Do you believe in ghosts?

[Ichibanner]

In 2018 we have very robust ways of examining reality. The fact that the best evidence we have for "ghosts" comes from overly dramatic tell-all shows on the Oprah Winfrey network says it all.

In 2018 we have the ability to focus charged air particles via laser and actually target people or objects with lightning. We can launch satellites into orbit that carry communication among continents. We have more computing power in our cell phones than we had on desktops in the 90's. With your skepticism (not saying it isn't warranted in regards to the supernatural) you would have called bullshit on all of this 25-50 years ago.

I simply view the word "ghosts" and "haunting" as titles given to things or events that we can't easily understand or those that cannot be concretely defined. Until we could verify that ball lightning existed we had to take other's word on it. Maybe it's the same with much of the "Supernatural"?

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Why would you assume that even if what is reported was true that it was a ghost? Would it not be more plausible to consider that it was actually you seeing charged particles hitting a magnetic field? We know this occurs... its called the northern lights or the Aurora Borealis.

Well, I'm talking about when you have reports of reputedly haunted places where they know of an exact person that died and they randomly see them wandering the halls or going about their business. There is never any interaction.

When I hear stories like that, it makes me think of video and audio recordings. It just seems plausible to me that perhaps life could leave imprints like a recording.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

I've never seen one but I think they definitely may exist for sure.

 

[ShadBo]

In 2018 we have the ability to focus charged air particles via laser and actually target people or objects with lightning. We can launch satellites into orbit that carry communication among continents. We have more computing power in our cell phones than we had on desktops in the 90's. With your skepticism (not saying it isn't warranted in regards to the supernatural) you would have called bullshit on all of this 25-50 years ago.

I simply view the word "ghosts" and "haunting" as titles given to things or events that we can't easily understand or those that cannot be concretely defined. Until we could verify that ball lightning existed we had to take other's word on it. Maybe it's the same with much of the "Supernatural"?

That's reasonable enough.

But why can't we find a single instance of "ghosts, hauntings, things, or events" that are reproducible? Every time we investigate the claims people make about their experiences we come up with nothing at all. Are the ghosts/hauntings/things/events smart to our efforts to learn more about them?

 

[Ichibanner]

That's reasonable enough.

But why can't we find a single instance of "ghosts, hauntings, things, or events" that are reproducible? Every time we investigate the claims people make about their experiences we come up with nothing at all. Are the ghosts/hauntings/things/events smart to our efforts to learn more about them?

I honestly don't know the answer to that. I'm open-minded. I think that we might need to be able see further along the electromagnetic spectrum or such to have a chance to capture proof or have real understanding of the phenomenon of "ghosts". We are comprised of matter and energy. The first law of Thermodynamics states that the total amount of energy in a closed system cannot be created nor destroyed (though it can be changed from one form to another).

We die and the matter rots, decomposing and giving off heat, which is a changing of states. What happens to the energy that our brain produced? Does it dissipate? Become "static" waiting to be recovered? Since I'm ignorant to this answer I'm open to the thought that maybe the energy goes on as a non-corporeal being known as a "ghost" or something often referred to as our soul. Maybe this is the changing of state from one form of energy to another?

 

[ShadBo]

I honestly don't know the answer to that. I'm open-minded. I think that we might need to be able see further along the electromagnetic spectrum or such to have a chance to capture proof or have real understanding of the phenomenon of "ghosts".

Bro, people are claiming they have witnessed things with their own eyes using plain sight.

I am open minded too, but I think the ship has sailed on this stuff. Until we can confirm even the most basic and mundane ghost/haunting/thing/event, I think we should chill out and not appeal to thermodynamics and the electromagnetic spectrum to explain away the overwhelming lack of evidence for the proposition that these things could maybe exist...possibly.

 

[Ichibanner]

Bro, people are claiming they have witnessed things with their own eyes using plain sight.

I am open minded too, but I think the ship has sailed on this stuff. Until we can confirm even the most basic and mundane ghost/haunting/thing/event, I think we should chill out and not appeal to thermodynamics and the electromagnetic spectrum to explain away the overwhelming lack of evidence for the proposition that these things could maybe exist...possibly.

I get what you're saying but I think you're too stuck on the "Supernatural" idea behind ghosts. Maybe they're not "spirits" or supernatural phenomenon but are simply hallucinations? Maybe the experiences are easily explained by investigating the environment for electromagnetic radiation (power lines) or other factors like the presences of gasses. Maybe some people are more "in tune" with what's around them? Who knows. I saw and heard crap that I couldn't explain and was lucky enough to have others experience the same. Was it spirits? Who knows? Ghosts is the best word that I can come up with.

In the Navy we got vision and hearing tested. I had annual hearing tests due to my occupation. I had to re-take my tests not because I was failing, but because my hearing is so good on the high end of the spectrum that the test givers called bullshit and thought I was guessing when a tone sounded and getting lucky when I hit the button. I've been repeatedly told that I'm the only person any of the testers witnessed who could hear that high. It was a pain in the ass, but kinda cool to hear that I have "super" hearing so to speak. Maybe some people are naturally more in tune with what's around them and can see "ghosts" with their "super" vision. Or maybe those of us that do are crazy or being influenced by our surroundings.

Give it time. We didn't have RADAR, X-rays, MRI, or many other technologies not too long ago in human history. Centuries ago the closed-minded died never knowing that the Earth is round and orbits around the sun.

When you get the chance, please take a picture of gravity for me. People tell me that it exists but I never saw what it looks like. I'm being facetious of course.

 

[ShadBo]

When you get the chance, please take a picture of gravity for me. People tell me that it exists but I never saw what it looks like. I'm being facetious of course.

1. Get a video camera and set it to record an area you will be standing in.
2. Turn it on an ensure it's recording.
3. Walk in the frame and drop anything heavier than air.

You have now photographed the phenomenon we that label gravity.

 

[mozfonky]

The endure concept of ghosts is retarded and presumes that human life is special. We aren't special. We're just another life form on Earth.

Do dogs and cats get ghosts?
Do birds?
What about intelligent social creatures like dolphins or elephants?
What about animals that aren't smart but are social?
Do spiders get ghosts?
What about plant life?


Once you start going down this irrational path of idiocy you will inevitably wind up having to make stupid choices like above.

I met a guy who told me he had a cat with leukemia that he was close to, he buried it in some brush, he said he and his girlfriend were walking nearby one night when they saw a flash of light. He said "did you see that?" only to turn around and see his girlfriend booking it.

 

[mozfonky]

Well, I'm talking about when you have reports of reputedly haunted places where they know of an exact person that died and they randomly see them wandering the halls or going about their business. There is never any interaction.

When I hear stories like that, it makes me think of video and audio recordings. It just seems plausible to me that perhaps life could leave imprints like a recording.

even if we had recording, most people would rightly assume that it was most likely fake, there are many ghost vids on youtube. with technology today anyone can make some bullshit ghost video. So even if a ghost appeared on video, you'd then have to deal with "was it fake or real?".

 

[mozfonky]

comon you know that isnt true. thailand for instance has a big culture around ghosts.

most of the people I know of all persuasions have stories, that's not to delve into the religious people I grew up around who had the craziest stories of all.

 

[Jim Cozad Jr.]

No...but I still watch those ghost shows occasionally (on the Travel Channel I think)...where they reenact people's stories of real life ghost encounters...it gets me every time when they describe the thing that happened, weird noise, door shutting or whatever...and they'll say that there's "no other logical explanation" than it being a ghost lol...

 

[DoomPatrol]

I met a guy who told me he had a cat with leukemia that he was close to, he buried it in some brush, he said he and his girlfriend were walking nearby one night when they saw a flash of light. He said "did you see that?" only to turn around and see his girlfriend booking it.

That's a nice story about dumb people.

 

[mozfonky]

That's a nice story about dumb people.

just answering someone's question about animal ghosts, also, jimmy carter has often told the story of how there was a ghost dog on his families' property when he was a kid. He also tells an eerie story about how a neighbor was sick and dying and when he died inside of the house, his dogs howled, he supposed they saw his spirit leaving. Jimmy was a pretty smart guy, as far as presidents, i think he had one of the better iq's or so I heard.

 

[DoomPatrol]

just answering someone's question about animal ghosts, also, jimmy carter has often told the story of how there was a ghost dog on his families' property when he was a kid. He also tells an eerie story about how a neighbor was sick and dying and when he died inside of the house, his dogs howled, he supposed they saw his spirit leaving. Jimmy was a pretty smart guy, as far as presidents, i think he had one of the better iq's or so I heard.

Well if a man heard dogs howl for no discernible reason, then that settles it.

It seems like pets get ghosts but dinner doesn't. Odd how that works like that. Dude's pet dog gets to be a ghost dog, but the millions of cows we eat don't get that opportunity.

Totally not unreasonable logic.....

 

[mozfonky]

yup, you got it all figured out i see.

 

[CoolB]

If Roky Erickson & the Aliens believe then who am I to disagree

 

[Ichibanner]

1. Get a video camera and set it to record an area you will be standing in.
2. Turn it on an ensure it's recording.
3. Walk in the frame and drop anything heavier than air.

You have now photographed the phenomenon we that label gravity.

As stated, I was joking. By your logic we've photographed the result of gravity but never captured gravity itself on film. I can't see RF energy but I've measured it with an Oscilloscope.

We can't yet truly calculate the force of gravity as the unknown constant rererred to as big "G" has yet to be defined. In fact, some physicists argue that there is no gravitational constant and that the force of gravity can differ from day to day or among locations. There have been experiments measuring gravity at the atomic level but the results vary depending on the test method and objects used. So, we haven't truly quantified / defined gravity beyond the normal "rate of fall" of an object or weighing an object on Earth or the gravity of a specific atomic particle or known element. We're closer to understanding gravity than we've ever been though.

We say gravity exists because one object affects another through an invisible force and we can measure or calculate that force to a degree. Planets exert "gravity" and objects on a smaller scale do too. When an apple falls from a tree we say "gravity" caused the fall despite never seeing gravity, only the apple falling. People who hear unexplained footsteps in their house or see a shadow or such say "ghost" because the word is the most convenient label for the unexplained phenomenom.

 

[That209]

The kind of things that tug on your pillow - poke at your chest, make noises with plastic bags etc etc

 

[That209]

I will always keep an open mind about things, but with that said, I don't believe in them due to the law of null hypothesis.

They do not exist until sufficient evidence can be brought of their existence.

With all the technology we have nowadays surely someone would have observed supernatural activity by now.

There could be real footage but people still wouldn’t believe it.