Paranormal "science" for entertainment

The goal is not to find evidence, of course, but to increase revenue shares from advertisers.

That is the reality.

I really don't care about the equipment. What is annoying is, people not being able to differentiate between entertainment and reality.

As a scientific instrument maker and/or repairer, I really don't care what they use scientific instruments for. What I do object to is the over the top melodramatic performances they use to try to convince us that they are serious.

I keep an open mind on these subjects; just because we can't measure it, it doesn't mean that there is nothing there, but these people insult my intelligence

The entertainment world has always used "science" as some kind of magic. For the un-initiated, an infra-red thermometer is as magic as a crystal ball. The early scientists used their experimental demonstrations to the kings to generate revenues.

The public doesn't find these juvenile shows insulting to their intelligence because they have no understanding about what they are watching. Today's science is no different than Star Trek's black holes and temporal anomalies.

For the rest of the population there is alway the OFF button on the remote. Good time for a walk outside. I find that the proliferation of these shows improves my health .

What bothers me is the false trap that this thread itself implies. Using any instrument regardless of the level of sophistication, does not make any experiment scientific. A well crafted oversight of a skeptic looking over the data and analysis (a.k.a. peer review) is what makes an experiment scientific. A glaring omission of these shows that any mentor worth his salt will point out is the lack of a controlled condition comparison.

But as somebody already pointed out earlier, the purpose of any television show is to push advertising. What better show to push advertising on than a show that attracts gullible people.

I especially like it when they explain that the "cold spots" in the room are due to the spirits getting energy from the environment. I guess the dead don't have to worry about the 3rd law of thermodynamics.

Don't forget they use cheesy little hand held IR thermometers pointed at an some wall no emissivity correction or taking into account what the weather was like out that day (hot or cold) if it's an outside wall. interior walls, any water pipes or electrical in there? the IR imaging they use have the same issues.

First of all, the "reality shows" are not reality... Their designation comes from the main concept of these kind of shows: Some people who live together -usually trying to achieve a specific goal- on camera. However, they are not real in their behavior (subconsciously or not): they are pretending the "cool", "smart" and "charm" guys trying to get on the right side of the viewers, take more votes and win the game. More or less, they fake. So, for what reality are we talking about, anyway???

It's such a waste of time to watch such "stupid shows"... We should all stop watching them (and get a life)...

Concerning this new "supernatural-reality show", fortunately, it has not arrived in Greek TV yet. [Although we have another (not "reality" but "talent") show named: "who is the Uri Geler's successor?", showing several magicians doing their tricks, presenting themselves as "mentalists" and trying to convince us that they have "supernatural" capabilities (telepathy, telekinesis, mind control e.t.c.)...]

Anyway, what scientific instruments are these "ghost hunters" using???... Let me guess: Giger counters, magnetic flow meters, infrared cameras and this kind of stuff... And they try to record any metaphysical presences and measure the psychic energy... But what is the "psychic energy", anyway??? It is a pseudo-scientific term used very often by these pseudo-scientists (like e.g. "positive energy", "negative energy", "vital energy" e.t.c. Are they a new kind of energy fields, beside the 4 known energy fields???) First of all, they should define this in a strictly scientific way. Then they should find the proper way to measure it and the proper instuments to do so.

Okay, it's fun... But nothing more...

Another type of TV show that irks me are the shows that make existing technology out to be foolproof. Of course I am speaking to the Crime Scene Scientific Analysis type shows.

Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy watching a number of these shows, but I have to watch them constantly reminding myself that it is just that, an entertainment show. The general public doesn't know the difference between Mass-Spectrometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy much less the difference between an Scanning-Electron-Microscope and a Transmission-Electron-Microscope.

It does bother me that these shows don't to some extent bring forward the fact that these highly scientific methods of analysis are EXTREMLY time consuming, and as well the fact that coincidences that occur so regularly on the shows are incredibly statistically improbable.

But hey, I still watch. My fiancee just has to listen to me snort and explain why the "evidence" would probably never be brought up in a real case, or be found quickly enough to call in the swat team to 3104 John Doe St. only 2 hours later. (I have to listen to her explaining why any nurse or doctor on TV would have lost licensure 3 seasons ago.)

P.S. Due to the wonderful engineering product DVR I don't have to watch the advertisements anyway! My cable box does it for me.

-T

Paranormal phenomena are a serious business and should be taken seriously by science and engineering.

Popular media are responding to an increased public interest in these phenomena, but their shows tend to make mockery of these subjects. At this point in our history, the media are a controlled activity aimed at influencing public opinion.

If you want a more serious review of these phenomena, sites can be found and books can be studied. There is a definite scientific interface for these phenomena. Proper methods for measurements and control are not yet well established, but that is partly because so few people are working in the area. Within more limited areas of activity, some of these phenomena have been successfully studied and controlled. Ignore them at your peril! They are a part of life, and a greater awareness of them is part of our future!