I just wanna know what it is that keeps someones mind so closed that they can't even for a second try to understand that there may be more than they know about in this world.

I personally think that if you close your mind to new things that you stagnate and quit learning. Maybe I need answers from a skeptic that has had something happen to them that has opened their mind up since they have been on both ends of the spectrum.

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Because nothing paranormal has EVER been shown to actually occur or be real. EVER. It's not close-minded to disbelieve in things that have never occurred. It's simply rational.

If you would like to prove me wrong, feel free. This guy will give you a million bucks for a demo of something paranormal. The moneys been there for 30 years. No luck so far. http://www.randi.org

Don't leave your mind so open that people throw trash in it.

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I know what you mean... And I think that people is that way because they're afraid of the unknown... If you can't see it, or touch it, then people take it like that's just isn't there, but in fact this is a little bit wrong... Think of magnetic fields, they aren't visible but it doesn't mean that they don't exist.

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We live in the scientific age. In the Middle Ages, people were told what to believe. Many were poor, they could not read, were uneducated, and traveled only short distances from their birthplaces. Natural occurrences were often given a supernatural cause. Crop failures, plagues, earthquakes were viewed as a punishment or the result of witchcraft or other supernatural forces.

With the arrival of the renaissance, it became no longer acceptable to be told what to believe by others or to unquestioningly accept the explanations of those in positions of higher authority. A new way or paradigm of thinking about the world took place. The scientific method began to take hold. People began to determine for themselves through the process of questioning and confirmation of beliefs through experimentation what was true.

We've had approximately four hundred or so years of this new thought paradigm which has profoundly affected our world and outlook. No longer is it acceptable (or prudent) to simply blindly believe anything simply because someone tells you it is so. A large part of our modern society demands data, factual evidence to support a claim, as well as direct experience to back up the claim if at all possible.

It isn't wrong to reserve judgment or reject an idea if it does not have credible supporting evidence or does not come from a credible source. Perhaps it is the choice of how an unsupported idea is handled when represented by another that is the crux of your issue. Politeness and courtesy are always appropriate if possible. A person need not agree with the beliefs of another but can avoid being disagreeable. Also realize that all beliefs are not equally valid (relativism). Some beliefs are mutually exclusive of others. It cannot be acceptable to both kill female children or the elderly and yet at the same time belief that killing is wrong. All religions cannot be equally valid. Some (or all but one) have to be wrong by their very nature. You have to make a choice. If you choose to accept an extreme viewpoint unsupported by factual evidence you should not be surprised when others are skeptical of your new belief. That someone chooses not to belief as you do is their right and should be respected just you you desire respect from others, whether in the scheme of things you view their decision as reasonable or wise or not. Just as others need to learn to respect the thoughts of others, others need to honor that there will always be individuals who disagree with their own beliefs. In the end, what does it matter? If the disagreement does not harm you or others then I would suggest moving on, not overly worrying about it, and associating with like-minded individuals whose company you enjoy.

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People need to belive only what they see.
Religion is an exception.

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Because the stories are always hearsay. Not one has ever been proven and they never ever happen in front of highly respected educated people or in a place that it can be scientifically documented. In spite of all I just said I am still very hopeful and I did have an experience when I was a child. I saw a door in my grandmother's bedroom which I new was never there so I sat down on her bed next to it and wanted to open it but was afraid so I went downstairs and asked my grandmother about it. She, myself and my parents went upstairs to her room to see what I was talking about and when we got there it was gone! She kept telling me that I must have been dreaming but I never slept when I was at her house but I could see this was a hopeless case trying to convince her so I just pretended I went along with her theory but my mother believed me because she had a strange thing happen to her in that room. I always wondered what would have happened if I had opened it.

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i agree about being open minded but a lot of the time 'paranormal' events are just as easily explained in a mundane way, and it seems like believers don't want to accept the obvious explanation because it's not interesting enough.

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You do not discover new things by imagining them or making them up or deluding yourself. You discover new things by exploring the real world. So far, the real world has provided no evidence of the paranormal which has withstood scientific scrutiny. You can't get real results or real knowledge by just deciding to believe whatever you would like to believe.

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As a scientist, I realize very well that there are a lot of things about the world of which I, and to a somewhat lesser extent science, are ignorant. Indeed, this is a basic premise of science. (Not much need for science if there's nothing new to discover).

On the other hand, "paranormal events" (a *very* broad category) has, historically, been the domain of charlatans. Science depends upon 1) measurement and 2) repeatability to determine the existence of things - in other words, to describe them with any degree of accuracy. I am not certain of the type of paranormal events to which you are referring, but as a scientist I would want to experience it myself before agreeing that any such event were occurring. Failing that (assuming that I were unable to experience such an event), I would want incontrovertible proof that such an event were happening.

Bottom line: most "paranormal events" are either intentional cons, intentional tales used to gain attention, or unintentional hallucination. No one can say with any certainty that they *all* are. I, for example, believe that miraculous healings *have* occurred - because there is medical evidence of such. I also believe that by *far* the majority of *claimed* miraculous healings fall into one of the three categories mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph - i.e. no healing actually occurred.

It is not wise to believe everyone with a claim of a "paranormal event", and given its history, the *only* wise course is to be *skeptical* (not dismissive) until such time as proof *of the particular event* can be offered.

Jim, B.S. in Physics, John Carroll University

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I am far from closed minded. I am open minded to what can be tested and recreated in a controlled environment. Why are believer so closed minded to the Scientific Method?
If these phenomenaa are real why can they not be tested under laboratory conditions?
I put it to YOU to PROVE any paranormal phenomen.
To date, there is not one shred of hard evidence to prove the existence of alien space craft, ghosts, Big Foot, mental powers, etc.
I am open minded and willing to believe if you can prove it.
However, I am not so open minded that MY brains spill out. Hint, hint.

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