FreeThinkerNZ Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Good article about the psychology of belief in the paranormal, which also applies to beliefs generally. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141030-the-truth-about-the-paranormal Psychologists studying religion have long suspected that a belief in the paranormal can be a kind of shield from the even harsher truths of the world. The idea is that when something unexpected happens – a death, natural disaster, or job loss – the brain scrambles around for answers, looking for meaning in the chaos. “It’s such an aversive state that if it can’t gain control objectively, we will get it by perceiving more structures around us, even if they don’t exist,” says Jennifer Whitson at the University of Texas, who studies pattern perception, and judgment and decision making. Even simply asking people to remember a time when they felt out of control, can make people see illusory forces at work, she has found. That included seeing patterns in the random movements of the stock market, for example, but it could also manifest itself by linking two unconnected events, such as the belief that “knocking on wood” for good luck would improve your chances in a job interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Ha!----and i was just about to post my 4 stories of possession and my 2 stories of dream visions from god i had as a christian. Now i know it was just my faulty brain that made me hang myself and smear my blood all over my bible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted November 1, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted November 1, 2014 Too bad the author of the article was too timid to tie it directly to religion. Religion is, after all, just superstition putting on airs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 They don't like to tie it to religion just in case god's waitin' for em' on the other side after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Ha!----and i was just about to post my 4 stories of possession and my 2 stories of dream visions from god i had as a christian. Now i know it was just my faulty brain that made me hang myself and smear my blood all over my bible. Sorry to hear about that Glad you survived though. Lurkers, see how harmful religion is to society? That's why I don't just shrug my shoulders and "live and let live". There is no time for doing that, as long as people's health and their lives are being endangered because of religious belief. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthmama514 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I can say prior to being an ex christian I too saw god in things that were just coincidence. Now I see it for what is was and then I feel anger for believing in crap for so long. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybaris Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 The mind seeks to confirm what it wants to believe 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Just out of curiosity, i have from time to time watched some of those paranormal shows, when they get those evp's, those voices coming through those little recorders or they capture something on video like apparitions or doors slowly closing, what do you think they are really capturing? I don't believe in this stuff either, i am just wondering how they do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burny Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thanks for sharing! (Posted to FB...) I'm glad the author's didn't mention religion - I think it's pretty darn obvious that's the primary application but now my xtian friends might go read it and learn something. Probably not but it's worth a shot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Just out of curiosity, i have from time to time watched some of those paranormal shows, when they get those evp's, those voices coming through those little recorders or they capture something on video like apparitions or doors slowly closing, what do you think they are really capturing? I don't believe in this stuff either, i am just wondering how they do it. I think they use trickery to make it look like something is really happening when it isn't. Thanks for sharing! (Posted to FB...) I'm glad the author's didn't mention religion - I think it's pretty darn obvious that's the primary application but now my xtian friends might go read it and learn something. Probably not but it's worth a shot. It will interesting to see if they agree with the article when it comes to the paranormal, without acknowledging it applies equally to their supernatural religious beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Too bad the author of the article was too timid to tie it directly to religion. Religion is, after all, just superstition putting on airs. Actually, when I read the article it looked to me like a psychological description of religion, superstition, and other similar things. I've read this kind of thing before in psychology of religion, etc. Superstition/religion is a manifestation of psychological activity. The author is trying to get at what that is and why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TempestLyn Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Just out of curiosity, i have from time to time watched some of those paranormal shows, when they get those evp's, those voices coming through those little recorders or they capture something on video like apparitions or doors slowly closing, what do you think they are really capturing? I don't believe in this stuff either, i am just wondering how they do it. I think with the 'ghost voices' its just the brain trying to find patterns in random static. They play a clip of static and say "Hey, did you notice it said 'bloody waffles'?" then they play it again. Your brain then tries to find sounds that fit that pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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