The Paranormal Down at the Animal Farm: Part Two

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”.

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

Firstly, there are those paranormal bits and pieces that are first and foremost able to be put to some degree of experimental or research scrutiny. For example, from the above lists…

+ Astrology, the ‘Mars Effect’, and numerology.

+ ESP (extrasensory perception) or telepathy; clairvoyance.

+ Reincarnation (remembering past lives).

+ Communication with the ‘spirit world’.

+ Talking to your plants.

+ Prayer & prayers answered; the power of prayer*.

+ Magic.

+ 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.

+ Mythological subjects like Atlantis, Noah’s Flood, etc.

Clearly all but two of these items has failed over time, again and again, to withstand scientific scrutiny, with IMHO the dual exceptions of some, and I stress some, alternative medicines and medical therapies; and mythological examples that have spawned ultimately credible evidence, like the discovery of Troy or natural events that could account for the Atlantis legend, even Noah’s flood.

Then there are those paranormal bits and pieces that are unpredictable in time and space but the end product(s) hang around waiting the scientist to poke and prod them!

+ Mysterious falls of frogs or fish or ice or other unusual objects from out of a clear blue sky.

+ Crop circles having a non-human origin.

+ Ancient astronauts’ artefacts/relics and/or mythology.

Of this lot, there’s no question that there have been mysterious falls of frogs or fish or ice or other unusual objects from out of a clear blue sky. That’s just been so well documented that no correspondence to the contrary can be entered into. It’s not too difficult to come up with reasonable (albeit not proven) explanations in nearly all cases.

I’d maintain that the jury is still out over issues and events surrounding crop circles and ancient astronauts’ artefacts/relics and/or mythology, but of the two, ancient astronauts have the same bona fide theoretical underpinning as do UFOs as extraterrestrial vehicles.

Then there are those paranormal bits and pieces that are unpredictable in time and space but don’t hang around waiting the scientist to poke and prod them!

+ Sightings of elves, fairies, the ‘wee folk’, leprechauns, angels, witches, goblins, demons, nymphs, bogeymen, etc.

+ Ghosts, spirits, poltergeist, phantoms, etc. **

+ Haunted houses; ghost ships; etc. **

+ Ball lightning; transient lunar phenomena (TLP).

+ 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.

+ Cryptozoology – lake and sea serpents; unknown ape-like creatures (Yeti, Bigfoot, etc.).

+ UFOs as extraterrestrial vehicles.

+ Abductions by alien beings.

Here I have to divide the categories into those which have some sort of reasonable theoretical scientific underpinning and those that don’t.

Those that don’t include elves, fairies, the ‘wee folk’, leprechauns, angels, witches, goblins, demons, nymphs, bogeymen, ghosts, spirits, poltergeist, phantoms, and the existence of haunted houses; ghost ships; etc. There’s not even any remotely viable scientific worldview that can accommodate these entities. Of course the Universe may be far stranger than we can imagine, but for the here and now…

However, science does have a worldview that can logically account for such things as  ball lightning; transient lunar phenomena (TLP), lake and sea serpents; unknown ape-like creatures (Yeti, Bigfoot, etc.), and UFOs as extraterrestrial vehicles (as well as the related subject of ancient astronauts).

On the other hand, the Bermuda Triangle and related regions where strange things happen to ships, airplanes and associated crew; those various maritime and aviation mysteries that seemingly defy rational explanation – well, rational explanations are to hand, albeit sometimes a bit farfetched.

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.

The Paranormal Down at the Animal Farm: Part One

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.

Six Impossible Physical Actions

We all like lists: The ten best this, the top dozen that; the five worst ranking next thing. That’s why the popularity of the Guinness Book of Records. In “Alice through the Looking Glass”, the White Queen believed in six impossible things before breakfast. Exactly what those impossible things were is not stated – so here are some of mine that reside in the land of the physical sciences – action-at-a-distance.

Matter, and the forces that act on it, everyday, in everyway, we note and log examples; from the gravity that holds you firmly to terra firma, to the heat that boils your water to the chemistry that converts your food into you. Unfortunately, some New Age people go way beyond the actual to embrace what’s improbable at best; down to those concepts where the odds are high in the extreme as to be flat-out impossible. For example…

1) Astrology: I’m confused. Apparently the positions of the planets in the constellations influence your destiny at the time of your birth. However, prior to your birth, you existed for, on average, nine months. My confusion is, why didn’t the position of these celestial orbs influence your destiny at the time of your conception? Well, an obvious answer is that astrologists don’t know exactly the moment of your conception, but have on record the moment of your birth. But aren’t the astrologists irrelevant in this scenario. I mean, if astrology has any meaning, it’s just between you and the planets; no astrologers need apply to influence things. Things are fixed and nothing astrologers can say or do will alter the fates.

The next obvious objection is that in an Earth, population seven billion and rising, there are thousands who share the same date of conception or the same date of birth, even down to the exact hour and minute. If astrology has any significance, all these people should be equally influenced equally, since the heavenly position of the planets in the constellations are identical for all conceived or born at that specific time. Anyone care to place bets that what comes to pass for these thousands is anything but identical fates?

A similar situation applies to identical (or even non-identical) twins; any multiple births separated by mere minutes apart, who go on to have vastly different destinies and fates.

The third problem is why doesn’t the Sun and the Moon influence you? I mean they are larger and have a greater gravitational and electromagnetic influence over Terra Firma than Mercury or Pluto. And why don’t those minor ‘planets’ count, like the asteroids? 

Another issue is that we are fully aware today that many stars have planets orbiting around them. Surely these planets too, both discovered and undiscovered, also influence out fate! No? They are too far away? Well, I’d suggest that Mercury and Pluto and all orbs in-between are also way, way, way too far away to play any role in your destiny, at any time; at any place.

So by all means have a bit of a chuckle reading your daily horoscope, but if you take it seriously, then that’s one impossible concept you believe in.

2) Alchemy: If one could really turn iron into gold we’d all be rich – actually not since gold would become as valuable as iron is now and iron would be a valuable as gold. But alchemy borders on the absurd when considering how flesh-and-blood was turned into pure sodium chloride (table salt) as per the Biblical account of Lot’s wife in the Sodom and Gomorrah accounting. Sorry, that’s just impossible by any and all chemistry known to one and all. Now that’s not to say that some elements can’t be turned into others. It happens all the time via natural radioactive decay processes. Alas, iron into gold isn’t one of them. However, no doubt nuclear physicists could probably figure out a way to do the transaction, it’s just that in terns of energy, time and trouble, it would be like spending $1000 to make one cent.   

3a) Mind over Matter: Telekinesis, Psychokinesis, Mental Teleportation and the Poltergeist: Can the mind alone influence matter and unlock locks and levitate stuff? If so, it’s to your financial advantage, which is why there probably is no such mythological animal. If it is a real animal, it’s to the interest and advantage of the military, like the ability of deflecting a bullet or a missile headed in your specific direction using pure thought alone. It’s also an obvious untraceable assassination tool, if it’s a real animal. However, odds on, it is indeed a mythological beastie.

If telekinesis, etc. were really possible, the construction industry wouldn’t need cranes; warehouses wouldn’t need forklifts; airlines wouldn’t need to buy fuel for their aircraft; and if you’re stuck in traffic jams, just use that mind-over-matter ability and fly your car out!

In sports, every tee shot in golf would result in a hole-in-one; a basketball player could shoot through the hoops from the opposite side of the court; every ball bowled would be a strike; and in baseball, every little infield pop-up fly would result in a towering homerun (unless the opposition team used their collective mental powers to bring it back into play, though their telekinetic pitchers would insure that pitched balls danced around the batter’s bats in the first place – a perfect game of 27 strikeouts in a row).

As far as poltergeists (‘noisy ghosts’) are concerned, the near universal connection is that these ‘ghostly’ manifestations, objects flying through the air; pictures falling off walls; odd noises, etc. are associated with kids and teens and ghost hunters put them down to the psychic energies of adolescence. On the other hand, a more likely explanation is that brats are known to get up to mischief; often disruptive behaviour is a sign someone just wants to be the centre of attention. 

3b) Mind over Yourself: Levitation: Moving and influencing inanimate matter via mental powers the throw of the dice and what symbols the slot machine throws up (I said there was financial gain to be had) is one thing, but can you move yourself? Alas, it you leap out of an airplane a mile up without a parachute, will you levitate yourself back down softly, softly to the ground or will you land with a bone-crushing thud? Have you ever known gravity to fail you? If you can will yourself to levitate, then convicts could will themselves over and out of the prison yard and make their getaway. I don’t recall ever seeing that strategy employed and broadcast on the TV news! If you can cheat gravity, what a pole-jumper you’d make – Olympic Gold for sure. Alas, I’m sure Olympic pole-jumping is on the level, since have you ever known or seen someone levitate? Can you levitate? Then what odds that human levitation is legit? On the other hand, have you ever known people to hoax; pull your leg; perpetrate a fraud and indulge in fakery? I thought so.  

4) Pyramid Power: One of those New Age wacko beliefs is that somehow the pyramid shape or pyramid geometry holds some sorts of mystical powers. Food placed inside pyramid structures won’t spoil; cut flowers won’t wilt; dull razor blades will regain their sharpness edge; if you sleep inside a pyramid structure all sorts of wondrous and positive things happen to you. What a load of rubbish! If true, pyramids would be a best-selling item in department stores from coast-to-coast and not just an item you find in New Age shops along with crystals, Tarot cards, and books on transcendental meditation/yoga and the astral plane. Houses wouldn’t be the standard right-angle ‘boxes’ we find on every block, but pyramid shaped. It’s easy enough to do experiments to verify claims that pyramids hold special powers relating to energy forces, but I don’t see any mention of this astounding breakthrough energy technology in physics texts. Fridges are still sold in order to keep food fresh; razor blades are still available for purchase.  

5) Orgone Energy: Orgone Energy was a ‘discovery’ by one Dr. Wilhelm Reich, a noted psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and associate of Sigmund Freud. When he migrated to the United States, one of many forced exiles brought about by the rise of Hitler’s Nazi Germany, he really started to promote his Orgone Energy ideas which he said was a sort of primordial cosmic energy which had all manner of positive effects on those with mental and physical afflictions. It was also responsible for the colour of the sky and for the weather and was the cause of gravity. So without Orgone Energy there would be no galaxies and those other things that gravity is associated with, but on a more personal level, your emotions and sexual prowess was also a result of exposure to Orgone Energy. Overall it was a force that was the opposite of entropy. Orgone Energy created order out of disorder. Wow!  

Unfortunately, Orgone Energy was a tad rarefied, and so one had to gather it up and concentrate it, but fortunately he had invented these Orgone accumulators, which gathered up the Orgone Energy, and patients could then sit inside these accumulators and receive the health benefits or therapy relating to Orgone Energy. Unfortunately for Dr. Reich, this ran afoul of American authorities who tried to ban these accumulators. Dr. Reich defied the powers-that-be, leading to his arrest, trial and imprisonment, and ultimately his death in prison. Some of his accumulators and publications were also burned, supervised by those powers-that-be; rather harsh almost Nazi-like censorship for what was a totally ridiculous concept in the first place.

There was also a negative counterpart to Orgone Energy, Deadly Orgone Radiation (DOR). This too was present in our environment and was responsible for bad things, especially bad environmental things. Dr. Reich came to the rescue with his ‘cloudbusters’, which basically was a rainmaking device, the rain being a useful means to dilute and disperse the DOR. 

Although Orgone Energy has been discredited as fringe science (and that’s being kind), these various Orgone Energy concepts haven’t entirely died out and there are still true believers to this day.  

6) Plant Sensations: By this I do not mean sensational plants, but plants that sense things, specifically you, so let’s call it ‘the secret life of plants’ (I think that was the title of a book by the way). Do you talk to your plants? That sounds harmless enough. Do you expect in return your plants to respond, albeit not vocally of course, to your verbalizations? If so, then you’re a prime candidate for the funny farm! In case you haven’t done Botany 101, plants have no ‘ears’ (or equivalent) to receive sound waves; no nervous system to transmit audio input into electrical impulses; no grey matter to receive these nonexistent impulses far less translate your original vibrations into a meaningful message, like “you’d better put out some flowers quick-smart after all the money I spent on you down at the nursery!”. I mean plants have an IQ of, well, plants. And do plants have a Star Trek type universal translator mechanism?  Take three seeds from one pod. Plant one each in Australia, Japan and France. Will the three plants equally understand that ‘you’d better flower or else’ message in Aussie, Japanese and French? Would the Aussie plant comprehend a Native American visitor speaking to it in Navaho? Speak by all means to your plants if you like, just don’t expect the plant to comprehend and respond accordingly.

In conclusion, I don’t buy into these action-at-a-distance concepts, but no doubt the White Queen is a firm believer in the above six impossible things! However, I don’t believe in the existence of the White Queen either – she’s yet another impossible ‘thing’.