Doubting Didymus

I feel I need to qualify myself.

I hope I haven't given the impression that I believe stage magicians possess real paranormal powers. I simply meant that they can forge effects that many people would consider genuine if they came from comeone claiming to be a real psychic. People are unimpressed when David copperfield flys through steel hoops, but will flock from miles around to see a 'real' psychic bend spoons. Magicians are the best qualified to investigate the paranormal.

Half-Life

Very good points you all have made, but I still do not believe all these people will lie just to go on TV. Wouldn't their claims have to be investigated to see if they truly are real before Unsolved Mysteries actually takes the case? Should Mysteries visit the house first? They even had a someone who studies ghosts on the show give her opinion and they gave her real name.

Half-Life

Also, to the person that said thier bedroom window goes up, and then when they put it down, it goes up again. I have news for you. The window in this ghost story was going up and down violently. Up and down up and down over and over again as she stared at it. How is this possible?

Viti

Half-life...did you see the window going up and down? Did anyone other than the person telling the story?

Please, it didn't happen...period. Not only is there no solid proof, there is no compelling reason or evidence to even investigate it.

If you want to believe it go ahead, but there is nothing here to discuss except one person's story. Why on Earth do you even give credence to this stuff? If I told you I was abducted by aliens last night would you just believe it on my say so?

Doubting Didymus

The problem here is that, as I have said in above posts, even if Unsolved Mysteries had any compelling reason to investigate the claims (which they wouldn't) they are simply not qualified to investigate paranormal hoaxers.

There have been many truly genuine scientific attempts to test things like this, and they are constantly being embarrased by hoaxers. I read an article on James Randi's website (I think) that detailed an incident where James Randi himself hoaxed a scientific investigation into ESP, submitting two specially trained young children, skilled in stage magic and cold reading. The investigators were completely taken in, and were horrified to find that they could be so easily hoaxed.

So you see, if genuine scientific investigators can be so easily fooled, the producers of a TV show (who incidentally stand to profit from 'discovering' these things), dont stand a chance in hell of producing a reliable result.

Some woman who claims to be a ghost investigator doesn't add any weight to the argument either. Would you trust the judgement of a 'leprechaun investigator' on a TV show about leprechauns?

Bree

All TV psychics have to do is walk into a room and say "I feel a presence here."

Hell, I could do that!

Splat

People will lie for a lot less. See <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=44&t=001019" target="_blank">this post.</a> (Or tune in to any episode of Jenny Jones to see what people are willing to do to get on tv.)

Unsolved Mysteries will do anything that will keep your eyeballs glued to the set until the next commercial. Skepticism would get them nowhere.

Arrowman

Half-Life - with respect, you've been getting a pretty good education in skepticism here, but you don't seem to be getting it...

One gullibility point for Half-Life. "People won't lie to get on TV". Oh, please.

People lie to get themselves on TV (or for some other form of publicity or personal gain) all the time. And it doesn't have to be an outright lie - just self-delusion.

Second gullibility point. A populist television show which relies for its ratings on "woo-woo" spooky stories "investigates claims to see if they are truly real"? You don't really believe that, do you?

Er, yes. Are you suggesting that this would be an unreasonable demand for a credible investigation?

Translation: They had someone who a priori believes in these phenomena give her opinion and guess what - she thinks it's for real. So what if they gave her real name? In what way does that give credibility to the story?

Gullibility point number three. Someone who believes in a given phenomenon, expresses an opinion in support of that phenomenon and gives their real name, should be automatically believed.

(By the way: Just for the sake of skepticism: How do you know it was her real name? )

Ask yourself this - how much time did the show give to people like Randi etc, expressing skeptical opinions such as those given on this thread, and offering alternative explanations? Then ask yourself how unbiased or credible the show is.

Half-Life, I have a bridge to sell you

infidelchic

Half-Life,
Have you ever heard of the "Fat Squad" or the "Doggie Bordello"?

read this from <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/2020_skaggs_020712.html" target="_blank"> ABC's 20/20 </a>last night.