Skeptics

tutnkmn · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:07 am Post subject: Skeptics

As a skeptic I thought it might be nice to have a place where alternative explanations about the paranormal could be discussed. All science includes debate. I just ask no flaming please, everyone is entitled to their opinion Wink

Discuss.....

darkstar · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:00 am Post subject:

To any skeptics:

What would it take to make you believe?

What do you call someone who doesn't believe in the paranormal and claims there is nothing that could make them believe?

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Pawclaws · Joined: 09 Apr 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Athens, Ohio

I don't know, maybe a person with their mind already made up? Great section Tut! Lots of phonies in the woods there partner.

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CaveRat · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:53 am Post subject:

	darkstar wrote:
	To any skeptics: What would it take to make you believe? What do you call someone who doesn't believe in the paranormal and claims there is nothing that could make them believe?

I call that a debunker. The term fits the last part of the statement, nothing could make them believe. The first part fits the catagory many of us are almost in. I consider myself about 80% skeptic. I won't accept paranormal until every possible mundane explanation is ruled out. The difference between that and a debunker is I could be convinced by the right evidence, and I will admit I have seen a few things that can't be readily explained by normal methods. But the evidence has to be reliable.

Which is why I want good quality photos, not vague smudges in a corner of a digital picture very underexposed. I want EVP gathered using stereo equipment, stationary, low noise environment, and little or no post processing. EM Fields that can be backed up by their causes, no unknown background levels that may have caused a false reading. Temperature and humidity readings that can rule out condensation and ground fog / mists. Video showing something clear, not a vague dot moving about in the distance, and to really prove your case, get it on more than one camera at a time. Get evidence that meets these criterea, back it up by witness testimony and historical research and you got my attention. Things that do so that are well on the way to proving the paranormal, or at least getting it out of the mundane catagory.

So a debunker and a skeptic are much alike. except a skeptic can be convinced with the proper proof, a debunker will go to his grave arguing against it.

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is300lex · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:37 am Post subject:

I'm an "open-minded" skeptic. I've never had any paranormal experiences but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of those kinds of things being possible. I'm a technically-minded person (Engineering Degree and a decade of IT experience) so I can debunk most things, but if something obviously out-of-the-ordinary is going on and I can't figure it out I wouldn't hesitate to call it paranormal.

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darkstar · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:45 am Post subject:

I had thought of myself as a debunker until I saw caverats definition. I'm not a skeptic because I firmly believe in paranormal stuff but I don't take every piece of "evidence" as the proof of paranormal activity.

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Ohio Valley Ghost Hunters

Joni Egypt Valley · Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

	darkstar wrote:
	I had thought of myself as a debunker until I saw caverats definition. I'm not a skeptic because I firmly believe in paranormal stuff but I don't take every piece of "evidence" as the proof of paranormal activity.

That's very true. Debunking is part of the process. I guess that has to be done if we are to be taken seriously.

Joni Egypt Valley · Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

I also think there is a difference b/t a skeptic, who will at least consider the fact and a non-believer who will never accept any type of true evidence.

Rusti24 · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:44 pm Post subject:

Those are the ones I really love to see come to an investigation/hunt and get scared on their butts, or run crying and screaming out the door...haha..It's been known to happen, but I've never caught up with one to ask them how they felt NOW! Wink

is300lex · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:12 am Post subject:

I wish I had more time to spend going on investigations with pro's and amateurs alike. I'd love to see some kind of really convincing paranormal activity.

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