Hello again to all you paranormal fans. I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss something that affects all of us who investigate the paranormal. It does not matter if you investigate ghosts, UFOs, or cryptozoology. We all have to deal with the fact that mainstream science will not take us seriously. There are many reasons for this, but I do believe that we can create the needed change and work towards credibility. We have to take responsibility and build it for ourselves.
I first want to bring up how our mainstream scientific community works. This should already be understood, and many of you may not want me to explain what you already know; but, science is corporate. Scientists can only create new technology, make discoveries and test their theories when they have funding. Who is it that has the money to spend? Corporations who expect a return on their money are the ones who fund. There are not many people who are willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to make discoveries just for the love of it. Look to the example of Nikola Tesla. He was funded when he created alternating current technology. Of course, he was funded because of the potential return for the investors. Our modern power grid is based on his work. Power companies make a killing. The moment he tried to pitch free energy, he was shot down. I do not want to start a debate involving any controversy surrounding this genius, I am just trying to make a simple point. There could be potential for money to be made from our discoveries, but are those who fund going to see a payout? Probably not. It is not about the money for us anyway. I hate to say it, but I feel like the lack of major profit for investors is one of the reasons we can not be taken seriously, except for in the entertainment industry.
Mainstream scientists are also very concerned about their image. Many times they do not want to get involved in something as controversial as paranormal research. They do not want to be ridiculed by their peers. It could be a career-killer for them. I almost can not blame them. Jobs are even harder to get today. Why risk doing something that could cost you a prestigious career? Unfortunately, it means that we have to fight harder to be taken seriously. Look at all of those dedicated Bigfoot researchers who bring back hair samples and have to have the DNA analyzed by small, non-influential labs. These labs usually have much less experienced staff and equipment that probably needs upgrading. These labs still seem to do a good job overall. They can identify and rule out many samples. But, when they declare that the sample is unidentified and not in our known databases, who really takes them seriously? Bigfoot researchers have no choice but to go to these labs because the better ones simply refuse. Then, at the end of the day, mainstream science says, "Where is the proof?" I thought DNA was good enough to convict people in a court of law. Why is it not good enough for academia?
Then, to top it all off, we have many people who give paranormal research a bad name. There has always been the controversy surrounding investigators who studied mediumship. This is because so many of them let the mediums decide how the experiments would be ran. The mediums made the rules. In fact, these mediums were frauds. They created rules that would keep investigators from discovering their tricks. Because so many of them were in fact fraudulent, it made it difficult for the real ones to be discovered. Even if they were legitimate, they were to be grouped together with the cons. This has even happened in modern times. I hate to call out the Skole experiments, but they are a perfect example. These experiments happened in the early 1990's and lasted five years. Once again, the experimenters let the mediums call the shots. They conducted the experiments in the medium's house and not in a controlled scenario. Video cameras were severely limited. I am sorry, but if that had been me, cameras would have been everywhere. How can we take the results from these experiments seriously? We then have the famous hoaxes, like the first Nessie photo, or certain man-made crop-circles. People have different reasons for perpetrating a hoax, but it has the same end result. A potential subject of study is made to look ridiculous. We also have the supposed "investigators" who are conning people. I read a news story recently about a ghost-buster who told a client that her vagina was haunted, and that his penis was the only was to rid the spirits. I am glad that this man was ultimately arrested. And lastly we have the investigators who do not know how to keep to confidentiality agreements and respect the privacy of the clients.
We as real investigators have a lot working against us. It is sad because we have the genuine love for the field and we generally fund ourselves with no financial reward. We help others. We are brave and willing to step into potentially dangerous situations in order to obtain the truth. We risk ridicule. It seems like we are more accepted by the medium of television entertainment than by the mainstream scientific community. I am not bashing any investigator who has had a successful show. You guys are an inspiration and have done a lot for awareness. I respect you and thank you for what you have done. It is just sad that we are shunned by those who would be our brothers and sisters in academia.
What can we do to gain credibility? I say, that until the day when the mainstream is willing to accept us, we should all come together. We should all be on board with the ParaUnity movement. Let us support each other. Let us hold ourselves responsible. Let us hold each other responsible. Let us, not them, call out the con-artists and frauds and hoaxes. Let us share theory and data. Let us be critical of each others work for the greater cause of credibility. Let us give proper credit to those who deserve it. Let us all act in a professional manner. Let us all be truly objective. Let us not get way too caught up in wild theory and speculation. Let us be tolerant of another investigator's individuality. Some of the most brilliant people that this world has ever seen were eccentric. Let us be open-minded, but at the same time skeptical. Let those of us who have funding, and can not investigate, help groups that can investigate. If you have a business that can assist investigators, assist them. When we come together, we become our own academia. We can do more to publish real scientific data, and publish less of what gives us a bad name. We can build credibility for ourselves. We should also be patient.
I will not end this without mentioning that there are some mainstream scientists and researchers who courageously face the possibility of contempt. They are important to us because they help us validate our findings and give us direction. They should be respected. I am not saying that mainstream scientists and researchers are the enemy at all. They have given us our foundations. I am simply saying that we should not expect too much from them. I feel bad for them because they are actually limited in a way (going back to my statement about Tesla). One day, they will see the benefit from our work. I predict that we will make some world changing discoveries. One day, paranormal research will be mainstream and taught in many colleges as serious studies. It will then be normal and no longer paranormal. It will be natural, as apposed to supernatural.
There is just so much more that I could say about this subject, but I have my reasons for limiting it and keeping it as brief as possible. I have purposely tried to avoid going into the realm of popular "conspiracy theories," and religious implications. Again, I have my reasons. I wanted this to be as simple, and serious as it could be. Trust me, I have done my share of speculating and coming up with controversial theories. This is just not the time. Well, that is all for now. I am half-asleep writing this so I hope it made sense. Thank you for reading. See you next post.
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