Ghost-Hunting Mistakes: Science and Pseudoscience in Ghost Investigations - Skeptical Inquirer

"Ghost investigations can be deceptively tricky endeavors. Very ordinary events can be-and indeed have been-mistaken for extraordinary ones, and the main challenge for any ghost investigator is separating the facts from a jumble of myths, mistakes, and misunderstandings. It can be very easy to accidentally create or misinterpret evidence: Is that flash of light on the wall a flashlight reflection-or a ghost? Are the faint sounds recorded in an empty house spirit voices-or a neighbor's radio? It's not always clear, and investigators must be careful to weed out the red herrings and focus on the verified information".

Later the article states after talking in length about many subjects related to this, even the hit TV show
Ghost Hunters (i.e.The Atlantic Paranormal Society TAPS, I think):

"However, in a stakeout the ghost hunter cannot control all, or even most, of the variables and conditions in the experiment he's conducting. It's important to remember that nearly anything that anyone thinks is odd for any reason can be offered as evidence of a ghost. There is an impossibly broad spectrum of phenomena that have been claimed as signs of ghosts, including lights, shadows, noises, silence, heat, cold, moving objects, smells, uneasiness, and so on. If the presence of a ghost could be narrowed down to a specific phenomenon-for example, if everyone agreed (or it had been somehow proven) that ghosts give off red light or a certain high-pitched sound-then the problem of not having a controlled location would be greatly reduced. An investigator wouldn't need to rule out every possible source of sound, smell, light, etc., but instead would need to rule out merely any sources of red light or high-pitched sounds. But because just about any phenomenon can be attributed to ghosts, there is no way to rule out or control for the conditions. A ghost stakeout or lockdown is a completely unscientific waste of time.

Ultimately, of course, whether ghost hunters choose to use scientific methods and strategies is up to them. I personally don't care either way; it's not my time, effort, and money that's being wasted by doing fundamentally flawed investigation. But over the years I have gotten results and solved many cases using scientific techniques."

This is interesting and true from what an intelligent, well educated and a bit eccentric U.S. Chaplain named Joe once told me regarding hauntings on the paranormal in general:

"1. Assuming that no specialized knowledge or expertise is needed to effectively investigate ghosts.

One of the most common assumptions among ghost investigators is that in the paranormal field “there are no experts.” If there are no experts, then of course anyone can effectively investigate ghosts. Almost all ghost hunters are amateur, part-time hobbyists, and they come from all walks of life. On Ghost Hunters, two ordinary guys who work as plumbers during the day are touted as experts on ghost investigations, although none of the team members has any background or training in science, investigation, forensics, or any other field that might help solve mysteries.

Why it's a mistake: Paranormal investigation requires no certificate; anyone can do it with no training, knowledge, or expertise whatsoever. Whether they are effective or not-actually able to solve mysteries-is another matter entirely. Effectively investigating claims and solving mysteries does require some experience and expertise-specifically in investigation, logic, critical thinking, psychology, science, forensics, and other areas."

The article then states before it closes:

"If ghost hunters don't care about performing scientifically valid investigations and are happy with the level of evidence they are getting, they are welcome to ignore this information. But they can't complain that no one offered a science-based paradigm for paranormal investigation. I believe that if ghosts exist, they are important and deserve to be taken seriously. Most of the efforts to investigate ghosts so far have been badly flawed and unscientific-and, not surprisingly, fruitless. If investigation is to be done, it should be done right."

Note: Really good article from The Skeptical Inquirer and I will look for more of these articles that take a more open minded and scientific approach to not only the paranormal but also UFO's, Cryptoxoology, etc. and are not afraid to point out mistakes people in these fields make but also other issues as well.-Rob 

Ghost-Hunting Mistakes: Science and Pseudoscience in Ghost Investigations - Skeptical Inquirer

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ghost-hunting_mistakes_science_and_pseudoscience_in_ghost_investigations

BREAKING NEWS: Loch Ness Monster Found? -Animal Planet

Satellite imagery accessed using Apple's satellite map app has Nessie fans all over the world buzzing. It appears to show a mammoth underwater monster swimming below the surface of Loch Ness.

The Official Loch Ness Monster fan club has been studying the image for about six months. Various explanations have been ruled out and hundreds if not thousands of Nessie connoisseurs around the world are
now convinced that this is definitive evidence of the Loch Ness Monster's existence.

What do you think? Is this just a case of misaken identity or could it be the real thing? Sound off in the comments!

Our own Jeremy Wade, host of River Monsters set out on a journey to unlock the mysteries of Loch Ness. Watch the video below to see what he uncovered.

Read more of the story here:

BREAKING NEWS: Loch Ness Monster Found? -Animals Planet/Discovery Channel

http://blogs.discovery.com/bites-animal-planet/2014/04/breaking-news-loch-ness-monster-found-.html#mkcpgn=fbapl1

New Device Enables Scientists To Converse With Dolphins - Animal Planet

A baby Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and mother swim together in the seas near Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (Photo by Horizons/UIG via Getty Images)

Humans are one step closer to communicating with dolphins, after scientists successfully interacted with dolphins using an underwater audio device, according to news outlets.

Cetacean Hearing and Telemetry, or Chat, enables scientists to emit audio that resembles the sounds dolphins make in the water. While the microphones do not translate the dolphin sounds into human language, it allows scientists to “speak” in clicks and high-pitched whistles that can be used to teach dolphins new commands and vocabulary, according to The Independent.

Read more of the story here:

New Device Enables Scientists To Converse With Dolphins - Animal Planet/Discovery Channel

http://blogs.discovery.com/bites-animal-planet/2014/04/new-device-enables-scientists-to-converse-with-dolphins.html

Mountain Monsters: Kentucky Hellhound of Pike County - Cryptomundo

"Decades of folklore and eyewitness encounters collide as AIMS travels to Pike County to investigate the Kentucky Hellhound. First spotted in 1939 in the western heart of Hatfield and McCoy territory, and originally written off as the delusion of backwoods moonshiners, this enormous 500-pound canine predator is in fact alive and well, menacing the local farming community. AIMS must act fast to capture the creature in a huge bamboo cage trap before the cornstalks are harvested and the Hellhound migrates for the winter season."

Read more here:

http://cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/mountain-monsters-kentucky-hellhound-of-pike-county/