Edward Condon Remembered

In her interesting article “Edward Condon and the Cold War Politics of Loyalty” (December 2001, page 35 ), Jessica Wang summarizes the remarkable career and political tragedies of this accomplished physicist. One of his last contributions to science and society, though, is missing.

Between 1966 and 1968, Condon headed the Colorado Project, also known as “The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects” [and Project Blue Book]. The published results of that work became known as the “Condon Report,” and its most famous conclusion was: “Careful consideration of the record as it is available to us leads us to conclude that further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby.” Much of the general public may still believe that UFOs are piloted spacecraft from alien worlds, but Condon’s thorough analysis at least liberated American science from the task of pursuing this illusion.