
Originally posted at Paranormal Stuff for the Simple Minded 02/04/2009

I download a lot of podcasts each week. Some are technical, some paranormal, all are very well produced. I was listening to one of these the other day and it dawned on me that a guest on one of these shows can draw you in and actually get you to lean their way on a questionable subject without you realizing it. All they have to do is be well versed in the topic they are presenting. I also realized that they can completely blow their credibility by venturing off into a side topic they know nothing about.
Now if this is the case for those that are in the paranormal arena for profit it can also be a detriment to those legitimate folks in the field.
Here is an example. I think that I am a pretty open minded person. I am willing to listen to anybodies argument and weigh whatever points they might have. I have even had my mind changed on occasion by a truly compelling argument. I was listening to one of the shows recently and the topic was some of that past life, psychic, multi universe stuff. The gentleman was well versed in the subject matter and I started to consider the topic and even see where some of his points were compelling.
After an hour of this interview I was hooked. It was at this point that the gentleman in question decided to compare the topic he was discussing to the digital television conversion that is going on here in the U.S. That is when I shut down. I am a FCC licensed amateur radio operator so I am familiar with receivers, transmitters, and modulation modes for moving audio and video over the air. This guy had no clue what he was talking about. I fast forwarded to the end of that show and went to the next. He blew his argument to pieces in the blink of an eye by proving he didn’t know what he was talking about on an unrelated subject.
This is a problem I see a lot. It does help to weed out those that are not in the paranormal field for the right reasons but it also cast doubt on those that are in the field for the right reasons. Those that are in paranormal research sometimes want so badly to be taken seriously that they use big words or catchy phrases to buttress their arguments. They talk about concepts and fields of science that they barely grasp. I feel if you are a quantum physicist you are probably not exploring the paranormal (unless you are Stanton Friedman).
I know that every legitimate paranormal researcher disparately wants their work to be taken seriously but the first time you go off about a subject that you know nothing about you receive an express ticket to the “FLAKE” pile. Present what you know in an intelligent manner. Leave the five dollar college words for those that have gone to college for their chosen field. Present you evidence and your experience and nothing else. That way you can keep your credibility in tact.
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