Paranormal Skeptics Please Read?
Hello,
I was just wondering in general why people are skeptics. I understand that skeptics generally have to see something done or have proof of something before they can believe that it is in the realm of possibility to be true but I don't understand that even after these people are shown evidence they still don't believe. I don't understand why people just can' t believe in what they want to believe in and be find and well about it.
If you are a skeptic of the paranormal I was just wondering what you thought process was.
Thanks for reading. :)
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In my opinion, as an arrogant skeptic, if you can't prove something, there's no use believing it. People can think whatever they want, but to believe something that isn't proven is just plain stupid. Its a basic principle of science that no matter how many times something occurs a certain way, it isn't proven until its truly, definitively proven. You can prove something happens in a billion scenarios,and you're no closer to proving it always happens, because you'd need to prove it for infinitely more. Likewise, you can't really prove these things exist, and these paranormal happenings can be explained in other ways, ways that are more scientific and feasible, so why attribute unprovable paranormal explanations to them? Hope this helped
Like others have said there hasn't been any good evidence to prove the paranormal exists.
What I don't understand is how people can continue to believe in the paranormal when they come to site like this and (presumably) read the answers that the skeptics give which offer rational natural explanations for pretty well every supernatural event that is asked about. Why do they still prefer to continue to believe in strange fanciful unproven things when they are given the option of choosing reality?
if there is convincing evidence then there is no problem. But all we get is anecdotes and stories, not anything that can pass repeatable testing.
The though process is simple. If it's not science, it's superstition.
"It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas … If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you … On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones."
Carl Sagan "The Burden of Skepticism"
Has anyone ever tried to scam you? Sell you something they didn't own, or lie to get a few bucks from you, etc? Of course they have. Were you skeptical about their claims? You should have been. After getting fooled a few times, you start thinking more skeptically. And that's a good thing. Everyone is a skeptic about something; no one worships all 6000+ gods humanity ever invented. You might have your own favorite, but you are skeptical about the existence of the rest. Atheists are the same way, but our skepticism also includes your particular favorite god. Also all claims of the paranormal. Why? Because there's no evidence for them, just like there's no evidence I own the Brooklyn Bridge, and therefore you should not write me a check for it.
Why don't we believe after being given evidence? Because no one has provided evidence. Claims and stories do not meet the basic standards of evidence. What's evidence for a ghost? A ghost. Cold spots, electromagnetic fields, noises - those all have plenty of other normal explanations. None of them have ever been shown to be evidence of ghosts because no one can produce a ghost to test those claims. Produce some actual evidence, and we're happy to see it.
You're welcome to your own beliefs. But you're not welcome to your own reality - we're all sharing the same one, and some things are simply not in it.
As a Christian, I obviously believe in the supernatural, spiritual realm. But people don't want to believe in what God said, they want to follow all sorts of superstitious legends and garbage, and not focus on the Creator. So they are gullible, and blindly swallow what is evil, even when God is offering them what is best, which is Himself.
If you absolutely don't believe in God, then at least have the guts to be an Atheist. But you can't just pick you own arbitrary god. God exists, or no god at all.
I think it's important to get people to think critically and apply logic. It's good for them, it's good for us, it's good for all. Pointing out paranormal silliness is an easy way to do it.
Isn't knowing or even not knowing better then believing?