Do you believe in ghosts or the paranormal?

[Aqua Trenoble]

Sooo placebos always do nothing and don't even exist? That's quite an assumption you're making there, hope you can prove it.

What sort of question is that? The definition of placebo effect is inducing something psychosomatic through the power of suggestion. For instance a psychiatrist gives a patient medication against his depression. The pills take two weeks for their effects to set in, but the psychiatrist tells his patient he will be feeling the effects tomorrow. The patient then feels better the next day, through the placebo-effect.

So then the placebo-effect actually did something and is a completely existent phenomenon. What was your point again?

A drug dealer that just sells harmless placebos isn't a con artist. He's a hero!

Not if he overcharges ridiculously, out of greed, like the woman on that website. Because that's exactly that: greed.

If it was about helping other people, he wouldn't be after their money.

If he overcharges for no reason then he doesn't have any business, does he? There is no reason to suppose that my drug dealer overcharges or does it to help people. The placebo could be friggin salt and he could still make a profit and be completely amoral. My mother's prices are perfectly reasonable compared to what doctors charge for their cures, especially since the doctor's methods don't even goddamn work half of the time!

 

[King Toasty]

I believe that within the thousands of galaxies the universe there is a good chance that there exists at least one other sentient lifeform. Though I also believe that we will never come into contact with them, as Andromeda the closest galaxy to the Milky Way is 2 million lightyears away, so that's not gonna happen. That's it, if you consider that believing in the paranormal then yes I suppose I do.

That's not paranormal, just logical. For the lifeform bit, anyways. Paranormal includes psychic powers, ghosts, pseudo-scientific faith healing.

I was under the impression that some people associate aliens with the paranormal. As for ghosts and all of that other bollocks no I don't believe in any of that absurd nonsense. Also, What do you mean 'for the lifeform bit, anyways'?

I meant that the intelligent life was a bit trickier. But you're right. Given the size of the universe, there should be lots of life. I mean, that's when Fermi's Paradox comes into play- if the chances of life existing elsewhere is so huge, where are the aliens- but yeah, I think life does exist elsewhere.

 

[Aqua Trenoble]

Sooo placebos always do nothing and don't even exist? That's quite an assumption you're making there, hope you can prove it.

I agree that it is a placebo. But it's a placebo that works, and that's just as good as the genuine article. Sometimes even better! A drug dealer that just sells harmless placebos isn't a con artist. He's a hero! He's satisfying his clients' needs without causing them the harm that effectual drugs would.

Are you fucking serious or are you just trolling? Do you honestly not see any problem with your logic? A drug dealer that sells a placebo and claims it cures all sorts of ailments when it doesn't is a scammer and a fraud.

*facepalm* I'm talking about hard, on-the-street, fuck-you-up-if-you-look-at-them-wrong drugs! And I am saying that IF IT DID FUCKING WORK THEN HE WOULD BE SUPERSEDING THE NEED FOR ACTUAL DRUGS. IF IT WORKED. I wouldn't be making any of these suppositions if that wasn't the case!

 

[Burst6]

I'm just going to say this and hope no one has said it before.

A man named James Randi, a magician who likes to disprove paranormal things (often they use magic tricks), has a 1 million dollar reward for anyone who can prove that they can do these types of things.

I think he's shutting it down now. No one has ever proven anything, no "professional" has ever taken him up for it (except one, but then she never went through with it), and the amateurs that try to can never prove it. I think he's shutting down the 1 million dollar reward because it's taking too much money to maintain it and no one has proven anything in the (i think) 10 years it has been running.

 

[Aqua Trenoble]

I have had more experiences with the paranormal than I would care to remember. Right now I'm at the point where I just ignore every single potentially paranormal thing that happens because I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I know its still there but I'd just prefer to stick my fingers in my ear and go "Nope, nope, not there."

Uh, I think you should start paying attention. If the universe wants you to notice something, it has no qualms about completely kicking your ass to get its message across...

 

[Aqua Trenoble]

If he overcharges for no reason then he doesn't have any business, does he? There is no reason to suppose that my drug dealer overcharges or does it to help people. The placebo could be friggin salt and he could still make a profit and be completely amoral. My mother's prices are perfectly reasonable compared to what doctors charge for their cures, especially since the doctor's methods don't even goddamn work half of the time!

That's just a weird thing to say. Doctors cure people.

I've got one word for you. Chemotherapy. If you need me to, I'll say it again. CHEMOTHERAPY.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I have had more experiences with the paranormal than I would care to remember. Right now I'm at the point where I just ignore every single potentially paranormal thing that happens because I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I know its still there but I'd just prefer to stick my fingers in my ear and go "Nope, nope, not there."

Uh, I think you should start paying attention. If the universe wants you to notice something, it has no qualms about completely kicking your ass to get its message across...

The entire cosmos, billions of light years full of infinite wonder, give a damn about you, personally.


yeeeeah. No.

 

[Kayla Herrera]

Take a picture of it. Post it up. I'm having a hard time believing your ghost tree hypothesis.

Oh, and your logic is flawed - but I'll leave that up to someone else. I'm too tired to get into it right now.

I don't have to prove anything. I know what happened. Trust me if I had a picture or sound recording even, it'd be here. But I just missed the moment. I'm not trying to sway anyone here, it's interesting hearing the INTELLIGENT opinions, for or against the subject. No one likes a know-it-all, now

Here's one. The brain usually fucks with you. In fact, the brain fucks with you so often you don't even realize it. Every single memory you have is not an accurate representation of what actually happened because memories are often remembered in the way the person who remembers them wants to remember them.

what the fuck, ok i know my brain didn't screw with me. This isn't Inception here, a door opened by itself and slammed shut by itself, right in front of me and 5 others.

 

[Aqua Trenoble]

I have had more experiences with the paranormal than I would care to remember. Right now I'm at the point where I just ignore every single potentially paranormal thing that happens because I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I know its still there but I'd just prefer to stick my fingers in my ear and go "Nope, nope, not there."

Uh, I think you should start paying attention. If the universe wants you to notice something, it has no qualms about completely kicking your ass to get its message across...

The entire cosmos, billions of light years full of infinite wonder, give a damn about you, personally.


yeeeeah. No.

At the very least one little corner of it does. I've experienced so many "coincidences" that I simply can't pretend otherwise. Other people can believe as they wish but I'll play it safe and give out my warnings.

Or you can interpret my statement as being that the universe doesn't give a damn about anything other than events unfolding as they're supposed to, and thus will ruin your shit if you're dead set on ignoring it.

Take from it what you will.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

Well, there's gotta be a reason my pants lit on fire yesterday.

Maybe you should stop telling lies

Oh come on! I was just joking!

 

[Thurston]

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

ONE MILLION dollars still available to an individual proving the existence of psychic or supernatural phenomena in a controlled, testing laboratory environment.

Private individual bankrolled the prize.

All are welcome to apply.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I have had more experiences with the paranormal than I would care to remember. Right now I'm at the point where I just ignore every single potentially paranormal thing that happens because I just don't want to deal with it anymore. I know its still there but I'd just prefer to stick my fingers in my ear and go "Nope, nope, not there."

Uh, I think you should start paying attention. If the universe wants you to notice something, it has no qualms about completely kicking your ass to get its message across...

The entire cosmos, billions of light years full of infinite wonder, give a damn about you, personally.


yeeeeah. No.

At the very least one little corner of it does. I've experienced so many "coincidences" that I simply can't pretend otherwise. Other people can believe as they wish but I'll play it safe and give out my warnings.

Ok, let me put it this way.

You are, at most, 70 odd KG of mass, with zero effect on the universe as a whole.

The universe is something that creates space as it expands. "it" is likely busy turning firmament into matter to even notice you.


Also, and here's the exciting part "the universe" isn't a living thing. It's physics.


Let's be rational. For Science.

 

[Aqua Trenoble]

I've got one word for you. Chemotherapy. If you need me to, I'll say it again. CHEMOTHERAPY.

A good example of a cure, yes. Tens of thousands have been saved from dying from cancer because of it. Shame the side effects are so severe though.

Does it work every time? Of course not. Does it work even close to every time? I seriously doubt it! And I agree, the side effects are severe. That's kind of what I'm saying.

 

[Zaverexus]

Not at all.
See, oddly enough I find myself in the position of being one of those rare sane and rational people who believe in things that make logical sense and can be rationally explained or at least have the tiniest, miniscule basis for the presumption that they could possibly exist.

 

[ZombieDarwin]

I look at the millions of (pretty lame for the most part) ghost stories out there - and I don't think "wow, these millions of tales add up to solid proof" - I just think "wow - humans are really easy to fool" .

just wanted to say well written and i agree. you make a very reasonable and informative point the whole way through. a familiar POV is comforting to have around in these times. also, those sleep study videos are fun to watch. great insight, very applicable, a smart read, good job.

i've always thought myself that these things we call 'paranormal' are, when considered realistically, driven by our brains, along with influences from both personal and random, internal and external factors. these types of ideas and phenomena have been passed down, spoken of and been in the human psyche for generations and it's only in our nature to want to believe something beyond us or mythological is real, or at least in the realm of possibility--another conversation all together. we all want to see what we want to see. *coughbigfootcough*

i think, while the brain is certainly complex and we're still learning things about it, we are still philosophizing; that even a lot of smart people say they may have experiences or have seen something unexplainable; we and it have always been open to suggestion and playing tricks on each other, which is perfectly 'normal'. i think it's incredibly interesting tho, a great discussion! it's practically anthropological and it makes for good TV and boosts tourism. keep thinking out loud!

 

[Rin Little]

Oh trust me, I've paid attention pretty well up til now. For right now, I just need to give it all a rest