Wonder, rather than doubt, is the root of knowledge.
-- Abraham Herschel
In reading the article, I cannot help but feel dismayed
at the one sided, politically correct story the author tries to portray.
In the article, the role of a scientific skeptic was hammered home repeatedly.
Is there such a thing? Shouldn't true scientists look at data and form a
hypothesis based upon what was observed and recorded? The story itself was
lacking any true facts.
I joined the Philadelphia Ghost Hunter's Alliance because I want to know more. I have my beliefs. I will not dispute that. I have seen evidence that I have been able to categorize with a natural occurrence. I have also seen pictures and video that I cannot dismiss as smoke or a simple hoax. I am currently seeking more information on the entire subject, not as a die hard believer or a blinded skeptic but as a scientist who wants to find out what is really going on. A scientist is not someone who runs around trying to rain on someone's parade because their view is not a popular one. Where would we be today if everyone thought like that?
I am not going to sit here and pick apart the complete story. I feel that everyone is entitled to an opinion and everyone is obligated to get evidence to support it. It is too easy to say that you do not believe in something just because it goes against the "norm". It is a much harder feat to pursue a truth even if in the end it may not agree with your own view. The founders of this organization, Lew and Sharon, knew they were going to encounter skeptics. All that they asked for is their own time to show their evidence, talk about their data collection methods, and to put their hypothesis up for scrutiny. I have seen a lot of their evidence stand the test of that scrutiny. I do not ask for anyone to agree with me. Just look at the evidence and the data collected and form your own opinion. That is what a true scientist does. If the PGHA were a group of flakes or a cult devoted to finding spooks in every possible location, I would not have joined. Their scientific approach and study methods does not make this a group of lemmings but a professional, investigative group.
Bob R.