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Agree or disagree?

Gawdzilla Sama

121.92-meter mutant fire-breathing lizard-thingy
Gawdzilla Sama
Joined
Nov 25, 2009
Messages
42,559
Location
Northern St. Louis County, Missouri.
True Skeptics / Open-Minded Skeptics

* Asks questions to try to understand new things and are open to learning about them
* Applies critical examination and inquiry to all sides, including their own
* Are nonjudgmental and do not jump to rash conclusions
* Seeks the truth and considers it the highest aim
* Thinks in terms of possibilities rather than in preserving fixed views
* Fairly and objectively weighs evidence on all sides
* Acknowledges valid convincing evidence rather than ignoring or denying it
* Possess solid sharp common sense and reason
* Are able to adapt their paradigms to new evidence and update their hypothesis to fit the data
* When all conventional explanations for a phenomenon are ruled out, are able to accept paranormal ones


PseudoSkeptics / Closed-Minded Skeptics

* Does not ask questions to try to understand new things, but judges them by whether they fit into the established order
* Applies "critical thinking" only to that which opposes the status quo, but never to the status quo itself
* Carries a fixed set of unchanging beliefs which all data must conform to
* Are not interested in truth, evidence or facts, only in defending the views of establishment
* Cannot think in terms of possibilities, but views their own fixed viewpoints as constant
* Are willing to lie and deceive to preserve establishment views, which are their true master
* Automatically dismisses and denies all information that contradicts materialism and orthodoxy
* Is judgmental and quick to draw conclusions about things they know little or nothing about
* Scoffs and ridicules what they oppose instead of using objective unbiased analysis and examination
* Insists that everything unknown and unexplained must have a conventional materialistic explanation
* Uses semantics and word games with their own rules of logic to try to win arguments
* Are unable to adapt their paradigms to new evidence but instead denies data which doesn't fit into them
* When all conventional explanations for a phenomenon are ruled out, are not able to accept paranormal ones
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That last one has me a little confused. ;)
 
* When all conventional explanations for a phenomenon are ruled out, are able to accept paranormal ones
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They forgot the item that precedes that one:

* Is able to enumerate all possible conventional explanations for a phenomenon


~~ Paul
 
To the True Believer, there is no such thing as 'unexplained phenomena' within their cause celebre. If it doesn't have a mundane explanation, it proves their supernatural one.
 
From their Forum:

The Site Admin Scepcop is psychic.

When I was in Poland, just before I returned to the states, I stayed with this one girl who was my host. While I was doing one card trick for her, she correctly guessed that I was pulling out the bottom card in the deck and pretending it came from a random place in the deck that she picked. So she shuffled the deck and made sure I didn't see the bottom card of the deck before giving the deck back to me to have me try it again without ever seeing the bottom of the deck.

Knowing that I could not do the trick properly, I decided to randomly guess the card for fun. I decided that when I pulled it out, my excuse would be some funny line I would use to excuse myself for the trick not working. So I just randomly said "Ace of Spades", but when I pulled out the bottom card, low and behold, it REALLY WAS the Ace of Spades!!!!!!!!

I was stunned and my heart almost skipped a beat. Not noticing the look of shock on my own face, my host said, "Oh well, I guess I was wrong, and I can't figure out how you did the trick then."

If I had left it at that, it would have been an unexplainable magic trick to her that she could never figure out. My secret would have been saved by an act of telepathy (or coincidence, however you want to look at it). And would have left her mystified.

But I couldn't resist sharing what had just really happened, so I told her about it, that I had intended to guess the wrong card and have it fail this time, because her original theory of how I was doing the trick was actually correct.

Anyhow, I took this incident as perhaps a sign from the universe that I may have gifts that I don't realize yet.
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Apparently a real skeptic replies.

Re: Some psychic experiences I've had that amazed me

Postby ciscop » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:25 pm
I am not trying to belittle your experience
i would like to point out
Ace of Spades is the single most thought of card for guys and Queen of hearts for Woman. (the card that nobody EVER mentions is the 9 of clubs)
and yes it was a great coincidence that it was that card. 1 in 52.
it is actually a punch line between magicians ¨think of any cards but not the ace of spades¨...

Also when you said that you know the next card.. the suit of the card
it is just 1 out of 4.. not that difficult and by pure chance you will get straight chains of hits
try to do it at least with 5 different cards, the zenner cards that were used for PSI by Dr. Rhine . (circle, star, square, wavy lines and cross)

have a good time
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Here's the money shot from Scepcop.

Thanks. But remember you are operating from a view that psi is impossible, so you seek other possibilities when in fact it is pretty much proven that psi is a reality.

Yeah in a 1 out of 4 chance, sometimes there will be straight chains of hits. However, I was NOT guessing randomly. I was heavily focused and concentrating. I felt like I was walking a tightrope in the dark. It was not easy at all. When I am focused like that, the chains happen, but not when I'm randomly guessing.

BTW, the description in this board says that no skeptics are allowed, just to let you know...
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Thought they were were the real skeptics and the rest of us are just psuedo-skeptics?

Thanks for the link Gawdzilla, that site is worth tons of laughs.

eta: There is a Sticky Thread titled Skeptics allowed, but no ridiculing or scoffing, and the first post from Scepcop is:

This is supposed to be a board where people can share their psychic or paranormal experiences in a supportive empathetic environment without skeptical criticism. So that means no skeptics allowed on this board.
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Gawdzilla said:
It's a great place to share differing opinions, as long as you agree with the staff.

I wonder if they have "spies" over here? And if they'll figure out my user name there.
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Considering they have a subforum titled "JREF/Randi Challenge, I would imagine some of them read this forum.
 
Oh crap, I just noticed in re-reading my post...

Look at his card reading story, then jump down to the underlined words in his response to the skeptic.

Obvious liar is obvious.

Knowing that I could not do the trick properly, I decided to randomly guess the card for fun...my excuse would be some funny line I would use to excuse myself for the trick not working. So I just randomly said "Ace of Spades"...I had intended to guess the wrong card and have it fail this time
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I was NOT guessing randomly. I was heavily focused and concentrating. I felt like I was walking a tightrope in the dark. It was not easy at all.
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Nobody in that thread caught him at it either.
 
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