How do you react to paranormal claims?

[RapmasterT]

This is an honest question for fellow skeptics who must encounter situations as often as I do where a person spontaneously makes a paranormal claim and you're suddenly in the position of needing to ignore or react to it.

Some examples I've heard recently:

• "I have a ghost in my house. have conversations with her all the time"
• "I'm learning witchcraft, but I can only get small spells to work now"
• "during the ceremony our guide led us to the astral plane"

I find myself asking the question a LOT: "do you mean that as a metaphor for something, or do you mean you literally [insert phenomenon here]"

When someone fires off a statement where there is only 3 possible reactions [a) paranormal claim is real b)person is lying c)person is suffering delusions] what is the appropriate response?

Do you ignore it? Call bullsh*t? Suggest seeking mental help?

I'm not talking about ambiguous claims like believing in bigfoot or UFO's. Just the ones where it's pretty black or white.

I'd like to hear some opinions on how to handle these situations, as well as incidents others have encountered.

 

[aargh57]

It depends on the situation but I usually tend to ignore it but in a way that lets the other person know I don't agree/buy into their claim. For example, my best friend was renting a house with another guy and the story was that the older man that lived there died in the house. They believed it was haunted and the dead guy was turning the T.V. on at night and doing other mischief. My friend is Catholic but his roommate was wikken (sp?) and he had a witch friend of his do a little ceremony to tell the dead guy that he was, in fact, dead and to go retire to the old ghosts home. After telling me this he asked what I thought and I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't know" but the way I looked told him "You really expect me to believe this?"

On a similar occasion, a coworker claimed to see a ghost who shouted at him and I asked "Couldn't it have been a regular person? What's more likely?" On occasions like this you can hit them with Occam's Razor without calling them a nut. Then they're left with the uncomfortable position of either conceding that there at least could be a rational explanation or that the paranormal one is more likely (which they will sometimes stick to, in which case you just start saying "cookoo,cookoo,cookoo").

 

[Pragmatist]

This is an honest question for fellow skeptics who must encounter situations as often as I do where a person spontaneously makes a paranormal claim and you're suddenly in the position of needing to ignore or react to it.

Some examples I've heard recently:

• "I have a ghost in my house. have conversations with her all the time"
• "I'm learning witchcraft, but I can only get small spells to work now"
• "during the ceremony our guide led us to the astral plane"

I find myself asking the question a LOT: "do you mean that as a metaphor for something, or do you mean you literally [insert phenomenon here]"

When someone fires off a statement where there is only 3 possible reactions [a) paranormal claim is real b)person is lying c)person is suffering delusions] what is the appropriate response?

Do you ignore it? Call bullsh*t? Suggest seeking mental help?

I'm not talking about ambiguous claims like believing in bigfoot or UFO's. Just the ones where it's pretty black or white.

I'd like to hear some opinions on how to handle these situations, as well as incidents others have encountered.

Don't limit your options or pre-judge the issue. Simply tell them that you don't believe in ghosts (insert phenomenon of your choice) and then ask them if they would like to know why you don't believe that and hope they bite.

Then you have a chance to educate them, and if necessary ask them to show their evidence.

If they assert that they don't want to hear any argument against phenomenon X, then you are free to tell them that in that case you don't want to hear any more about phenomenon X. Simple!

 

[Luke T.]

Some examples I've heard recently:

• "I have a ghost in my house. have conversations with her all the time"

• 
  
  If the ghost is talking back, I know a good shrink.
  
  

  [*]"I'm learning witchcraft, but I can only get small spells to work now"

  
  I can get traffic lights to turn green if I concentrate really, really hard for a minute or two.
  
  

  [*]"during the ceremony our guide led us to the astral plane"

  
  Smoking or non-smoking? Was this an international flight?
  
  I get people saying weird stuff all the time. I usually just say, "Uh huh." It's hard for them to continue from that.
  
  I think the most taken aback was when a coworker told me he thought the moon landings might have been hoaxed. This was because we were standing in an Intel clean room in full body protective suits at a research and development facility making computer chip wafers with machines that were the most complex devices in the history of Man. This means neither of us were exactly stupid people, you know?
  
  So I asked him, "How many people do you think such a conspiracy would involve? How did the government get them all to keep their mouths shut when Bill Clinton can't even get a blowjob without it making headlines?"
  
  He had to admit it was pretty silly.

 

[John Jackson]

It really depends on the claim and the claimant. Most of the time I ignore individual claims.

When I do respond, I don’t have a set protocol for these occurrences; I just deal with them as they happen.

However, my basic algorithm goes something like this:

• Express an interest in their claim;
• Ascertain how strongly they believe in it;
• Find out if they have looked at, or are willing to look at other explanations;
• If so, try to offer a rational explanation as to why their experience may have seemed paranormal.

If they have a wide-ranging belief (Psi phenomena), a strong belief (a conspiracy theory), or have a delusion (I talk to dead people), then it’s best to steer clear as an argument will ensue.

However, if it’s a person who’s had an unusual experience and they think it’s paranormal because they can’t explain it, then it’s often worthwhile offering an opinion or possible explanation. The plus side is that an interesting conversation can result.



Edited for grammar.

 

[Thurkon]

"I have a ghost in my house. have conversations with her all the time"

Is there any history of mental illness in your family?

"I'm learning witchcraft, but I can only get small spells to work

So basically you can't do anything? Same here!

"during the ceremony our guide led us to the astral plane"

You needed a guide? Pah.

I'd like to hear some opinions on how to handle these situations, as well as incidents others have encountered.

Honestly, it depends how much I like them, if I think voicing my opinion is prudent given the circumstances, if they are at all receptive to reason, and/or if they are obviously insane.

 

[jmercer]

It really depends on the claim and the claimant. Most of the time I ignore individual claims.

When I do respond, I don’t have a set protocol for these occurrences; I just deal with them as they happen.

However, my basic algorithm goes something like this:

• Express an interest in their claim;
• Ascertain how strongly they believe in it;
• Find out if they have looked at, or are willing to look at other explanations;
• If so, try to offer a rational explanation as to why their experience may have seemed paranormal.

If they have a wide-ranging belief (Psi phenomena), a strong belief (a conspiracy theory), or have a delusion (I talk to dead people), then it’s best to steer clear as an argument will ensue.

However, if it’s a person who’s had an unusual experience and they think it’s paranormal because they can’t explain it, then it’s often worthwhile offering an opinion or possible explanation. The plus side is that an interesting conversation can result.

Nice post. I agree completely with this approach... thanks for saving me the trouble of writing it.

 

[RapmasterT]

Re: Re: How do you react to paranormal claims?

Don't limit your options or pre-judge the issue. Simply tell them that you don't believe in ghosts (insert phenomenon of your choice) and then ask them if they would like to know why you don't believe that and hope they bite.

Then you have a chance to educate them, and if necessary ask them to show their evidence.

If they assert that they don't want to hear any argument against phenomenon X, then you are free to tell them that in that case you don't want to hear any more about phenomenon X. Simple!

Good advice to be sure, but that's not what I was getting at.

I mean specifically cases where there is really no grey area. like if someone said "I can see dead people's spirits all around us" or "jesus sat on my couch and told me to send money to Pat Robertson".

There's no real option for simple "agree to disagree", either this person is a liar, or they're mentally ill.

What then? At a certain point we have to make connection that there are real similarities between certain phenomenon and the symptoms of mental illness.

It seems to me that in this age of political correctness, we're expected to "accept" and not judge any belief system, even if it's clearly an indication of a disturbed mind that would benefit from professinal help.

 

[RapmasterT]

... or have a delusion (I talk to dead people), then it’s best to steer clear as an argument will ensue...

This is exactly the situation I was talking about.

When someone fires off an obviously delusional (or made up) claim, what to do with that?

Obviously having an argument with them will not be productive no matter what the origin of the claim.

A random person on the street can be simply ignored and forgotten about, but what about a friend, family member, co-worker, etc? Do you just ignore the fact that this person may be a ticking timebomb of mental instability? Do you file it away in your head and keep a watchful eye on them from then on? Or would you actually take steps to suggest psychological help?

 

[BracesForImpact]

In response to the OP...

How I handle a paranormal claim depends on the claim and the situation. I often find that if you don't buy into someone's claims they become offended, and I keep this in mind when I hear someone make an outrageous claim.

For example, if I'm waiting in a casual social situation I'll usually express serious doubt, and often combine it with humor when someone makes such a claim.

At work, things are supposed to be more professional, and I may be required to work closely with the person in question, so I may simply ignore it for the sake of professionalism.

Under no circumstances would I ignore such a claim if it could result in substantial harm to someone who believes it. This is a personal ethics choice on my part.

 

[rustypouch]

Depends on the situation.

If it is someone who says they can do something, I respond with "Cool, can you show me?" Which results in various excuses, and where I go from there dpends on the individual.

For health claims, especially homeopathy, I mention that it goes compleatly against how we know the world works, the have been no successful, properly controlled studies, and if anyone could prove it's effectiveness they would win all sorts of prizes and the technique would be adopted by real Doctors.

For ghosts, I ask for either firsthand proof or non-anecdotal evidence. This includes photos that have some sort of defect, which I can find an explaination for.

Really, I would love for some of these things to be real, but since I have never found any evidence or quantifiably effect, I keep looking.

 

[Achán hiNidráne]

Believe, you really DON'T want to know what I think of these people...or what I think should be done with them.

 

[Dubium]

I know quite a lot of outwardly normal people who believe they have experienced the paranormal. Because I like them I don't go out of my way to upset or insult them. Usually I just smile and nod. It's only when people try to foist their beliefs on me that I arc up. And if I thought a friend was getting involved with serious mind-damaging woo I would probably try to gently put in my two cents worth.

 

[Kiless]

Last time I got annoyed by all the paranormal gossip, I just lent a coworker a copy of 'Why People Believe Weird Things'. That helped. Otherwise, I often point students to 'snopes' if they bring up some of the sillier ones that I've seen mentioned there.

 

[luchog]

It really depends on the person, how well i know them, and the likelihood of ending up in bed with them.

If it's someone who I consider a friend, I'll usually try and point out... weaknesses in the evidence; but overall I don't push it. If it's someone who I don't consider a friend, and they act like they're trying to convince me, then I'll rip it apart; the less I like them the more visciously i'll debunk it. If they're not trying to convince me, then I'll either ignore it or make general "********" noises. Most of the time I tend to avoid extended debates; because it always goes down the same path, and few people seem to be capable of admitting the flaws in their own logic.

I have one friend, someone I actually like, who has some rather woo-woo beliefs (among other things, she seriously considers herself "otherkin"). It's pretty pointless to argue with her about anything, because all her arguments consist exclusively of tautologies, straw men, and re-defining terms to favor whatever she's arguing at the time (i've heard her completely redefine a single word to mean entirely different things, depending on who was using it).