If you don't belief in the paranormal?

Question

I have a open mind on this subject but wonder why supernatural beliefs has not died out long ago if it had no basis in reality? There certanly is phenomina that science cannot explane and standard operating procedure is to sweep these questions under the rug.

Answer 1

I think what you misunderstand, is nobody is sweeping the unexplained under the rug. What gets swept under the rug is the countless paranormal reports that are easily explained by common misconception and misunderstanding.

Fake psychics, sleep paralysis, noisy houses, slamming doors and known problems with photography and development. These are all natural and common things, which are very often confused for paranormal activity.

You are correct, there are plenty of places where science has yet to go. And there are a few things that science is vague on. Some of the problem is that it is difficult, sometimes impossible to apply scientific procedure to some of the claims.

What you have to consider is that anyone who has come up with extrodinary claims of the paranormal, either fails or refuses to demonstrate these claims in a controlled and observable enviroment. So anyone who sweeps something under the rug that shouldnt be swept under there, is only doing so because fakes like Sylvia Browne and John Edwards are out there making money off believers and taking away any legitimacy that ever existed in the field of paranormal research.

Answer 2

Too many good answers already, so let me only add that human beings in general are never 100% rational in every aspect of their thinking. That's just not how humans operate. In fact, I have read an article by a British professor and psychologist who explains that humans are actually hardwired to believe in the supernatural (gods, ghosts, etc.) by tens of thousands of years of evolution (see link). Is he correct? Perhaps. It would be one explanation why supernatural beliefs have not died out despite the lack of evidence.

Answer 3

If scientists aren't interested in investigating paranormal claims, it doesn't mean they're sweeping them under the rug. It's simply that this stuff has already been investigated many times over and nothing was ever found to back up these claims, so now they don't bother with them. It's a waste of their time.

Answer 4

Scientific SOP is not to "sweep things under the rug".  The mistake many people make is believing that science can answer questions that are inane, or are being kept alive for the "fun of it".

I've answered this question (more or less) before, so I won't fo into great detail here.  But, the fact is that paranormal things--whatever they may be--are great fun!  They're intriguing and mysterious, and believe me, scientists LOVE a good mystery.  Almost all so-called paranormal phenomena ARE explainable as either frauds, psychological aberrations, OR by using little more than high school level physics.

But that takes the FUN out of it.  There's no scientific basis for "real" paranormal activity, since it's almost impossible to employ the scientific method to study the stuff.  So, relax, and enjoy it.  It's FUN entertainment, but not much more than that.  Heck, I'm a scientist, and I love to watch TAPS, and shows about "haunted" places.  It's FUN!  But I've NEVER seen anything on any of those TV shows that I couldn't explain...if I wanted to.

Why spoil the fun???

Answer 5

I can't top the last three answers.All of them are right on the mark.Here's a link to a site where you can find a lot of those scientific answers.