Burnt State
Paranormal Adept
Burnt State,
Honestly, I think the phenomena represents much more than any form of mental illness, intentional premeditated deception, or non intentional hypnosis induced confabulation can account for. ...
Later on in the discussion you bring up the mathematical odds as a reason for why you feel the phenomena represents more than hallucination, and as someone whose ideas about the paranormal have shifted towards more skepticism than belief (though I remain very open minded) I wonder more and more about finding a reality behind the illusory, and with AP I keep asking two questions: why does it happen & isn't it mostly just part of a deeper human sociological history concerned with stories of being taken by the fairy folk? Are not many of our myths (vampires, witches, demons etc.) merely the products of finite minds and similar mental and cultural inputs, hence aliens as the modern era new myth? Like all myths the main parts of the narrative are easily accessible with just some extra details for variance sake from case to case.
ANYONE, I don't care who they are, or what they represent, that states unequivocally that the whole of what we catalog as paranormal phenomena is utter fiction based solely on cerebral hallucinations, is unquestionably an utter moron. ...
I used to think that, but I'm starting to wonder a bit more about how our brains respond to unique stimulus, why people create their own screen memories, or how our minds function strangely during moments of great excitation, fear etc. I'm very attracted to the surreal aspects of the paranormal but wonder more and more about this idea of the fantastic and the fact that the majority of the evidence for its existence lies in witness accounts predominately, with little physical support except for very unique cases.
EVERYTHING we know is based upon observation in one sense or another. Therefore we can deduce via the mathematically derived average laws of probability that something REAL is occurring whether illusory or precisely as perceived and reported. Whether those observations are illusory in appearance or not, until we can explain the observations clearly, demonstrably, and therefore knowingly, one cannot logically dismiss a multiplicity of similar observations as mere fiction without a SOLID WORKING refutation. In other words you must be able to repeat and demonstrate your proposed refutation. ....
I watched the previous discussion that touched on the some of various ways of knowing between you and Michael Allen and felt that this did not connect with all the other ways of knowing outside of observation. AP subjects appear o beleve what they say because of an intense emotional knowledge of the events. I'm also not sure about the odds bearing out fact or reality. Maybe you could highlight which of the abduction cases have more credibility on their side because there is more to them than just witness testimony.
I'm not sure either about shifting the burden of non-proof over to the skeptic. What is there to refute aside from witness testimony?
Focusing solely on the Grey Alien's Abduction Phenomenon:
So, do I think that at the core of AP there exists some form of an external agent. Yes, it's quite possible that the phenomenon exists in tandem with the experiencer's mind, and is not solely dependent on it. Do I think that this agent is possibly non human? Yes. (but lets not rule out that the non human element in play here might be technologically based and of human origin, ok?) Do I think that a human covert operation might exist to abduct people/victim's psychically? Yes I do.
Yes, there is definitely a possibility of malevolent human tech at work to mind mess with people to create AP but I do not believe in physical abduction by humans with no witness or evidence left behind - too risky, and too perplexing. Why not just mess with the homeless and remote residnces instead of suburban folk? I'm more open to the mind experiment piece as a possible origin, but to what end? What would be the purpose of repeating these mental abductions across decades?
The Hypothetical:
It is my opinion that we have technologies that are beyond almost anything we could typically imagine as being practical and integral to the most elite of society at large. Technologies so bizarre and potentially dangerous that if the wrong organizations or individuals ever became aware of as much there would be little we could do to stop the self serving interest in application of as much.
Again, if this power did exist then why not unleash it? What are they waiting for and what do you think is being gained through it. Which elite would be using these and to what ends? I mean if you want genetic material then just do it out in the open through health care practices. What AP suggests is something much more akin to serious emotional and psychological trauma. Is there not a theme of abuse, physical and sexual, that runs through this cohort of abductees?
Thanks for your detailed response BTW.