I've noticed that there seem to be a lot more ghost shows on televsion right now. I don't mean shows like "Ghost Whisperer" but shows that feature actual, ahem, ghost hunters. Apparently you really can make a living out of this. Admittedly, I've only watched a couple of the shows but I can say that I've yet to see any compelling evidence for the existence of ghosts on any of these shows. Frankly, if any truly authenticated evidence of ghosts was discovered, it would make the front page of every newspaper in the world. This would be one of the single greatest discoveries of humankind. So given all the ghost hunters and "paranormal" investigators out there, why haven't I seen one major headline about this? Simple:
It's all bullshit.
Why is it that otherwise rational human beings continue to want to believe in this crap? Not only believe, but give away good money to the charlatans who prey upon them? There really is some defective wiring in the human brain that makes us love garbage like ghosts and astrology. It wouldn't bother me so much except for the fact that putting shows like "Ghost Hunters" on TV is a tacit endorsement of the notion that ghosts actually exist. And there's no counterbalance in the media. There's no show that on a weekly basis gets to expose ghost hunters, psychics, and other scam artists for the frauds that they are. I suppose this is because most people are happier to not know the truth. The truth isn't as fun. I guess that's also one reason people continue to believe in God despite the fact that there's less evidence for Him than there is for ghosts. I simply have no patience for this kind of thinking.
5 comments:
These stupid ghost shows are everywhere now -- and in places like the DiscoveryChannel which should be all about SCIENCE. But I have to say I had a fair share of weird things that happened in the old house I grew up in, and I've always thought really good ghost stories, really good ones, are fun. We do have a legendary family ghost story involving my parents. A short time after one of my grandparents died, my parents were driving along one of these crazy winding roads characteristic of where I grew up -- lots of hairpin turns and spots where the brush and trees overhang. All of a sudden my mother burst out, "Look out for the BROWN CAR!" My dad slowed down and wouldn't you know just a few seconds later a brown car came careening around the bend, barely missing my folks. (This was in the 1960s before I was born, so it was a big ugly car akin to the big ugly station wagon my folks were driving -- none of which I can see on those roads today.) They went back to that spot time and again and from every angle there was no way my mother could have seen that car coming, and both the car and her exclamation came from out of no where fast. They always liked to say it was a warning from whoever it was that died, but I like to think it's just evidence that none of us use even a fraction of the power our brains are capable of. Still, it's a fun story to pass down, which I did to my kids when we were driving on those roads about a month ago in my very own station wagon. Keeps the mind off the carsickness, that's for sure!
http://www.imagesco.com/ufo/index.html
That's a link where you can buy a "Ghost Meter" (which also detects UFOs) for $35.
I reject the idea of the "supernatural," but I do think that stuff happens (like MM's example), I just don't think we have all the answers about so-called telepathy, electromagnetic activity, deja vu, etc. - but whatever causes these things is *natural* in my opinion. Not saying I think that dead people are floating around, but I've found that after someone has died (even a pet), I often think I "see" them, but I realize that it's all in my mind, I am thinking of them and visualizing them - they aren't there.
Blue - I've got to get me one of those ghost meters! Hahaha. That's great.
I agree with both of you. First, good ghost stories are fun but I don't think people should confuse that with reality. I also think that people forget the laws of probability when they look at this stuff. Sure, odd things happen in houses. But how many houses are there in the U.S? Simple probably suggests that some really weird crap would be expected to happen in thousands of them.
I once saw a ghost. I distinctly remember waking up and seeing an apparition, a man with his arms folded, walking towards my bed and then slowly evaporating. The problem is that I know enough about science to know that this was what is called a hypnogogic hallucination. I had been dreaming, probably stage 4 sleep, and was suddenly awake. My visual cortex, just for a moment, retained some of the dream material. I can tell you it looked very real, like most people would describe a ghost. But I know it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Problem is, that doesn't make us feel special.
LOL, I wish I had been the one who INVENTED those damn meters!!
Doc, I've never heard of that thing you're talking about. If that had been me, I'd have been scared right out of my skin. Why aren't there cool science shows about stuff like hypoeggnogic or whatever it is? That is cool.
I have a funny UFO story too. I was pretty little and was looking out our bedroom window at night, in June. I knew over the hills there was an airport but I saw all these blinking yellow lights. The next day, I asked my mom where the airport was, and she said it wasn't in that direction. I told her I might have seen a bunch of UFOs out that way. SO the next night, she waited with me, when the light show started. She started to laugh. They were just fireflies in our front yard.
Still waiting for my space ride,
MM
Haha. That's great. Fireflies. I love that!
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