Double Edge,
There is a difference between ordinary and extraordinary claims. This claim:
A few minutes ago I logged onto my computer, then the internet and lastly this site. This was my experience, and it is TRUE. Now, tell me what gaps there are that need to be filled in in this 'anecdote'.
is ordinary. I don't require much evidence to believe it because it's completely plausible - no laws of physics were broken in this scenario.
In tales of the supernatural and other such extraordinary claims, many physical laws have to be broken to account for the type of explanations that believers put forward. In such cases, mere anecdotes are not enough evidence to prove a spirit realm or alien spaceships or whatever. Here is an example:
An experiment was done with UFO seekers. On a mountain accross from where many UFO seekers were stationed a blue light was lit for five seconds. Then the light was turned off for five seconds and turned on again for another 25 seconds. At the second lighting a buzz from a fake magnemometer went off by a plant in the crowd of UFO seekers.
As you can imagine, this caused much excitement in the crowd. The people's accounts were collected and many additional details that did not exist were added to many of the stories. Many people claimed that the light moved (it was stationary), that it was a different color or that it was up in the air (it was on the ground on the hill), that the light was on for longer periods of time, etc. These people were not lying... they actually believed this is what they saw, though they were incorrect. The constructive nature of memory and various psychological illusions added extra details that never happened.
Those are the type of gaps that the brain fills when we receive sensory input that is foreign to our previous experience. Science Experiments have shown that people fill the gaps with their preconceived notions of how the world is. That is why aliens tend to look like the movie aliens, and back a hundred years ago fairies were in style, and before then dragons and mermaids. People who have strong Christian beliefs tend to see angels or demons and people of other religions see their own religious saints and prophets and gods.
This is why anecdotes of extraordinary events are not deemed reliable. More data is necessary. Unfortunately, under controlled conditions, all signs of supernatural activity vanish. After years of testing, psychological and nerological causes have been found that account for these types of occurances, and by the way, don't break any laws of physics.
There will always be unexplained phenomenon, just as there will always be unexplained crimes. These do not provide evidence for supernatural causes. It just means that we don't always have access to all of the information.
I've looked into a LOT of accounts of supernatural and alien phenomenon because the subject interests me and because I was once a believer. The desire to believe these stories is very strong... but I've always found that when I take the time to investigate, a more prosaic explanation becomes clear.
rem
Edited by - rem on 13 December 2002 1:21:14
