We have one here who I have seen three times and my daughter once. Neither of us believe in ghosts and both believe there's a rational explanation, but my husband insists on calling it our ghost.
Lets Talk About Things Science Cannot Explain
- Thread starter BAYLOR
- Start date
Ray McCarthy
Sentient Marmite: The Truth may make you fret.
Even if they look like people ...
Jinn, demons, angels, faerie, elves, sidhe, transdimenional aliens. Though there has been not a single proven ghost. Lots of fakes.
Jinn, demons, angels, faerie, elves, sidhe, transdimenional aliens. Though there has been not a single proven ghost. Lots of fakes.
I agree, there are plenty of fakes but there are a few that can't be explained to anyones satisfaction.
No question we have great scientific knowledge and understanding about a great many things, but in the context of the universe, It's a drop in a very big bucket.
Last edited:
A previous occupant of the property? Just a thought.
Last edited:
Quite possibly. He's benign, whoever he is. He just walks across the yard past the front window. Always the same time of night, but leaves no footprints in the snow and doesn't set off the security light.
Last edited:
Well, readers of the august British Journal The Beano well know that there is no such thing as a brain. Instead we are operated by small creatures called Numbskulls:
Of course the question arises, how do the Numbskulls think and operate? The of course are operated by even smaller creatures called 'Little Numbskulls'. And how do these beings think...
...Let me tell you, it's even littler people. All the way in. Forever.
Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.
Wish I could remember who wrote that....
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.
Wish I could remember who wrote that....
Ray McCarthy
Sentient Marmite: The Truth may make you fret.
I suspected Swift.
I searched Google and 1st hit was The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (5 ed.)
Earlier this week I was given The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (c)1982 printed 1983 version
1733 Swift Poems II 651 "... a flea hath smaller fleas ..."
1872 de Morgan Budget of Paradoxes 377 "... Great fleas have little fleas ..."
1979 R. Barnard Posthumous Papers ii "Big fleas and little fleas, you know ... "
Dennis E. Taylor
Destroying Worlds Since 2015
This argument comprises a couple of common fallacies. The first is that quantity equals quality. There are a lot of ghost sightings, so there must be something to them.
Well, there's certainly "something" to them, but that "something" doesn't have to be ghosts. It could simply be human psychology.
The second fallacy is that if science can't explain them, then by default they are proof of the paranormal.
Well, no. "You can't prove I'm wrong" isn't proof that you're right. Take UFOs. A common argument is that you can't explain all of them as Chinese lanterns, venus, and swamp gas. The implication is then left hanging that they are then ipso facto E.T. spying on us. Actually, it just means that they are UFOs. They are objects, that are flying, and are unidentified. Cough up a phaser or a light saber, and we'll talk.
This is why I generally don't get involved in those kinds of arguments. The enthusiast will have a million examples (usually memorized), will demand an explanation for each and every one, and often isn't above modifying the story to make it more difficult. Remember crop circles? Proponents claimed that mathematicians couldn't come up with any way that they could be designed so elaborately from the ground. Proponents claimed that tests had shown that the wheat had been changed at the molecular level in ways that couldn't be explained. Then a couple of college students (IIRC) showed how they did it with rope and some planks. And one of the debunkers demanded to see the actual report about the molecular changes. Poof. No more crop circles.
The first thing to keep in mind when you're met with paranormal/UFO/religious/miraculous claims of some event is that (to quote Gregory House) people lie. If someone claims that scientists haven't been able to identify the substance of the item found under their skin, it may be simply because the person won't let scientists look at it. Hey, strictly speaking, the statement is then true, right?
Sorry for the long rant, but I've been closer than the average person to a couple of situations where claims were made publicly that I simply know weren't true. And I got to watch as the public and the pundits went around in circles trying to rationalize and explain what were, basically, lies.
Last edited:
The temple complex of Puma Punku in Boliva. Nobody's been able to figure out certain aspects of it construction . Some parts of structure have holes and shapes that look like they drilled and carved with modern tools. The how they drilled them is the mystery since the complex was built centuries ago. How did the inhabitants build such a place?
And no , I don't think it was built by aliens, but the how and why of it's construction is an interesting mystery.
And no , I don't think it was built by aliens, but the how and why of it's construction is an interesting mystery.
Last edited:
I was coming to say the same thing: It isn't that Science can't explain them, it is merely that we don't understand the Science.
There are certainly many things that we cannot currently explain:
Ball Lightening
Ghosts
Telepathy
Agreed. I have a theory they are all of the time-travellers that we ought to be seeing if time-travel was possible, caught between dimensions. My theory doesn't include why they would be carrying their own severed heads.
I agree that 99% is illusion and fake parlour tricks, but have you never thought of someone that you have had no contact with for months, or years, only for the telephone to ring at it be them calling? That has happened to me more than once. Other people claim to know when people have died or when something awful has just happened ("I feel a strange disturbance in the Force...")
Ray McCarthy
Sentient Marmite: The Truth may make you fret.
That's simply you remember all the positive co-incidences and don't remember the null events. It's no more often than random.
Doesn't stop me having Telepathy in almost every story I write.
I'd forgotten about you telling us about those weekends.
We are setting up security cameras in our yard, sadly because of a recent theft, so if I get our ghosty person on camera I'll upload it here for you, Mouse.
Perhaps your feeling that there's nothing after death could be a fantastic opportunity for freedom. Freedom from illusion. Just a thought.
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | This NASA Tool Lets You Track Asteroids And Comets In Real Time | Science & Nature | 0 | |
| O | Advanced Toilets | SFF Lounge | 20 | |
| S | (Found) Condensation droplets change scientists' physical characteristics | Book Search | 6 | |
|
Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds | Reviews & Interviews | 0 | |
|
Green bullets | Science & Nature | 0 |
Similar threads
-
This NASA Tool Lets You Track Asteroids And Comets In Real Time
- Started by THX1138
- Replies: 0
-
-
(Found) Condensation droplets change scientists' physical characteristics
- Started by shortythedog
- Replies: 6
-
-