That's Not Paranormal Evidence—Its Your Mind Playing Tricks On

  • That's Not Paranormal Evidence—Its Your Mind Playing Tricks On You!

    If you've ever spent time researching the paranormal, you've probably noticed that much of the discussion surrounding the topic can be summarized as nothing more than opinions being debated among believers and non-believers alike. While this statement might not sit well with those of us who dedicate our time to the field of paranormal research, the truth we must admit to ourselves is that nearly every premise we operate under is unproven; they are merely surmises generated by a collective of individual perception and personal belief.

    For those who have never been involved in a lively debate on, for example, the types of paranormal activity, this concept might not make sense at first glance, but you've probably seen at least one television show peppered with the term 'personal experience'. This term is the key to the entire field of paranormal research. Everything we do is affected by our personal experiences, and those experiences are all based on our individual perception of the world around us. This long-standing situation has allowed those outside the field to target our research as pseudoscience.

    All of this begs the question: Should the 'data' collected through paranormal research—photographs of orbs, video of strange shadows, audio recordings of what most interpret as a voice—which relies on individual perceptions be considered evidence? Its a difficult question to answer. The collection of data might seem to be science-based as it makes use of technology, yet even with modern recording devices, it all begins in the mind.

    Read the full article: http://hubpages.com/hub/is_it_really_paranormal_activity_or_my_mind_playing_tricks

13 comments
  • Rob ~ DEADPsalm
    Rob ~ DEADPsalm I do believe good science is being applied (thought it certainly isn’t formalized across the paranormal community by any means) and I do believe the data is meaningful. It may be possible to conduct an investigation without consideration of the pers...  more
    June 29, 2011
  • Rob ~ DEADPsalm
    Rob ~ DEADPsalm “Taking advantage of technology”: Implies a generic use of technology; “it made a beeping sound/the LEDs lit up, there must be something paranormal here.” They may not be entirely aware of what the technology is actually intended f...  more
    June 29, 2011
  • Rob ~ DEADPsalm
    Rob ~ DEADPsalm Scientific Method: They understand the technology for the most part. There is a common agenda/pattern used for each investigation. They may not be recording and compiling the data but they have some awareness of the meaning of the data from the technology...  more
    June 29, 2011
  • Rob ~ DEADPsalm
    Rob ~ DEADPsalm Scientific Research: New technologies are proposed based on previous evidence. There is more attention to the data patterns and consistency from each investigation. This is where theories come from; “we usually see this data when this activity is re...  more
    June 29, 2011