The Normal-Paranormal Problem

There seems to be a lot of interest these days in the “paranormal.”

There has always been a keen curiosity about unexplained phenomena such as UFOs, ghosts, and ritualistic magic, but only in the cast half-century or so has there been such an enormous drive to explain these unusual occurrences scientifically. Prior to that, scientific studies were done in secret (if at all). Paranormal experiments were labeled as superstitious folly by anyone that did not have a supernatural experience of their own.

However, today there is a remarkable increase in interest in finding a logical explanation for seemingly unexplained events. Many colleges are adding paranormal studies to their curriculums. “Ghost hunting” shows are cropping up on the television by the dozens. Paranormal societies are forming in record numbers, and “psychics” are becoming celebrities with huge followings.

Why the Surge in interest?

There has always been at least some interest in the paranormal. It’s more a surge in acceptance that makes it seem as though we are more eager to uncover the mysteries and lay bare the truth. We live in a more permissive society than our ancestors did. Our imaginations are fueled by the entertainment media. At the same time, the rapid advancement of technology gave paranormal scientists and investigators new tools to play with.

There are still others who believe that the occurrence of paranormal events is on the rise.

The problem with paranormal science is that the very thing we are trying to study may be by definition unknowable. Ghosts, of example, don’t exist in the same sense that we do. That is, they do not have the same three-dimensional physicality that we have. They are not quantifiable by familiar means.

Also, the psychic sciences are decades behind other sciences with regards to the huge body of data that they have amassed over the years. It is from this body of evidence that the truth will eventually emerge. In the physical world, even many of our most widely accepted theories are still just that-theories. How much more so with the seemingly non-physical?

In order to explain the problems faced by paranormal researchers, it helps to define just exactly what paranormal is. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “normal” as that which occurring naturally.

The same source defines “paranormal” as that which is not scientifically explainable.

The goal, then, of paranormal research is to bring the paranormal into the realm of the normal. We need to explain these phenomena in a way that is quantifiable. To do this, we must first be able to separate a paranormal occurrence from all things that are already explained by science and that occur naturally (this is what some people call “debunking”). This can be a problem in that there are so many normal things that are only partially understood.

Moving objects.

We know that objects can move with no obvious provocation. But it is not enough to say that since we can’t see what moved it, it must have been something supernatural.

There are invisible forces that exist in nature everywhere. Wind, for example, can knock down a building or push a discarded piece of paper across a parking lot. The invisible force of the moon somehow affects the tides. Gravity makes things fall and an imbalance in air pressure can cause a building to implode.

In order to eliminate the natural as a cause for object movement, we need a complete understanding of the natural forces that could have caused the movement. We need instrumentation to pick up and measure those forces so that we can see if the forces present were sufficient enough to move an object of that type and size.

Once the natural has been eliminated, then only the supernatural remains. The task then becomes even more complicated, because even the supernatural has to have an identity. Our job is to find a way to figure out what that identity is. What are its properties? Is it energy? Does it have mass? What is tis source?

Electronic Voice Phenomenon.

Electronic Voice Phenomenon, also known as EVP, is a sound that is picked up by audio equipment that is often inaudible to the human ear. It often sounds like a human voice, and it’s most impressive when it seems to answer questions posed by an investigator.

It could be a ghost voice. Still….

In order to claim an EVP as “contact,” we must have a complete understanding of how sound dissipates.

Sound travels in waves, but is that travel always linear? What I mean is, does a word that we utter only travel through the space that we occupy today? Or can a sound wave remain in the same space but travel through time instead? Or can it travel through some kind of portal, enter a different dimension and come out on our side, thus occurring simultaneously?

Another question we need to answer is whether or not sound leaves particles of energy behind that can recreate the conversation at a later time. We already accept that human beings have an Aura that is an energy signature that we leave behind wherever we go in life. Could our conversations also be leaving energy signatures behind, causing something similar to what we now call “residual hauntings?” Can this be the reason that EVPs are usually only heard by electronic equipment? The human ear requires vibrations of certain intensities in order for the ear to send a signal to the brain. If there are suck energy particles, they may not be intense enough to properly vibrate the eardrum, yet we would consider them normal of we were aware of them.

Perhaps this is the cause of some people’s ear ringing?

I could bring up many such examples, but it’s time to move on to the next question:

I believe that we are on the right track. What we need now is data, and lots of it. As people go into the field to investigate and to debunk alleged paranormal events, they need to record their findings, including what exactly happened, what instrumentation was used, and what the general circumstances were. That is, the location, weather, phases of the moon, location of power sources, etc. all need to be noted in the record so that a scientist reviewing the data would know what the influenced the event.

We then need to share our findings with other scientists and investigators. A networked database would be helpful. Science builds in part on whatever knowledge came before the current study. The rest comes from inspiration that may be generated by reading a current file.

We need more experimentation. For example, we talked earlier about a moving object. Once we know an object will move in a certain environment, we need to attach monitors to it that can measure the natural. We need to see if we can find anything in that environment that will cause the object to repeat its movement. We need to learn as much as we can from the experience.

Finally, we need to keep the lines of communication open. Great minds don’t always think alike, and we have much to earn from each other. Please pardon the cliché, but two heads really are better than one when it comes to a problem as difficult as this.

This really is one of our last frontiers. I hope we can keep our minds open until we have the answers that we seek.