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Media Skeptics
(or pseudo
skeptics as we
call them) are
fond of saying,
"There's no
evidence for any
paranormal or
psychic
phenomena" no
matter how much
evidence is
shown to them,
even if it's a
mountainful.
They always find
excuses to deny
or dismiss the
evidence, even
in the most
unreasonable and
irrational
manner, then go
back to
repeating this
claim as though
it were a
religious Gospel
Law that could
never be
overturned. This
is extremely
aggravating
because it's
like trying to
reason with
someone who
chooses to be
blind and
ignorant, and in
total denial of
facts and
reality.
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But the reality
is that for some
popular
paranormal
phenomena such
as ESP or
ghosts, there is
plenty of long
standing
evidence of
several types -
anecdotal,
experiential and
scientific.
Controlled
scientific
experiments have
yielded positive
results for ESP
for many years.
From the 1940's
with JB Rhine,
to the current
day with Dr.
Charles Tart,
Dr. Gary
Schwartz, Rupert
Sheldrake, and
many other
scientists,
positive and
consistent
results for psi
have been found
to exist far
above chance
under controlled
conditions. And
series of psi
experiments that
have been
repeated for
years known as
The Ganzfeld
Experiments,
Autoganzfeld
Experiments and
PEAR (Princeton
Engineering
Anomalies
Research) have
yielded
statistically
significant and
consistent
results above
chance as well.
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In addition, the
anecdotal and
experiential
evidence is
overwhelming.
Studies show
that at least
half the
population of
the world has
had paranormal
experiences, and
according to the
National Science
Foundation, "60%
of American
either AGREE or
STRONGLY AGREE
that some people
either possess
psychic
abilities or
extrasensory
perception".
That's A LOT, no
doubt. Common
sense would tell
you that if half
the people in
the world have
experienced
something, then
it's pretty much
certain that
there's
something to it
other than
fraud,
misperception
and fantasy,
especially since
a good number of
these
experiencers
include credible
down-to-earth
people as well.
Likewise, large
percentage of
people of all
types from all
walks of life
have experienced
ghosts too.
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So you see, the
evidence for
such common
paranormal
phenomena is
huge. As
Parapsychologist
Author Dean
Radin has said,
the evidence for
psi is so solid
and robust that
if the same
quality of
evidence existed
for something
non-paranormal,
it would
definitely have
been accepted as
proven. But
because the
paranormal is
considered taboo
in the
scientific
establishment,
there is a sort
of censorship
and knowledge
filtration
toward it. There
is an automatic
negative stigma
and bias toward
it that assumes
that only
crackpots
believe in such
things. So any
scientist who
openly supports
the legitimacy
of paranormal
phenomena
seriously
jeopardizes
their career and
image among
their
colleagues.
Thus, most
scientists who
believe in some
paranormal
phenomena will
not declare it
publicly, but
become close
enthusiasts. Mr.
Radin discovered
this, as many
scientists
confided in him
their secret
unofficial
interest and
belief that some
of the
paranormal is
real.
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Even in regard
to UFO's, there
is plenty of
evidence for
them of several
types. UFO
photos and
videos are
controversial
and vague of
course, but many
credible
eyewitnesses,
including Air
Force Pilots and
Astronauts, have
seen them.
They've also
been tracked on
radar doing
aerial maneuvers
that man-made
aircraft could
not do. (And as
you know,
hallucinations
do not appear on
radar.) In one
famous official
incident known
as the
Washington Merry
Go Round
Incident of
1952, jet
fighters were
scrambled to
intercept UFO's
after they had
been tracked on
radar.
Afterward, to
quell public
panic, the
incident was
quickly
dismissed though
never fully
explained.
Nevertheless,
something
significant
happened to
trigger the
alarm and
scrambling of
fighters, and it
wasn't "zero
evidence" for
sure. But if you
think that UFO
evidence is
strictly
confined to
obscure
sightings, think
again. The
famous
Bentwaters UFO
Incident that
occurred on an
American
military base in
England in 1980
involving two
dozen military
witnesses,
including
Colonel Halt, of
an up-close UFO
sighting,
remains an
undebunked and
compelling case.
And after years
of extensive
investigations
and interviews
with Alien
Abductees by
Budd Hopkins and
John Mack, who
wrote books on
the phenomenon,
they concluded
that there was
more to the
abduction
experience than
mere
hallucination or
sleep paralysis.
In addition,
public
coalitions such
as The
Disclosure
Project have
brought forth a
large pool of
high ranking
government,
military and
intelligence
officials and
insiders, over
400 currently,
who have
confessed to
personal
knowledge of
government
involvement with
UFO's and ET
technology, and
the cover ups
and secrecy
surrounding it.
(See a video of
their
testimonies at a
public
conference here)
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Now, that's
certainly NOT
"zero evidence"!
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Nevertheless,
pseudo skeptics
who claim to
only want
evidence
continue to
declare that
"there is no
evidence" when
they get plenty
of it from
credible
sources.
Obviously, they
are in a state
of perpetual
denial and
cognitive
dissonance. They
deny and filter
out anything
that doesn't fit
into their
materialistic
reductionistic
view of reality,
especially
anything that
has to do with
paranormal or
conspiracies, no
matter what
evidence is
presented, even
if its
documented and
scientific. One
thing they are
they not open to
is
possibilities.
Any possibility
that challenges
the views of the
establishment is
simply not
possible to
them, even if
the claims of
the
establishment
itself are not
scientific or
contradicted by
facts. It
doesn't even
have to be
paranormal, it
can be ANYTHING
that opposes the
official version
of events,
including
conspiracies and
lies by corrupt
government
officials or
even the
existence of
shadow
governments
(which were
acknowledged to
exist in the
80's with the
Iran Contra
Scandal). Thus,
their bias and
blind faith in
authority as
dogma is
revealed.
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Even if a highly
credible source
with a long
history of
accuracy
suddenly makes a
paranormal claim
or a claim
against an
established
view, they
automatically
dismiss it as
bunk before even
looking into it.
If they do look
into it, it will
not be to learn
the truth about
it, but to
debunk it. They
will even deny
evidence from
scientific
experiments as
well. All the
while, they
tout, "Show me
the evidence.
Where's the
evidence?" Yet
when they are
shown the
evidence, they
merely dismiss
it or ignore it,
acting as though
they heard
nothing, then go
back to
repeating that
there's no
evidence. I've
seen them do
this for years,
in the media, on
websites, in
forum
discussions, and
on my own
mailing list.
It's as though
they were deaf
and totally
belief oriented,
seeing only what
they want to
see.
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The problem for
pseudo skeptics
is that their
denial and
cognitive
dissonance does
NOT erase the
evidence from
reality. It may
erase it from
their own minds,
but it does not
the erase the
evidence itself.
Thus, it can be
said that they
are deluded and
do not face up
to reality.
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Some examples of
pseudo skeptics'
denial of
evidence and
cognitive
dissonance:
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* If a psychic
or medium gets
an amazing hit,
either something
highly unusual
and specific
that doesn't
apply to
everyone or a
deep dark secret
about you that
no one knows,
which could NOT
have been due to
cold reading or
guessing, then
it means nothing
to the
pseudoskeptics,
who will say
that it must
have been a
lucky guess, or
due to fraud or
your own faulty
memory, because
no one has
psychic
abilities.
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* If witnesses
experiences a
ghost, they must
have been
hallucinating,
have an active
imagination, or
lying. Ghosts
don't exist, so
it must have
been something
else.
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* If people see
UFO's, including
trained Air
Force Pilots and
Astronauts, then
they must have
misidentified
natural
phenomenon,
because alien
ships don't
exist, at least
not near Earth.
And this is so
even if radar
picked up
objects
performing
maneuvers
impossible for
man-made
aircraft.
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* If psychic
abilities are
demonstrated
under controlled
conditions (e.g.
PEAR, Ganzfeld,
SRI), then there
must have been
flaws in the
protocols or
lack of
controls,
because psychic
abilities are
not possible.
Pseudo-skeptics
then demand
repeatability
and peer review.
But when they
get that, they
then ask for
more
repeatability,
from skeptical
scientists as
well. The bar is
continually
raised until a
skeptical
scientist finds
or imagines any
flaw in the
experiments and
declares them
debunked. Only
then are they
satisfied.
Clearly, they
only want a
particular
result (only
chance results),
not the truth.
If it doesn't
get debunked,
then they accuse
the
experimentors of
improper
controls or
deceit, as Randi
is infamous for
doing.
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* They claim
that no psi
study that shows
positive results
has ever been
published in
credible
scientific
journals. Yet
when they are
shown citations
that they have,
they simply
become deaf and
ignore them.
Then they have
the nerve to
simply repeat
their lie again,
as if they never
even heard you!
This is very
infuriating and
dishonest
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* If a
resuscitated
patient has an
NDE or OBE where
he/she sees
details that
they could not
have known
about, then it
must have been
lucky guesses or
unconscious
memories,
because there is
no soul that can
leave the body..
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Winston Wu is
the founder of
SCEPCOP - The
Scientific
Committee to
Evaluate
Pseudo-Skeptical
Criticism of the
Paranormal - at
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com
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