MasterPo

Occam's revenge

November 4, 2007 |  13 comments
Image Credit: Even in our modern world with our advanced tools and greater willingness to accept the possibility of the paranormal, Occam’s Razor still needs to be kept in mind at all times. It applies just as well today as in by-gone days. In this final segment about the application of Occam’s Razor to the field of the paranormal, I’d like to share a personal experience that exemplifies well this philosophy given the fullness of time passage. Two years ago my wife and I decided it was time to repair and renovate our garage. There was much work to be done. The roof leaked (despite of several expensive repair attempts), the inside paint was peeling, the floor cracked, the garage door openers didn’t work, inside storage was poor, etc. It was time for a major face lift on the structure. So that summer we called a contractor that we had worked with many times before and contracted for him to do the renovations. We put in a completely new roof, new dry wall and paint, brighter work lights, new garage openers and doors, added a side entrance door, even patched and epoxy coated the floor. It looks really good! (as well as being much more functional now.) As part of the renovation I had an electrician install an outside light on a timer. There was no sense having the light on all night long. I figured I would set the time for a little before my wife and I typically get home from work, then shut itself off later in the evening when we are typically in for the night. And to be even more efficient I installed a compact fluorescent bulb too.

The work was all done. The garage was clean and much more usable. The electrician showed me how to set the timer. I was a happy camper.

A few days after the construction was done the outside light stopped working. I checked the timer and it was back in “reset” mode. That was odd I thought but I shrugged it off, just set the timer again and went on. A few days later it stopped working again for the same reason. So I called the electrician to come back and replace what appeared to be a faulty timer. He did, though he insisted these timers are very reliable.

A few days later the same thing yet again. It stopped working. So I once again I reset the timer. And again it would stop working a day or two later. This was an ongoing cycle of reset-stop-reset. Also, sometimes the light would come on too early, shut off too soon, even come on during the way when I was sure I hadn’t set the timer for that!

I thought perhaps being in the summer it was caused by local brown-outs that were power surging the timer, like your microwave or VCR clock resetting. But none of the other clocks/timers in the house had this problem.

Then I thought perhaps it was the heat in the garage affecting the timer unit. That would really upset me if I couldn’t use the timer in warm weather but at least it would be an explanation. But when the cooler fall weather came, same thing continued: Reset-stop-reset.

Then I had a fleeting thought: “Could this be paranormal?” Major construction or renovations often can stir up paranormal activity. And paranormal activity has been known to interfere with the workings of electronic devices (the “Bermuda Triangle theory” of paranormal activity). But as far as I knew there is no history of paranormal activity in the house, nor any other events in our house (much less in the garage) that would account for paranormal activity. Still, it fit the profile of being possibly paranormal but I wasn’t about to jump to that conclusion just yet. So all winter, when I really needed the timer light to work, it was off. I thought maybe it just had to “rest”. It’s not logical but I have often found it true that if you let electronic devices just sit unused they seem to fix themselves. One more mystery of the universe!

When spring came, I once again tried to reset the timer. And once again with in days it was failing. Reset-stop-reset.
Now I was angry. I thought for sure the electrician had ripped me off! I decided to replace the timer myself. So down to Home Depot I went.

I’m standing in the electrical isle looking a a full rack of different types of timers. On one of the racks I see the same unit I have now that I think is failing me. I picked up the package and turned it over to read the back.

And there it was. Clearly printed on the package in bold capital letters it read “NOT FOR USE WITH COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULBS”.

I went home, put in a regular 100 watt bulb, reset the timer and it has worked perfectly every since!

It took some time but in the end ol’ Willie was once again proven right.

Good luck to all.

Long Island Paranormal Investigators
http://www.Liparanormalinvestigators.com
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