Seances

[Bellatrix]

1 hour ago, Anna B said:

 

All it's saying is keep an open mind.

 

Science doesn't know everything, and can prove  just as flawed as everything else.

Quantum science for example is rewriting the laws of physics... 

 

We've a long way to go before we

Science doesn't claim to 'know everything'; if it did, there would be no more science.  The essence of science is keeping an open mind: gathering evidence and constantly updating as it's examined then confirmed or rejected in light of new evidence.   That isn't a flaw; it's a fundamental. 

 

What scientists don't do is continue to believe without a scrap of evidence, or in the face of contrary evidence, or reject evidence (like the study I mentioned above that provided evidence to support the use of cold reading techniques by mediums) because it fails to support the thing you really, really want to be true, like mediums use some sort of supernatural power to talk to the dead.

[crookesey]

6 hours ago, spilldig said:

O'h dear,  death again.

How do you mean ‘again’? 

[crisispoint]

2 hours ago, Padders said:

I've had many a message from them CP.

Usually in the middle of mi head.

It always strikes me, literally, as a plain way of speaking directly to me but I've never worked out wether it's commentary or criticism.

[Anna B]

2 hours ago, Bellatrix said:

Science doesn't claim to 'know everything'; if it did, there would be no more science.  The essence of science is keeping an open mind: gathering evidence and constantly updating as it's examined then confirmed or rejected in light of new evidence.   That isn't a flaw; it's a fundamental. 

 

What scientists don't do is continue to believe without a scrap of evidence, or in the face of contrary evidence, or reject evidence (like the study I mentioned above that provided evidence to support the use of cold reading techniques by mediums) because it fails to support the thing you really, really want to be true, like mediums use some sort of supernatural power to talk to the dead.

 

Errr... Theoretical physics?  Not much evidence for that, it's nearly all supposition. Writing it up on a board doesn't make it true or proven,  -it's theoretical.

[Draggletail]

18 hours ago, Gormenghast said:

Just posting above to make sure your prediction came true. And it did. Do you have special powers? 😆😆😆

Mmmm, who told you about my special powers?  

Just kidding! 

[gaz 786]

6 hours ago, cressida said:

There are some contraptions which get answers from spirits,  I've been watching 'Help my house is haunted'  on fridays at 9pm.

Biggest load of crap since hammer house of horror 

[Bellatrix]

50 minutes ago, Anna B said:

 

Errr... Theoretical physics?  Not much evidence for that, it's nearly all supposition. Writing it up on a board doesn't make it true or proven,  -it's theoretical.

 

My other half is a theoretical physicist and he'd like a word with you about that. 

 

'Theoretical' in a scientific context isn't the same as 'just a theory' or 'supposition'.  It isn't people pulling random ideas out of collective bottoms.  It's founded on a body of established work and solid evidence and makes predictions based on that, not on some assortment of half-formed notions.

 

You don't need to resort to theoretical physics to test the claims made by mediums.  Deprive them of the ability to use cold reading techniques and the 'hits' become resounding misses.  Record sessions so that you're able to demonstrate to the person being 'read' by the medium just how many misses are glossed over, how many misses are forgotten, how many clues and hints are extracted and used later in the session, how many Barnum statements are offered, how many platitudes are used and exactly how desperate grieving people are to grab on to any crumbs of comfort.

 

Believe what you like, of course, but it's always best to do so from an informed position rather than blind faith.  But, of course, most true believers would rather continue to believe, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, than acknowledge that they're being exploited.

 

 

[Padders]

Dint Uri Geller use his physic powers to stop the nations clocks.

And he couldn't half bend a spoon.

[Bellatrix]

Just now, Padders said:

Dint Uri Geller use his physic powers to stop the nations clocks. ...

No.

[Anna B]

12 minutes ago, Bellatrix said:

 

My other half is a theoretical physicist and he'd like a word with you about that. 

 

'Theoretical' in a scientific context isn't the same as 'just a theory' or 'supposition'.  It isn't people pulling random ideas out of collective bottoms.  It's founded on a body of established work and solid evidence and makes predictions based on that, not on some assortment of half-formed notions.

 

You don't need to resort to theoretical physics to test the claims made by mediums.  Deprive them of the ability to use cold reading techniques and the 'hits' become resounding misses.  Record sessions so that you're able to demonstrate to the person being 'read' by the medium just how many misses are glossed over, how many misses are forgotten, how many clues and hints are extracted and used later in the session, how many Barnum statements are offered, how many platitudes are used and exactly how desperate grieving people are to grab on to any crumbs of comfort.

 

Believe what you like, of course, but it's always best to do so from an informed position rather than blind faith.  But, of course, most true believers would rather continue to believe, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, than acknowledge that they're being exploited.

 

 

I bow to your greater knowledge about Theoretical Physics.

 

However, I think there have been enough investigated but still unexplained phenomenon to believe that maybe there is something else at work. I have no idea what that is and maybe science will be able to explain it sometime in the future, but at the moment it is unexplained. Who Knows what power is behind it? 

 

As for mediums I'm sure there are many fakes, but it only takes one genuine one to raise questions about the nature of things strange. Prophets and Mystics have been part of cultures around the world dating back millennia. The source is at present unknown. Ley lines, water divining, and a number of other phenomena still defy rational explanation. To think that science will one day unravel the entire mystery of the Universe strikes me as rather arrogant and as harmful as fanatics are to religion. Belief in a God can be good for us, we need a little mystery in our lives to peak our curiosity, imagination and awe.