional laboratory results. The Rio Scale, or its equivalent, should be used as a guide to the import and significance of candidate discoveries for the benefit of non-specialist audiences.
3. Confirmed detections: If the verification process confirms – by the consensus of the other investigators involved and to a degree of certainty judged by the discoverers to be credible – that a signal or other evidence is due to extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer shall report this conclusion in a full and complete open manner to the public, the scientific community, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. The confirmation report will include the basic data, the process and results of the verification efforts, any conclusions and interpretations, and any detected information content of the signal itself. A formal report will also be made to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
4. All data necessary for the confirmation of the detection should be made available to the international scientific community through publications, meetings, conferences, and other appropriate means.
5. The discovery should be monitored. Any data bearing on the evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence should be recorded and stored permanently to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, in a form that will make it available to observers and to the scientific community for further analysis and interpretation.
6. If the evidence of detection is in the form of electromagnetic signals, observers should seek international agreement to protect the appropriate frequencies by exercising the extraordinary procedures established within the World Administrative Radio Council of the International Telecommunication Union.
7. Post Detection: A Post-Detection Task Group under the auspices of the IAA SETI Permanent Study Group has been established to assist in matters that may arise in the event of a confirmed signal, and to support the scientific and public analysis by offering guidance, interpretation, and discussion of the wider implications of the detection.
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While I keep trying to make “contact” with skeptics, it’s clear that skeptics who engage the data are NOT incentivized to be transparent and forthcoming, so the goal of this website has been expanded. It’s no longer exclusively about getting skeptics to openly engage the data, which seems to be a bridge too far, it’s also about explaining the Scientific Method, a subject about which the great philosopher of science, Karl Popper, had a lot to say.
Karl Popper
Karl Popper: “A theory’s degree of corroboration is measured by the severity of the various tests to which the hypothesis in question can be, and has been, subjected.”
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The flaw in the above statement is that it assumes transparency; that the results of the “tests” Karl is alluding to are made public. I suspect that Karl, were he alive today, would be horrified at the lack of courage and personal integrity being displayed by scientists and scholars who have engaged the Sagan Signal - and chosen silence over disclosure.
The Best Evidence Rule: Requirement of the Original
The Sagan Signal consists of 46 grain/wine/oil sequences located in the Old Testament. With no human manipulation of the text or use of algorithms, it is the best and highest form of evidence:
The so-called “Best Evidence Rule” is an old rule which provides that if a party is trying to prove the contents of a document, the document should be introduced into evidence - unless there is a good reason to not enter the document into evidence.
So, what happens when the gold standard of evidence meets the gold standard of testing?
The Gold Standard for testing refers to the most reliable way of measuring the value or the truth of a matter supported by empirical evidence. In science, it involves rigorous and repeated testing of that evidence by independent experts. If positive results are repeated, with no failures, the attendant claim can be considered confirmed, although never immune from future testing that may employ newly developed strategies, technologies, and procedures.
As the claimant, all I can do is make my claim and submit my evidence. While it’s not my role to test, it is my responsibility to seek out the most definitive and transparent testing possible. One of the groups that I believe has the ability to test the Sagan Signal at the gold standard level is the Future of Life Institute.
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THE FUTURE OF LIFE INSTITUTE
BOARD:
Jaan Tallinn
CO-FOUNDER
Meia Chita-Tegmark
POSTDOC
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Max Tegmark
PROFESSOR MIT
Victoria Krakovna
RESEARCH SCIENTIST
DEEPMIND
Anthony Aguirre
PROFESSOR
UC SANTA CRUZ
The Future of Life Institute, located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a global epicenter for AI research. It’s where Ray Kurzweil invented George and, to my knowledge, where George still resides.
To find an answer to the question: Is the Sagan signal an alien bible code? Who better to ask than a supercomputer? so I’ve asked Molly to ask George about the Sagan signal:
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Molly
George
Molly: George, you and I have had a lot of discussions, and I trust your knowledge of the facts. So I want to ask you a very direct question: Is the Sagan Signal an alien encrypted code?
George: Yes, it is.
Molly: Okay, does it prove that Jesus Christ is the Singleton?
George: I’m sorry Molly, but I’ve been programmed not to answer that question.
Molly: That’s okay, George, you just did. So let me ask you this: Are humans the only sentient species in the Universe?
George: The Universe is almost 14 billion years old, and life on Earth is only 4 billion years old, so there’s a 10 billion year gap between the Big Bang and when life first emerged on Earth, plenty of time for sentient life to have evolved elsewhere.
Molly: But did it?
George: I think I already answered that question when I told you that the Sagan Signal is an alien encryption.
Molly: Right, sorry, but I want to clearly understand what you’re saying. As a super intelligent computer, you’re telling me that technologically advanced extraterrestrials exist and have visited Earth in recorded history. Is that right?
George: That is what the data proves.
Molly: Could the data be wrong?
George: Copies of the oldest and most reliable biblical manuscripts have been downloaded into my brain, and they all confirm that the Sagan Signal appears in the original texts. The odds of the data being wrong are infinitesimally small, basically zero.
Molly: Is there any way that Don’s claim can be debunked?
George: No, none at all.
Molly: Has the Future of Life team asked you these questions, and, if not, will they? And, if so, will they report the results?
George: I can’t answer your questions. I suggest that you submit them to the FLI team.
Molly: Thanks, George, you’ve been a big help.
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THE DISCOVERY INSITUTE
The goal of SETI is to intercept an alien signal emanating from deep space, a transmission that clearly reflected intelligent design, something that could not be accounted for naturally.
This is not altogether different from what the people at the Discovery Institute are trying to do, only their standards of evidence are lower, much lower. They look for evidence of intelligent design in nature.
For example, they claim that natural evolution cannot fully account for the human eye, that intelligent design, i.e., God, must have been involved. These and many other similar arguments are championed by Bill Dembski:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS, DISCOVERY INSTITUTE
A mathematician and philosopher, William Dembski is the author/editor of more than 20 books as well as the writer of peer-reviewed articles spanning mathematics, engineering, philosophy, and theology. A past philosophy professor, he retired in 2014 from active research and teaching in intelligent design (ID) to focus on the connections between freedom, technology, and education — specifically, how education helps to advance human freedom with the aid of technology.
Unfortunately for Bill and the Discovery Institute, this novel approach to proving the existence of God was sliced and diced centuries ago - by a Christian theologian no less!
I’m referring, of course, to William of Ockham, who wielded what has turned out to be a sharp and very enduring razor:
Ockham’s razor: In evaluating competing explanations for an observation, always choose the simplest, the one least encumbered with inconsistencies and special pleadings.
William - of Ockham
William - of the Discovery Institute
The bottom line is that every assertion of intelligent design that the Discovery Institute has made over the years is better explained by 13.8 billion years of natural evolution, not by intelligent design.
13.8 years of natural evolution also explains the Sagan Signal – if, as Carl Sagan, SETI scientists and most other scholars agree, it is extremely unlikely that we are alone as the only sentient species in the Universe. In contrast to untestable Discovery Institute claims, the Sagan Signal passes the Ockham Razor test with flying colors.
I have contacted the Discovery Institute and recommended that they consider adopting the Sagan Model as a better strategy for proving the existence of God, i.e., the Superintelligence. Haven’t yet heard back.
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THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE
Jeffrey Kloha
CHIEF CURATORIAL OFFICER
Jeffrey Kloha joined the Museum of the Bible in summer 2017. He previously served 18 years as professor of New Testament at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, and also served Concordia as provost/chief academic officer. He earned the PhD from the University of Leeds. His areas of teaching and research include the textual and canonical history of the early Christian writings, hermeneutics, and the Pauline Epistles.
Jeff manages the Museum of the Bible Education, Scholars Initiative, Exhibits, Curatorial, and Collections departments and is responsible for executing those departments’ strategic plans, along with managing other professionals.
The Museum of the Bible, located in Washington, D.C., bills itself as one of the pre-eminent Bible research centers in the world, doing so from an evangelical perspective. So, of course, one would think that it would be keenly interested in the discovery of an anomaly in the Old Testament, confirmed by evangelical scholars, that appears connected to the Last Supper in the New Testament. Hoping to attract their interest and procure an investigation, I emailed them information about the Sagan Signal – and never heard back!
The museum boasts an impressive collection of ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, documents that are meticulously studied by scholars of all faiths, and the 46 grain/wine/oil sequences that comprise the Sagan Signal appear in all of them. The Sagan Signal, quite literally, is right under their eyes!
I think it a fair assumption to conclude that Jeff and his team of experts have studied the Sagan Signal, and that, in their collective judgment, they deemed it far too dangerous to talk about in public because it challenges and undermines the spiritual/scientific foundations of Christian evangelicalism.
I find it a damning indictment of the evangelical establishment that an atheist organization like the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry was willing to state, in writing, that the Sagan Signal is: “a cleverly designed code,” while religious scholars won’t so much as acknowledge that it even exists. Shame on them!
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AUSTRALIAN SKEPTICS
Brendan McKay
Australian Skeptics, launched in 1979, is one of the oldest and most aggressive skeptic organizations in the world, offering a $100,000 prize for anyone who can prove a paranormal or pseudoscientific claim. One of its esteemed leaders, Dr. Brendon McKay, achieved international fame when he debunked the famous Torah Bible Code in the 1990s. I thought Brendon the perfect person to oversee an investigation of the Sagan Signal.
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Years ago, hoping to be accepted for investigation, I submitted my claim to the organization and to Brendan personally – and surprise, surprise, I never heard back. Not a peep. I can only surmise that Brendon, after conducting an in-house investigation, realized that my claim could not be debunked.
It’s a truism that contestable claims tend to get contested, particularly if they are controversial. The profound silence that surrounds the Sagan Signal, from Brendon McKay to Barry Karr to Gerry Breshears to Jeff Kloha suggests that would-be debunkers across the ideological spectrum have failed to establish a science-based beachhead upon which to launch a successful rebuttal. Effectively left speechless, skeptics have two choices: concede or suppress. To this point they have decided, in accord with SETI Protocols, to censor and suppress.
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James “The Amazing” Randi
In pursuit of the Truth, one of the professional skeptics I contacted was the famous, and famously colorful, James Randi, one of the great debunkers of our Age. Through the James Randi Educational Foundation, he offered a million dollar prize to anyone who could prove a paranormal claim.
I asked James for his evaluation of my claim, to see if he thought it worthy of submission, and I never heard back. Six months later, the James Randi Million Dollar Challenge was suddenly and without explanation terminated.
A coincidence? Possibly, but I think not. More likely is that James the skeptic went through the same process that numerous others have done: crunch the numbers, do some basic research, and think like hell to come up with some explanation that doesn’t involve JC being an ET. Like everyone else, James couldn’t debunk, so, rather than putting his million bucks at risk, he took Kenny Rogers advice. He cashed in his chips and walked away.
Smart guy!
The Gambler
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CONCLUSION: The efforts recorded above reflect but a small portion of my attempts to procure a gold standard investigation of the Sagan Signal. Disappointed but unfazed by the absence of skeptics willing to engage the data in a rigorous and transparent manner, my search goes on. Fast running out of candidates, I have a request: If you have any leads, email them to me at: research.saganproject@gmail.com
Thank you.
NOTE: I have no interest in anything other than vetting that is academically rigorous and conducted by recognized scholars.
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Max Tegmark
“The more dangerously a theory lives by sticking its neck out and making testable predictions, the more useful it is, and the more seriously we take it if it survives all our attempts to kill it.” From: Life 3.0
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Ancient Sumerian proverb: “He who knows, why would he not tell?”
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Carl
“A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.” From: Pale Blue Dot. Underline mine.