Dedicated to Gillian Anderson

The Center for Gravitational Field Study is dedicated to the enchanting Mrs. Gillian Anderson and her character Dana Scully from the television series “X-Files.”

Scully was an FBI agent with a science and medical background who was partnered with spooky Fox Mulder, a believer in the paranormal, extraterrestrials, and conspiracy theories, to investigate cases labeled as unsolvable or anomalous. Because UFOs, “bees, and corn crops do not quite fit under the rubric” of what the rest of the bureau considered its business these cases were called the X-Files and stored in an area of the basement of the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. that became their office.

Scully grew into her role as Mulder’s governor, preventing the far too eager-to-believe Fox from spinning out of control, by maintaining rigorous standards of logic and scientific method, while at the same time, remaining an objective observer of the unusual phenomena they both witnessed.

It is a fact of human biology that the brain can only process about 120 bits of information per second. To avoid sensory overload the mind’s eye has evolved to instinctively exclude data it does not understand or considers anomalous. The mind also automatically corrects imperfections in its field of vision so a person doesn’t perceive a hole or ripple in what they see. 

Because of the mind's filters, most people will not see an illusionist use the art of sleight of hand despite sitting in the audience, or a UFO flying overhead if they don’t already believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

At every moment, everything we perceive is to some degree an illusion. In other words, an individual's reality is often more about what they believe they should see than the truth.

Even well-educated scientists suffer from this fact of the human condition and don’t see relevant phenomenon that falls outside their preconceptions of the world. The widespread acceptance of contrivances such as dark matter and energy is evidence of this self-delusion.  It is easier for many scientists to believe 95% of the mass of the universe is invisible than see Einstien's math and our understanding of physics needs to evolve, 

We at the Center for Gravitational Field Study hope to follow Gillian Anderson’s on-screen example of an open-minded approach to investigating frontier science that has alluded humanity for over 70 years. 

Center for Gravitational Field Study  © 2023