Is anything really "paranormal"?

Question

...or are there just areas of our reality that we don't have the ability to understand?

UFOs, telepathy, you name it.

could we be shunning the truth?

Answer 1

probably to some individuals shunning the truth ,works better

for them than accepting the validity of facts,

Answer 2

I say anyone and everyone has some sort of 'telepathic' usages. but since most people don't use most of their brains, it is untouched.

UFO's? people being parranoid that "The aliens are comming to kill us and use our lands!!!" Not true, earth isn't exactly the most ariable planet and most of the watter is salt.

Answer 3

Great question!

I think of most paranormal things as normal.  I guess it's  because my family thinks that way and I have always been surrounded by odd things.  I think that some day when a universal field theory is come up with, it will explain a lot of it.  There are a lot of dimensions out there, just ask a physicist.

As far as UFOs I think they are more local than from far, far, away.

Answer 4

what if we are the paranormal.. and theres a whole different galaxy like ours? that would be kinda wicked i think.

Answer 5

It depends on how you define the word paranormal and what point of reference you use for the perception of normal.

UFO's that have radar returns, visual earth sightings, and visual air confirmations are certainly outside of most peoples everyday experience (although so is observing a stealth fighter at night) so in this since it is paranormal (outside the normal range of human experience).

However, ghost sightings are considered paranormal and 25% (representing only people willing to report) of people experiencing bereavment (grief) report seeing their departed loved one at least one time after their death. A large percentage of people (again representing only those willing to report) report seeing ghost/spirits that can be identified as a person they know (beyond the established period of grief). Thus ghost sightings are really common as a human experience.

However, science (outside of hallucination, mental disorder and fraud) has no explanation of how a person might survive death and communicate with the living. Thus ghost are considered paranormal because science has no clue about how this might work.

Denying the truth: Of course. Look at the debate over ESP and the evidence that parapsychology has established and the response from skeptics. Even long tern skeptic Ray Hyman (a full member of the parapsychological association) has said that he has no explanation for the Ganzfeld results conducted under the controls he helped to establish. Yet skeptical organizations still attack these findings (without any useful suggestions) on the basis of their belief that it can't happen.

That said I suggest everyone read up on the debate and decide for their selves.

Michael John Weaver, M.S.

Answer 6

Paranormal is a euphemism used to give true believers the benefit of the doubt, to humor the woo-woo folks.  It really just means "things that some people claim to exist for which there is no evidence".  Notice how that is the only thing in common among paranormal phenomena?  What else to UFOs, spoon-bending, ESP, etc. have in common except a group of people who declare, despite all evidence to the contrary, that such things exist?

Answer 7

yes, you have a point there.

If we knew about the aliens floating around our planet, they would no longer be considered paranormal, they would just be normal.

If we understood telepathy and how it works, it would be normal.

So, no, nothing is paranormal, just not understood yet.

Answer 8

It's not that we don't understand it - it's that it's not occurring.  There are no substantiated cases of UFOs, telepathy, aura reading, telekinesis, you name it.  It's no that we don't understand it - it's that it doesn't exist.

This guy will give you a million bucks for proving it does.  30 years and still no takers.  http://www.randi.org

Answer 9

I did beleive in that kind of stuff when I was growing up,but not really so now!

Answer 10

Paranormal simply means outside the normal experience, or understanding of science. Having said that, two way voice radio was paranormal in the 18th century.

To a large degree, we create the reality or norms around us as an interpretation of what we experience. These interpretations are subject to change depending on experience. There is much about our universe we don't understand and haven't experienced. The paranormal is simply waiting to become the normal.

Does this statement encompass ghosts, telepathy, and UFOs? No one can say until their own norms have changed.

Answer 11

I believe it is up to the definition of what is normality that cam make us accurately describe something as "paranormal". For what is normal to some is paranormal to others and vice versa. Paranormal is a term that  can put people on the defensive and wary and close minded . I am pretty sure that the UFO's and people with the ability  for telepathy considered themselves normal. I considered them unique but normal. Sometimes we have to go outside the limited box of our minds to fully understand something before we decide to classify as outside the norm of reality. Who knows may be the aliens consider us paranormal so how would some of us feel about that preception.

Answer 12

First you have to prove something is real.UFOs, there's no proof they exist.I'd like to think they do but there's no real evidence.Telepathy on the other hand has been tested.It's been shown not to exist, every time.Maybe tomorrow someone will develop this superpower.So far all you have are claims that can't be backed up and people who just want to believe.

Answer 13

When I think about paranormal I think about the great things that Jesus did.........raising the dead, healing the blind, exorcising demons out of bodies........now that's paranormal.

Answer 14

people do things to stuff to show you that they werent always there looking at it,

like bend theriee body to touch somethign as if they cannot see it

Answer 15

There are realities that we don't have the ability to understand...until we can, they remain "unexplainable" thereby "paranormal".

Answer 16

could just define as normal. as to telepathy  a video headset sending camera images to another is as far as close to telepathy as can be managed. spacecraft are normal Nasa sends them up all the time.others should be considered normal as well. telekenesis can be somewhat achieved by use of magnets not as fun as  idea of moving with the mind though. bugging places is good enough and enables a person to figure out what someone is thinking. or using internet sites to collect information. if all tecnology cannot detect people who are there but throwing objects around as they have been relegated to nonexistance then no proof can  be found for that type of paranormal or anyother paranormal event. normal people being told they do not exist  or people walking around saying the people  do not exist and denying it even with evidence of own eyes following phrase fit for society''of course we know the people like that in our house do not really exist''. in other times humans themselves could be considered other than normal and their existance denied their spacecraft nomrmality relegated to books of the paranormal

Answer 17

Maybe paranormal is just...normal?

Answer 18

No.  Nothing is paranormal.  It may be misunderstood, or outside our current domain but it exists, taking it out of the para category.  Thanks for this question.  It's been begging to be asked.

Answer 19

False dichotomy. You assume that either these things are supernatural or that we don't understand them. But in fact we understand human psychology very well, and these phenomena are within that realm.