Mysterious booms over Pennsylvania cities

Sarkus said:
So therefore any scientific question that isn't yet answered should be posted here?

JamesR - can I please request, according to this new notion of what should be posted under "UFOs, Ghosts, and Monsters", that any and every thread involving such things as consciousness or origins of life and the ilk, be posted here? Science has no answer at present for these, do they? Surely the question of God should be here as well?

Or maybe there should be an understanding by all, including the thread raiser, that posting such things in this subforum is an implicit assumption that the explanation is not mundane. If they were seeking a mundane explanation then surely they would post it in the physics forum, under the question of what could possibly cause such things?

Or is it just me?
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It's a fortean phenomenon if it's anomalous and has no explanation. If you don't like it posted here and treated as a fortean phenomenon, then stay out of this thread. Vote it away by not contributing to it. You're not a moderator.
 
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Magical Realist said:
But I haven't asserted the cause to be paranormal. I haven't asserted anything about it. By Fortean I refer only to it's cause being presently unknown. For all we know there may turn out to be a mundane cause for it. OTOH it may be a new phenomenon we haven't encountered yet. That's what is meant by Fortean.

"The term is used to refer to strange phenomena that has not been fully or satisfactorily explained by science."
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Interestingly enough, Google brings back this:

Dictionary

Fort·e·an
ˈfôrdēən/
adjective
  1. relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena.

Also interesting - the word doesn't appear in Merrian-Webster at all.

According to Oxford:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fortean

Definition of Fortean in English:
Fortean

ADJECTIVE
  • Relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena.

    ‘Fortean phenomena like spontaneous combustion’

    More example sentences
Origin
1970s: from the name of Charles H. Fort (1874–1932), American student of paranormal phenomena.


So, it would appear that, by default, Fortean does, in fact, imply something is paranormal.
 
Kittamaru said:
Interestingly enough, Google brings back this:

Dictionary

Fort·e·an
ˈfôrdēən/
adjective
  1. relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena.

Also interesting - the word doesn't appear in Merrian-Webster at all.

According to Oxford:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fortean

Definition of Fortean in English:
Fortean

ADJECTIVE
  • Relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena.

    ‘Fortean phenomena like spontaneous combustion’

    More example sentences
Origin
1970s: from the name of Charles H. Fort (1874–1932), American student of paranormal phenomena.


So, it would appear that, by default, Fortean does, in fact, imply something is paranormal.
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Here's a definition of paranormal:

paranormal
[par-uh-nawr-muh l]
ExamplesWord Origin
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/paranormal

I personally dislike using the word paranormal to describe fortean phenomena. Paranormal has come to be identified with supernatural. And a fortean phenomenon may not be supernaturally caused in the end. It may be entirely natural, albeit a process we haven't discovered yet. Examples: earth lights, spontaneous human combustion, fish rains, etc.
 
Magical Realist said:
Here's a definition of paranormal:

paranormal
[par-uh-nawr-muh l]
ExamplesWord Origin
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/paranormal

I personally dislike using the word paranormal to describe fortean phenomena. Paranormal has come to be identified with supernatural. And a fortean phenomenon may not be supernaturally caused in the end. It may be entirely natural, albeit a process we haven't discovered yet. Examples: earth lights, spontaneous human combustion, fish rains, etc.
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So, you agree, then, that Fortean implies something is Paranormal (per its definition)?

Except...

Magical Realist said:
But I haven't asserted the cause to be paranormal. I haven't asserted anything about it. By Fortean I refer only to it's cause being presently unknown. For all we know there may turn out to be a mundane cause for it. OTOH it may be a new phenomenon we haven't encountered yet. That's what is meant by Fortean.

"The term is used to refer to strange phenomena that has not been fully or satisfactorily explained by science."
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So, in one breath you say that just because you call something Fortean, it doesn't mean you are saying it is Paranormal... and then in the next you admit that it does mean just that?

I'm just trying to make sure everyone is on the same page here.
 
Kittamaru said:
So, you agree, then, that Fortean implies something is Paranormal (per its definition)?

Except...



So, in one breath you say that just because you call something Fortean, it doesn't mean you are saying it is Paranormal... and then in the next you admit that it does mean just that?

I'm just trying to make sure everyone is on the same page here.
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It could mean something paranormal in the sense of supernatural, but not necessarily. It could be a natural process we haven't discovered yet.
 
Magical Realist said:
It could mean something paranormal in the sense of supernatural, but not necessarily. It could be a natural process we haven't discovered yet.
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Except the very definition you provided contradicts that:

  1. of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
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That implies that the previously listed items are also supernatural phenomena.
 
Kittamaru said:
*shrug* I'm just saying, if you are going to use a word, may as well use it correctly. Attempting to redefine words really hampers ones arguments...
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Seems like spitting hairs to me. Words always have 2 or 3 definitions depending on their context and useage.
 
Magical Realist said:
Seems like spitting hairs to me. Words always have 2 or 3 definitions depending on their context and useage.
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Incorrect - words often do, but not always. Be very careful when working in absolutes - it will almost certainly end poorly.

Generally, if a word does have multiple definitions, they are listed in a dictionary:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/paranormal
ADJECTIVE
  • Denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.
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https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paranormal
Definition of paranormal
not scientifically explainable : supernatural
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http://www.dictionary.com/browse/paranormal
adjective
  1. of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
Click to expand...
All these sites, including two from sources that are arguably authorities on words, provide a singular definition, all of which agree with one another. This makes sense - paranormal is a compound word:
Word Origin and History for paranormal
adj.
1905, from para- (1) + normal. Related: Paranormally.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
 
Kittamaru said:
Incorrect - words often do, but not always. Be very careful when working in absolutes - it will almost certainly end poorly.

Generally, if a word does have multiple definitions, they are listed in a dictionary:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/paranormal

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paranormal


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/paranormal
All these sites, including two from sources that are arguably authorities on words, provide a singular definition, all of which agree with one another. This makes sense - paranormal is a compound word:
Word Origin and History for paranormal
adj.
1905, from para- (1) + normal. Related: Paranormally.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Yeah..just as I said. Spitting hairs...

Do you not have enough to do at work?
 
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