Regarding science explaining the paranormal

Originally posted by 0thetrooth0
Will science ever be able to explain the paranormal?
By paranormal I mean serious things like people seeing their dead relatives, objects moving, hearing voices, seeing entities, ouija board experiences etc.

Out of all the things that I dont know the paranormal stuff bothers me the most. I want to know for sure if there is in fact another dimension of spirits. Or if it means that there's a god and his behind all of it. Or if the brain naturally produces all of this somehow. What messege am I suppose to take from all of this.

I'm not sure if people actually experience what they say or if their lying/delusional or if theres a scientific explanation not yet knowm to man. I dont know what to believe since I've never experienced anything paranormal myself.

Alot of people say that science will eventually explain it. That in the past people thought lightning was from god/gods. So they assume the paranormal is the same. I think it's not because the paranormal is subjective. Lightning was objective and so science observed it and eventually succeeded in explaining it as a normal phenomena. With the paranormal all we have are personal testimonies.

Do you think science will eventually be able to explain the paranormal?

edit on 14-5-2012 by 0thetrooth0 because: (no reason given)

Science cannot explain itself, how do you suppose it explain anything else?

Originally posted by emberscott

Science cannot explain itself, how do you suppose it explain anything else?

Science isn't a "thing", it's a "process", so yes, science can explain itself, it's the process of investigating the world around us, collecting data and finding patterns to develop understanding (not the official definition, I winged it). It's not an all encompassing entity that's "out to get us".

Originally posted by 0thetrooth0
Will science ever be able to explain the paranormal?
By paranormal I mean serious things like people seeing their dead relatives, objects moving, hearing voices, seeing entities, ouija board experiences etc.

Out of all the things that I dont know the paranormal stuff bothers me the most. I want to know for sure if there is in fact another dimension of spirits. Or if it means that there's a god and his behind all of it. Or if the brain naturally produces all of this somehow. What messege am I suppose to take from all of this.

I'm not sure if people actually experience what they say or if their lying/delusional or if theres a scientific explanation not yet knowm to man. I dont know what to believe since I've never experienced anything paranormal myself.

Alot of people say that science will eventually explain it. That in the past people thought lightning was from god/gods. So they assume the paranormal is the same. I think it's not because the paranormal is subjective. Lightning was objective and so science observed it and eventually succeeded in explaining it as a normal phenomena. With the paranormal all we have are personal testimonies.

Do you think science will eventually be able to explain the paranormal?

edit on 14-5-2012 by 0thetrooth0 because: (no reason given)

As it stands? No. It will never be able to explain the paranormal. Science is ultimately a study of the physical universe. Check out "The Capricious Cosmos" by Joe Rosen. He sums it up very well.

reply to post by 0thetrooth0


I STRONGLY urge you to read The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. It will answer a lot of your questions I think, and the topic is basically exactly what you just asked.

I personally believe that to study the paranormal we have to study the brain. I think a lot of the stuff that people see or hear is an outward projection of their mind (their desires, the wishes, their regrets). The only way to uncover these things is to delve deep into the mind and better understand human "psychology" (I suppose you could call it).

Definitely read that book though. It's enlightening. And Carl Sagan is...just wonderful.

reply to post by Snausage


Can you summarize it please.

reply to post by 0thetrooth0


I don't think science can prove the phenomena, not in our time at least. Most of our scientists are too materialistic. Plus some of this can kind of fall into the religion area which doesn't get along really well with modern science.

I'm in my early 30s and I've had only 1 'paranormal' event happen to me. Long story short I dreamt of a deceased pet the night before a living pet had just died. I found it difficult to pass this off as a coincidence since the dream seemed really odd, vivid, and rare. But it kind of helped with grief since it was a very positive dream.

So, one day I decided to do some research and found out that thousands of people have had similar and way stranger events occur to them, both pre and post death of their loved ones (and pets). I understand that hallucinations can be an explanation but how do you explain it when the event didn't even take place yet? Or how do you explain when 2 or more people witness the same event? Also all the strange and meaningful coincidences that totally challenges the definition of 'coincidence'?

I know they are simply just stories, but when your talking about thousands of people, virtually all positively affected by this phenomena, it makes you think.... Skeptics say that these stories could be contaminated or untrue, and I completely agree. But also keep in mind that many people don't come forward with these stories, especially men. While reading into this subject, I remembered my dad had a small but strange event happen to him after his father passed on. Same with my parents high school friends who lost their son on 911.

I'm starting to think I really don't need science to try to explain it to me.

I suggest checking out this book:
Hello from Heaven:
www.amazon.com...
Extremely eye opening book. Basically a 'best of the best' (350 out of 2k accounts).
Even the reviews on Amazon contain some personal accounts and stories.

Look up information regarding NDE's, ADC's, spirituality and consciousness.

Originally posted by semaphore
I am starting to think I really don't need science to try to explain it to me.

You don't, they won't and this is a very bitter, difficult and transformational pill to swallow. Move on in mystery, my friend.

reply to post by 0thetrooth0


I really can't. Just google it, or better yet, buy it. It's about the need for scientific skepticism and how people believe in superstitious and paranormal ideas even though they've been proven false already. And it goes into why people may believe these things.

I have been studying a lot of the old superstitions with an open mind. If you try to think like a person of the time and have the ability and information to research, you will find relevance to lots of things in these superstitions and sayings. Hanging garlic to keep the vampire away meant that you always had garlic available when you cooked. The use of garlic chelates the heavy metals out of the body. This could keep a person from getting Porphyria if the food they are eating contains heavy metals. This is just one example, I have hundreds that I have researched. I also found that the pharmacutical companies research this stuff extensively and form drugs using knowledge from all old things they find.

It's evident that some of the greatest minds and richest people in the world have not disregarded our ancestors knowledge. It is the man who has been conditioned by these sciences to not believe that is in error of the truth. People are so easy to trick, Too bad I like being honest because I could be a billionaire.

What is there to explain? If you're talking about the vast number of varying personal anecdotes, science already has an answer for them: Don't trust anecdotes, second-hand or otherwise. There are a huge number of psychological, physiological, and social factors, etc, that lead to untrustworthy retelling of "paranormal" experiences. Not the least of which, is that you are basically dealing entirely with scenarios where a person's perception is either faulty or incomplete to begin with. "What did I just see?" Answer should be: "Inconclusive, not enough information." But instead, more often than is warranted, it is, "It must have been a ghost!"

reply to post by 0thetrooth0


I have been working on experiments to explain / prove the paranormal for some time. I have laid the groundwork for a philosophy that explains a lot about how the mind works and how other dimensions come into play, so hopefully I can start moving forward and getting some answers for you. It is one of my life goals. I have done a lot of reading, and have some ideas about where to begin.

I think it is completely possible for science to start exploring the paranormal, it is also a healthy way to look at things - combining science and spirituality. It could lead to a lot of interesting breakthroughs.

Originally posted by darkbake

I have been working on experiments to explain / prove the paranormal for some time. I have laid the groundwork for a philosophy that explains a lot about how the mind works and how other dimensions come into play, so hopefully I can start moving forward and getting some answers for you. It is one of my life goals. I have done a lot of reading, and have some ideas about where to begin.

Reading works real good.

Originally posted by darkbake
I think it is completely possible for science to start exploring the paranormal, it is also a healthy way to look at things - combining science and spirituality. It could lead to a lot of interesting breakthroughs.

Wonder why they call it "para"normal, you know, experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation"?