It's easy to talk to the dead. But it is difficult to get an answer from them. Why not call them?
"Is Matthew there?" Shane asked, directing her words towards a box on the table hoping her brother would emerge from the other side. "Yes," came the answer. Now that the connection was "verified" Shane continued in a trembling voice: "Was the suicide a mistake?" The speaker made light explosion sounds, "My death was a mistake." With tears streaming down her cheeks, Shane asked to speak to her mother, and when the connection was made she exclaimed, "Do you see my children, your beautiful grandchildren?" And the grandmother replied, "Yes." I see the children."
The messages from these dead animals were received from a "telephone for the dead" device rumored to have been invented by Thomas Edison - or rather from a replica of the device that the great inventor never built. It was just one meeting that day (at a price of $90 per channel) held by Christopher Moon, the editor-in-chief and president of the magazine "Haunted Times" (Haunted Times), and part of the showcase called Univ-Con, a conference on supernatural topics organized by Ryan Boal, the moderator The sidekick of the television series Paranormal State of the American television network A&E. I was invited to provide some scientific judgment.
I couldn't hear Shane's brother, her mother, or any of the other non-corporeal souls until after Eight interpreted the random noises emanating from the device in our ears. Moon explained to me that the device was built by a man named Frank Samption from Colorado. "Frank's box", according to the inventor, "contains a random voltage generator, which is used for quick tuning of an AM receiver. The audio signal from the receiver (the 'raw audio') is amplified and put into a resonance chamber, where the spirits of the dead can change it to create their voice." It turns out that this is difficult for the spirits, so Moon enlists the help of "Taylor", who is a "technician" from the world of the dead, whom Taylor summons to direct the whimsical spirits into the reception range of the facility. The result resembled the jumble of voices and fragments of words that you hear when you quickly turn the radio knob.
"Are the dead in this little box?" I asked Moon. "I don't know where the dead are. Most likely in another dimension," he surmised. "Okay, but since we know how easy it is for our brains to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise," I replied, "how do you tell the difference between real words from a dead person and random noises that just sound like words?" Moon agreed saying, "You have to be very careful. We record the meetings and make sure people hear the same thing consistently." I insisted: "Consistency? How much? 95%? 51%?” "A lot," Moon replied. Here we stopped the questions and answers because the next session was supposed to start and I didn't want to miss the lecture "Quantum mechanics: does it prove the existence of the supernatural?" carried by another supernatural speculator with the unique name of Constantine.
That evening, in the plenary lecture I gave, I explained how pre-priming the brain to see or hear something increases the chance that perception will yield to the prior information. I played them a backwards recording of a section of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" in which the word "devil" can be heard occasionally, and then played it again after pre-priming the listeners' minds by projecting the supposed words on the screen. The auditory information was clarified through the visual cues (when the funniest sentence was "There was a small tool shed where he made us suffer, the sad devil" - you can watch the lecture using the link below). I also played them some audio illusions created by the psychologist Diana Deutsch from the University of California, San Diego, where repeating a two-syllable word on a loop evokes different words and phrases in different people's minds.
These are examples of"Patternism", the tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise (a term described in the "Voice of the Skeptic" column in the February-March 2009 issue of Scientific American Israel). The next day I put the thing to the test when Moon gave me a personal demonstration. With the phone for the dead rattling, I tried to communicate with my late father and mother by "authenticating" the call: name, cause of death... something. I tried to coax and entice them. Nothing. Moon requested Taylor's intervention. Nothing. Moon said he heard something, but when I pressed him he didn't say anything. I willingly suspended my skepticism in hopes of talking to my parents, whom I miss very much. Nothing. I was looking for some pattern. Nothing.
I'm afraid that's the appreciation I'm buying into the supernatural. Nothing.
Michael Shermer is the publisher of skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com) and the author of the book "Why People Believe Weird Things". his lecture You can listen here
In the same topic on the science website:
40 תגובות
Derren Brown is the biggest eye-catcher in the world, and his programs have been shown on the BBC and on the US-based soap opera channel. He shows in his programs - clips can be seen on YouTube - how fraudsters like Uri Geller make forks bend and broken clocks start ticking. He shows Also how it is possible to guess, without special efforts, details about a volunteer from the audience, saying that every "magic" and sorcery can be explained and imitated.
to respondent 35,
Please list the tools you recommend:
astrology?
Trot cards?
crystals?
Voodoo?
Reading in coffee?
Numerology?
Hugin,
Why exactly did you start mentioning the author of children's fantasy books - Harry Potter - as an example that Noam's morality is questionable compared to you and other nonsense believers? Trying to imply that the morality of superstitious believers is higher? What to do with?
Just know that fans of real science are in the first place of fans of science fiction and fantasy, only that they can get the best out of the stories without deluding themselves that there is any truth in them. This ability is called the difference between reality and imagination. Books can be inspiration, pleasure and teach other perspectives - but not to replace reality, and certainly not a place to escape to for the rest of your life.
On the contrary... only those who really don't believe in different beliefs, among them trivial ones, and the true scientific way is important to them, usually have higher morals. We have no preference for race, gender and religion. The scientific method and those who follow its path, their only "belief" is the importance of objectivity.
And what was he teasing? what war What's the matter again? It is religion that provokes different beliefs in war. When did anyone declare war in the name of real scientific truth (and not use its distortion as an excuse)?! He only claimed that confidence will come from within us and to be true to ourselves and not to live in various illusions brought about by beliefs.
Hugin, you are the most two-faced person and distort reality and things of people I knew... if you were true to yourself and with us you would withdraw from the site as you "threatened" countless times.
During the course of "getting to know" you, I alternated my feelings towards you between pity, amusement and contempt... At the moment, only contempt remains in light of your twisted statements recently. You are not able to make a comment without distorting the articles you are responding to or previous comments. And if that's not enough, then your insults are enough for the feelings you bring up in me
to respondent 35,
You got confused - this is not the Marnina literature site, but the science site.
I really like G. G. Rowling, but in a different context than science.
Science education is not a witch hunter, and it is not even a hunter of faggots and New Agers of any kind.
Education for scientific perception is, first and foremost, moving away from grandmother's stories and self-delusions, in everything related to understanding the world around us.
By the way, Passover is approaching, will we get another vacation from you?
Hugin:
Gossip has always made me feel queasy.
For the dyslexic camouflage: either you were worked on or you are trying to work on us. In any case, you should know that lies are not accepted here in a good spirit.
Totally' and in a short sentence the theme that repeats itself with accelerated obsession as implied by commenter 34's response can also be read as an unrestrained passion for 'witch hunters', sages of generations, historians, archaeologists, theosophists and seekers of ancient and general knowledge in general.
I wonder if the guy is familiar with modern and contemporary literature seasoned with a wink and many morals of the mind as written by one of the geniuses of contemporary fiction J.J. Rowling. (The entire Harry Potter series including the extras).
It is recommended for this commenter to also read the Chinese Roulette before he goes to 'war' and also to train himself for several good years with some tools and knowledge so that at least if he declares a 'war' he at least knows with whom, against what, and what he is provoking.
In any case, his comments are starting to make me, and maybe in a few silent latents on the site, a slight smile :)
And another word on the same topic:
As long as the practice of séances, superstitions, astrology, reading in coffee, crystals, etc. is done privately - no problem.
The problem is that today we see programs on television, hear on the radio, astrologers of various kinds who advise us how to conduct our day-to-day lives, and perhaps much worse, we encounter slogans such as "Psalms instead of missiles" - that is, there is no need for a strong army, we just need to say Psalms and perhaps also maintain The Sabbath, and this is said by those who have representation in the Israeli Knesset, including budgets and who can enact laws (by the way, did you notice who is the new Minister of Science?).
In this situation, engaging in nonsense becomes dangerous, and in my opinion, one of the important goals of this website is to fight this phenomenon, and to move as many citizens as possible to the side of the sane.
camouflage
Sessions with the help of a cup and a letter and number board were already popular decades ago.
Apart from stories - no solid evidence has ever been discovered that justifies this nonsense.
You have to understand, the scientific method is the one that advanced us beyond the level of personal stories, stories of relatives and friends, personal hallucinations, optical errors, superstitions, etc., etc.
Until the establishment of the scientific method, progress in human knowledge was slow if at all, due to the impossibility of distinguishing between stories, however interesting they may be, and scientific facts.
It is quite disturbing to see that even today, at the beginning of the 21st century, there are still many who believe in this nonsense, as people believed in nonsense thousands of years ago, and they still call it New Age...
To Noam....another little story. I was in a company where they used to raise (spirits for the sake of the story - because I can't explain the phenomenon) as you heard letters and numbers on a glass board in the middle and asking questions. A guy who entered the room and caught them in the middle of the séance said, I believe only after you say I have the name of the girl I kissed when I was 10 years old, the cup ran in front of the correct letters, the guy got a kickphone, his legs, his heart once hard, excessive sweating broke out in his body, he started shaking, we had to take him to the nearest clinic for treatment. After the act, I asked my friends to stop the sessions because I was afraid of a similar case. I happened to unexpectedly enter the room after a few days and again I see them in action, I shouted at them and said that the glass will explode between your nerves... poof... I didn't understand what he read, the glass scattered in pieces on the board.
If all these people really had powers as they claim, then one would expect them to be billionaires thanks to knowing future lottery numbers, or "supermen" who save the world thanks to foreseeing attacks, murders, etc. Why isn't this happening?
The only thing they manage to do with their "powers" is circus shows in front of gullible audiences that they deceive with the help of cold (and sometimes warm) reading, or all kinds of counselors regarding things like career and relationships, and dealing with sorcerers (the evil eye, etc.).
Not impressive for people who claim to be connected to another dimension....
😉
I'll help you a little Noam, it was in "I spent my time caught"
I saw it too, and it actually caused people to search for their features and even believe they had some of these types of software, when in fact the content of the pages was the same.
In my opinion it is only "control" over the subconscious to make a person think wrong things
camouflage
Two points for thought:
1) Your description reminds me of countless stories I've heard, including descriptions of magicians' acts of various kinds, about "amazing and scientifically inexplicable acts"
Some of the magicians, the honest among them, declare in advance that it is eye catching, and some claim supernatural powers.
The amazing "magical" acts - and some of them are indeed extremely amazing and cannot be immediately explained - do not mean supernatural acts!
The fact that you encountered a phenomenon that you could not explain, does not mean that it does not have a simple explanation that does not require supernatural powers.
2) An experiment conducted in recent years (I don't remember the exact details, but the principle is):
A number of students (I think 10) were asked to give the exact date and time of their birth.
They were told that based on this, a famous astrologer would give them an analysis of their character, as well as important events in their lives that had occurred in the past, and would occur in the future.
After that, each of them, without knowing it, was given pages with exactly the same content, and they were asked to indicate to what extent the content of the page faithfully describes them.
All students gave a score of 8-9 out of 10!
Think about it
Not only camouflage - also lies?
Not pretty!
I'm speechless
Noam Yes, it is very difficult to distinguish between the truth and the lie, you will really find more established things that will appeal to you. I will give you an example from my life. Many years ago I was a soldier and veterans of Ashkelon, you may remember, a parapsychologist named Martin appeared in a movie theater accompanied by Margot Klausner, an Israeli parapsychologist who translated him A Scotsman with a heavy heart. He said that in the hall he sees a flame like a candle and that as soon as that flame stops on the head of one of the people in the audience he will give him a message, I was the first when he addressed me... you. He froze me on the spot. She received a letter a long time ago, she forgot to give this answer It is very important that you put the letter on the mattress, your answer to this person will completely change your path in life, within a week they will be talking at your place of work about moving to a far away place, volunteer, be the first and a more challenging life will open up for you. I want to point out that I wasn't wearing a uniform and he couldn't know and get a hint from my surroundings. The person in charge turned to the woman who lost a bracelet or pendant, I don't remember exactly and that she accuses her neighbor of stealing it, distractedly she put the jewelry in a saucer next to the sugar jar in the kitchen, go there, find it and apologize to her, she heard A shout in the hall, I remembered you're right, you're right...cases like these led me to change my thinking in this field. The more I read, the more I learned that there are things in the body. I've also met charlatans who are motivated more by money. If the man standing in front of you doesn't electrify you, know that he has no strength, he has no presence. limited.
This point is smart.
Just why would anyone respect you?
turn,
The idea of respecting each other without distinction stems from a fundamental disdain for man.
I am of the opinion that those who deserve to be respected should be respected and those who should be despised should be despised.
Hi Oren, thanks 🙂
: )
Pine,
The attack is indeed difficult, and it calls into question our claim that there are no aliens...
New commenter: (:
I happen to be on the site for quite a few years now.
But what does it even matter who is newer or older?
If someone has something to say - feel free to say it.
I believe this site is spacious and big enough,
To accommodate different, diverse and even weird opinions.
I don't remember that among those who define themselves as "scientific",
There is always mutual agreement and sometimes there is between them
Even heated and even ridiculous exchanges.
It is possible to agree that there is not always agreement.
If we learn to at least respect each other,
Despite the different opinions we already did
long haul.
Kenny,
Those who believe, do not need proofs to justify their faith, and do not look for proofs to refute their faith.
This site is therefore simply a complete waste of your time.
Noam,
I'm starting to think that all sane site commenters have supernatural powers. How will you explain the fact that we are not extinct in light of the recent increasing attack of nonsense on the site?
The truth is, I'm beginning to suspect that there is a direct connection between the various "dumps" of our beautiful sites. It seems strange to me the coincidence of the many responses on their part, especially since most of them are relatively new to our sites. Maybe I'll go so far as to link them to Hugin's surprise return a few days ago.
Oops, I'm starting to think like them - both supernatural powers (with supernatural thinking) and seeing canons everywhere. Soon I will be able to recite the different kinds of aliens of Hanan Sabat and I will avoid Noam's questions! lost on me…
I believe that you have to believe that it is possible. Maybe one day we can communicate with the dead. It should not be dismissed outright.
This will undoubtedly be the most important development in science. Who knows what might be discovered?
This whole argument is pointless.
After all, you can say anything and vice versa,
And you can contradict anything with words.
Everyone should try to be a good person.
May you have a good life full of self-fulfillment,
seasoned with a great deal of happiness.
Pine,
How the hell did you see my question?
I'm starting to think you have supernatural powers…
camouflage,
Let me rephrase my previous question:
You meet someone who seems trustworthy to you, and he tells you that he sees auras around people, that he has miraculous healing powers, that succeeds where modern medicine has failed, and other similar descriptions.
How do you manage to determine if the man is a charlatan, or indeed endowed with supernatural powers?
Point - I liked it 🙂
Every now and then you enjoy saying nonsense at our expense (and I think it's better than saying nonsense and believing the buff but only a little), but sometimes you have brilliant and sometimes funny exits. Comment 8, belongs to the latter categories 🙂
turn and camouflage,
I do believe it is beyond your understanding, like many things. Noam has already formulated a question in the past that brings it up again and again without an answer, except for one exceptional time, and received the expected and embarrassing answer for all pseudo-scientists (can't remember where the discussion was) - how do you distinguish between charlatans and psychoscientific "truth".
Sorry, I meant "pseudo-scientific"…
All your claims are true, I did say that those who deal with it will be found insane, there are those who will say it's the placenta or a dream I have no logical explanation, but another dimension exists in which humans are not found, very few people are actually able to touch it, we have called it for generations higher powers because it is Beyond our understanding, if it makes a person good, the way should be adopted.
I will remain in my illusion,
You will remain in your illusion.
Good Day.
turn,
Energy that can be felt and worked with is energy that can be measured, and if it cannot be measured, then it is a hallucination, an illusion or a dream.
It does work,
works on us with the eyes…
turn,
The meeting between science and these issues has already happened.
Today the meetings usually take place in mental health hospitals
I don't know how he himself came to this conclusion.
But from quite a few years of experience in the field in question,
And at the same time as one who also advocates for science you could say
Those who don't taste simply lose - it works and works well.
The energy he is talking about is current energy
Science has no tools to measure it and yet it is possible
work with her, feel and sense her and she does
Miraculous things - such as healing.
The meeting between science and the field in question,
It is only a matter of time.
Man will find ways to harness technology,
to areas that currently sound unimaginable in the mind.
Bye.
camouflage,
And another question:
How do you come to the conclusion that the "higher powers" and the supernatural do exist in reality and not just in your head?
Charlatans = charlatans
camouflage,
How do you distinguish charlatans from real supernatural phenomena?
What energies are you talking about?
There are things that have received the term supernatural because logic does not work there, and there are charlatans who have found an opportunity to make a living from people who are unable to live with a problem that lies upon them, the supernatural lives close to us. You will be labeled insane just as a person engages in practical kabbalah, invoking higher powers to help people, the logical mind is unable to understand this and yet it exists.
His lecture is actually very good, with more than enough convincing demonstrations. recommended.
Whoever is an idiot and believes this will remain an idiot even after reading this article. And for those who have already realized that this whole thing is ridiculous, this article adds nothing to it.
So who exactly was the article written for?