Frank Merton, on 13 February 2013 - 08:44 AM, said:
It's not true the people around the world report the same things. What happens is that what they report gets translated, and in the process turned into the same thing.
For example, the word in Vietnamese generally translated "ghost" is not the same thing at all as a Western-style ghost, but the difference gets lost when the translation happens. A demon is similar, or a dragon, or a witch, or whatever. You never see reports of alien abductions here. It is not part of the culture. There are no near-death experiences either, except among Catholics, and these are all visions of the Virgin.
I don't agree. I'm referring to descriptions of grays. I'm referring to myriad experiences. Some have nothing to do with paranormal events or strange stories. It could be descriptions of a criminal, for example. Say that the witnesses all saw a tall thin Latino with a hook for an arm. There's a consistency to their accounts. You can put more importance on these descriptions than one that deviates from them. Fifty people from varied backgrounds describe the suspect in almost identical ways. One man claims that the suspect is a fat Black man, and one man claims that the suspect is a skinny White woman. The consistent descriptions are much more credible. That's how I judge the validity of many claims, but I realize that some people reflexively dismiss all claims because they refuse to step out of their boxes. For example, militant atheists and religious fanatics won't entertain opposing views. They already know it all. They won't even listen to other people who don't share their "boxes". They're welcome to their beliefs, but they should realize that they have no monopoly on the truth.
There is one reality with billions of versions.