Ghosts

[jomifl]

There has been a spate of anecdotes on another thread referring to unexplained experiences, hauntings etc. What appears to occur in these events is that something happens that seems to have no immediate explanation and assumption is made that the cause has a supernatural cause. Immediately subsequent events that may or may not be related and do have rational explanations are then added to the mix so that rational analysis is too difficult, resulting in the whole sequence of events being classified as supernatural. Even if the prime event can be explained the supporting ‘evidence’ becomes part of the event thus perpetuating it. Thus the event is supported by it’s own’bootstraps’.
Is this a fair assessment?
Incidentally there was a an event related on AB some time ago which described how a ‘ghost turned on a bathroom tap during the night. It so happens that I had a similar experience but instead of invoking a ghost as the cause I dismantled the tap and found the cause of the ‘ghost’. I explained how to exorcise the ‘ghost’ by means of a small drill but alas the person with the haunted tap failed to acknowledge my spiritual help.

[pixie373]

We have spoken quite a lot about this on the other thread, but yes, you have explained it exactly how i see it- a mixture of physics, psychology, biology, chemistry, etc.

[ludwig]

// Is this a fair assessment? //

Not really jom. It's very subjective, and attempts to classify all such anecdotes as following the same pattern, which they don't.

[grasscarp]

So you had a tap leak. What does that have to do with what happened to someone else involving a tap jomifl? There may have been something wrong with the tap which suddenly caused it to "come on" or it may have been a perfectly good tap and something unexplainable caused it to come on during the night.
Why are some people so concerned to find a "rational" explanation for everything?
Just accept that we, with our finite human brain, cannot understand and explain "rationally" everything that happens to us in our lifetime.

[jomifl]

Grasscarp, read what I wrote, I gave an example of how a perfectly mundane if somewhat rare mechanical malfunction was explained as an event that defied rational explanation and could only be explained by the activity of a ghost. Any one who had a glancing aquaintance with plumbing and hydraulics would have looked somewhere other than the spirit world for an explanation. Some minds are more finite than others.

[grasscarp]

Jomifl, I did read what you wrote.
I even looked up the original thread and saw that you had explained how it happens in the second posting
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/How-it-Works/Question951862.html
Original Poster was factual and made no suggestion of anything ghostly.
Quite why you brought this thread up as being related to people assuming something is supernatural when it is not is something only you know.

[Mosaic]

It is really edifying to see via media and social media how many people want to believe they have had ghostly encounters. Who'd have thought it in the 21st century?

[naomi24]

//Is this a fair assessment? //

Not from my point of view. I don't believe that anything is 'supernatural'.

Grasscarp, //Why are some people so concerned to find a "rational" explanation for everything? //

Because some people want to know how things really work?

[pixie373]

Grasscarp, i do agree we are unlikely to find rational explanations for everything in our lifetime (least of all our minds), but that shouldn't stop us asking questions. We might even work it out one day.

[dunnitall]

@pixie...it would be wonderful for an explanation to things as yet unexplained, let's hope that it comes about one day....but would some people shun it because it doesn't bode well with their beliefs...human nature is human nature lol.

[pixie373]

Well, that's true. Many people will believe what they do, despite evidence. Still be good to know, though.

[jomifl]

Grasscarp the post to which you referred was not the one to which I referred. Faulty taps are nearly as common as ghosts it seems.