Ghost Hunting Technology

[Guyver]

Greetings.  I can’t help but notice that at this time in America, there are a lot of television shows about investigating haunted houses, apparent vocal recording of spirits, and related phenomenon.  It has apparently become “a thing” to attempt to gain contact with the spiritual world in terms of contacting ghosts.  In this thread, I would like to discuss this phenomenon, as I consider some of the evidence and testimony quite compelling, but at the same time, I would like to discuss the technology.  What kind of gear is being used to contact spirits?  Is this gear scientifically reliable?  These are the questions I ask, and I propose…

If it can be shown that the devices used to measure “ghost phenomenon” are scientifically reliable, then it stands to reason that the results obtained by use of those instruments can in fact be considered somewhat scientifically reliable.  Maybe not perfectly reliable from the standpoint of a controlled laboratory experiments, but from the standpoint of colloquial usage. For example, every old fart like me has a table saw and knows how to use it.  It’s proven, everybody should know it.  Is it fair to consider the technology used in “ghost hunting” as reliable as a table saw?

[Guyver]

Apparently, one of the devices used is known as a “spirit box.”  Do you know anything about spirit boxes?  Have you ever used one?  Are they actually real in terms of communication with the dead or some other unknown entity?

[Guyver]

Is it possible to contact the dead via the use of modern “scientific” thechnology?  And, if it were to be shown to be possible, how would this affect your view of existence, the universe, God or the angels?

[Guyver]

Would you be more willing to believe if it can be shown that modern instruments can detect phenomenon?  It’s funny, you think about technology.  I remember when Pong came out, OK?  I now have in my pocket, well, on the counter, a technological wonder.  A computer in the palm of my hand that can communicate with almost anyone all around the world in nearly real time.  That represents a technological increase of epic proportions in only a matter of 46 years. Let it sink in.  That is a ridiculously huge amount of technological advancement in a very short period of time.  What if it’s possible that this modern technology has actually been able to contact spirits?

[Guyver]

In fact, if you will pardon me, I think it may be helpful to add a few things.  
1.  Not only do I remember Pong, I had it.  I was first gen, I played Pong.  I hooked it up to our cathode ray tube with a “connection box” and ran Pong on Television.  
2.  I had a very unfortunate incident as a 10-12 year old boy reaching adolescence and “going out to check”:if pong were turned off, with my mother, aunt Pam and uncle Tommy in the room that I don’t care to mention and should never be spoken.

3.  My dad held me on his shoulders in 1969 as we watched Apollo headed for the moon, or tried to se it, IDK.

4.  In 1994 I had a cell phone.

5.  I had first gen ninetendo and played it - a lot.

6.  I could not work a modern cash register without training.

[Guyver]

https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Hunting-Spirit-Box-MEL-8704R/dp/B016FG4W4C

[the13bats]

You seem a bit manic and all over the place 6 self replies to your own post, video games, walking in on private encounters etc,

You also make leading statements showing no matter how you might balk and not accept it you are not neutral on this topic, you are a believer. Own it.

3 hours ago, Guyver said:

every old fart like me has a table saw and knows how to use it.  It’s proven, everybody should know it.  Is it fair to consider the technology used in “ghost hunting” as reliable as a table saw?

Lets look at this statement, its leading and very flawed, no, everyone doesnt know how to use a table saw fewer know how to use it correctly so to apply that to ghost hunting doesnt work table saw do exist they do cut wood also known to exist,

Ghosts are not proven to exist and physics show they cant so no matter what gadget an alleged ghost hunter uses the results have to be proven to be from a ghost not the endless other proven possiblities no one has the burden of proving its not a ghost.

You want to play off that a ghost hunter knows how to work their gear so if they get a spike it must be a ghost. No, its not at best its unknown.

So you might as well claim you contact casper with your table saw.

Ghost talking bunk,

A big rage decades back all exposed as hoax for profit, the claim of speaking to ghosts is rather easy to debunk first ghosts are unproved so a believer must first prove ghosts exist and then prove that is a ghost talking.

Ive seen your posting style and i believe you will try to take the position that because a meter jumped or your table saw changed pitch thats a ghost but its not been proven to be its just the desire of the true believer to be so, and no, the skeptic doesnt have to prove a negative so all in all i dont think this thread will go anywhere,

I will just shut up and lurk a little to see if a true believer can post any proof of ghosts or even proof ghost hunters arent all in it for attention and profit.

[jethrofloyd]

Excuse me, but this could be the most weird thread in the history of UM.

[openozy]

6 hours ago, Guyver said:

Apparently, one of the devices used is known as a “spirit box.”  Do you know anything about spirit boxes?  Have you ever used one?  Are they actually real in terms of communication with the dead or some other unknown entity?

It's the intent of the person that allows communication not the box. I strongly advise against communicating with any paranormal entity.

[the13bats]

1 hour ago, jethrofloyd said:

Excuse me, but this could be the most weird thread in the history of UM.

No way, used to be a guy who claimed aliens ripped his eyes out etc,

 

[the13bats]

1 hour ago, openozy said:

It's the intent of the person that allows communication not the box. I strongly advise against communicating with any paranormal entity.

No worries while a lot of people claim To do this by various means not one every has proven such claims not even close so intent doesnt equal ability.

 

[ThereWeAreThen]

1 hour ago, the13bats said:

No way, used to be a guy who claimed aliens ripped his eyes out etc,

 

Seriously? That's got to be attention aeeking or just plain bonkers. 

[the13bats]

53 minutes ago, ThereWeAreThen said:

Seriously? That's got to be attention aeeking or just plain bonkers. 

No kidding, i dont recall the details well he gave me the creeps,

He had all kinds of tales of aliens skinning him and real horror show hell raiser type stuff seems he did believe the,stories he told,

Trying to remember his screen name someone will recall him.

 

 

[openozy]

8 hours ago, the13bats said:

not one every has proven such claims not even close so intent doesnt equal ability

Yes they have.

[the13bats]

1 hour ago, openozy said:

Yes they have.

No, they of course havent, or it would have been on every world headlines  ghosts would be on talk shows and most of all you would show me that proof and yell nanny nanny boo boo at me

[openozy]

49 minutes ago, the13bats said:

No, they of course havent, or it would have been on every world headlines  ghosts would be on talk shows and most of all you would show me that proof and yell nanny nanny boo boo at me

I didn't say scientifically proven. 

[the13bats]

12 minutes ago, openozy said:

I didn't say scientifically proven. 

I never said you did we both know its not.

forget "scientifically" its not even proven past a few credulous true belivers who ingore facts in order to imbrace fantasy.

[stereologist]

Here is a write up on ghost boxes, aka spirit boxes.

Skepticblog » Ghost Box

Quote

All of the tools of the ghost hunting trade are the same as cold spots – they are common phenomena one might encounter in any location that are simply being declared ghost phenomena without ever a hypothesis being generated or tested. EMF meters, for example, simply detect the ubiquitous EMF in the modern world, which is then declared to be a ghost phenomenon. EMF is particularly satisfying because you can make the little needle move along the gauge, or (if you are digitally inclined) you can make numbers appear on the screen. You can wave around your EMF meter, without having the slightest idea how it works, and see stuff happen. Why are EMF associated with ghosts? There is no logical basis for this notion. It seems to be entirely based upon the fact that EMF is something you can encounter in alleged haunted locations, because you can encounter them almost anywhere.

Basically, a ghost box is a broken radio.

Quote

Ghost hunters simply do not understand scientific methodology, they do not understand the nature of scientific evidence nor the pitfalls of generating false positive results. This is, perhaps, an example of the failure of education to teach the fundamental of science. It is also an opportunity to do some remedial education. Understanding why these ghost hunters are not doing science is a great way to teach what science is, and is not.

 

[stereologist]

‘Groundbreaking’ Ghost Experiment Breaks No Ground | Skeptical Inquirer

Quote

As Sharon Hill describes it, the term scientifical refers to “when a person or group adopt what they think is a scientific method but fail to adopt the established practices and ethos of the scientific community that makes it so strong; they are not being scientific, but scientifical”

Quote

Newkirk claims “the brilliant part about the Estes Method is that effectively removes the ‘group bias’ of spirit boxes, a side effect which taints their usage” (Newkirk 2019). In fact it does no such thing. A bias is a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone (Psychology Today 2019). This “Estes method” is basically the same exact process ghost hunters have been using for years; asking questions out loud (to the alleged ghosts) and listening intently for any noises that come out of the speaker that not only can be interpreted as a word or phrase, but ones that can be interpreted as meaningful answers to their questions. Instead of ghost hunters hearing the noises from an electronic speaker, they now hear a fellow ghost hunter’s interpretations (an organic speaker?).

The problem is that TV shows present what amounts to scientifical efforts in shows looking for ghosts, BF, aliens, and yes that ranch with scientifical Taylor.

Take the time to read the blog and learn about biases and how the demonstrated scientifical methods miss the mark of being actual science.

[stereologist]

Skepticblog » Box of Fiends

Quote

Then contemporary culture fell into the rift back in 1953, when William Sloane wrote the sci-fi book “Edge of Running Water,” which concerns an electrophysicist, Dr. Julian Blair, who is attempting to construct an apparatus that will enable him to communicate with his dead wife.  Sloane wrote two highly popular books, both novels concern themes that were used by his contemporary, H.P. Lovecraft: “obsessed scientists pursuing forbidden knowledge”. We can all relate to that can’t we? I mean, conspiratorially speaking: if it’s forbidden, it must work according the general rule of woo, right?

Bolding mine

Quote

“Perhaps the worst of all of these is Chris Moon, Mr. Moon who also claims to be in direct contact with Thomas Edison through a device known as the Franks box. The Franks box is basically two radio receivers scanning in opposite directions of each other creating a random noise. Chris Moon claims to be one of the few who can interpret this random noise and speak directly to the dead like in a phone conversation. Individuals are paying upwards of $1000 for a single session. There are of course many stories of people being unhappy with their session then Chris would come back later and tell them that they have finally contacted their loved one but the information will cost an additional fee. A true scam artist. “

That is one of the uses of the box - scamming people. Not really communicating with the dead or ghosts, but taking money from people by con artists.

[Guyver]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I completely apologize for how lame this thread was. I broke my own damn rule about not posting when “tipsy.”  Again I do apologize.  As time permits, I hope to do some research and offer my own opinion, but I am truly interested in discussing this topic, especially with those who have expertise in real practice, or understand the science behind modern technology.

[Nutrition Fact]

22 hours ago, Guyver said:

Greetings.  I can’t help but notice that at this time in America, there are a lot of television shows about investigating haunted houses, apparent vocal recording of spirits, and related phenomenon.  It has apparently become “a thing” to attempt to gain contact with the spiritual world in terms of contacting ghosts.  In this thread, I would like to discuss this phenomenon, as I consider some of the evidence and testimony quite compelling, but at the same time, I would like to discuss the technology.  What kind of gear is being used to contact spirits?  Is this gear scientifically reliable?  These are the questions I ask, and I propose…

If it can be shown that the devices used to measure “ghost phenomenon” are scientifically reliable, then it stands to reason that the results obtained by use of those instruments can in fact be considered somewhat scientifically reliable.  Maybe not perfectly reliable from the standpoint of a controlled laboratory experiments, but from the standpoint of colloquial usage. For example, every old fart like me has a table saw and knows how to use it.  It’s proven, everybody should know it.  Is it fair to consider the technology used in “ghost hunting” as reliable as a table saw?

I should think that if there exists reliable scientific equipment that can guaranteed detect spirits and such, then it must stand that the professionals that invented these specialized devices know exactly what spirits are made of.  Otherwise, its nothing but hype and heresy.

[openozy]

6 hours ago, the13bats said:

forget "scientifically" its not even proven past a few credulous true belivers who ingore facts in order to imbrace fantasy.

You are so sad. What is a true believer anyway bats, do they believe anything? not many of those around. I believe what I've seen myself. I can't blame you as you have obviously seen nothing unusual or are too scared to admit it on here.

Edited June 28, 2022 by openozy

[the13bats]

4 hours ago, Nutrition Fact said:

I should think that if there exists reliable scientific equipment that can guaranteed detect spirits and such, then it must stand that the professionals that invented these specialized devices know exactly what spirits are made of.  Otherwise, its nothing but hype and heresy.

Exactly correct and the fact we do not have any accredited published for peer review work proving ghosts or "ghost talkie boxes" even exist and or work shows and proves this is just fantasy cooked you for attention and profit from the gullible and credulous.

[the13bats]

2 hours ago, openozy said:

You are so sad. What is a true believer anyway bats, do they believe anything? not many of those around. I believe what I've seen myself. I can't blame you as you have obviously seen nothing unusual or are too scared to admit it on here.

Not sure how you mean "sad" but you very well could be correct on that.

To poke im too scared to admit ive seen something unusual is just your anger showing i dont mind you venting you know that if i did see something odd i wouldnt be scared so to speak not in the way you suggest but rather since i dont jump like true believers do to blame everything on unproven outside forces i would have to cinsider my health was getting worse not something i would be delighted over and perhaps thats why its called a "health scare" but no, besides a bad summer cold/flu im not too bad.

A true believer or blind true believer etc isnt too hard to define and grasp, religions are full of them, you are one, it shouldnt even be taken as insult as most religious true believers are very proud of their faith.

A true believers simply believes something that cant be proven based on their faith. They might say i inow what i experienced but like that guy in the church who said he saw God and Christ he knew what he saw too yet you called him a loon.

No, i havent seen anything out of this world so weird i had to make some jump from i dont know so it must be some paranormal entity.