Why are people paranormal?
Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences
that lack a scientific explanation,[1] or phenomena alleged to be
outside of science's current ability to explain or measure.[2] In
parapsychology, it is used to describe the potentially psychic
phenomena of telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis,
ghosts, and hauntings. The term is also applied to UFOs, some
creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported
phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and other non-psychic
subjects.[3] Stories relating to paranormal phenomena are found in
popular culture and folklore, but the scientific community, as
referenced in statements made by organization such as the United
States National Science Foundation, contends that scientific
evidence does not support paranormal beliefs.[4] Paranormal
research Approaching the paranormal from a research perspective is
often difficult because of the lack of acceptance of the physical
reality of most of the purported phenonema. By definition, the
paranormal does not conform to conventional expectations of the
natural. Despite this challenge, studies on the paranormal are
periodically conducted by researchers all from various disciplines.
Some researchers study just the beliefs in the paranormal
regardless of whether the phenomena are considered to objectively
exist. This section deals with various approaches to the
paranormal: anecdotal, experimental, and participant-observer
approaches, the skeptical investigation approach and the survey
approach. An anecdotal approach to the paranormal involves the
collection of stories told about the paranormal. Such collections,
lacking the rigour of empirical evidence, are not amenable to be
subjected to scientific investigation. The anecdotal approach is
not a scientific approach to the paranormal because it leaves
verification dependent on the credibility of the party presenting
the evidence. It is also subject to such logical fallacies as
cognitive bias, inductive reasoning, lack of falsifiability, and
other fallacies that may prevent the anecdote from having
meaningful information to impart. Nevertheless, it is a common
approach to paranormal phenomena. Charles Fort (1874-1932) is
perhaps the best known collector of paranormal anecdotes. Fort is
said to have compiled as many as 40,000 notes on unexplained
paranormal experiences, though there were no doubt many more than
these. These notes came from what he called "the orthodox
conventionality of Science", which were odd events originally
reported in magazines and newspapers such as The Times and
scientific journals such as Scientific American, Nature and
Science. From this research Fort wrote seven books, though only
four survive. These are: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands
(1923), Lo! (1931) and Wild Talents (1932); one book was written
between New Lands and Lo! but it was abandoned and absorbed into
Lo!. Reported events that he collected include teleportation (a
term Fort is generally credited with coining); poltergeist events,
falls of frogs, fishes, inorganic materials of an amazing range;
crop circles; unaccountable noises and explosions; spontaneous
fires; levitation; ball lightning (a term explicitly used by Fort);
unidentified flying objects; mysterious appearances and
disappearances; giant wheels of light in the oceans; and animals
found outside their normal ranges (see phantom cat). He offered
many reports of OOPArts, abbreviation for "out of place" artifacts:
strange items found in unlikely locations. He also is perhaps the
first person to explain strange human appearances and
disappearances by the hypothesis of alien abduction, and was an
early proponent of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Fort is
considered by many as the father of modern paranormalism, which is
the study of the paranormal. The magazine Fortean Times continues
Charles Fort's approach, regularly reporting anecdotal accounts of
the paranormal. [edit] Parapsychology Participant of a Ganzfeld
experiment which proponents say may show evidence of telepathy.
Main article: Parapsychology Experimental investigation of the
paranormal has been conducted by parapsychologists. Although
parapsychology has its roots in earlier research, it began using
the experimental approach in the 1930s under the direction of J. B.
Rhine (1895 – 1980).[5] Rhine popularized the now famous
methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in
a laboratory in the hopes of finding a statistical validation of
extra-sensory perception.[5] In 1957, the Parapsychological
Association was formed as the preeminent society for
parapsychologists. In 1969, they became affiliated with the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. That
affiliation, along with a general openness to psychic and occult
phenomena in the 1970s, led to a decade of increased
parapsychological research.[5] During this time, other notable
organizations were also formed, including the Academy of
Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience
(1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the
Institute for Noetic Sciences (1973), and the International Kirlian
Research Association (1975). Each of these groups performed
experiments on paranormal subjects to varying degrees.
Parapsychological work was also conducted at the Stanford Research
Institute during this time.[5] With the increase in
parapsychological investigation, there came an increase in
opposition to both the findings of parapsychologists and the
granting of any formal recognition of the field. Criticisms of the
field were focused in the founding of the Committee for the
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (1976), now
called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and its periodical,
Skeptical Inquirer.[5] Eventually, more mainstream scientists
became critical of parapsychology as an endeavor, and statements by
the National Academies of Science and the National Science
Foundation cast a pall on the claims of evidence for
parapsychology. Today, many cite parapsychology as an example of a
pseudoscience. Though there are still some parapsychologists active
today, interest and activity has waned considerably since the
1970s.[6] To date there have been no experimental results that have
gained wide acceptance in the scientific community as valid
evidence of the paranormal. [6] [edit] Participant-observer
approach Ghost hunters taking an EMF reading which proponents say
may show evidence of ghosts. While parapsychologists look for
quantitative evidence of the paranormal in laboratories, a great
number of people immerse themselves in qualitative research through
participant-observer approaches to the paranormal.
Participant-observer methodologies have overlaps with other
essentially qualitative approaches as well, including
phenomenological research that seeks largely to describe subjects
as they are experienced, rather than to explain them.[7]
Participant-observation suggests that by immersing oneself in the
subject being studied, a researcher is presumed to gain
understanding of the subject. Criticisms of participant-observation
as a data-gathering technique are similar to criticisms of other
approaches to the paranormal, but also include an increased threat
to the objectivity of the researcher, unsystematic gathering of
data, reliance on subjective measurement, and possible observer
effects (observation may distort the observed behavior).[8]
Specific data gathering methods, such as recording EMF readings at
haunted locations have their own criticisms beyond those attributed
to the participant-observation approach itself. The
participant-observer approach to the paranormal has gained
increased visibility and popularity through reality-based
television shows like Ghost Hunters, and the formation of
independent ghost hunting groups which advocate immersive research
at alleged paranormal locations. One popular website for ghost
hunting enthusiasts lists over 300 of these organizations
throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.[9] [edit]
Skeptical scientific investigation James Randi is a well-known
investigator of paranormal claims. Scientific skeptics advocate
critical investigation of claims of paranormal phenomena: applying
the scientific method to reach a rational, scientific explanation
of the phenomena to account for the paranormal claims, taking into
account that alleged paranormal abilities and occurrences are
sometimes hoaxes or misinterpretations of natural phenomena. A way
of summarizing this method is by the application of Occam's razor,
which suggests that the simplest solution is usually the correct
one.[10] The standard scientific models gives an explanation for
what appears to be paranormal phenomena is usually a
misinterpretation, misunderstanding, or anomalous variation of
natural phenomena, rather than an actual paranormal phenomenon. The
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, formerly the Committee for the
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is
an organisation that aims to publicise the scientific, skeptical
approach. It carries out investigations aimed at understanding
paranormal reports in terms of scientific understanding, and
publishes its results in its journal, the Skeptical Inquirer.
Former stage magician, James Randi, is a well-known investigator of
paranormal claims[11] and a prominent member of CSICOP. As an
investigator with a background in illusion, Randi feels that the
simplest explanation for those claiming paranormal abilities is
often trickery, illustrated by demonstrating that the spoon bending
abilities of psychic Uri Geller can easily be duplicated by trained
magicians.[12] He is also the founder of the James Randi
Educational Foundation and its famous million dollar challenge
offering a prize of US $1,000,000 to anyone who can demonstrate
evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event,
under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[13]
