One of the more famous literary quotes comes from George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm. It goes something like this: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”.
I suggest, that in terms of all things lumped together as ‘paranormal’ or the equivalent term ‘pseudoscience’, “All things paranormal are equal, but some paranormal things are more equal than others”.
I say this because, I’ve come to the realization that all things skeptical, all those skeptical organizations like CSICOP (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal – now better known as CSI: Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) and equivalents around the world (like the Australian Skeptics organization), all those self proclaimed skeptics, seem to me to lump all things paranormal into one great melting pot where all ingredients are equal, and equally yucky, and equally non-credible and equally preposterous. But are they? To that I say hogwash! - Hence my paraphrasing of the famous Animal Farm quotation.
For starters, I’m going to note that there are events like fire-walking, transient lunar phenomena (TLP), ball lightning, spontaneous human combustion, falls of unusual objects from the sky, etc. though often lumped in with all things paranormal, have been so well documented that there’s no real question that the phenomena are well founded in reality, even if not totally explained.
Next, I’m obliged to point out that ‘interpretation’ is what often separates the ‘normal’ from the paranormal. No one disputes the Tunguska event of 1908, animal mutilations, the Plain of Nazca, bona fide UFO sightings, crop circles, a face-like formation on Mars, etc. exists. It’s whether or not they have, or had, anything to do with off-worldly alien activity. For example, the Tunguska event if a meteor hitting Siberia, or even a lump of pure antimatter hitting Siberia , is ‘normal’. The Tunguska event explained as an exploding alien ship, while probably more plausible than the hunk of antimatter idea or theory, is considered paranormal.
No one doubts that one can (and many have) filled reams with materials documenting aerial and maritime mysteries within the borders of what’s considered the Bermuda Triangle. The individual case studies are ‘normal’. To collective suggest or interpret that some, most, or all of these case studies point to forces little understood; totally unknown even, puts them in the paranormal category.
Let’s now list some paranormal categories that are potentially subject to experimental or investigative confirmation [note: this isn’t by any means a totally comprehensive list]:
We have those paranormal bits and pieces that apparently are purely mental phenomena or experiences of a personal nature - dealings involving no accepted sensory apparatus or input yet are subject to experiment or research, albeit only human, never instrumental verification.
+ Astrology, the ‘Mars Effect’, and numerology.
+ ESP (extrasensory perception) or telepathy; clairvoyance.
+ Prayer & prayers answered; the power of prayer. *
+ Reincarnation (remembering past lives).
The rest of all things considered to be paranormal phenomena involve interaction with one or more of the five senses; that can also be potentially witnessed and verified by others, humans as well as potential instrumentation like cameras and tape recorders, radar and Geiger counters. There are, depending on the phenomena in question, always or often associated traces of physical evidence, or at least should be.
+ Sightings of elves, fairies, the ‘wee folk’, leprechauns, angels, witches, goblins, demons, nymphs, bogeymen, etc.
+ Magic.
+ Talking to your plants.
+ Ghosts, spirits, poltergeist, phantoms, etc. **
+ Haunted houses; ghost ships; etc. **
+ Communication with the ‘spirit world’.
+ The Bermuda Triangle and related regions where strange things happen to ships, airplanes and associated crew; various maritime and aviation mysteries that defy rational explanation.
+ Mysterious falls of frogs or fish or ice or other unusual objects from out of a clear blue sky.
+ Cryptozoology – lake and sea serpents; unknown ape-like creatures (Yeti, Bigfoot, etc.).
+ Alternative medicines and medical therapies.
+ Psychic surgery.
+ Telekinesis
+ Teleportation.
+ Ley lines and mystical energy grids associated with megaliths, monuments, etc.
+ Religious and/or medical miracles: weeping statues, stigmata, Biblical codes, prophecy, and precognition.
+ Crop circles having a non-human origin.
+ UFOs as extraterrestrial vehicles.
+ Abductions by alien beings.
+ Ancient astronauts’ artefacts/relics and/or mythology.
+ Mythological subjects like Atlantis.
Question: Are all of these various areas all equally nonsensical (none have a snowballs chance in hell of being right), or are some more (or less) nonsensical than others?
I’m sure very few people (apart from professional sceptics) would rate all of the above as equally possible or impossible; probable or improbable; plausible or implausible. And I’m sure different people will rate or rank these with differing degrees of credibility depending on personal beliefs, upbringings, lifestyles, backgrounds, education, interests, etc. If you are deeply religious, things like angels, demons, stigmata, the power of prayer*, miracles, etc. are a credibility no-brainer.
However, since this is my essays, here’s my take.
To be continued...
*Prayer as a paranormal phenomena gone poof, reminds me of an interesting observation someone else once made that every Christmas and Easter, the pope of the day publicly prays for world peace. But the next time Christmas and Easter roles around, nothing has happened – zero, zip, zilch, no progress towards peace on Earth. Surely God has the power to grant this prayer, and if the pope of the day can’t get results, who can? You’d think popes collectively would get tired of all this rejection by God and the resulting exercise in futility year after year; decade after decade. Prayers and prayers answered; the power of prayer? I think not.
** Ghosts, spirits, poltergeist, phantoms, haunted houses; ghost ships; etc. as taken to have some connection with an afterlife have no credibility, IMHO. However, other explanations are plausible. One such is that ghosts, etc. are manifestations of a simulated universe of which we’re a part.
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