121 replies to this topic

[Sakari]

Logical Thought, on 26 June 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

I have been coming to this site for years and there is only one real mystery that bothers me more than anything. Why do people who don't believe in the paranormal frequent paranormal websites? I'm not into sports, so you won't find me on sports websites arguing about various sports teams. I'm not religious, so you won't see me on religious websites. I don't believe or disbelieve in the fantastic stories I read on UM, i just try to keep an open mind and realize that no matter how smart I get, i will never know everything. So can someone tell me what prompts people to come to a website about unexplained mysteries when they don't seem to believe that there are any unexplained mysteries? I'm just curious.

Above reply answers this well.....So would using the search function, since this has been asked and answered a hundred times over.

[keninsc]

Logical Thought, on 26 June 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

I have been coming to this site for years and there is only one real mystery that bothers me more than anything. Why do people who don't believe in the paranormal frequent paranormal websites? I'm not into sports, so you won't find me on sports websites arguing about various sports teams. I'm not religious, so you won't see me on religious websites. I don't believe or disbelieve in the fantastic stories I read on UM, i just try to keep an open mind and realize that no matter how smart I get, i will never know everything. So can someone tell me what prompts people to come to a website about unexplained mysteries when they don't seem to believe that there are any unexplained mysteries? I'm just curious.

The answer is simple, believers aren't looking for verification or answers, they're looking for affirmation of their own belief and when confronted with simple logic or a possible non-paranormal answer to some "mystery" which they can't get around then they often resort to wondering why all the non-believers have come to where they wanted nothing more than to have themselves validated.

I don't know much about you, I sort of ran across this and saw your reply and thought I would toss in my observations on having been to many paranormal BB and websites over the years.

[Shush_rules]

scowl, on 26 June 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

You will not find anyone here who claims there are no unexplained mysteries. What you will find are people who have seen far too many things that are explainable.

I completely disagree. There are numerous members on this site that will  straight up never acknowledge something as an unexplained mystery.

They WILL however belittle and mock you for your lack of knowledge in whatever field they think will most support whatever answer they've decided is the right one for explaining a particular mystery.

I mean, an hour of just browsing threads is evidence of that.

[Sakari]

Shush_rules, on 27 June 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

I completely disagree. There are numerous members on this site that will  straight up never acknowledge something as an unexplained mystery.

They WILL however belittle and mock you for your lack of knowledge in whatever field they think will most support whatever answer they've decided is the right one for explaining a particular mystery.

I mean, an hour of just browsing threads is evidence of that.

It is not accepting something as " unexplained ", I do that......I do not accept something ( most topics here ) being " paranormal " .....

Big difference.

[keninsc]

Shush_rules, on 27 June 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

I completely disagree. There are numerous members on this site that will  straight up never acknowledge something as an unexplained mystery.

They WILL however belittle and mock you for your lack of knowledge in whatever field they think will most support whatever answer they've decided is the right one for explaining a particular mystery.

I mean, an hour of just browsing threads is evidence of that.

Dude, you're going to run into that anywhere and believers and non-believers run the whole gambit of range from hardcore totally believe anything you post, no proof or evidence required, to no belief in anything or will even entertain the possibility and anything offered up for consideration is total BS. Personally, I tend to simply reject the two extremes as being closed minded...........yes, a hardcore, super-duper believer has a very closed mind and so does the person who will not accept or consider anything. Same church, different pew.

.....But what should their opinions matter to you anyway? If you have indeed done your research and developed an opinion that is well reasoned and insightful to you, it works for you and fits within your own realm of life experience; then what does the opinion of someone you really don't know on the web matter to you? Seriously? Simply don't reply or respond to those that are bashing and discuss or debate with only those that can respond in a civil matter. Keep in mind that strong opinions do often bring out strong emotions and that often comes out in a posted reply. Doesn't mean they're slobbering crazies(they might be, but that's a whole other thread), just that they are passionate about their opinions. Just as you are about yours. Not to mention, that out of these strong exchanges of thoughts and ideas, you might reconsider your own opinion or plant the seed of change in they're mind. Not every argument is necessarily a negative thing.

[scowl]

Shush_rules, on 27 June 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

I completely disagree. There are numerous members on this site that will  straight up never acknowledge something as an unexplained mystery.

Maybe because those particular things aren't unexplained mysteries. Everyone knows that the size of the universe is a mystery and everyone knows that there will always be things that we don't know and cannot know. And it goes both ways. I personally think the origin of life is far more mysterious than those who wish to believe that the creation of life is a trivial process thus life abounds in the universe.

Quote

They WILL however belittle and mock you for your lack of knowledge in whatever field they think will most support whatever answer they've decided is the right one for explaining a particular mystery.

I try to be especially polite because I have been fooled many times however there are plenty of people who choose to ignore established science and physical laws if they conflict with the conclusions they've jumped to.

Most of us assume that they simply never learned how science works and just need some more information, but more often than not we find they've simply rejected more rational explanations and have chosen to believe in things they find more exciting. If you reject all arguments and continuously promote your belief, yes you'll probably be mocked and belittled just like on any forum on the Internet.

These people who come to promote their beliefs also don't believe in mysteries since they've already made their own conclusions and by your judgment have no business being here.

Quote

I mean, an hour of just browsing threads is evidence of that

And in that hour you will find the people I describe too. They tend to leave when they don't get the support they hoped to receive.

[bulldogzrep]

It's always good to be open minded. I hate it how we can be so arrogant and think we know everything overall.

[Sakari]

bulldogzrep, on 28 June 2012 - 04:23 AM, said:

It's always good to be open minded. I hate it how we can be so arrogant and think we know everything overall.

You are talking in general.....

When topics are broke down individually, that " open minded " can easily be " blind faith ".........

[keninsc]

bulldogzrep, on 28 June 2012 - 04:23 AM, said:

It's always good to be open minded. I hate it how we can be so arrogant and think we know everything overall.

True, but you have to understand that having an "open mind" is often taken as an invitation for others to simply offer up anything without any evidence or proof and have it rubber stamped as being valid. Having an open mind is all well and good, so long as your mind isn't so open that your brain falls out on the floor. Personally, I'm open on a lot of subjects and I have no problems talking about possibilities, however please don't expect me to validate stuff that should never really have been taken seriously in the first place.

My personal favorite........documentary and I use that term extremely loosely, was from some guys who claimed to have been fighting an underground war with an alien species since shortly after the Roswell incident. They had all sorts of "stuff" they talked about, but of course it's all super-duper top secret, eyes only, even the President doesn't know about it because of the political implications should it ever become public knowledge. On this subject, I freely admit I have no open mindedness for and seriously doubt I ever will. Hell, there are some people who are hoping we really do have a Zombie Apocalypses..........what's that all about? Jeez?!?

[bulldogzrep]

keninsc, on 28 June 2012 - 05:06 AM, said:

True, but you have to understand that having an "open mind" is often taken as an invitation for others to simply offer up anything without any evidence or proof and have it rubber stamped as being valid. Having an open mind is all well and good, so long as your mind isn't so open that your brain falls out on the floor. Personally, I'm open on a lot of subjects and I have no problems talking about possibilities, however please don't expect me to validate stuff that should never really have been taken seriously in the first place.

Absolutely agree, just couldn't be bothered posting it like that. I guess adding 'overall' didn't help haha

[Tia]

Why don't we all just start taking happy pills and start getting along, the camp is going to be divided no matter what part of the forum you go to.

Let go of all this bull **** and just be happy you've woken up alive. Everyone has their own opinions just ignore what you don't want to hear rather then give yourself a heart attack.

At most of our ages this is just getting old and ******* pathetic!

Edited by Tia, 28 June 2012 - 04:11 PM.

[scowl]

One issue we always have to deal with is if something could be hoaxed, should you assume it's a hoax or assume it's not a hoax?

I think Bigfoot is one of the easiest things in the paranormal world to hoax so I tend to lean towards hoax on these. Pranksters have been carving wooden Bigfoot shoes and running around in the snow for decades. A guy in an ape suit walking a hundred feet away behind some trees can make some damn convincing Bigfoot footage that's nearly impossible to debunk. I'm surprised hoaxers aren't doing this more often.

I expect we'll see footage of two Bigfoots walking together pretty soon. That would rank up with the Patterson footage.

[bulldogzrep]

Yeah bigfoot is a highly skeptical topic

Edited by bulldogzrep, 29 June 2012 - 01:31 PM.

[itsnotoutthere]

The one thing i've never understood about the whole Bigfoot myth is the 'Patterson video'
All these so called 'experts' examine the film & say it must be authentic because it doesn't move like a man in a suit, but it looks EXACTLY like a man in a monkey suit. If I'd never seen or heard of the video before & I was asked what i thought, my response would be 'it's a man in a monkey suit'

[scowl]

On some show I saw researchers reenact the Patterson encounter using the same 16mm camera and lens in the same location. They framed the new footage exactly as the original had been shot. The most surprising thing is that the lens was much wider than they had thought, thus the Bigfoot had to be much closer to Patterson than it appears in the footage. They had to put the stunt-Bigfoot only twenty feet away from the camera for it to be framed correctly.

Bigfoot is one thing that will not be proved by video evidence. It's just too easy to fake.