There is a pathology underlying the constant fighting between pseudoscientific believers and pseudosceptical disbelievers that boggles the mind, or at least it boggles mine. Neither side ever really listens to what the other is saying, because they're so busy trying to make each other look like (a) heartless bastards with no imagination (believers to disbelievers) or (b) stupid rubes with no common sense (disbelievers to believers). It's not about a reasoned discourse or debate with these folks - it's about polemics.
What I don't understand, and never will (particularly as I only have a 1st year undergrad psychology course under my belt), is why either side invests so much time and energy into the struggle. But I'll hazard a guess. For the believers, it stems from a need to belong, and to be recognized. For the disbelievers, it stems from a need to be superior. In both cases, the insecurity underlying it all shines like a neon sign, for everyone else to see.
Regardless of the motivating factors, neither group has anything of substance to offer to the search for the truth about the paranormal (or anything else, for that matter - politics, religion, music reviews...). Don't confuse either side with true scepticism, which relies above all else on intellectual caution and suspended judgment.
If you're genuinely interested in the possibilities of the paranormal, leave the believers and disbelievers to their respective pseudo-science and pseudo-scepticism.
Let it be their last battlefield - not yours.
Paul Kimball
If you're genuinely interested in the possibilities of the paranormal, leave the believers and disbelievers to their respective pseudo-science and pseudo-scepticism.
Let it be their last battlefield - not yours.
Paul Kimball
