Studying The Paranormal

from the making-it-legitimate-or-proving-it's-bunk? dept

It seems that the "paranormal" is suddenly becoming an interesting academic research area. On Monday we wrote about how researchers had discovered that low frequency sounds could impact people in a way that they felt a ghostly presence, and now here are two more stories about paranormal research in academic settings. Lund University in Sweden is actually appointing a professor of the paranormal (jokingly called the "Ghost Professor"). Then, over in the UK, researchers are trying to study "out of body experiments". At least, in this case, it looks like they're approaching it from a truly academic perspective to see if there's any way to prove someone had an out of body experience. They're asking hospitals to put special objects near their cardiac equipment. Then, if someone claims to have had an out-of-body experience when being resuscitated from being nearly dead, the researchers will ask them if they saw any of those objects. I'm all for experiments like this that can be useful to show more conclusive data. A general professor of the paranormal, though, seems a bit questionable. What are they going to teach? How to be clairvoyant?
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  1. identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, 10 Sep 2003 @ 12:04pm

    CSICOP

    The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal () has been investigating things this for years.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Tony Lawrence, 10 Sep 2003 @ 12:20pm

    What would objects prove?

    How would you know that a supposedly unconscious person didn't observe these things through ordinary sensory means?

    Put things in ANOTHER room and I might believe it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Munich, 10 Sep 2003 @ 1:19pm

    Re: What would objects prove?

    I read a story a while ago about one doctor who put a sign on top of the overhanging light over the operating table. No one standing on the floor could see that there was even a sign up there, but someone "floating" above the room would be able to read the sign.

    I am not saying I believe in this stuff, and this article was just a doctor doing it at his hospital - no funding, etc. was needed, so I thought it was a humerous story. No word on any results yet.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Mike, 16 Aug 2006 @ 6:16pm

    I have my own paranormal research team...I believe in it...but there are alot of things I dont believe about it...some of these so called "sensitives" are not sensitive...they are Brown Eyed...which means they are full of shit...

    They go on investigations...they cant find anything..so they "sense" something because no one else is a sensitive...that gets the attention on them..then they can call the place haunted.

    I dont know if any of you know who TAPS is..but we do what they do...we try to debunk every aspect of the investigation...so we can show the place isnt haunted..but if we are left with evidence..we cannot prove wrong..we will put it under paranormal..but that doesnt mean the place is haunted....

    As for the story...they might get somewhere with it..they might not get somewhere with it...just let the ole crackpot do what he wants to do lol..he believes in it.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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