View single post by Ty
 Posted: Oct 12th, 2011 11:22 AM
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Ty

 

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I guess my main point is that I've really come to question the value of prompts, or cues, when posting audio recordings. I'll be the first to admit that I have been guilty of this myself in the past (many times, in fact). Experimenters are free to interpret their recordings as they see fit. And, of course, the recording process itself is and should always be a purely subjective experience. But when it comes time to present one's work to a larger audience, I feel that subjectivity should be put aside in favor of a more scientific approach--which is just what is needed and required for objective interpretation. When cues or prompts (i.e. being told in advance what words are present in a recording) are used, a recording has no value in terms of evidence. Many experimenters could not care less about their work being considered objective, or scientific, in nature, and I think that's fine; after all, there is no hard and fast rule stating that a single interpretation is incorrect simply because it is the only interpretation of its kind. But when I imagine a scenario in which 100 people listen to a recording, without being told what to expect, and an overwhelming majority of those people hear the same words, I cannot help but think that this would strengthen the "case" for that particlar recording. If a large number of such cases were to be collected, I think more people would be inclined to take evp seriously, and perhaps lend their own talents to this field of study. In the final analysis, I feel that would not be such a bad thing.