Post by CougarBob on Aug 21, 2008 4:21:23 GMT -11
As much as I criticize GHI for their methods on a regular basis, I must admit that they get some rather impressive locations. It’s a blessing and a curse, of course. It’s a blessing in that any number of paranormal research organizations would love to investigate some of these storied and legendary locations. They are simply stunning to behold.
It’s a curse, however, because the locations are often so large and daunting that it’s almost impossible to cover them adequately, especially with such limited equipment. I’m not talking about the variety of equipment or even how it’s used in this instance; I’m talking about simple coverage and surveillance. Not that the team ever seems to catch anything on the DVR cameras, but it must be hard to overcome the feeling that there are massive gaps in the investigative approach, just based on manpower and resources.
Andy’s wild theorizing in the caves got quite a bit of airtime, but I didn’t mind. I’ve heard elements of this theory regarding residual hauntings before, and while I don’t think there’s remotely enough evidence to warrant any conclusions, I’d like to see some serious scientific researchers take this ball and run with it. I doubt GHI had the equipment handy, but why not check to see if there’s any kind of electric potential to be measured? Just the piezoelectric potential should be worth noting, at any rate.
The possible “battery” considerations are one thing; there’s also the whole question of whether or not the quartz itself would have the ability to “record” information in such a manner to produce residual hauntings. I’m pretty sure that Andy is jumbling his materials science information up in his head, but even so, what kind of information can verifiable be stored and retrieved from quartz?
One problem is that the definition of “residual haunting” is so vague and indistinct. It encompasses so much that a single mechanism is unlikely to work as a model. It’s impossible to take the idea of “residual haunting”, pin it down to a type of information, an apparent means of transfer, and then determine whether or not quartz is capable of that information transfer. So even if Andy’s idea could be reduced to a solid concept, it wouldn’t be enough.
For the record, I’m not saying that Andy is spouting gibberish, nor am I rejecting the idea out of hand. I’ve read some interesting articles on the possible links between quantum/super string theory and memory formation that might also shed light on paranormal events. As speculation, all of these ideas are intriguing and worthy of discussion, even if they are highly unlikely. But there’s also no evidence to support those “theories” either, and worse, no way to test them.
Case #1: Predjama Castle, Slovenia
I think it’s safe to say, given the extensive caves around this site, that the majority of the noises and knocks could be attributed to nature. The investigators were certainly hyperaware of everything, just based on the site alone, so it’s no shock at this point that they were jumping to conclusions.
Interpretations were oddly all over the map, highlighting some of the odd assumptions surrounding the audio “evidence”. In one case, a disembodied voice is captured, and doesn’t appear to be in English. In the second case, the voice might (or might not) have been an olde tyme foreign language. In the final case, a voice that sounds remarkably like Robb himself speaks in perfect English.
To the team’s credit, all the audio items are above the background noise, which has not been the case very often with GHI. But the variety makes it a bit difficult to analyze. Audible “voices” are usually ambient but not recognized at the time. I’ve always been wary of voices in English in locations where the language never would have been spoken. (And yes, I do see the fallacy of asking old European spirits to respond by calling out to them in modern English!) So the only item that I found potentially interesting was the unintelligible second recording, which is not quite enough.
I also found the photographic “evidence” to be less than compelling. To be frank, I find it very hard to get excited over photographs with “paranormal” activity. Most of the good ones are rendered fakes, and even more are equipment or operator error. In this case, there’s some interesting context to the photos, but I still have to wonder if the “mist” is just the edge of Barry’s finger out of focus.
Case #2: Bathory Ruins, Slovenia
There was no evidence to speak of in this case, but I was struck by how dismissive the team was regarding the possibility of the site being haunted. This may seem odd, since I sometimes chide the team on leaping to the “haunted” designation a bit too quickly. In this case, however, I think they erred in the other direction.
It’s one thing to say that no evidence was collected and, as a result, GHI cannot conclude that the reports are confirmed and the location is haunted or even active. It’s quite another to dismiss the reports as “people seeing what they want to see” (the irony is thick, I know). The client was taken aback by the tone, and I don’t blame her. There was more than a hint of arrogance in how that judgment was delivered, and I was quite disappointed to see it.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: www.criticalmyth.com
It’s a curse, however, because the locations are often so large and daunting that it’s almost impossible to cover them adequately, especially with such limited equipment. I’m not talking about the variety of equipment or even how it’s used in this instance; I’m talking about simple coverage and surveillance. Not that the team ever seems to catch anything on the DVR cameras, but it must be hard to overcome the feeling that there are massive gaps in the investigative approach, just based on manpower and resources.
Andy’s wild theorizing in the caves got quite a bit of airtime, but I didn’t mind. I’ve heard elements of this theory regarding residual hauntings before, and while I don’t think there’s remotely enough evidence to warrant any conclusions, I’d like to see some serious scientific researchers take this ball and run with it. I doubt GHI had the equipment handy, but why not check to see if there’s any kind of electric potential to be measured? Just the piezoelectric potential should be worth noting, at any rate.
The possible “battery” considerations are one thing; there’s also the whole question of whether or not the quartz itself would have the ability to “record” information in such a manner to produce residual hauntings. I’m pretty sure that Andy is jumbling his materials science information up in his head, but even so, what kind of information can verifiable be stored and retrieved from quartz?
One problem is that the definition of “residual haunting” is so vague and indistinct. It encompasses so much that a single mechanism is unlikely to work as a model. It’s impossible to take the idea of “residual haunting”, pin it down to a type of information, an apparent means of transfer, and then determine whether or not quartz is capable of that information transfer. So even if Andy’s idea could be reduced to a solid concept, it wouldn’t be enough.
For the record, I’m not saying that Andy is spouting gibberish, nor am I rejecting the idea out of hand. I’ve read some interesting articles on the possible links between quantum/super string theory and memory formation that might also shed light on paranormal events. As speculation, all of these ideas are intriguing and worthy of discussion, even if they are highly unlikely. But there’s also no evidence to support those “theories” either, and worse, no way to test them.
Case #1: Predjama Castle, Slovenia
I think it’s safe to say, given the extensive caves around this site, that the majority of the noises and knocks could be attributed to nature. The investigators were certainly hyperaware of everything, just based on the site alone, so it’s no shock at this point that they were jumping to conclusions.
Interpretations were oddly all over the map, highlighting some of the odd assumptions surrounding the audio “evidence”. In one case, a disembodied voice is captured, and doesn’t appear to be in English. In the second case, the voice might (or might not) have been an olde tyme foreign language. In the final case, a voice that sounds remarkably like Robb himself speaks in perfect English.
To the team’s credit, all the audio items are above the background noise, which has not been the case very often with GHI. But the variety makes it a bit difficult to analyze. Audible “voices” are usually ambient but not recognized at the time. I’ve always been wary of voices in English in locations where the language never would have been spoken. (And yes, I do see the fallacy of asking old European spirits to respond by calling out to them in modern English!) So the only item that I found potentially interesting was the unintelligible second recording, which is not quite enough.
I also found the photographic “evidence” to be less than compelling. To be frank, I find it very hard to get excited over photographs with “paranormal” activity. Most of the good ones are rendered fakes, and even more are equipment or operator error. In this case, there’s some interesting context to the photos, but I still have to wonder if the “mist” is just the edge of Barry’s finger out of focus.
Case #2: Bathory Ruins, Slovenia
There was no evidence to speak of in this case, but I was struck by how dismissive the team was regarding the possibility of the site being haunted. This may seem odd, since I sometimes chide the team on leaping to the “haunted” designation a bit too quickly. In this case, however, I think they erred in the other direction.
It’s one thing to say that no evidence was collected and, as a result, GHI cannot conclude that the reports are confirmed and the location is haunted or even active. It’s quite another to dismiss the reports as “people seeing what they want to see” (the irony is thick, I know). The client was taken aback by the tone, and I don’t blame her. There was more than a hint of arrogance in how that judgment was delivered, and I was quite disappointed to see it.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: www.criticalmyth.com