posted on Dec, 17 2014 @ 10:33 PM
My opinions are based upon what I've personally experienced. EVP's are definitely real, in that they are capturing "something." Often times these
are voices, and it could not be argued that they were anything else, as this is how clear and understandable they are. It is not enough to say that
such things are not scientifically accepted, because obviously science cannot even study such a thing, because the results are not reproducable in the
manner required by science. Just because science cannot study it does not mean it cannot be occurring. I've had a handful of paranormal experiences,
and have heard one EVP firsthand. I've heard others that have been captured by paranormal groups, and many of these truly are genuine, as opposed to
being hoaxes. So I am convinced the phenomenon is occurring. No doubt whatsoever. Now whether these are caused by dead people, some other form of
intelligence, some wacky kind of recording impressed upon natural objects or energy sources, etc., I cannot say. They cannot be tested because there
is too much randomness, and it is not possible for one scientist to reproduce the exact same results as another. Plus, there can be no proposed
mechanism of action at this point. So it is out of the question, reaching a scientifically valid conclusion I mean.
I do not believe in "psychics" as many people understand them. Such as those individuals on television who can communicate with the dead. However I
do know that certain individuals can pick up on things, whether it is energy or something else, that eludes most of us. In some of these cases the
impressions made upon the medium are strong enough for them to have a good idea as to the intention of the impression. For instance, a mental picture,
a name, etc., but they are not having a dialogue with a dead person. Those people who claim that they are speaking to a dead relative or to this or
that person, and can ask questions and get answers are, in my opinion, frauds. I will not say it is impossible, considering that it would be the
natural progression from picking up on energies and feelings, but at this point I do not believe it.
Now what some paranormal researchers do is ask questions and give the "spirit" some way to respond. Often times the results are quite striking, and
the only viable explanations are that these are outright hoaxes, or there is some form of communication occurring. This goes only for those cases in
which chance obviously plays no part. For instance, if you've ever seen researchers loosen the contact on a flashlight and place it down, where the
slightest movement will cause the connection to close and the bulb to light, you would think that the light could easily turn on via a natural
explanation. I would have to agree with you. But, when this occurs in direct response to a question, over a lengthy period of time, especially when
the pace is non-linear, one would be hard-pressed to claim that there is a natural explanation. It could be claimed, but the chances of a natural
explanation become smaller and smaller the more times the bulb lights up in response to a question.
Evidence of this nature abounds where the paranormal is concerned, but such evidence, while convincing, is not definitive. Even though there are cases
where the available scientific explanations are exhausted, this does not constitute proof, and will convince no extremely objective person unless that
person was present, and was convinced that no tampering had occurred. One of the best ways to convince a person of paranormal activity is to take them
to an extremely active place. They will soon see, once the activity begins, that there is no possible way for it to be a setup. There are no physical
mechanisms in place to cause the occurrences, and thus they are convinced. Many people have been convinced in such a manner, but this will not be
enough to bring credence to the field where scientists are concerned, unless one were to take all scientists and convince them individually. If they
knew such things were happening, then they would devise a way to study these phenomena.
Anyway, researchers sometimes will ask questions while using an audio recorder, and immediately after the question they will play back the digital
audio and listen for any EVP's. The benefit to this method as opposed to leaving a static recording device running all night is that there is
purported interaction going on. So someone asks a yes or no question, and upon playing back the EVP they get a yes or no answer. If the playback
contains a voice clearly saying something, in direct response to a question, that is significant. I know that paranormal phenomena exist. The
experiences I've had leave no other explanation. It is a fact where I'm concerned. With that said, it is also possible for a "spirit," or whatever
is causing the paranormal phenomenon, to basically lie. Seemingly intelligent interactions of the nature described above would imply that something
with intelligence is on the other side. It also appears that these "entities" have varying degrees of morals, just like people. So if some of these
things lie, capturing an EVP that answers "yes" to the question of being a specific individual must be taken with a huge grain of salt. So all of
the above would be my answer to your question where believers in the paranormal are concerned. For those who do not believe in the paranormal, my
answer would be "stick your head back in the sand...nothing to see here." Because that will get about the same reaction as attempting to prove my
point. I will say it again, that even if ghosts exist, there is no scientific way to prove this existence, at least at this point in time. Ghosts
would not behave in such a linear fashion that any results could be reproduced. And not being physical matter that we can pick up and study, obviously
science cannot study them at present. So the argument that ghosts don't exist because science hasn't proven their existence is not a good one. It is
hard to prove something, even if it exists, when you cannot apply your tools to the problem. We can capture all the EVP's we want, all the video and
photo evidence we want, but this is not proof either. So to the naysayers, how would you suggest one goes about studying and proving the existence of
something of such a nature?