Talk:Chan Thomas

Quoting Randi

It's obvious that Randi was writing sarcastically when he referred to disagreement between "these two great occult figures" as part of his merciless critique of psychic predictions. Taking it out of context and treating it as if it were praise - not good. - LuckyLouie (talk) 19:37, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Ah fair enough, I think I misunderstood. I didn't mean to treat it as praise, but I thought Randi was saying that Thomas was big in the occult scene (which would track based on random newspaper clippings of his various predictions over the years). Happy to nix it though. Pineapple Fez 20:26, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Interesting bio. Not quite sure the person passes WP:NBIO, but other opinions would be welcome. Also I doubt a back issue of the MUFON Journal is a WP:RS. But if it were, I'd not hesitate to cite their example of his "out of the box thinking", e.g. "Chan Thomas...had such outlandish claims that even some in our own group had difficulty accepting him. For example, he claimed...he made an appointment with a UFO captain from Andromeda to meet him one night near Joshua Tree (captain didn’t show)". - LuckyLouie (talk) 21:17, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

My thinking was that he is notable because of the way his ideas have recently become so visible in conspiracy circles online. Some people are asking who he was because conspiracy theorists are name-dropping him, while others are asking because there's so little readily-available information about him in the first place. Reddit, the conspiracy theorist and skeptic blogospheres alike, and British tabloids are all very intrigued about him.

As for his stint at McDonnell Douglas, I relied on the LA Times for the concrete stuff. I then hedged the MUFON Journal details by saying that this is what Wood wrote, as opposed to it necessarily being fact. I find this relevant because it attests to his legacy. Pineapple Fez 22:15, 19 August 2023 (UTC)