# Was The late George Adamski Insane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 29, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052 "2007-03-29T22:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/1 "2007-03-29T22:48:15Z")
Or just deluded? For those of you unfamiliar with him, ne was a publicist of “flying saucers” in the 1950’s. I saw a filmed interview of him, in which he claimed to have travelld (in a flying saucer) to Mars and Venus. Quite apart from his sincerity, was this guy totally nuts? Yet, he was taken quite seriously, by a lot of people. Did any psychiatrist ever examine this guy? What was their conclusion? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/2 "2007-03-29T23:20:42Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Or just deluded? For those of you unfamiliar with him, ne was a publicist of “flying saucers” in the 1950’s. I saw a filmed interview of him, in which he claimed to have travelld (in a flying saucer) to Mars and Venus. Quite apart from his sincerity, was this guy totally nuts? Yet, he was taken quite seriously, by a lot of people. Did any psychiatrist ever examine this guy? What was their conclusion? 😛 [/QUOTE] I am familiar with Adamski. I don’t really see how he’s any weirder/crazier than your typical run-of-the-mill religious wacko. Traveling to Venus, visions of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima … all the same. Why the particular interest? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/3 "2007-03-29T23:49:07Z")
Apparently, before his UFO contactee career, he had a prolonged stint as a teacher of “Tibetan mysticism” both in live classes and through a correspondence course. He also tried his hand at writing science-fiction about contacting aliens in flying saucers. Weird-yarn collector Frank Edwards said that Adamski’s stories were a toned-down version of a story he (G.A.) had written about Christ returning in a flying saucer (a charge Adamski denied). Also, there is the matter of the faked photos made of things G.A. had at hand. Most, if not all, the 1950s-era Contactees had some experience in occultic studies, fringe religion and fringe politics prior to their “contact”. I think with G.A. it was a mixture of self-delusion, con-artistry, &, as a Christian, I can’t dismiss the possibility of decieving spirits. Btw, I was a fan of Contactee & other UFO literature back in the 1970s, and still harbor some interest. Heck, I admit to be a frequent Coast to Coast AM listener. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/4 "2007-03-30T10:57:13Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] I am familiar with Adamski. I don’t really see how he’s any weirder/crazier than your typical run-of-the-mill religious wacko. Traveling to Venus, visions of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima … all the same. Why the particular interest? [/QUOTE] I’d tend to agree. It is very interesting though, especially for the study of the birth of quasi-religious movements and their evolution and comparing/contrasting it with other such movements, like new agers or cargo cults. It’s all a fascinating look under the hood of the human brain IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/5 "2007-03-30T12:57:27Z")
[QUOTE=mstay] I’d tend to agree. It is very interesting though, especially for the study of the birth of quasi-religious movements and their evolution and comparing/contrasting it with other such movements, like new agers or cargo cults. It’s all a fascinating look under the hood of the human brain IMO. [/QUOTE] That field of study is called Ufology-ology. UFO’s? Natural phenomena–although a few might represent phenomena not yet totally understood by science. And there could be experimental vehicles–but not inspired by Alien Technology. However, studying those who believe fervently that our Interstellar Brothers will come to save us can be more interesting than dry old Meteorology & the other Hard Sciences. Let’s not forget myth, legend, anthropology & psychology. Expand your scope to include old stories of people kidnaped by the Good Folk. Some of those Folk are tall & fair, others are grotesque. Time goes all wonky “under the hill.” Hardened skeptics call it all balderdash. [Others consider much of it _interesting_ balderdash.](http://www.forteantimes.com/) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-late-george-adamski-insane/398052/6 "2007-03-30T16:25:21Z")
[QUOTE=mstay] I’d tend to agree. It is very interesting though, especially for the study of the birth of quasi-religious movements and their evolution and comparing/contrasting it with other such movements, like new agers or cargo cults. It’s all a fascinating look under the hood of the human brain IMO. [/QUOTE] I find your observation interesting. As far as RFatima goes, at least there were three people who offered similar accounts of what they experienced. Did Adamski ever have anybody who shared his weird visions? The interview I saw took place (I think) in 1956-even then scientists knew that life on Venus was impossible. So Adamski had to be pretty looney to espouse his views.