Office of Paranormal Defense?

[UnTrickaBLe]

This Mexican UFO story got me to thinking. Is there any kind of worldwide coordinating body for skeptics? When some big, splashy paranormal story like this UFO video pops up and is getting wide attention and a lot of acceptance as possibly "guenuine," is there any kind of coordinated response?

Are skeptics sharing information? Are we even aware, other than through informal friendships and emails, who is working on a case and who isn't?

On September 11th, the hijackers were able to slip though the cracks of America's defenses mainly because the various agencies weren't talking to one another, and not following up.

If many skeptics are working on a case and not sharing or coordinating, they could be doing a lot of redundant work, or missing major developments altogether.

 

[Keneke]

This Mexican UFO story got me to thinking. Is there any kind of worldwide coordinating body for skeptics?

I'd say this would only happen if nonsense began to take over everything, to the point of the breakdown of other, neglected aspects of society. Of course, we would forever be at odds as to whether that is happening, but I'd say that we're okay, for now.

 

[JPK]

This Mexican UFO story got me to thinking. Is there any kind of worldwide coordinating body for skeptics? When some big, splashy paranormal story like this UFO video pops up and is getting wide attention and a lot of acceptance as possibly "guenuine," is there any kind of coordinated response?

Are skeptics sharing information? Are we even aware, other than through informal friendships and emails, who is working on a case and who isn't?

On September 11th, the hijackers were able to slip though the cracks of America's defenses mainly because the various agencies weren't talking to one another, and not following up.

If many skeptics are working on a case and not sharing or coordinating, they could be doing a lot of redundant work, or missing major developments altogether.

You make a great point. Wouldn't it be nice to find a place either on-line or on the TV or radio that steps up to the plate and immeditly addresses paranormal media claims. I wouldn't expect a instant, "The Mexican Air force claims this, but we know it is really this..." type of thing. But wouldn't it be nice to see a weekly show that addresses some of the paranormal claims made by the regular media , let people know that they are aware of the claim and that they will report on it as facts come out. I think the major problem with the vast majority of people is a conditioned short attention span caused by the way information is distributed by the media in general. So called credible news sources, CNN to name just one, try to distribute instant factual information, to satisfy the needs of an audience that may have just tuned in. And why? Because they have already conditioned people to think if they watch 22 minutes of news per day they will learn everything thats going on.
So what if you had just a weekly show, recapping some of the bunk that had been reported that week and following up on those stories? You would have to be clear that getting to the bottom of some extrordinary claim, doesn't take minutes, it can take a long time, perhaps not be solved at all, but that doesn't mean that you should chalk it up to the supernatural. A show like that could at least get people to start to understand the importance of critical thinking. Just because I can't explain this now, doesn't mean it isn't explainable.
In general, the skeptical movement doesn't do a good job playing the media game. We all know the general media is a playground that the skeptics rarely feel welcome to, and few seem comfortable in that place. Carl Sagan may or may not have been comfortable in that spotlight but he did shine in that environment.
I often refer to him as the Mr. Rogers of science. He was able to tell a very simple story and by the time he got to the end you realized, "Did I just hear a pretty fundamentle understanding of the theory of relativity?" Bill Nye is another great example. He has embraced the way the media works. I'm sure there are plenty of others. I wonder if they realize the importance of thier charisma. I know I saw somewhere on-line about the proposal for something called the Science Network. It was something I believe Ann Druyan was working on. I don't know if this ever came to be. I have never seen it on my cable network. No doubt anything that might be critical of the regular network news programs would not be aired on those networks. It would have to come from a new source. Perhaps the Science Network if it could support itself, finacialy, would be where the battle for rational thought could be staged from. Just a thought.....

JPK

 

[odorousrex]

My initial thought upon reading your subject was:

OFFICE OF PARANORMAL DEFENSE - The last line in the secret war the government has been waging against vampires, werewolves, ghosts and demons. A crack team of supernatural experts that secretly protect us from the things that go bump in the night using guns, magic powers, and alien technology in an effort to keep the Truth (tm) hidden.


It would make a good comic book...although that is kind of the premise behind Hellboy.


In all seriousness, it seems as if the JREF IS the OPD in a sense...although it doesn't have a public spokesmen or release press releases on paranormal matters, I cannot think of another place where so many skeptics worldwide gather.

 

[Nigel]

Like many other worthy causes, this is certainly a quixotic battle.
Don't believe me? Look at the sales of pro-paranormal books vs. skeptical books.

I still think it's worth a gamble, and I'd love to be in on it. As far as a weekly TV show, Straight Dope TV was on not so long ago, and vanished pretty quickly. There could be any number of reasons for it, but I think one is people just aren't interesting in having their balloons popped.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of skeptical groups and organizations. If I'm reading your post right, you're suggesting a union of skeptics.

Just like any grassroots organization, it can work - look at MADD. It's possible to turn the idea into something viable and real.

 

[thaiboxerken]

I thought the Office of Paranormal Defense was who Hellboy worked for.

 

[The Don]

If an Office for Paranormal Defence were established tit would merely confirm in a large slice of the population that:

- There are paranormal occurrences
- The "powers that be" want to suppress information relating to them

As far as providing backup and confirmation is concerned , having official denial of something runs a close second (and sometimes ahead of) having official confirmation.

 

[Nigel]

If an Office for Paranormal Defence were established tit would merely confirm in a large slice of the population that:

- There are paranormal occurrences
- The "powers that be" want to suppress information relating to them

As far as providing backup and confirmation is concerned , having official denial of something runs a close second (and sometimes ahead of) having official confirmation.

That's possible, but I think it all depends on how it's handled. Is the thought that this would be a gov't agency? Or a privately run one? If it's privately run, it'd be along the lines of what we have now, with JREF, CSICOP, and other local skeptic's groups both in the US and other countries. Whereas now, these groups are simply loosely tied together by having the same sort of philosophy of skepticism, they're unorganized as a coalition (how I hate that term now - because of the political implications!). An OPD would make sure the groups are "unionized" and together - perhaps branches of the same organization, perhaps not, but tied together.

Again, it comes down to what the organizers want to accomplish and who they want as their target audience. What's the plan, Stan? IOW, I've found it helps to say, "I want to get there. Now, how do I do it?" Rather than just start out and doing something.