Paranormal Investigations and Mainstream Science

With the increase in weekly television series that center themselves on paranormal investigations, the debate over whether or not investigations into the paranormal have any scientific merit is ever popular. With this, it is important to point out that mainstream science should recognize evidence collected in paranormal investigations.

As any scientist knows, there are two main types of evidence and a good paranormal investigator knows the same. It is necessary that the evidence collected be objective (dependent upon external, unbiased measurement, equally obtainable by all) and not subjective (dependent upon an observer’s limited perception) in order to be considered legitimate (Warren, 2003). With this standard being utilized in mainstream science as well as paranormal investigations there should be no argument as to whether or not the appropriate type of evidence was collected.

Another concept that mainstream science needs to understand, is that a true paranormal investigator goes into an investigation as a skeptic. In the book, The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal, the author gives a number of natural explanations for what may be causing paranormal activity in a haunting case. Some of the explanations she gives are, temperature changes, central heating, moisture in wood, plumbing problems in the location, and swamp gas (Kelly, 2004 pg 73-78). However, as stated before, when an investigator enters into an investigation, the first thing they attempt to do is find a natural explanation for the occurrence. Once all natural explanations have failed (also called debunking) then and only then is the situation considered paranormal. Or as Joshua Warren puts it, “Just because you’re studying extraordinary activity, that doesn’t mean you should abandon ordinary logic. Always remember the scientific principle known as Occam’s Razor: In order to define a fact, assume as little as possible. The simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct one, and the less you take for granted, the more solid your conclusion will be” (2003 pg 7). Not assuming anything and keeping the explanation simple will only lend credibility to the investigation and evidence collected.

Through out history there have been a number of individuals who have been personally persecuted (or their family members) due to their beliefs that the science of the time was incorrect. For instance, Johannes Kepler’s mother was put on trial and tortured for witch craft due to Kepler’s belief that the geocentric astronomy (seven planets moved around the earth) taught at the time was not accurate (Field, 1999). If not for his continual effort, research, evidence collection and presentation, it is hard to say how much longer it would have been before the “scientists” of the time would have accepted the fact that not everything in the universe revolves around the earth.

Planetary alignment has not been the only situation where science has been proven to be inaccurate. There was once a time when natural occurrences such as lightning, lunar or solar eclipses, earthquakes and weather patterns were considered paranormal or an act of the Gods. Through proper investigations and collection of evidence, it has been shown that the above listed occurrences are a natural part of our environment. With this in mind, it is important for the scientific community to remember what author and scientist Carl Sagan has been quoted as saying, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” (1996, pg 186).

It is true that some investigators into the paranormal are thrill seekers that truly have no idea how to conduct a proper investigation and even less of an idea of how to collect evidence or even what evidence to collect. However, there are paranormal investigators who’s lively hood depends on paranormal activates, and they have been specifically trained and educated in the field, they are known as parapsychologists. The field of parapsychology is full of legitimate trained scientists and investigators and they tend to centralize their work around the unknown portions of the mind as well as the investigation of hauntings or ghosts.

When talking bout Parapsychologists studying the human mind, it does not mean they are looking into the normal five senses of taste, touch, hear, smell and see. They are looking more into what some call the sixth sense, extrasensory perception or E.S.P. for short. The main reason Parapsychologists have crossed over into such areas as “Ghost Hunting”, is because some believe that the two are indirectly connected (Warren, 2003).

Parapsychologists have had a significant impact on main stream science, especially in the area of psychology. Early Parapsychologists or members of the Society of Psychical Research as referred to prior to parapsychology's existence, contributed greatly to the development of ideas concerning psychological studies of the subconscious mind and dissociation (Alvarado, 2003).

Another area Parapsychologists have taken a great role, one that may be of interest to mainstream science because theoretically parapsychologists are attempting to put themselves out of work, is that of the study of fraud and self-deception. In other words, Parapsychologists are investigating events such as medium-ship, apparitions, poltergeist activities, metal bending and reincarnation to uncover fraudulent reports (Alvarado, 2003). Their main reason for doing this is to weed out the fraudulent cases, and those with the potential to be legitimate are investigated and the evidence is gathered and analyzed.

Given the areas that are being researched by paranormal investigators, and the fact that at this point in time there are no explanations to the events, it should not be assumed that just because an individual does not have a doctorate or masters degree in parapsychology or some other type of science, that they should not be considered a legitimate source of information from either field or laboratory investigations.

Paranormal investigations in the laboratory have provided some very useful information to the scientific community. This information however has not proven anything as of yet, but it has lead to some very interesting theories. It is important to remember that the Big Bang is a theory but that is still considered science. One theory within the paranormal investigations community is that everything, to include living organisms, has a very subtle magnetic field. On their way to proving this theory, researchers at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands have made small living creatures such as frogs and spiders levitate. This has been accomplished by placing the creature into a chamber that is only inches in diameter, and exposing the chamber to an extremely powerful magnet from beneath. The result is the creature begins to levitate. This has been explained as being similar to placing the northern polarity of two magnets together, they repel each other.

Another method that is being utilized to prove the theory that everything has a magnetic field is with the use of special photography called Kirlian photography. Investigators have been able to photograph this potential magnetic field around items to include the human body. It has also been shown that the strength of the field is stronger in some people than others. If the scientific community would acknowledge these findings, the information could be expanded upon and quite possibly a new way to detect illness or injury could be developed. It could also be deducted that if this theory is correct and a magnetic energy field does exists around the human body, wouldn’t Albert Einstein’s theory that energy can not be created or destroyed support the belief that when we physically die, the energy remains behind (Warren, 2003)?

The need for paranormal research is not only legitimate, but absolute. Taking into considerations the definition of paranormal; Para meaning “beyond” thus paranormal meaning any events beyond the realm of normal occurrence or belief (Warren, 2003), all science would be a form of paranormal research. Science is, in itself a quest to learn, a quest to know the unknown. As scientists, you understand that just because a certain situation or event can not be recreated in a laboratory, it does not mean it does not exist or can not occur, again the Big Bang Theory. However, when it comes to paranormal activities that is exactly how some organizations react. They believe if they can not recreate an apparition per say, then it must be a hallucination or a hoax (Holzer, 1997).

It is understandable that some feel this way due to the fact that the majority of paranormal cases that have made it into main stream media have been identified as a hoax. One such case is that of the “Amityville Horror”. This case obtained world wide notoriety in the form of books, movies and sequels to the original movie. Unfortunately for the community of paranormal investigators, it has been confirmed as a hoax. Situations like this are what give those who are serious about investigating the paranormal a bad name and make it that much harder for their evidence or theories to be accepted.

Luckily for scientists, there has never been a situation like this. That is not actually true; in 1912 a creature was found in a gravel pit in Sussex England that was claimed to be the missing link. It took scientists 40 years to figure out that the corpse that was found was actually man made by combining a human like brain case and an ape’s jaw (Radford, 2003). With this hoax in mind, should anthropology or Darwinism be written off as to not having any scientific merit due to the acts of one individual attempting to gain media attention? Of course not, because the whole can not be judged by the actions of a few. Especially considering the legitimate evidence that has been presented by anthropologists that have helped us as a species determine where we have come from.

The hunt for the missing link or other such creatures is not limited to anthropologists, zoologists or cryptozoologists. Paranormal investigators are also on the hunt for what some believe is the missing link, Bigfoot.

The hunt for evidence of the existence of Bigfoot has also gone unnoticed by mainstream science with the exception of one area, cryptozoology (Bord, 1989 pg. 26). This is a step in the right direction with regards to main stream science and paranormal investigators working together. With the two different realms of investigators working together, some very interesting evidence has been brought to light that surely suggest that there may be some merit to the claims of many paranormal investigators.

One piece of evidence collected by paranormal investigators that has been acknowledged by cryptozoologists is that of plaster casts that have shown dermal ridges. This is an extremely important discovery and piece of evidence bringing paranormal investigators one step closer in proving the existence of Bigfoot. The reason being is because all humans and prime apes have dermal ridges, a.k.a fingerprints. Plaster casts from around the world have been examined by experts and it has shown that yes some are a fake, but for the most part, these are legitimate casts of some type of creature (Bord, 1989).

Another piece of evidence that has been analyzed time and time again by paranormal investigators and cryptozoologists is Roger Patterson’s 1967 film of Bigfoot walking across an open area. Under close examination many cryptozoologists claim to be able to actually see different muscle groups in the shoulder and back of the creature (Bord, 1989). This is a very significant statement due to the fact that many in main stream science believe it is nothing more than a man in a suit. If muscle groups can be determined from the film, how is it possible that this creature is a man in a suit?

If cryptozoologists have no problem working with paranormal investigators in finding the ultimate truth behind the Bigfoot phenomena, then why are there not more main stream scientists coming forward in other areas? How long would the mystery of the Lockness Monster, or Lake Champlain’s counterpart, Champ go on if marine biologists gave the eye witness testimony and photographs currently on record proper credit?

Paranormal investigations have been occurring through out history in one way or another. In some cases, these investigations or studies of the situation were made and proved fraud and deception, but in many cases, paranormal phenomena have been studied in good faith in an effort to verify their authenticity and discover the source of the phenomena. Believers in the paranormal consider study of the paranormal to be scientifically valid, but the few scientists who conduct research in the paranormal often do so without “official” support. Some of the scientists that believe in either the truth or possibility of the paranormal do not believe it is a scientific priority, but an extremely minor effect and not worthy of “official” support. At most then, the support of the scientific community has been minimal, yet if the paranormal is scientific in that paranormal phenomena are reducible and explainable in logical terms then studies in the paranormal should progress along with normal science, follow normal scientific trends and be recognized by the mainstream scientific community.

References

• Alvarado, C. (2003). Reflections on Being a Parapsychologist. Retrieved March 23, 2007 on the world wide web at: http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/alvarado/parapsychologist/2.htm
• Boyd, C., J. (1989). Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century. Chicago Illinois: Contemporary Books.
• Field, J. (1999). Johannes Kepler. Retrieved 16 March 2007 from www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Kepler.html
• Holzer, H. (1997). Ghosts: True Encounter with the World Beyone. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
• Kelley, L. (2004). The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin
• Radford, T. (2003). Too Good To Be True. Retrieved 16 March 2007 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1083411,00.html
• Segan, C. (1996). The Demon-Haunted World. New York: Ballantine Books.
• Warren, J. (2003). How to hunt ghosts: A practical guide. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Contributors

Author: Jack Porter

Other Contributors:None