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| ITC Bridge and iDigitalMedium.com are now VARANORMAL.COM Please visit: https://www.varanormal.com This site does not allow new registrations, and is now an online archive of a decade of Paranormal and ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication) experimentation from 2007 - 2016 We thank you for a wonderful decade! ~ Keith Clark & Ron Ruiz |
| Moderated by: Keith Clark, ArizonaEvp | ||
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Vicki Talbott Moderator
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http://web.me.com/dandrasin/Dansworld/zen.html Very interesting, from Dan Drasin. Vicki |
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Les Harris Member
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Not funny - depressing. Science is littered with dubunkers who lived to regret their snap decisions that this or that particular concept was rubbish. I have been re-reading Bill Bryson's "Short History..." for probably the tenth time. Bryson gives richly deserved space to many who have dismissed theories, hypotheses and concepts out of hand without demeaning themselves by actually examining the evidence. There is one field where such 'debunkers' have the sense to keep their mouths well and truly shut and quietly sneak off into the shadows. This is particle physics, a field which is largely occupied with seeking theories to explain very puzzling observations. The debunkers could have a field day every day in this field but for one thing - they are so far out of their depth that they would make complete goats of themselves the moment they opened their mouths. In other words, the debunkers are not invincible and many live long enough to be seriously embarrassed by their mindless pronouncements. Les |
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Vicki Talbott Moderator
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Les, this is not depressing--it's enlightening. If I felt depressed about Dan's excellent piece, I would not be a happy camper as a human being. We need to lighten up here or all is lost. I have read Bryson myself and agree with you. But Dan's article is a parody, for goodness sake. What the? Have I missed something here?  |
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Les Harris Member
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Vicki, It is depressing because it has been true of many fields of human endeavour for a long time and no less so in the history of science, possibly more so. There are many people who, if they had devoted as much time to research as they did to debunking, could well have contributed to the sum of human knowledge. The fact that they didn’t confirms the fact that they are not capable of understanding or following scientific method. The end result is that they detracted from the sum of human knowledge. The description of debunkers’ tactics is not a parody or a satire, it is comprehensive fact and can come as a shock to anyone who has not been exposed to it. As a (recently retired) engineer of some note in one of the world’s biggest companies, I have been! Close friends, including engineers and scientists, have been. You use the key word ‘enlightening’. We tend to use the word ‘depressing’ as in been there, done that, don’t want to do it again. I regard EVP/ITC as a field of high interest and worthy of rigorous scrutiny, which precludes ‘lightening up’. I can either treat it seriously or trivially. Understanding the tactics of debunkers is a necessary component making assessments of this field. If you feel that I am treating EVP/ITC too seriously, please say so and I won’t bother you any further. Les |
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Les Harris Member
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Sorry about the font size; I don't know how that happened!! |
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Vicki Talbott Moderator
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That's the first I've seen anyone call it depressing out of the many people who have read it and commented. Speaking as just another academician in the crowd, I do not think "a field of high interest and one that requires rigorous scrutiny" precludes lightening up. In fact, not doing so may hinder one's efforts. As well, we must always remember not to labor under the fallacy of shoulds. While you have every right to be depressed and very serious about this piece of writing, a parody is intended for comic effect, which is how Dan meant it and how I take it. Vicki p.s. I don't know how the font thing happened either--hope it doesn't happen to me! Last edited on Aug 13th, 2010 08:38 PM by Vicki Talbott |
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