Originally Posted by E5I5O
Fine then, I'll try to get it back on track for you guys....
The Paranormal:
This is what I've come to know about the paranormal: if you feel you've had a paranormal experience, you need to scrutinize it and make sure it can't be something else. If it can be anything else, you can't call it paranormal. And, as a result, you have to dismiss it entirely. In other words, if it can be anything other an paranormal, you have to throw it out. But if it can't be explained away as a hoax, then you've got to investigate. Without proof there is no truth. I believe that most of all supernatural phenomena that's caught on video or in photographs can be easily explained as natural phenomena or mistaken identity, a small portion are hoaxes and the smallest, remaining amount of evidence cannot be explained away at all through conventional means, and might actually be the only legitimate evidence of supernatural phenomena. I have an interest in the paranormal, but at the same time, I can't stand nonsense. And I would never make any declarations without proof positive. Being afraid of being embarrassed is no excuse for avoiding something that's considered nonsense by most of society. I believe any compelling evidence deserves investigation and research and requires an intelligent, comprehensive investigation. Where would mankind be today if every great scientist in human history ceased their experiments because they were afraid of being ridiculed or persecuted just because they chose to research a subject that was considered socially inappropriate during their time? I feel that for those who believe, no proof is necessary. And for those who don't believe, no proof is possible. They say, "Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out". But to me, that's where being an open minded skeptic comes in. You've got to be your own worst skeptic. That's how you keep an open mind and your brains in your head. Just because I want to climb to the top of the mountain to see what's on the other side doesn't mean I want to jump off the edge. I just want to enjoy the view. If one of these days scientific proof of the paranormal were suddenly available then it might actually lose some of it's mystique with some people, but I know that I would still find it intriguing. There are closed-minded skeptics out there that are always looking for a logical explanation to everything. But just because something has a logical explanation doesn't make it any less fascinating as far as I'm concerned. There was a time when people thought that a solar eclipse was the work of some malevolent force, but now we know that they're perfectly explainable by science, yet people still flock to capture a glimpse of an eclipse whenever they occur, and they never seem any less fascinated than any other group of humans that had the privilege of witnessing such an event in the past. But a researcher, whether they're a scientist or a freelance investigators has to realize that the goal here is proof positive of what they believe. What's more important? A Nobel prize and the seven million dollars that come with it, or a monumental discover, such as a cure for cancer? There are paranormal investigators that are too quick to believe every piece of evidence that's presented to them. The purpose of a paranormal investigator is to convince the scientific community as a whole of what they believe. To do this, you have to gain their respect. And you're not going to gain their respect by being gullible and bias. I believe they hold on to evidence that can never be proven to be true too tightly, because they're afraid they'll lose the only proof out there that's available. That's understandable. But there might be another side to it. I think their intentions may be selfish and self-serving as well. I think they want to be known as the ones who find the proof first, so they can reap the prestige, benefits and rewards that would come with "being the one(s) who found it". That defeats the entire purpose of investigating unexplainable phenomena.
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