science

National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena

National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena rather than just read about it. In short: The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) is an unidentified flying object (UFO) research organization active in the United States from 1956 to 1980. Though NICAP no longer operates in its original form, it remains active primarily as an important informational depository on the UFO phenomenon.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) is an unidentified flying object (UFO) research organization active in the United States from 1956 to 1980. Though NICAP no longer operates in its original form, it remains active primarily as an important informational depository on the UFO phenomenon.

Overview NICAP was a non-profit organization and faced financial collapse many times in its existence, due in no small part to business ineptitude among the group's directors. Following a wave of nationally publicized UFO incidents in the mid-1960s, NICAP's membership spiked dramatically and only then did the organization become financially stable. However, following publication of the Condon Report in 1968, NICAP's membership declined sharply, and the organization again fell into long-term financial decline and disarray. Despite these internal troubles, NICAP probably had the most visibility of any civilian American UFO group, and arguably had the most mainstream respectability; Jerome Clark writes that "for many middle-class Americans and others interested in UFOs but repelled by ufology’s fringe aspects, it served as a sober forum for UFO reporting, inquiry, investigation, and speculation". NICAP advocated transparent scientific investigation of UFO sightings and was skeptical of "contactee" tales involving meetings with space visitors, the alien abduction phenomenon, and the like. The presence of several prominent military officials as members of NICAP brought a further measure of respectability for many observers. Throughout its existence, NICAP argued that there was an organized governmental cover-up of UFO evidence. NICAP also pushed for governmental hearings regarding UFOs, with occasional success. Though any UFO-related group attracts a number of uncritical enthusiasts along with a small percentage of cranks, astronomer J. Allen Hynek cited NICAP and Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) as the two best civilian UFO groups of their time, consisting largely of sober, serious-minded people capable of valuable contributions to the subject. Until the mid-1960s, NICAP gave little attention to Close encounters of the third kind (CE3) (where animated beings are purportedly sighted in relation to a UFO). However, longtime NICAP member Richard H. Hall related privately that this position was "tactical and not doctrinaire." In other words, NICAP did not necessarily dismiss occupant reports out of hand, but elected to focus on other aspects of the UFO phenomenon which would be perceived by mainstream observers as less outlandish and more believable.

History

1950s NICAP was founded on October 24, 1956, by inventor Thomas Townsend Brown. The board of governors included several prominent men, including Donald Keyhoe, Maj USMC (Ret.), and former chief of the Navy's guided missile program RADM Delmer S. Fahrney USN (Ret.) By early January 1957, however, Brown had proved so financially inept that the board asked him to step down. Fahrney replaced him, then convened a press conference on January 16, 1957, where he announced that UFOs were under intelligent control, but that they were of neither American or Soviet origin. The press conference received major attention, doubtless aided by Fahrney's stature. In April 1957, Fahrney resigned from NICAP, citing personal issues. It was later disclosed that his wife was seriously ill. Fahrney was bothered by the whispers and ridicule his UFO interests generated among many of his peers in the military. Keyhoe became NICAP's director. He established a monthly newsletter, The U.F.O. Investigator. Another prominent figure joined NICAP's board of governors: Keyhoe's Naval Academy classmate VADM Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, USN (Ret.) He had been Director of Central Intelligence and first head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Another important name on the letterhead was that of Gen. Albert Coady Wedemeyer USA (Ret.) The organization had chapters and local associates scattered throughout the United States. Many of their members were amateurs, but a considerable percentage were professionals, including journalists, military personnel, scientists and physicians. One of NICAP's prime goals was thorough field investigations of UFO reports. They would eventually compile a significant number of case files and field investigations which Clark characterises as "often first rate". By 1958, NICAP had grown to over 5000 members. Keyhoe's financial management and business skills were only slightly better than Brown's, and NICAP hobbled along throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, facing collapse on several occasions. For most of his tenure as director, Keyhoe sent irregular letters to NICAP's members, warning of the organization's imminent collapse, and soliciting funds to keep NICAP going. According to Jerome Clark (see sources below), Keyhoe often paid for much of NICAP's operating expenses himself.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena

In research: National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American organizations established in 1956, Defunct non-profit organizations based in the United States, Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C., so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena in simple terms?

Why does National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena.