why we need ghosts

wegs said:
Did you know...?

If you throw a key at a ghost, it will disappear. If a candle flame turns blue, it means a ghost is in the house.
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Did not know that

Must go around now for a chance to check it out

Thinks
Would buy a EMT detector but bloody expensive
Candle seems a cheap option

Need pocket full of keys in case get attacked by a herd of ghost

Thought bubble - if I thow a key at a ghost and it passes through that ghost (who vanishes) and then goes through one behind - does the one behind vanish?

More involved than I thought

Do keys short circuit the EMT ghost run on?

wegs said:
I wouldn't call wegs. She still can't locate the misplaced USB wire that came with her EVP recorder. :rolleyes:
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Who ya gonna call? - Wegsbuster (when she finds her USB wire, candle and keys) :)

:)
 
As already said, TV shows along the lines of the X-Files, and the entertainment industry in general, while there to do just that entertain, most certainly do have some effect on some gullible people that simply "want to believe"
I suppose one could hypothesise that it could tend to brighten up or add some exitement to an apparently dull existence.
movieposter.webp


 
paddoboy said:
most certainly do have some effect on some gullible people that simply "want to believe"
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I find it hard to believe anyone could watch X-files and take any of it seriously.
I also find it hard to believe that anyone could watch Ghosthunters and take it seriously.
They might enjoy stuff about the paranormal, but if asked directly, I'm pretty certain they would say 'It's just entertainment'.

Even Pro-wrestling fans - if the screws are put to their thumbs - will admit they know it's all entertainment.

(This includes MR. I strongly suspect he is mostly just trying to get a rise.)
 
Magical Realist said:
It's the difference between real beings and a character from a story. God is a storybook character. Just like Darth Vader.
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Or Bigfoot.

Magical Realist said:
I believe in spirits. I just don't believe in God.
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Why don't you believe in God? You're ready to believe in just about every other thing from the "spirit realm".

How did you reach the conclusion that spirits exist, but God does not? What led you to rule out God, but not ghosts?

Magical Realist said:
I assure you I totally can. Just as I can dismiss the Easter Bunny as an explanation for unexplained events.
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Why can't you equally dismiss ghosts as an explanation for unexplained events? Ghosts aren't any different to the Easter Bunny, are they? They have all the same properties - hard to detect, seldom seen, appear in fiction, implausible in the light of science, etc. Why accept the one and reject the other?

I dismiss these as explanations all the time because I don't believe in such beings. There's really nothing more to be said here.
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So it's all about your arbitrary beliefs, is it?

It's no different from somebody saying "I dismiss the idea that the world is warming, because I don't believe in climate change". Or "I dismiss the idea that vaccines prevent disease, because I don't believe in germs (or Biology, or Science, take your pick)."

Suppose I were to tell you that I don't believe in little green men from Mars. Would you be satisfied with that as a valid reason for my dismissing the landing of a green Martian spaceship on the White House lawn?

Is it okay for us all to just decide what we want to believe in and what we don't? Can I dismiss that Trump is the President of the United States because I don't believe in Presidents, or perhaps because I don't believe anybody so unqualified could be elected President?
 
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Seattle:

Seattle said:
As a very young kid, I believed in Santa and didn't believe in ghosts. Was I hypocritical? No, of course not.

It's not that I allowed that ghosts could exist but I just didn't believe in them. I thought the idea was silly but I did believe in Santa.
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Is thinking an idea is silly a valid reason for not believing in it, then, according to you?

I get it. You thought ghosts were silly. Magical Realist thinks God is silly.

We've had a whole parade of people here - some just recently - who think that the theory of relativity is silly, and others who think that the theory of evolution by natural selection is silly. Does that mean they are justified in not believing in those things - on that basis alone?

I had reasons though. Presents showed up.
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It sounds like you thought evidence was important, back when you were a kid.

When did you decide that evidence isn't important?

(When did Magical Realist decide that?)

MR has his own reasons for why it's not silly to believe in ghosts and he feels it is silly (putting words in his mouth here I realize) to believe in God.
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Does he? He hasn't given us any reasons. Just his hunch, his opinion, his gut feeling. Is that enough for you? Is that how it works for you?

That's what we all do all the time. He is being discerning according to his own internal criteria.
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Believing stuff is the same as hitting "Like" on Facebook, is it? You can either do it, or not do. Totally up to you, and equally valid either way?

Is knowledge just a matter of what you like?
 
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Magical Realist said:
What argument? I posted a video of a fire hose compartment door slamming by itself, and told you why I don't believe it is an act of God.
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And I don't believe it's ghosts.

Are we done, then, now that we've compared our beliefs? What else is there to talk about?

Magical Realist said:
You're coming off as desperate and obsessive Dave. What's wrong with you? It's just a harmless little video of paranormal activity. Why the conniption fit?
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Why is it paranormal activity? Because you believe that's what it is? Are we done then? Is there anything else to talk about?

I believe there's a dragon in my garage. So there is. Done.
 
James R said:
Believing stuff is the same as hitting "Like" on Facebook, is it? You can either do it, or not do. Totally up to you, and equally valid either way?
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My boy, as a teenager, once said about smoking cigarettes: "Either it'll kill me or it won't. 50:50 chance, right?"
Didn't understand the difference between possibilities and probabilities.
 
kevin78:

Welcome to sciforums.

kevin78 said:
Magical likes to have fun posting links, others like to have fun asking Magical questions about those links.
What's wrong with that?
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This is discussion forum that at least nods its head towards science and the scientific method. It is not a blog where you merely share your "likes".

Necessarily, this means that when we're discussing topics that are amenable to evidence-based discussion, that is the kind of discussion that is encouraged.

Moreover, mindless cut-and-paste re-blogging of youtube videos and the like is not conducive to intelligent discussion, especially where that occurs without any thought, commentary, or critical analysis.
 
James R said:
And I don't believe it's ghosts.
Are we done, then, now that we've compared our beliefs? What else is there to talk about?
Why is it paranormal activity? Because you believe that's what it is? Are we done then? Is there anything else to talk about?
I believe there's a dragon in my garage. So there is. Done.
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Maybe he'll listen to you.
When I pointed this out, he clammed up, and stuck his fingers in his ears.
 
Magical Realist said:
Officially returning this conversation back to the original topic before it got derailed with off topic God talk and personal attacks on me by the skeptics. Here's that compelling video again. What do you think of it?
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I think it looks like a fake.
 
DaveC426913 said:
I find it hard to believe anyone could watch X-files and take any of it seriously.
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I don't. I'm confident that there are people out there who believe the X files was more or less a documentary.

I also find it hard to believe that anyone could watch Ghosthunters and take it seriously.
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Even easier to suspend rationality on that one, since it actually pretends to be a documentary.

They might enjoy stuff about the paranormal, but if asked directly, I'm pretty certain they would say 'It's just entertainment'.
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You overestimate the people you're dealing with.

(This includes MR. I strongly suspect he is mostly just trying to get a rise.)
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No. MR clearly has some ... er ... issues that, for whatever reason, have led him to fixate on the woo. It's emotionally important to him that it be true. You can tell by how angry he gets every time reasonable questions are raised as to the veracity of the stuff he posts, and even moreso whenever one of his cherished "sightings" is debunked conclusively.
 
James R said:
Seattle:


Is thinking an idea is silly a valid reason for not believing in it, then, according to you?

I get it. You thought ghosts were silly. Magical Realist things God is silly.

We've had a whole parade of people here - some just recently - who think that the theory of relativity is silly, and others who think that the theory of evolution by natural selection is silly. Does that mean they justified in not believing in those things - on that basis alone?


It sounds like you thought evidence was important, back when you were a kid.

When did you decide that evidence isn't important?

(When did Magical Realist decide that?)


Does he? He hasn't given us any reasons. Just his hunch, his opinion, his gut feeling. Is that enough for you? Is that how it works for you?


Believing stuff is the same as hitting "Like" on Facebook, is it? You can either do it, or not do. Totally up to you, and equally valid either way?

Is knowledge just a matter of what you like?
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Silly, in my case is enough, since silly to me is an idea with no evidence.

I didn't say that it makes a lot of sense to me to believe in ghosts. It makes a lot of sense to not believe in God. Sure, it brings up the question, "why do you believe in ghosts?" but that's up to him.

I don't see any evidence for either and to believe in either of them is silly for that reason.
 
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