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Post by permutojoe on Jan 13, 2021 16:09:24 GMT
According to Sam Jackson's character in 1408, it's because it lets us believe there is something after death. But is life as a ghost really all that rewarding? Heaven, reincarnation and the like, sure that makes sense. But ghosts are almost the antithesis of that, aren't they? You could almost start to make the opposite point, that maybe ghosts are real because it's not some pie in the sky fantasy that we would just make up and believe in?  ? |
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Post by Isapop on Jan 13, 2021 16:19:57 GMT
I saw Topper. It looks like fun to me.
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Post by permutojoe on Jan 13, 2021 17:09:29 GMT
I saw Topper. It looks like fun to me. True. Ghosts could be heaven for people who want to go around playing pranks or scaring the shit out of people. But does the number of ghosters really correspond to that?
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Jan 13, 2021 17:33:15 GMT
I don't know about others, but I can see right through the idea of ghosts..
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Post by permutojoe on Jan 13, 2021 18:53:21 GMT
I don't know about others, but I can see right through the idea of ghosts.. pun intended?
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Post by mystery on Jan 13, 2021 19:01:57 GMT
I could be wrong, but I think most people who believe in ghosts see it as a transitional state, rather than the final destination (so to speak). The soul may be clinging to this world rather than letting go and moving on to the next. I'm not aware of any religion that claims we're all destined to become disembodied spirits walking the earth for eternity. Ghosts are usually viewed as lost souls, stuck between the worlds. It's usually not viewed as a good thing.
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Post by lowtacks86 on Jan 13, 2021 19:03:04 GMT
Maybe because they thought Ghostbusters was a documentary
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Post by Isapop on Jan 13, 2021 19:04:55 GMT
I don't know about others, but I can see right through the idea of ghosts.. pun intended? If so, I mist it.
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Post by politicidal on Jan 13, 2021 19:09:57 GMT
Perhaps ghosts are the afterlife equivalent of homeless people.
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Jan 13, 2021 19:28:39 GMT
Sorry if I spook out of turn...
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Huxley
Sophomore
@huxley
Posts: 258
Likes: 86
 
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Post by Huxley on Jan 13, 2021 19:56:52 GMT
Some people are afraid of the dark.
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Post by maya55555 on Jan 13, 2021 20:34:22 GMT
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Post by TutuAnimationPrincess on Jan 13, 2021 20:52:47 GMT
People believe in ghosts because so many have seen them...and seeing is believing.
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Post by MCDemuth on Jan 14, 2021 1:08:05 GMT
People believe in ghosts because so many have seen them...and seeing is believing. Hoaxes or Mis-Interpretations? No. They can't all be... Psychics, premonitions, ESP, Telekinesis... Yeah, perhaps it's because not everyone has "The Power" to experience these things... Not everyone is a Michelangelo, Bach, or an Einstein you know... Also some scientists have supported these witnesses, because they, themselves, have also had unexplained encounters at these same locations... I think that the real question that people should be asking is, what are these things that people are experiencing? Inter-dimensional Beings, Angels, Demons, Ghosts? Perhaps it is more "technological" than many think... Being around high Electo Magnetic Fields (EMF) can affect people in strange ways... Maybe it's even more simple... Many people believe that our environment can "Record" events... Remember those things call Vinyl Records? A simple disc with groves, that when you rub a needle over it, you can hear music... and not just a tune, a whole orchestra! Wood can absorb, odors, like cigar smoke... and years later, people will claim that people are smoking, in a room, when they are not... More interestingly, scientists are now starting to use Quartz Crystals as computer hard drives... "Superman Crystal Technology" Is it a coincidence that many haunting occur in areas with huge Quartz Crystal deposits in the ground? And we also have many haunting reported during electrical storms... Possibly creating EMF fields, or electrifying Quartz Crystal deposits? Just because 'YOU' don't believe in paranormal activity, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist for others... And even if it really doesn't... Shouldn't we really be thinking about how these events end up scaring the shit out of these people? I'm sure there is nothing more scary, than to think one is home alone, and then to see a stranger standing there in a hallway... Where's our compassion? We shouldn't be making fun of people, who are suffering strange things, everyday... Because 'WE' don't have the gift, and 'WE' may not believe in such things.
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Post by permutojoe on Jan 14, 2021 2:59:49 GMT
I could be wrong, but I think most people who believe in ghosts see it as a transitional state, rather than the final destination (so to speak). The soul may be clinging to this world rather than letting go and moving on to the next. I'm not aware of any religion that claims we're all destined to become disembodied spirits walking the earth for eternity. Ghosts are usually viewed as lost souls, stuck between the worlds. It's usually not viewed as a good thing. I think you're probably right. The "ghost plane" is often presented as a way point, not a final destination. Still, it does seem to fly in the face of any notion that ghosts are somehow wishful thinking. Even if you really wanted to communicate with a loved on who had passed away, most people still wouldn't wish a purgatory-esque state of existence on them.
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Post by permutojoe on Jan 14, 2021 3:06:37 GMT
People believe in ghosts because so many have seen them...and seeing is believing. Shouldn't we really be thinking about how these events end up scaring the shit out of these people? I'm sure there is nothing more scary, than to think one is home alone, and then to see a stranger standing there in a hallway... Where's our compassion? We shouldn't be making fun of people, who are suffering strange things, everyday... Because 'WE' don't have the gift, and 'WE' may not believe in such things. How many hauntings or ghosts are reported at the beach, out on the plains, in the desert, or high above tree level? They always seem to be in the woods, surrounded by.....lots of trees.  Also a good point.
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Post by moviemouth on Jan 14, 2021 4:27:03 GMT
I haven't read any of the previous replies. This is so I can put in my own speculations without influence.
1. Strange sightings, noises etc. that people tend to feel the need to make up explanations for.
2. People wanting to think their loved ones are visiting them after death
3. The idea catching on through other people and in popular culture and entering the mass consciousness
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Post by moviemouth on Jan 14, 2021 4:30:38 GMT
I could be wrong, but I think most people who believe in ghosts see it as a transitional state, rather than the final destination (so to speak). The soul may be clinging to this world rather than letting go and moving on to the next. I'm not aware of any religion that claims we're all destined to become disembodied spirits walking the earth for eternity. Ghosts are usually viewed as lost souls, stuck between the worlds. It's usually not viewed as a good thing. I think you're probably right. The "ghost plane" is often presented as a way point, not a final destination. Still, it does seem to fly in the face of any notion that ghosts are somehow wishful thinking. Even if you really wanted to communicate with a loved on who had passed away, most people still wouldn't wish a purgatory-esque state of existence on them. The movie "Ghost" came to mind immediately while reading this. He is given a choice to go to Heaven or stay behind, but he has unfinished business before moving on and so he chooses to stay behind. So this movie puts a positive twist on it. He gets to say goodbye to his wife and solve his own murder.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on Jan 14, 2021 15:48:02 GMT
I haven't read any of the previous replies. This is so I can put in my own speculations without influence. 1. Strange sightings, noises etc. that people tend to feel the need to make up explanations for. 2. People wanting to think their loved ones are visiting them after death 3. The idea catching on through other people and in popular culture and entering the mass consciousness Essentially the correct answer. I'd also add an innate tendency to anthropomorphize causes behind mysteries. It's also why when humans were first trying to explain natural disasters they invented gods who controlled them. Ghosts are just another version of that, but this time connected to concepts of an afterlife and more mundane mysteries.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on Jan 14, 2021 15:57:38 GMT
People believe in ghosts because so many have seen them...and seeing is believing. Hoaxes or Mis-Interpretations? No. They can't all be... Psychics, premonitions, ESP, Telekinesis... Yeah, perhaps it's because not everyone has "The Power" to experience these things... Not everyone is a Michelangelo, Bach, or an Einstein you know... Also some scientists have supported these witnesses, because they, themselves, have also had unexplained encounters at these same locations... I think that the real question that people should be asking is, what are these things that people are experiencing? Inter-dimensional Beings, Angels, Demons, Ghosts? Perhaps it is more "technological" than many think... Being around high Electo Magnetic Fields (EMF) can affect people in strange ways... Maybe it's even more simple... Many people believe that our environment can "Record" events... Remember those things call Vinyl Records? A simple disc with groves, that when you rub a needle over it, you can hear music... and not just a tune, a whole orchestra! Wood can absorb, odors, like cigar smoke... and years later, people will claim that people are smoking, in a room, when they are not... More interestingly, scientists are now starting to use Quartz Crystals as computer hard drives... "Superman Crystal Technology" Is it a coincidence that many haunting occur in areas with huge Quartz Crystal deposits in the ground? And we also have many haunting reported during electrical storms... Possibly creating EMF fields, or electrifying Quartz Crystal deposits? Just because 'YOU' don't believe in paranormal activity, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist for others... And even if it really doesn't... Shouldn't we really be thinking about how these events end up scaring the shit out of these people? I'm sure there is nothing more scary, than to think one is home alone, and then to see a stranger standing there in a hallway... Where's our compassion? We shouldn't be making fun of people, who are suffering strange things, everyday... Because 'WE' don't have the gift, and 'WE' may not believe in such things. Yes, they most certainly can all be "hoaxes or misinterpretations," the latter especially because of how sociological memes work. Just look at the research of alien abductions/sightings before and after Close Encounters and how that one film radically changed such reports. We see the same thing in other cultures with various myths. Ghosts are not a jot different, other than them being more popular and persistent. All the other things you mentioned--psychics, telekinesis, etc.--if they actually existed would be easily amenable to scientific testing and would be widely accepted in science. They are not. Instead, the vast majority of scientists reject all of those things. The fact that some fringe scientists accept them is of no consequence; let them produce actual evidence for them. The things people are actually experience will vary case-by-case. However, in every case I've ever seen where an actual cause was found it always turned out to be something natural, with a great many of them being hoaxes. So far, the supernatural is batting a perfect 0.000, yet people keep resorting to it. Most everything after that is random babbling that boils down to "hey, there's some technology I don't understand, so maybe there's also all this weird stuff that nobody understands." The paranormal either exists or it doesn't. There isn't one reality for some people and a separate reality for others. The way we distinguish what reality actually is through empirical testing, because nothing else is remotely as reliable and is subject to human biases and intuitions, where are the farthest thing away from truth machines. If any legitimate evidence could be provided for the paranormal, everyone would believe it. The problem is there is no such evidence. The best anyone ever has are unexplained phenomena, in which case the correct answer is "I don't know," not "the paranormal because you can't produce a natural explanation." The unexplained natural should always be much more probable than the paranormal given the track record of each.
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