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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
 Posted - 01/07/2005 : 09:17:53
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Last night I saw the SciFi channel's Ghost Hunters. They where running a marathon of 4 of the shows so I thought I would watch it to see how they do their investigations. Like most reality shows, it over hyped things and it showed a lot of conflict between the investigating team. But then they had to show that because, hey, ghost hunting is boring to the average person watching the show.
Anyway, most of the people on the team want to believe in ghosts, and most of what they do is based off of ideas about ghost that are unsupported assumsions. This belief does get them excited when dust goes by a camara, or when they get EMF reading they can't explain right away. But the two lead investigators are realing looking for prof and throw out lots of iffy evidence. In one show they say "Does this convince a skeptic?". For the evidence I saw in the four shows, no. All of the evidence they showed is explainible, though sometimes they don't go far enough to explain it. They do run tests though to see if they can duplicate the evidence, though sometimes it is not as scientific as I would like it to be.
Still, if they do tighten up their scientific method, this would be a great investigating team, but not a good TV show.
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You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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Storm
SFN Regular
USA
708 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 09:28:19 [Permalink]
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To much conflict between the investigators can alter the readings, the environment. I have watched this show but had to turn it off because of conflict. they tend to focus on more of the negative with each other and ghosts. this is what misleads people. This is what they see. negativety breeds negativity...
the one time i watched it the bald guy was pissed off about the one investigator sleeping with the other Wait I said to my husband is this about ghosts or high schooland they get paid for this bullshit by Sci fi but yet here in florida is cute little Storm, honest, truthful, open minded, smart and most of all serious about the field of ghosts... Well at least I got a start with front page news and a skeptical article!!!! |
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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 09:49:15 [Permalink]
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| While there may be something to the aditude of the observer affecting their ghost hunting, it is my opinion that people will see what they want to see. I would rather have them be bickering and somewhat skeptical of the evidence they collect then have them pick up dust on a camara and say it is a ghost. |
You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 09:49:40 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Paulos23
Still, if they do tighten up their scientific method, this would be a great investigating team, but not a good TV show.
I saw a few of the episodes too. I do not believe this team would be good at investigating a leaky faucet. While the lead investigator did throw away some of the evidence because natural explanations made more sense, I don't think he went nearly far enough. For every “anomaly” they should have first considered every and all possible natural explanation before even considering anything ells. They should never have wondered if an orb, for example, was an orb of the paranormal variety. Starting with a paranormal explanation and then ruling out natural causes is the wrong way around. It demonstrates a bias that is not acceptable. I guess what I'm saying is that I would trust a team of forensic specialists and skeptic investigators like Joe Nickell before I would ever trust that team of yahoos.
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 09:53:50 [Permalink]
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| That is one of the things I did state Kil, they want to believe so bad that it does muck up their investigation. But if they can get over that I think they could be good. |
You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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Storm
SFN Regular
USA
708 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 10:01:13 [Permalink]
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From experience I do not believe that the philosophy of people see what they want to see always applies. many people including I have wanted to see a ghost hoped to see one and we did not...I agree with Kil that the natural should be ruled out first before brining it into the realm of the supernatural
The masses do not want to hear natural claims they want to hear supernatural they want to believe in life after death....
Who does not want to believe...
To think that my children, my husband, my mother will not live again is....
unthinkable .....
unreal....
but anyway we are talking about ghosts again!!! yeah my favorite subject!!!! But let us talk about the phenomenon in a natural scientific way...
for if we talk about in away of conscious beings surviving physical death then I believe we must move it to the Religion file or else I will get in trouble |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 12:03:46 [Permalink]
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quote:
To think that my children, my husband, my mother will not live again is....
unthinkable .....
And there we have it!
Humble apologies for the quote mining -- it's something I don't normally do, and I can be pretty harsh with those who make a habit of it. But this simple sentence so beautifully sums up the reasons so many of us believe in an afterlife. We simply can't deal with the thought of an existance that doesn't include the unique and irreplacable, Me.
And if there is to be a Me in the afterlife, why everyone I love will be there to share it. It will even include those whom I dispise, who will of course, be at a far lower estate than My/Our selves.
Right here is part of the basis for religions such as Christianity and Islam, that promise heaven for the faithful and hell for the infidel. Others would have it that we are reencarnated according to our deeds, worth, and piety in this life. None will tell you that dead is dead, and that's the end of it. The congregation would lose interest toot sweet!
And so, we have stories, plays, tv shows and so forth, in forms varying from ghost yarns at Halloween to the 700 Club, pandering to these entirely irrational beliefs. And they are, for the most part, successful simply because of an unsupported hope and an unrealistic faith that I/We will go on forever.
But I still think Ghost Hunters was a great flick. I especally liked the slimey, little green dude.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Paulos23
Skeptic Friend
USA
446 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 12:05:43 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by filthy
But I still think Ghost Hunters was a great flick. I especally liked the slimey, little green dude.
Don't you mean Ghostbusters.  |
You can go wrong by being too skeptical as readily as by being too trusting. -- Robert A. Heinlein
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 13:40:43 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Paulos23
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
But I still think Ghost Hunters was a great flick. I especally liked the slimey, little green dude.
Don't you mean Ghostbusters.
I stand corrected. It's been some years since I've seen it and senile dementia quietly approaches. 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Storm
SFN Regular
USA
708 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2005 : 14:45:32 [Permalink]
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While I must agree with the fact that of course we all want to believe life goes on...
I lean toward the evolut oops Im sorry I meant I lean toward reincarnation....
A sort of Evolution...
Evolution of the soul....
But Ghosts well that is whole other topic ...
Ghostly phenomenon I believe is natural dispercment of energy.
Left over bits and pieces that once were... Us....
Physical.... Not Spiritual.....
so the two must be seperate
We can leave the Soul to Religion...
The body to Science...
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2005 : 20:05:57 [Permalink]
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That show is a total piece of crap. Atleast it's on Sci-Fi!
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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Blindwillie
New Member
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2005 : 17:18:29 [Permalink]
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| That show is always funny to me. I always make jokes about it. Another show that is a real riot is the one were they act out "real" incidents that happend to people. |
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