3rd Hour - Paranormal & Science

Visit the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena's (ASSAP) website at http://www.assap.org/index.html . Feel free to browse the site, but be sure to check out information about orbs http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Orbs%20centre.html and cold spots http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Cold%20spots.html . Also check out why the ASSAP believes it is important to use science in explaining the paranormal http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Scientific%20study.html .

After visiting the website, reflect on the website and select one of the following questions to answer. In addition to your posted reflection, respond to the postings of TWO of your classmates.

1. Compare your belief in the paranormal (ghosts, ESP, UFO's) before and after visiting this website. What, if anything changed? Why? How did science play a role in your current stance on paranormal activity?

2. 40% of all science teachers believe in the paranormal. Does this statistic surprise you? Is this inconsistent with their field of study? Support your stance of why science can/cannot interwine to explain the paranormal.

Initial Posting: Due Thursday, October 13 at 11:59 pm
Response Postings: Due Sunday, October 16 at 11:59 pm.

Before visiting the website, i was fairly sure that the paranormal did not exist. Nothing of that sort has ever happened to me, so of course i'm a skeptic. Nothing has really changed in this viewpoint, except for now i will be a little more afraid to go to bed tonight. Science played a role in my stance in how it was pointed out what possibilities people may have seen instead of ghosts. i think the people who have seen the paranormal either want attention or have fooled themselves into believing there was something unexplainable in that place. i believe in big foot and the loch ness monster more than i believe in this stuff.

Before the video, I belived in paranormal activity, and i still do. But, really? Orbs? No one cares about orbs. When people go into haunted houses, they are not going hoping to see orbs, they are going to feel cold spots, and see if there is paranormal activity in that house, or where ever they are. Paranormal actiivity isn't just about orbs.

[quote="JessLockette"] Hahahaha Jess you crack me up. Before this, i never heard about orbs. So they must not have been that important.

Before visiting 'www.assap.org', I watched ghost adventurers, ghost hunters, and other paranormal stuff and yes I believed in ghosts. After visiting the website I realized (as I did before) that television and media things can be manipulated and changed. Things like the 'orbs' or 'mist' aren't always necessarily manipulations, but there are also mistakes as always. Despite this I believe in ghosts and paranormal stuff because I believe that even if current technology can't measure or define it, ghosts can be seen and felt by the human psyche and senses as in 'ghost adventurers'. www.ASSap.org

Erika Edmonds wrote:. i think the people who have seen the paranormal either want attention or have fooled themselves into believing there was something unexplainable in that place. i believe in big foot and the loch ness monster more than i believe in this stuff.

despite believing in paranormal stuff, I can accept your belief too because the human brain, emotion, and desire can be strong enough to make someone believe something that isn't there, is there. Although, that isn't to say that thing isn't or never was there.

I don't believe in ghosts or things being "haunted" or any of that stuff, and my opinion didn't change after looking at the web site. I think people use ghosts and things as excuses because they don't know how else to explain something like a cold spot or an orb. An orb is just light in a picture it has absolutely nothing to do with "ghosts." The things that people will make up is ridiculous, and it's even more ridiculous that they have convinced themselves and others that it is true. Almost anything can be explained with science or technology if they would just do the research rather than jump to conclusions.

I find it very surprising that fourty percent of science teachers believe in the paranormal. They are the ones who are telling us to follow what science says is fact. Concerning paranormal things there is scientific proof that disclaims these things. One thing is the orb theory. People believe that these orbs are paranormal when in all reality they are just dust particles floating around that are caught in the light. Another example is the cold spots. Some say that these cold spots are caused by ghosts when in all reality it is just someone's brain messing with them and making them think it is just colder. That is why I am surprised.

camenistic strickland wrote:Before visiting 'www.assap.org', I watched ghost adventurers, ghost hunters, and other paranormal stuff and yes I believed in ghosts. After visiting the website I realized (as I did before) that television and media things can be manipulated and changed. Things like the 'orbs' or 'mist' aren't always necessarily manipulations, but there are also mistakes as always. Despite this I believe in ghosts and paranormal stuff because I believe that even if current technology can't measure or define it, ghosts can be seen and felt by the human psyche and senses as in 'ghost adventurers'. www.ASSap.org

I know you say you believe in ghosts and paranormal stuff, but what about the orbs being shown that they are just dust particles? What about cold spots because some aren't effected by them and others are? I think that it is just the brain physcing people out...people do it all the time to themselves concerning things like tests.

JessLockette wrote:Before the video, I belived in paranormal activity, and i still do. But, really? Orbs? No one cares about orbs. When people go into haunted houses, they are not going hoping to see orbs, they are going to feel cold spots, and see if there is paranormal activity in that house, or where ever they are. Paranormal actiivity isn't just about orbs.

I know you and many others believe in the paranormal, but what about what science says about these weird things happening? In the world today most people believe in science before they believe in anything else. Science says that these so called "cold spots" are just a person's brain physcing them out. I do not always agree with science, but I think I would have to on this one.

I personally have to believe in the paranormal. when I was younger i saw ghosts of people i had never met. one of the people i said what eye color he had, there were not any colored pictures of him. i have to believe in the paranormal because i had a paranormal encounter. so reading this site has not changed my way of thinking.

Really people... orbs. I see those when I look at a bright light for too long. These orbs are nothing more than a light trick. Paranormal my butt!

Before visiting this site, i had little to no belief in the paranormal. I thought this sight was going to be an argument that ghosts do in fact exist. However, it only strengthened my lack of belief in the paranormal. So nothing truly changed about my beliefs, it only pushed me farther away from me being a believer. Science played a fairly large portion in my beliefs. Ghosts are an irrational being, There is no true way to measure their existence. Then again, anyone of Christian religion should be farmiliar with believing in the abstract. Nevertheless, I remain a skeptic of the spookies that haunt the earth.

[quote="Logan Huddleston1"] Whether you think you havent seen these people before, you might have, you just cant remember them or maybe they arent important in your life. Also, dreams can sometimes be so real they get filed into your memory as reality.

[quote="camenistic strickland"] While i agree that things can be rewal without physical data on it (being a Christian) i still think that there are explanations to the events that people in a panicked frenzy like to blame on the "paranormal". But when you take a closer more logical look at it, there is usually a scientific explanation for this.

1. Compare your belief in the paranormal (ghosts, ESP, UFO's) before and after visiting this website. What, if anything changed? Why? How did science play a role in your current stance on paranormal activity?

I still believe in paranormal activity to an extent. However, I don't think that science plays a role in understanding it. Science is more of a solid factual study, whereas paranormal activity is more of an abstract idea. Science can detect possible evidence of paranormal activity like temperature changes, but the actual finding I don't think that it can be useful by itself.

My thoughts on paranormal stuff has not changed since before visiting the site as well as after. I personally think that paranormal stuff and experiences do exsist. I have never personally had anything happen to me but I am not a skeptic. I love watching shows about it or hearing people own personal encounters with it as well. I think that not all paramornal experiences are bad evil things. I think that most are good encounters that come from loved ones that have passed on and are just reasurring you that theyare in a beter place.

Kara Gordon wrote:[quote=".

Kara I sort of agree with you on the fact people can make big deal out of very small simple issues, but dont agree that all paranormal activity can be explained through science. I think sometimes its just more that "people" can percieve.(hope i spelled that right, they need spell check on this thing lol)

adamobrock wrote:.

...I dont think you should dismiss paranormal activity until you look past what "sciene" says is fact and actally talk to people.

Before reading about the paranormal on those sites, I never really believed in any of it. However, movies about the paranormal still scare me and I'm afraid to walk around the house at night with the lights afterwards. After reading, I still don't believe in the paranormal.. Maybe because I've never had a true paranormal experience that scared me into thinking there was a "ghost". Though I do believein being rational, even when science is used to measure something someone belived to be paranormal activity I really just refuse to believe it. The idea of imaginary dead people walking around is not a believable idea. Although there are orbs in pictures, it could just be a problem with many cameras. As for cold spots, the site said that air moves in a room whether there is a window or door open or closed. Also some people probably just want to believe that ghosts exist or believe in paranormal so much they perceive a cold spot to be there but it really isn't. Overall, I think paranormal activities aren't real.

[quote="ROBBYECANADA"]
To what extent do you believe in it? If you don't believe science proves paranormal activity to be true then how do you know it really happens?

[quote="Logan Huddleston1"] How old were you when you perceived that you saw ghosts? It's possible you don't accurately remember the experience, or that it was a dream even. Sometimes I've had dreams that seemed so real and will one dya be thinking about it and almost not know for sure if it was my dream or if it realy happened or even both.

Erika Edmonds wrote:Before visiting the website, i was fairly sure that the paranormal did not exist. Nothing of that sort has ever happened to me, so of course i'm a skeptic. Nothing has really changed in this viewpoint, except for now i will be a little more afraid to go to bed tonight. Science played a role in my stance in how it was pointed out what possibilities people may have seen instead of ghosts. i think the people who have seen the paranormal either want attention or have fooled themselves into believing there was something unexplainable in that place. i believe in big foot and the loch ness monster more than i believe in this stuff.

hahaha I agree erika! It didn't convince me of believing in the paranormal, just kind of creeped me out!

After watching the video, it doesn't convince me, it just kind of creeps me out. Some of my family memebers believe strongly in ghosts and what not. I , however think it is just silly. Personally, I think they used orbs and cold spots as an excuse for evidence. If that makes sense? I can see why people would believe in it, but I don't. And it's a comforting thought!

I actually dont find it very surprising that only 40% believe in paranormal activity. I say this because most scientist try to lead everything to a scientific explanation so im sure the rest of the scientist dont believe in it because they think that it has no scientific way to prove that it is paranormal. After reading the stories and watching the video i am neutral on the situation. Partially confused, but still neutral.