Another thing that sucks about Ghost Hunters

For the record, I think that the show is crap, aside from the interactions between the two main guys and what's-his-name's endless efforts to get next to Kris.

But the dumbest thing of all is how, whenever they're investigating "EVPs," the show's musical score is full of percussion and whispery noises. It's hard enough for even the most credulous buffoon to convince himself that "hhhhh-hhuh hhhh. eeehhhhh" is "get out of the house," and it doesn't help when the soundtrack is more convincing than the alleged EVP.


:eyes:

with the feeling that the show is just so much shit. It's natural for an ordered, logical mind to reject something outside of their purview. Now, while I happen to be mostly an atheist, I am a firm believer that there is much out "there" for which we have no definite answers or scientific resolution. After all, a thousand years ago, who would have ever thought we would be communicating as we do now, or flying, or landing on the moon, or curing so many diseases? My god--the Black Plague, the burning of witches in the 15th century, even horse-drawn carriages a century ago!

But I also know that there are many out there who prey on the weak or easily persuaded, and many who just want to make some quick cash and will do what they can to scare the crap out of some people. Hell, I worked as a reader in a tea room about twenty five years ago, and know the non-verbal cues and other signs to watch for when you're doing a reading.

However, I also know that there have been times when I've done a cold reading away from that kind of setting and been surprisingly accurate. We're not talking about phrases that can be interpreted in many different ways, but specific thoughts, actions and situations. And some situations which just can't be written off, often on a day to day basis.

I've even had my share of "ghost" encounters over the years--and no, I don't get any special kick out of telling stories to others, only to assert that there is often far more than meets the eye. Now that science has created "string theory" to the point where it is acceptable, the fact is that what doesn't lie exactly within our own 5 senses might be something in another dimension so close that communication is being attempted.

Eh--some people want to scoff, and that's their choice. I tend to think that there is very much more than meets our earthbound eye.

If your goal is to portray a spooky sound that you recorded in somebody's root cellar, don't accompany it with a woodwinds-n-drums ensemble. Let the damn thing play on its own, to maximize clarity.


That's what's known as a backhanded compliment, gosh darn it! :rofl: I know that you're not necessarily directing it specifically at me, but still...

It's not a matter of something being "outside my purview." It's a question of making an incredible claim and then backing it with flimsy or nonexistent evidence. And appeals to string theory are 99% likely to mean that the corresponding claim is nonsense; quantum theory used to be the darling of the nonsensical pseudoscience crowd. Now that string theory has come along and is even more fantastical than quantum, it's only natural for advocates of the supernatural to assert that this radical and little understood theory somehow validates their claims. Color me more skeptical than ever!

I heard a great criticism of Ghost Hunters that went like this: they're not trained to use this advanced technical equipment for purposes other than the equipment's intended function, and they're claiming the questionable results as evidence of the supernatural. That's like three steps removed from objective analysis.

to get next to Kris too. :)

But you're right. I hate how they play background music when we're supposed to be listening to an EVP.