It is not in the interest of this Website to propagate an ongoing debate concerning skepticism. Here are several sites that do that, look at the bad science.
As you surf through these sites you will find a treasure of childish bickering over psi research.
Science is not interested in using valuable time to listen to unreliable and un-researched opinion. Ranting and name calling is childish and not productive. Some websites involved in this are not to be taken seriously. They are having fun getting a rise out of their public. I must admit that I enjoy reading some just for the humorous content. Amusing and educational at times!
I recently listened to an interesting lecture concerning why some people feel so adamant that psychic phenomenon does not exist.
According to the lecturer, most skeptics on the web that send in their opinions with disregard to actually knowing their subject are mainly an uneducated public. It is easy to see by their lack of grammar where their education stopped. But the most interesting thing he said was that there are basically two kinds of beings on this planet: Those that have a soul and those that do not. Those who do not will never have a spiritual experience nor will they have the slightest idea what that feels like so they discount anyone who does. It is plain to see why spiritual experiences bewilder them. Those that have a soul have that deeper understanding of phenomenon outside the physical world. These people usually display a stronger connection to their world and have compassion and integrity of heart. One skeptic stood up and said "There's no such thing as a "spirit". The lecturer said "I rest my case." I suppose that some skeptics (unscientific types) do not realize the amount of real research being conducted by real scientists in real labs all around the world. More than likely, most people don't know that this "psi" study and research has bled over into physics.
Now we come to the part where science intrudes. Claims made by people based on little or no scientific research need an enormous amount of anecdotal evidence to get the attention of any scientist in that particular field. Claims against any scientific evidence produced by correct and extensive trials must be backed by evidence produced in the same way. Otherwise just saying "It isn't so" is childish and unscientific. Skepticism can be a healthy application to any claim. Claims made by skeptics are also under the same scrutiny as the people and events they challenge. If you are going to dispute something, then be ready to show why by valid experiment and scientific study, not reading websites. It is important to understand that any skeptical argument presented by anonymous have some background motivation. Motivations help us decide what the skeptic is trying to accomplish by his claims. When the skeptic falls under the category of extremism, then the danger of becoming an ordinary naysayer is evident. It is just as irresponsible to refuse to believe what is true as it is to believe what is not true. Skepticism is powerful only when the skeptic has his own experiments documented and at least accepted by some part of the scientific community. Evidence against any model must be backed by stringent application of the scientific method. Before setting out to make prejudiced claims against some model, he must first present plausible and alternative explanations as to how he has come to his conclusions. In this way, he may contribute to the science a needed viewpoint or a plausible question to the theory. Remember that having an opinion not based on strict examination of the facts is a form of ignorance. It seems that it is those who know the least that do most of the finger shaking at ideas and postulations made by scientific advances. Again, it is good to examine the motivation behind such prejudice to see the wizard behind the curtain. For those true sceptics whose own research has not shown any evidence of real psi results, I apologize for any toe stepping that may include you. You are the ones that turn the tide of belief into truth eventually. I think that it is wise to be skeptical while searching for answers. But being skeptical without critical analysis is again, irresponsible.
I wish to thank Mr Jody Breedlove for his help with this page.
