Good arguments, Chris. However, I find the human mind typically
resists ideas that are too far from personal experience. We can't do
anything about this resistance in a general way. We can only work to
overcome this genetic limitation in ourselves and learn to avoid
people who cannot go beyond their small world view.
Ed
On Jul 31, 2009, at 3:03 PM, Chris Zell wrote:
As to hallucinations, there have been a number of people since the
'60's who function very well in responsible jobs despite having
them. You may not hear much about them since the problem can be an
embarrassment. They quickly understand to ignore walls moving as if
breathing or rainbow colored rain in a clear sky.
If you encounter a potential hallucination, quickly ask yourself
some "bandwidth" questions: Can I feel it? smell it? hear it? and
so on. The more senses are involved, the less able the brain is
able to simulate reality.
It is strange that I do not perceive continuous panic or intense
advocacy or depressive paralysis from many skeptics as to UFO and
related phenomena. If eyewitness information is to be ignored so
completely and written off as unreliable, then much of our legal
system is worthless and little better than selecting individuals for
punishment randomly ( which worked well for Stalin).
Likewise, many of the most dramatic encounters come from airline
pilots or law enforcement officers or those charged with defense of
our nation - even those who literally "have their finger on the
button" of nuclear missiles. If they are all lying or
hallucinating, I wonder why some skeptics even bother with any hope,
investment or child rearing in an environment in which we depend for
our lives on such people. "I hope you enjoyed flying with us".
More than that, these people are often the most competently trained,
experienced and vetted as to accurate observation relative to the
general population.
There is a 'law of unintended effects" that needs attention in our
collective opinions about science and reality. Anything taken to an
extreme can cause a result that is the opposite of what was intended
--- and I believe that the persistent denial of UFOs and related
psychic phenomena is now encouraging an anti-science public outlook
- contrary to what skeptics think. If you keep encountering
opinions that would classify you as a fool, you may stop listening
altogether.
Reality , as a concept, seems to be drifting away from common sense
into a rarified ivory tower world of merely what some "approved"
scientists say it is - and that "approved" can mean no foreigners
allowed, also! ( Are results from Russian or Japanese scientists
really given the same credibility? Italians? How about Mexican
officials?)
Let's add medicine to the denial destruction of scientific reality:
So, marijuana has no medical uses according to the Federal
government ( two days ago). Really? Are people expected to deny
the evidence of their own bodies direct experience? They don't
actually feel good because the government says otherwise? Is this a
brick apartment building held together by mass hypnosis, a la Monty
Python?
Do I need a computer and range finders to guide me across a street
busy with traffic? Or can I take my life in my hands and use
intuition to cross like everybody else?
There isn't a day that passes that I don't witness the abuse of what
is termed science by authorities and cold fusion has been but one
example. I really fear we may evolve into a situation in which the
investigation of ANY subtle or intermitent anomaly becomes
impossible because of "spin", bias, pseudo-skepticism, superficial
debunking or "elegant" theories that act as a permanent barrier to
the discovery of truth.
