“Dr” Sharon Speaks!

“Dr.” Sharon is part of the “Drs.” Dave and Sharon Oester team over at ghostweb.com. They allegedly have lots of  followers and satisfied customers of their many books and courses on ghostbusting. I’ve only met one of their minions in the personage of Missy so I really can’t judge what kind of people they are. I’m sure that most of them are not at all like Missy! I’m sure most of their followers are not so….um …interesting!

Missy did however flip this essay under my nose. Then demanded that I read and learn. (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ighs/message/635)

Ooohh. I feel mortified now. “Dr”Sharon is truly wise in the ways of – well I don’t know but I suppose I should give up this Odd Empire nonsense for Lent…

Darn! Lent’s over!

**

*Dr. Sharon’s Notes:*

Why do people believe in ghosts, monsters, UFO’s, Bigfoot and/or God? I read
an article recently that stated clearly, we believe because we want to. The
statement obviously came from someone with a closed mind and a scientific
perspective.

Ho!  -hold the phone right there. People who have a scientific perspective generally have an open mind. You can’t go after anything scientifically in a dogmatic – closed minded way. See my essay “Science, What’s Wrong With it?”

In other words if you can’t reproduce it under lab conditions
and can’t provide solid evidence, it doesn’t exist. How sad to live life
without exploring and discovering the mysteries we can’t explain away. That
is what research is all about — documenting paranormal events when
possible.

The solid evidence part is correct, the lab conditions – not so much.  Labs are places where the conditions can be strictly controlled (that’s what labs are for!) Many a scientific endeavors do not see the insides of a lab though, Geology for example. (Well that’s not entirely true either, there is plenty of geologic experiments that take place in labs, you know what I mean!)

We have encountered closed minded skeptics who accept nothing outside of
structured classroom teaching. Everything can be explained by logic and/or
science according to them, even if it makes no sense. When we try to apply
normal standards to paranormal events, the results are a dismal failure.
When we realize that not everything in life fits a certain guideline
considered “normal” then we find there are things in this world that must be
explored outside of the norm. Welcome to the world of the paranormal where
the square peg does not fit into the round hole no matter how hard we try.

So what are we saying here? A systematized investigation into the paranormal often does not work, so only a *fake* investigation where no standards are kept and no real protocols  applied will turn up constant results?

You know? I think that is probably true! If you lie to yourself about your results you will be sure to get whatever “evidence” you like.

(skipping a mind numbing TL/Dl example about how some film crew brought in a skeptic who ruined a perfectly good spooky investigation.)

From the onset of the IGHS, we have said that a skeptic remains a skeptic
until they have a personal experience they can’t explain. We have never
tried to convince anyone that ghosts exist but we do reach out to help those
who want to learn more about the world of the unseen. Anyone in the
scientific community who dares to investigate the paranormal or make a
statement less than skeptical about the paranormal finds his/her career and
credibility on the line.

Well I for one have had many experiences that I can’t immediately explain This has never changed my attitude about the paranormal (I’m skeptical and at the same time, fascinated.) It didn’t magically make me into a believer and I don’t see why it would anyone else.  Some people are unable to reconcile the *fact* that they do not and cannot know everything there is to know. A long time ago I realized that It’s OK not to know everything, that the quest for knowledge is beneficial even if we don’t instantly get results.

Grant money can be withheld from scientific pro’s who take a stand regarding
anything out of the norm. A few have stepped out of the scientific circle in
the interest of paranormal research and the belief that there are mysteries
we can’t explain, but the majority remains silent. Self preservation rules!

This is utter bull-crap. Every time someone has gone out to prove that *some* paranormal thing was real, they have failed. When it seems they succeeded? They were either faking, mistaken or were describing real phenomena (like radiation ) that turned out to be reproducible. Ghost and junk like that cannot be verified or falsified so they are by definition, unscientific. Grant moneys are not bestowed to people who can believe better than others or who can shout louder. It’s not always been that way you know – during the Middle Ages it was quite common for moneys to be given to writers or philosophers to prove that the church was right in everything. Is that the kind of “open mindedness” you want? If you were around doing what you do 400 years ago you would probably be burned at the stake.

Another example of documented evidence involved another program we did for
television. Actually, the only used Dave for the program and some amazing
video he captured in Gettysburg some years ago during one of our
conferences. We called them Ghost Lights as two bright orbs of light wound
their way through the trees on the battlefield.

The video captured the orbs as five people stood in the darkness at
Iverson’s Pits, just before the battlefield park closed at 10 PM. No one saw
the orbs with the naked eye but the Sony Night Shot captured every movement
of the ghost lights on tape. The next morning two hundred people saw the raw
footage in the conference room where we held our ghost conference.

The ghost lights are authentic,

What? I cannot for the life of me understand where you are coming from or even what you mean. What are “ghost lights” and how can you tell they are authentic? What are “ghost lights” anyway. How do you know they aren’t faerie lights or bigfoot lights? I think they were alien lights!

but here again, pro’s are not involved in
the research, they were people not at the site, but they expressed their
opinions on how the ghost lights were faked. One man, a computer wizard of
sorts said he could easily produce orbs such as those seen on Dave’s video,
on his computer with special software.

All true.

The problem here is that we didn’t have quarter million dollar software to
create the ghost orbs.

I can do it with open source packages (free in other words.)

The producer insisted only Dave be filmed for the
program while I sat in the car and watched the entire filming. He did not
want interviews with the people who were present when the video was taken.

He assured Dave the program was to present valid evidence of ghosts to the
viewers, not to debunk the evidence.

How do you get evidence and not at least try to debunk it? Evidence is for debunking and falsification. If the evidence can stand up to that sort of thing we then call it good evidence.

They wanted to buy the rights to use
the footage and compensate Dave for his time. After all was said and done,
the producer handed Dave a check for half the amount they’d agreed to and
told Dave sorry, it was the best he could do.

We spent more time and money of our own running around to find the right
place to film the program than what they paid Dave! The video footage of the
ghost lights has been seen on several channels and different programs so
they have gotten a lot of mileage and big bucks for valid paranormal
evidence they chose to debunk.

I have written about this before and bring it to light again because in the
article I read the author said people want to believe but no one ever comes
up with the evidence these things are real. That is not always the case and
is just another general statement among many that are so far off base. When
valid documentation of paranormal events is presented, it is discounted or
debunked by an “expert” respected in his field but uninvolved in paranormal
research.

What valid documentation? Who says it’s valid? What is wrong with debunking (which means BTW, taking the “bunk” – the lies and falsehoods out.) Is there something wrong with debunking?

All childishness aside, an expert can only tell you their opinion based on (hopefully ) some experience and training.  For example a photography expert could probably tell you that any photo to “orbs” is actually a result of reflected dust or other artifacts. You may really really want the photo to be proof of ghosts and the afterlife, but this will not alter the experts “expert” opinion.

So is that scientific? Hell no!

If you really wanted to determine once an for all that some orbs are really spirits of dead people, you would have to come up with a testable hypothesis (a description based on observed phenomena.) You would have to find a way to test your hypothesis in order to make it verifiable or falsifiable. If your hypothesis fails the test, you come up with another one. You do this until you run out of tests to throw at it. If nothing reputes your basic supposition you can then, not only say your photo is that of a ghost, you can also say *how* it is a photo of a ghost. But skip even one step in this process and you are back to square one, (I.E) ” I believe this is a photo of a  ghost but I have no proof.”

A good analogy is that a Podiatrist may be excellent at treating foot
problems but you wouldn’t send a foot specialist in to do brain surgery. He
has neither the training nor the expertise, as the two areas of medicine are
worlds apart. With the onset of reality shows and faked ghost sightings or
glimpses of something hairy and elusive in the bushes, what is a person to
believe? The reality is that the television shows are entertaining with
screaming kids or axe wielding morons.

I agree with you that TV is mostly a bunch of junk meant to sell stuff. I don’t know if the two groups you mentioned are the ONLY people who like TV. If that’s true there are an awful lot of ax wielding morons out there! (brrrrr!)

Again, there is a world of difference between paid actors on a television
show and researchers in the field trying to provide valid evidence of
paranormal events. People outside of paranormal research provide logical
explanations that can explain normal circumstances but not paranormal ones.
No wonder folks get confused when in truth all they want to do is learn
more.

Yes but you would never have an untrained foot doctor diagnose an aliment would you? (Not to mention an untrained brain surgeon and don’t care if he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night!)

So why do you think I would accept the *opinion* of someone with no credentials, little education , unschooled in the scientific process – not even understanding what the scientific process is. No expertise other than “I got here first” on *any* paranormal phenomena?

You make your own argument here. You, by your own words are not qualified to say much of anything about paranormal phenomena (QED.) You can be a hobbyist –  sure, you might even get to understand the phenomena better than real R&D people. Look at Jacques F. Vallée (That’s the fellow Truffaut  portrayed in Close Encounters.) He had no formal training, he was a data systems expert and he did some of the best research in UFOlogy bar-non! . Not by running around “proving” that aliens exist like most Ufologists, by being objective and chasing the real evidence (and sister, there was not very much evidence when he got down to it.)

If a paranormal researcher, ghost hunter, ufologist, or Bigfoot researcher
has to fake their evidence then they are not credible or serious about
documenting the things we do not understand. For centuries, we did not
understand the existence of germs or microorganisms that aren’t visible to
the naked eye. With the invention of the microscope, we were able to
understand that a whole world existed that we once knew nothing about.

I agree completely! But when a paranormal researcher has to fake his or her credentials to fool people, what the hell am supposed to think? It stinks up the entire process, if you can’t be honest with yourself, you will never be honest with other people.  To thyself first be true.

And don’t hand me any crap about not being an Odd Emperor either. I’m not making any proclamations here. I’m a cartoon character spewing facts while you are a real person spewing.. whatever it is you are spewing!

Today less people die from infections than they did in the 1800s because
with the knowledge of dangerous organisms we gained insights into the need
for cleaner, more sterile environments, especially during surgery. I’m sure
those who considered an invisible world too small to be seen with the naked
eye as causing infection and disease, even death, were scoffed and laughed
at as nuts. But because this avenue of knowledge was pursued, medical
practice as we knew it changed and lives were spared.

Yes – this is true! Excellent! Germ theory was once in the realm of the paranormal and it would still be if scientists had not found ways to test and retest sterilization methods, if clever inventors and engineers had not developed microscopes so that we could actually see tiny life forms. It was science that brought you this, not hand waving and wishful thinking.

Historically, people have experienced paranormal phenomena throughout the
ages. People are curious by nature and want to know why things happen. With
ghosts, we are again dealing with an unseen realm and if religion is
correct, there is only life and death, heaven and hell but nothing betwixt
or between. We are taught that in the real world that Casper is a cartoon
and ghosts don’t exist so any evidence has to be faked.

Perhaps you were taught this, I sure as shooting was not and I watched the same cartoons you did.

I also watched Johnny Quest. He taught me that the unseen can exist if we can understand why.

Bigfoot has been seen and heard but we can’t bring him home to dinner so he
must not exist. Some of the brightest, most educated people we know have
dedicated themselves to UFO research. There are some fabulous pictures
available and the fact that government files are locked tightly away and
information is held sacred (at the threat of death to anyone who has
knowledge) we know something is going on.

Oh yes, that old saw. Da Gooberment must be hiding der truth from us! Bad Government – no biscuit! That’s a real tired old appeal which has no place in any discussion on the paranormal. Why? Because the ‘Guv’ is not interested in chasing ghosts (so they don’t bother covering it up either.) Why? Because governments are mainly interested in two things,  keeping order and control over tax-payers (so that they can pay taxes) and protecting tax-payers (so they can pay taxes.) Ghosts don’t really enter into this, they don’t pay taxes.

Because officials fear “public panic” that people couldn’t handle
information on alien life elsewhere in the universe, people gather the
evidence they can but those who know the truth aren’t talking.

What -what WHAT? People don’t fear it! That’s a bunch of Cold War hornswaggle. Good god, people would line up to go to another planet even if the aliens were ugly and clutching a cookbook.

That argument is old, tired, stupid, and very probably false. For one thing, the Gov has no interest in aliens, why should they? Most folks in the Government are workers, administrators and politicians in that order. They would not know an know an alien from a Moon rock and they sure as heck would not know a Moon rock if one fell on them. The sprinkling of scientific /R&D types on the Government payroll are probably looking at better ways for us to kill each other, flying saucers and smelly cryipteds don’t really fall into that do they? The military can’t figure out what they are and they don’t seem to be any kind of imminent danger.

With those searching for truth come the frauds bolstering the faked evidence
and people are left in a quandary not knowing what to believe. The truth is
out there and the inquiring mind wants to know.

Then the Odd Emperor sez, “find out!” But first, stop pretending you know any more about this crap than anyone else, stop trying to fool people with fake credentials and phony “ghost busting” courses.

One is never too old to go back to school, in fact I say that a day that you don’t learn something is a day wasted. I don’t think that ghost busting or whatever you call it is a complete waste of time. I’m sure it’s a fun hobby and the kids love it! (Right Moonbat? ) But for gosh sakes, Learn about science before trying to knock it around. Stop telling people you know the truvth because you don’t appear to know more than anyone else, you just say that you do.

Share and enjoy!

The Odd Emperor