Science; what’s wrong with it?

I run across this statement quite often. “Science,’ they say, “should stay out of the paranormal stuff. Science and the paranormal are not compatible and one should leave the other alone.

Here is a rather typical example of this kind of thing from a “passionate advocate” of the paranormal.

“The major reason I dislike Scientists interfering with the Paranormal, is the Fear that they have of these things that may yet be unknown. Fear produces negative energies and therefore, negative outcomes. The Scientists should stick to the conventional stuff that they are comfortable with, like Gadgets and Gizmos. Leave those of us that know what we are doing with the Paranormal to our Craft and we will leave them to theirs. Science really has very little to no place in the Paranormal and the Paranormal really has little to no place in Science. Science cannot possibly comprehend what goes on with the Paranormal.”

Outside of the obvious misunderstanding of what science is all about, this writer cites “fear of the unknown” as the reason science does not work in the realms paranormal. “Fear,” According to her, is the reason that no one can produce a ghost or a paranormal event on demand to a skeptic is because a skeptical person “fears the unknown” and would give off bad “vibes” which in turn prevents the paranormal event from occurring.

If that idea does not have you reaching for the extra-strength Tylenol, it should!

Other than being farcical this to my mind could be proof of this writer’s belief in the the power of skepticism! Apparently; skepticism itself is a paranormal activity! Skepticism according to this writer  mysteriously produces “negative rays.” Rays that cannot be measured in any way but their effect can be felt in the non-production of paranormal events. Although how in the heck you prove that an event which cannot be reproduced and quantified in some way didn’t happen is beyond me (I’ll take three Tylenols now if you  please.)

If this sounds reasonable than you may have just joined the ranks of the woo-woo, I imagine that you don’t feel at all comfortable with science, other than using the fruits of it each and every day.  I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be using all of those gizmos created by  pesky scientists !

This is not at all reasonable, it’s quite mad actually, because skeptics don’t produce “rays” that dampen paranormal activity. You can’t dampen or nullify something that does not exist.  Yes, I said that! Magic, UFOS, Bigfoot etc- etc and so fourth are either not paranormal or they do not exist. They ether exist in the real world or they don’t exist. We might not understand how they work – now. That does not mean we will never understand them using the scientific process as our guide.

All of this has happened before, many times as a matter of fact.

Magnetism and electricity were well known to antiquity but, although people saw electricity (as lighting or static) the process by which it came about was not well understood. It was to them, a paranormal activity, one controlled by the gods, spirits or “fluids” traveling through some mysterious either. It was not until the very early 19th century that the scientific principles of electricity were worked out and not until the 20th century that reasons why electricity works were discovered.

Electricity is no longer a paranormal activity, it is a normal phenomena that billions of people use every day.

How could this happen, when Scientists are so “afraid of the unknown” that they will “give off negative energy” and therefor have negative results? The answer?

If the idea cannot be falsified or confirmed, therefore it is not valid.

Science cannot comprehend what goes on with the paranormal? If Science were like a person I might agree with that statement, but “Science” is not a person and has no personality, it cannot love or hate, it is completely impartial and that if this were not so – it would not BE science. Not only can Science handle the paranormal, it’s the only thing that can.

And if it works! If you can read these words, thank a scientist and a whole lot of cleaver engineers.

I submit that not only does science work very well with paranormal subjects, it’s virtually the only thing that does  work. Electricity is only ONE paranormal phenomena tamed by science, Mechanical Engineering is another, Medicine, Mental Health, Agriculture, Geology and Mining, Astronomy, Chemistry Static Engineering and Construction, Materials Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Pharmacology  Education, Biology, Cosmology, Aviation and even Archeology. All of these things were once in the realm of the paranormal. All were once the subject of religion and superstition. Science has changed the paranormal, it makes the “paranormal” normal, even ordinary.

Science is not about gadgets and gizmos, really science isn’t “anything.” It’s only a process, a way of action perhaps a philosophy (perhaps not.)  It’s  a systematic method that produces only one thing.

That “thing” is the truth.

Science is a filtration system, a sieve for ideas. Science (when used properly) dictates a method by which falsehoods are filtered out of ideas. What is left is the truth and this truth is criticized and interrogated until no possible alternative exists. Then this “idea” becomes a “fact.” A fact that can be reproduced in the real world, confirmed or refuted by anyone. Facts that are not handed down from some mountain top or penned by some guru. These are facts anyone can check out for themselves.

Science is not the realm of some weedy fellow in a tweed coat. It does not reside in an ivory tower. It was not handed down by God or deduced miraculous by some ancient race, etched into stone tablets. Science is for everyone and it is the ONLY way that truth can be derived from ideas.

Look around you, find some artifact in your home that was not produced by science and engineering. It would be tough. Nearly everything we touch was developed by applied science and and refined by someone using the scientific process. Even the water you drink was pumped to you courtesy of Geologists, Metallurgists, Surveyors, Biologists,  Chemists, Construction Engineers, and scores of technicians, all working together to bring you a single drop of clean water. There is no witchcraft here, no religious ritual, no divining  rods or spells. Why? Because those things don’t work.They don’t (reliably) return results. Science and engineering do bring results. The proof is as simple as drinking a glass of water.

So what good is science?

Science created our world. Science has unlocked many mysteries, it has explained many a paranormal event. Science and only science can solve puzzles that confound us. Nothing else can do that. We can take comfort in religion or learn philosophy at the feet of a guru, these things feel nice but they don’t really enlighten us to anything.  In fact they mostly confuse and confound things.

Perhaps we would be better without science you say. Perhaps the Bushmen of Africa or the Yammamno of South America are better off than we are. They certainly think so. You are welcome to join them! Let me know how it works out!

The Odd Emperor