Here's the Real Problem with Havana Syndrome

...and it still isn't sonic weapons

Havana Syndrome: Beginning in 2016, US diplomats stationed in Cuba began reporting mysterious medical symptoms, associated with strange sounds. Symptoms were all over the map, indicating very low likelihood they were related; the types of sounds reported were very different, though most were described to be the sounds of the local crickets; and no Cubans working in the same households and office places were impacted. American officials determined without evidence that it was an attack using a “sonic weapon” of a type that does not exist and is scientifically implausible. Cuban and western scientists determined very quickly that it was simply a familiar type of sociogenic illness. The Skeptoid episode on it is here.

An Active Denial System, which if you don’t understand basic science, may lead you to conclude there is precedent for the imaginary Star Trek weapon that some American officials believe was behind Havana Syndrome.

You may have seen the recent news that seven US intelligence agencies finally concluded there is no evidence that so-called “Havana Syndrome” was caused by a foreign adversary using some kind of science-fiction weapon, hitherto unimagined. However the agencies had varying levels of confidence in this conclusion, and many in Washington still consider it to have been a weapon attack. Senator Marco Rubio, in particular, has dismissed this conclusion. Hawkish bureaucrats still want it to be a Cuban weapon attack.

Particularly horrifying to people with a basic science literacy was a 2020 government report titled An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. It listed a number of possible causes, all of which were wildly implausible at worst, and highly speculative at best. It did include sociogenic illness as a possibility, but only gave it a passing mention and considered it unlikely.

Today, many of these same people government are currently applying their shockingly bad science knowledge to the question of UFOs, ignoring skeptical explanations that are supported by evidence, and instead demanding exotic explanations like Chinese drones and alien spacecraft. Again, Marco Rubio has been among the most vocal.

I am deeply concerned that the lack of science literacy and critical thinking ability is taking such a lead role on Capitol Hill. If lawmakers and intelligence agencies can be so far off base with Havana Syndrome, then we should expect them to be just as far off base with UFOs.

My UFO movie (http://theufo.movie) is getting very close to the finish line, and we talk in detail about the science issues involved. We know a ton about how alien visitation is possible (or not) and how it would work (or wouldn’t), because there are countless astrobiologists and astrophysicists who make this their life’s work. We talk with some of them in the film. People in government, however, are satisfied to use as their experts TV personalities on UFO and paranormal TV shows who have no relevant background or expertise. It’s really quite remarkable.

When you see where they get their information on UFOs, it’s no surprise that they came up with equally whackadoodle conjectures for Havana Syndrome.

Maybe there should be a group that demands a basic science literacy from public office holders.