Jun 27, 2016, 8:44 PM

Okay, here's what I came up with. I'm not going to back-and-forth respond just yet, because I do have other things to do with my day. Later, perhaps? Perhaps.


@Arkandel said in Do you believe in paranormal things?:

@wanderer said in Do you believe in paranormal things?:

It's not about what I believe in, it's about what I know to be true. I had to know for sure, so I got off my ass and found out.

I don't intend to insult or mock your beliefs

You then mock @Wanderer for taking offense that you're calling the Scientific Method as "beliefs".

Or y'know, don't, and just throw fits at anyone who doesn't immediately agree with you.

I don't think you know what the scientific method is for:

The scientific method is simply the best yardstick we happen to have until a better one comes along.

Already answered. Position speaks against what you propose to follow. It appears to me that you are disagreeing because you don't like his tone, disagreeing to disagree. Devil's Advocate.

By which I mean to say; there is no room, zero room in any of this for defensiveness and emotional indignation. If Newton had posted his papers followed by "... and fuck you guys if you don't believe me!" things would be different these days. 🙂

You do know that a lot of scientists take much their work very personally and defend it emotionally, yes? No? They are human beings. As this quoted statement is emotionally charged from your end, maybe you didn't intend on any Devil's Etcetera, but it is certainly ironic in a face-palming sense.

You beat it into the ground:

Or y'know, don't, and just throw fits at anyone who doesn't immediately agree with you.

What does throwing a fit have to do with the science? Nothing. It has everything to do with communication. If you want to be listened to with a wider audience, you speak to them. Sure, I've digressed a little bit, but I want my wider audience to know that I sincerely think that science is not about being a passionless robot beep boop. Science doesn't care how emotional you are. It's the scientists, because we need to treat other people like people, and when one person says:

@wanderer said in Do you believe in paranormal things?:

When you call it "beliefs" you're directly insulting me.

If you want to have a discussion, maybe don't reply how they're being emotional about something they feel strongly about.


It's possible—likely, even—that I'm giving the wrong term to what I'm seeing. But I saw two people who in normal circumstances agree go at each other's throats for little more than a slight disagreement. I felt that it hardly deserved the response that you gave it, and thus to me it looks like the same hammer-to-nail response that I see as arguing just to be right, when in truth it might just be how you disagree.

This included the phrase "everything is a belief until it's proven", which is such a gross (as in huge) oversimplification that I was assuming that you believed it as a truism. It's the truism that has caused so many arguments over what 'proof' is that I sincerely worry about the future of education in America. And no, I don't particularly know how I can help stop it other than occasionally be a right dick about it.