The Paranormal

Nightwalker39 · 03-30-2011, 09:22 PM

Does paranormal activity really exist? Or do people create this just to entertain themselves and others? I would love to hear your thoughts or any paranormal activity that you have encountered. I will give you one of what i have experienced.

I believe my house is haunted. Not just because of all the people that have died here. But because of all the things that i have seen. One recent event is this: i was on my computer with a cigarette in the ashtray. Suddenly i hear something move next to me. I look over and at that exact moment i watch as my cigarette flips out of the ashtray and lands completely opposite of the ashtray.

Alan · 03-30-2011, 09:26 PM

It's bullshit. You're clearly trolling us.

Nightwalker39 · 03-30-2011, 09:28 PM

How? I'm asking people to tell me their true stories.

Alan · 03-30-2011, 09:41 PM

They're not true if they have paranormal bullshit.

Nightwalker39 · 03-30-2011, 09:43 PM

Thats all a matter of opinion. I don't think you will be saying that when you experience your first haunting.

Judas · 03-30-2011, 09:44 PM

I do believe that there are "psychic echoes," that is, for whatever reason, someone or something leaves an imprint of itself behind, which might be seen later. In other words, those times when multiple people claim to see a "ghost" in a building, yet they all describe this ghost doing the same thing, are psychic echoes. They're basically just recordings of a past event. These are paranormal nothings. They have no effect on the surroundings, and are entirely harmless.

Actual ghosts, that is, once-living entities that have at least an instinctual response to the surroundings and other external stimuli, I'm on the fence about. I've never seen one, but I have seen a good amount of evidence that supports their existence. The problem with most of that evidence is that it's not independently verifiable. In other words, it's virtually unheard of that more than one person will go to a place and catch independent pictures/videos/EVPs of the same entity.

Evil non-human hell-spawned entities that can be conjured and bent to the conjurer's will to do their bidding? Let me think about that... no.

Alan · 03-30-2011, 09:44 PM

Truth is BY DEFINITION not a matter of opinion, dipshit.

Nightwalker39 · 03-30-2011, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

I do believe that there are "psychic echoes," that is, for whatever reason, someone or something leaves an imprint of itself behind, which might be seen later. In other words, those times when multiple people claim to see a "ghost" in a building, yet they all describe this ghost doing the same thing, are psychic echoes. They're basically just recordings of a past event. These are paranormal nothings. They have no effect on the surroundings, and are entirely harmless.

Actual ghosts, that is, once-living entities that have at least an instinctual response to the surroundings and other external stimuli, I'm on the fence about. I've never seen one, but I have seen a good amount of evidence that supports their existence. The problem with most of that evidence is that it's not independently verifiable. In other words, it's virtually unheard of that more than one person will go to a place and catch independent pictures/videos/EVPs of the same entity.

Evil non-human hell-spawned entities that can be conjured and bent to the conjurer's will to do their bidding? Let me think about that... no.

Thats a very valid response. I will have to take that into consideration.

Judas · 03-30-2011, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

Truth is BY DEFINITION not a matter of opinion, dipshit.

The non-existence of paranormal happenings, however, is not truth. (Of course, the existence is not truth, either.) As I said in my above post, there is quite a bit of evidence. Does this evidence mean that paranormal happenings are real? No. But that doesn't mean that they don't happen, either. Whether they happen or not, THAT is the matter of opinion.

When it comes down to it, we don't know for certain. And if you're going to claim otherwise, I'd like to see some evidence to support that claim.

Alan · 03-30-2011, 10:01 PM

That's a nice piece of doublethink right there.

Judas · 03-30-2011, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

That's a nice piece of doublethink right there.

Doublethink is the simultaneous belief in two contradictory ideas. I have not claimed that paranormal occurrences are not true. So, no, that's not doublethink at all.

I have, however, pointed out that the belief that there's no such thing as the paranormal is not necessarily a true belief.

Judas · 03-30-2011, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleK

This might be a bit painful to understand, but many opinions are very very wrong. So this postulation is immaterial, brah.

I'm not claiming to be right. Only pointing out that, in the end, we don't know for certain one way or the other.

Quote:

Well, we CAN claim they aren't real and then test it empirically. However, if you're going claim they ARE real or assume the supernatural exists, then that claim is the one with the burden of proof.

If you'll notice in my first post in this topic, I'm not claiming that the paranormal is real. My first three words are, "I do believe." I am open to the idea that what I believe is wrong, and if someone can point out evidence showing that I'm wrong, I'll gladly examine it. All I'm asking is that people keep an open mind about something that we know next to nothing about. Alan is more than free to continue believing that the paranormal does not exist, but that doesn't mean that his belief is correct. Nor does it mean that mine is.

Quote:

I've got a pretty good question for you. If you believe that the supernatural is real; what's in it for you? What do you gain from this knowledge?

In a nutshell, not much. Which is why I don't give it all too much thought. I do find it a fun and sometimes interesting debate, though, so I guess I gain that much, at least.

Nightwalker39 · 03-30-2011, 10:24 PM

i suppose you could say its just something to talk about.

Alan · 03-30-2011, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

I'm not claiming to be right. Only pointing out that, in the end, we don't know for certain one way or the other.

We don't know for certain one way or another that gravity is a law.
Your argument is bullshit.

Judas · 03-30-2011, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

We don't know for certain one way or another that gravity is a law.

"Any two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them."

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Your argument is bullshit.

So prove it.

Versus · 03-30-2011, 11:20 PM

Tell him about the burden of proof, Alan.

Judas · 03-31-2011, 12:23 AM

Burden of proof? You mean that thing that says that the person making a claim must back it up? You know, like Alan's initial claim of his that the paranormal is "bullshit?" Yes, let's hear about the burden of proof.

Nightwalker39 · 03-31-2011, 06:17 AM

I'd like to see that as well.

Alan · 03-31-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

"Any two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them."

Quoting what the law of gravity is doesn't prove that it is always true, dipshit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

Burden of proof? You mean that thing that says that the person making a claim must back it up? You know, like Alan's initial claim of his that the paranormal is "bullshit?" Yes, let's hear about the burden of proof.

That's a point-zero claim. If I had said "Believing Santa Claus exists is bullshit" would you have bitched back at me by saying "Prove he doesn't!" ?
Are you that much of an idiot?

Ben Lahnger · 03-31-2011, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

Are you that much of an idiot?

Stop asking rhetorical questions, you sly fox!

ape descendant · 03-31-2011, 08:43 AM

Weird shit happens, but none of it is supernatural... things can't exist outside of nature, nature is what there is.

Every thing has a reasonable explanation, even people's experiences of ghosts and other spirit-like phenomena, brains are weird, our perception glitches some times. That is why testing things in a scientific manner is such a good thing to do.

I've experienced ghostie type things but I'm not 100% sure what they are, however I seriously doubt that they are some supernatural copy of some one who is deceased.

Nightwalker39 · 03-31-2011, 09:46 AM

Thats not exactly true. Not everything in this world can be proven.

Despanan · 03-31-2011, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightwalker39

Thats not exactly true. Not everything in this world can be proven.

Lack of evidence to the contrary does not prove a positive claim. If you make a claim that cannot be proven or disproven then your claim is irrelevant.

Also: Quit trolling me.

Nightwalker39 · 03-31-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Despanan

Lack of evidence to the contrary does not prove a positive claim. If you make a claim that cannot be proven or disproven then your claim is irrelevant.

Also: Quit trolling me.

How does that Have anything to do with what i said?

Alan · 03-31-2011, 10:35 AM

It has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT, you idiot.