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You skeptics ruin all the fun


Rafterman

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There will always be idiots in the world as there always have been. Do you really believe that advancing civilization will wipe that out?

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What happened to the days when little Johnny wanted to be batman when he grew up, but that all changed when he did grow up and realised it was all fantasy? AND a good fantasy and good memories. But today it seems many can not move from fantasy to reality, thats too scary, because it seems to be getting worse with each new generation.

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Man when I was 12 I was wondering if it was still ok to play with Barbies or was I to grown up for that?

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In the old days Superman caught the baddies and hauled them to jail. Now they have to destroy the city and crush a lot of people and have blood and gore all over. It ain't the same and what we see now has a lot more effect on disturbed and impressionable people.

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Its wrong to say that skeptics ruin all the fun because there would be no fun without skeptics.

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There's human garbage out there. They would've done this anyway, they'd just find another reason, whether it be Call of Duty, The Walking Dead or Allah.

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There's human garbage out there. They would've done this anyway, they'd just find another reason, whether it be Call of Duty, The Walking Dead or Allah.

Maybe, but maybe not.
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I agree in total.

If only these kids watched Cosmos instead.I know if I had kids it would be mandatory along with critical thinking lessons.

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When I was growing up school shootings were unheard of. Now it's seems commonplace. Imagine growing up in a world with no internet, no cell phones, no video games, and where if you wanted to have fun with friends you used your own imagination to do so instead of relying on technology to do it for you. As a consequence, I fear somewhere along the way all this new technology has caused a disconnect with reality.

Edited by Stardrive
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I don't think skeptics take all the fun out of it- I think they are an important part of figuring out mysteries, what's explainable and what's not. I do think that some skeptics are no fun in the way they present their skepticism. As in how they ask for information, or how they phrase themselves in their replies.

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As a skeptic, one of the comments (insults?) I frequently see thrown around here is that our skepticism and demand for testable evidence takes all of the mystery and fun out of the world. Even if this stuff isn't real, isn't the world a much more exciting and fulfilling place if we just have open minds and let our imaginations embrace the "what if" ideal. Basically, we're just taking all of the fun out of the world and, at the end of the day, what really is the harm in all of this. If it makes people feel better, then who are we to even question it

It's a sad story, really. A chance that the victim is now in stable condition according to the Huffington Post. It's way past the point of any sound belief to downright delusion. I don't think it can be labelled as an ''occult crime'', as the whole ''Slender-Man'' thing is a work of horror fiction. If it proves anything, it's that such stories can indeed have a negative influence on vulnerable and deluded minds.

I think at that point it's no longer a matter of skepticism and belief-system but mental disorder. If one cannot make the distinction that it's a character of fiction, created from the imagination of a writter, of what is right or wrong, acceptable/unacceptable then there is a serious psychological problem here.

Should any kind of skeptics really bother to ask for testable evidence for a character of fiction..?

Edited by sam_comm
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I would say that there are at least 2 kinds of skepticism. The first one is skepticism as a matter of principle, often practiced without

knowledge about the specific issue in focus but just with the target to simulate smartness. The other skepticism is based on knowledge,

experience and the ability to judge based on this abilities. And that`s the good form of skepticism and I would not say that memers of

this club ruin fun, on the contrary. Looking on the sceptics here on UM I feel that these ppl spread more fun than the FTBs. And not to

forget, skepticism is a key working tool of the evolution. Some 1000 years ago humans p***ed their pants, or so, in case of a sun eclipse

as they interpreted that phenomenon as a sign that the gods are angry but today we know better, due to skepticism in the past. In addition, a good amount of good skepticism saves the world from to get sunk in asininity.

larson-bananas_zps4fa51b5d.jpg

Gary Larson

Edited by toast
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What's scariest to me is not that there was one 12-year-old willing to stab another human being many times, but that there were two!

Maybe only one was the leader and instigator and manipulator and did the stabbing, but for another to go along with her on something like this...for her to find another 12-year-old willing to be a part of this...that's what bothers me the most.

I know stuff like this has happened before, but I'd like to think two young kids like this would live thousands of miles a part and even years apart.

Edited by QuiteContrary
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What's scariest to me is not that there was one 12-year-old willing to stab another human being many times, but that there were two!

Maybe only one was the leader and instigator and manipulator and did the stabbing, but for another to go along with her on something like this...for her to find another 12-year-old willing to be a part of this...that's what bothers me the most.

I know stuff like this has happened before, but I'd like to think two young kids like this would live thousands of miles a part and even years apart.

I am no psychiatrist but maybe this could be a case of Shared Psychotic Disorder, or ''folie a deux''.

Shared psychotic disorder, also known as folie a deux ("the folly of two"), is a rare condition in which an otherwise healthy person (secondary case) shares the delusions of a person with a psychotic disorder (primary case), such as schizophrenia.

Source: http://www.webmd.com...chotic-disorder

Edited by sam_comm
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I'm not as much bothered by the sceptics as with the debunkers. The latter are the real proverbial pain in the you know what. They seriously needs psychiatrical help or just a good ol' kick in the proverbial you know what. Any of them would work for me actually.

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I'm not as much bothered by the sceptics as with the debunkers. The latter are the real proverbial pain in the you know what. They seriously needs psychiatrical help or just a good ol' kick in the proverbial you know what. Any of them would work for me actually.

the only difference between the two is one says "I have no idea what it could be" and the other does some leg work and says "it's cobblers".

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It's a sad story, really. A chance that the victim is now in stable condition according to the Huffington Post. It's way past the point of any sound belief to downright delusion. I don't think it can be labelled as an ''occult crime'', as the whole ''Slender-Man'' thing is a work of horror fiction. If it proves anything, it's that such stories can indeed have a negative influence on vulnerable and deluded minds.

I think at that point it's no longer a matter of skepticism and belief-system but mental disorder. If one cannot make the distinction that it's a character of fiction, created from the imagination of a writter, of what is right or wrong, acceptable/unacceptable then there is a serious psychological problem here.

Should any kind of skeptics really bother to ask for testable evidence for a character of fiction..?

This is like saying that kid's believing in the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause are mentally ill. Not everyone who plots a killing or stabs someone is mentally ill. The instigator is 12. There are things we do at 12 that we'd never think of doing when we got older.

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This is like saying that kid's believing in the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause are mentally ill. Not everyone who plots a killing or stabs someone is mentally ill. The instigator is 12. There are things we do at 12 that we'd never think of doing when we got older.

I think there is a huge difference between believing in something (it could be Santa Clause or Angels, Extraterrestrials ect.) and no longer be able to distinguish what is right/wrong and real/unreal.

I think that it's pretty clear that the Slender Man story published in the forum Something Aweful forum is a work of fiction. If you incapable of seeing that it's an imagitive character and that the events ans locations do not exist, then you are clearly delusioned.

Edited by sam_comm
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What happened to the days when little Johnny wanted to be batman when he grew up, but that all changed when he did grow up and realised it was all fantasy? AND a good fantasy and good memories. But today it seems many can not move from fantasy to reality, thats too scary, because it seems to be getting worse with each new generation.

ComicCon-037.WEB_.jpg

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I think there is a huge difference between believing in something (it could be Santa Clause or Angels, Extraterrestrials ect.) and no longer be able to distinguish what is right/wrong and real/unreal.

I think that it's pretty clear that the Slender Man story published in the forum Something Aweful forum is a work of fiction. If you incapable of seeing that it's an imagitive character and that the events ans locations do not exist, then you are clearly delusioned.

Not if you're 12.

I'm not defending the girls at all. I'm just sick of everything being a mental disorder when it could be just as well that she is a budding sociopath. Personality disorders are not the same thing.

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Not if you're 12.

I'm not defending the girls at all. I'm just sick of everything being a mental disorder when it could be just as well that she is a budding sociopath. Personality disorders are not the same thing.

Delusional Psychothic Desorders are certainly possible for teenagers and young adult. You might want to look here: http://paradigmmalib...hotic-disorder/

''The other girl said she sees Slender Man in her dreams. She said he watches her and can read her mind and teleport.''

Source: http://www.huffingto..._n_5434675.html

Unless these girls are both pathological liars and actors which may not be not impossible, I will still go with the hypothesis that requires the fewests assumptions in this case, that is when reality can no longer be distinguished from fiction, it is a clear sign of delusion.

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. [1] As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, or other effects of perception.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusion

Edited by sam_comm
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The primary issue in nearly all skeptical discussions is the standard of evidence. Skeptics generally view the story as a starting point from which to build evidence where believers regard the story itself to be all the evidence needed for confirmation. In a perfect world, the believer mindset might work. However, people in our world are generally very poor observers and can be fooled by their own senses. There is also the fact that people sometimes lie or embellish facts.

The skeptic considers these factors when evaluating stories and understands that details cannot be taken entirely at face value because of them. When a thing cannot be verified, the skeptic knows to set it aside and look for other evidence. The problem is there is rarely if ever, any further evidence leaving the story to stand alone. At this point the skeptic knows there is not enough information to form an opinion and leaves it undecided. The default condition for the skeptic is "maybe" and the skeptic demands further evidence if they are to reconsider their position.

The believer tends to regard each new story as another data point in an ever-growing pool of data that only strengthens the case for the existence of the thing in question. The default condition for the believer is "true" because the believer just "knows" the thing to be true. More importantly, the believer is rarely open to reconsidering their opinions.

Believers are are often frustrated by the fact skeptics don't value stories as evidence. Many will even take shots at science calling it dogmatic because its view on anecdotes. Some offer alternative ways of looking at the evidence in an effort to cast it in the best possible light. Others claim science has not advanced enough to quantify the thing in question and eschew science outright. When all of that dust has settled, there is just an unsubstantiated story asking to be believed.

Edited by sinewave
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ComicCon-037.WEB_.jpg

Whoa buddy, there's a huge difference between cosplayers and people believing they are real-life superheroes. You know, something more like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2645570/Seattle-superhero-Phoenix-Jones-disbands-group-Avengers-style-crime-fighters-werent-fit-carried-illegal-weapons.html

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Whoa buddy, there's a huge difference between cosplayers and people believing they are real-life superheroes. You know, something more like this:

http://www.dailymail...al-weapons.html

That is truly, truly disturbing.

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