Orbs

cuthbert said:
The supposed link between "paranormal activity" and emf is something which always gives me a wry smile, as though the connection between the two is some sort of established fact.

There was a group around here that used to go to old ruins and derelict houses at night (because ghosts only come out at night, you see) with a camcorder in night mode and emf meters trying to find evidence of paranormal activity....surely thats like looking for the higgs boson with an alba FM radio?
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Lol - i was approached by one such group that wanted to 'investigate' one of our holiday 'cottages'

I said sure, no problem rents start from about £1200 for a two night stay (its a big place) - oddly enough they never came back to me :lol:
 
Garry, your first post was courteous but you got onto the wrong track by kicking off about the lack of responses an hour later. If you run a forum, you must know that no-one's entitled to expect replies, and sometimes you just have to be patient. People will either respond, or they won't, but you shouldn't criticise them over this.

The orb 'phenomenon' has been known for donkey's years and easily explained as light relecting off dust etc. If members of your forum don't believe this, it's really up to them to find another explanation that they can accept, but they can't expect anyone to take them very seriously unless it's credible.
 
big soft moose said:
Lol - i was approached by one such group that wanted to 'investigate' one of our holiday 'cottages'

I said sure, no problem rents start from about £1200 for a two night stay (its a big place) - oddly enough they never came back to me :lol:
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There's a group in Dumfries, about 20 miles from where I live, that publish accounts of their 'investigations' in a local magazine. I've never read anything very convincing in it, and it always ends with an invitation to join them on an investigation, or on a 'ghost walk' around the town, both of which require a fee.
 
lapirata said:
Wow, I said I thought they were dust in my post, are you all blind? I just asked what they were and I get all this. what a fantastic and welcoming forum.
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Sorry if my reply upset you, but I'm pleased to see that you now agree that these 'orbs' have a perfectly rational, provable, replicable explanation; mostly dust, never ghosts. Or whatever. But please don't let me frighten you off- I do tend to get a bit abrupt when that sort of thing crops up. ;)
 
jon ryan said:
Being kind for a moment...

There is not a scintilla of credible evidence in the whole of history to give serious credence to any 'alien phenomena', 'psychic power', 'ghost', 'miracle' or other similar event. Not one. Ever.

Sorry.
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There speaks someone with a completely closed mind. There are lots of clear images of for example... supposed UFO's and ghosts and other funny things. Seek and you shall find.

I doubt that "evidence" can be conclusive unless you physically capture the thing. Suppose you yourself take a picture on an alien who then flies away in his UFO. Can you prove he was an alien? I suggest that you can't. Evidence may not be proof but may possibly defy satisfactory explanation.
 
woof woof said:
There speaks someone with a completely closed mind. There are lots of clear images of for example... supposed UFO's and ghosts and other funny things. Seek and you shall find.

I doubt that "evidence" can be conclusive unless you physically capture the thing. Suppose you yourself take a picture on an alien who then flies away in his UFO. Can you prove he was an alien? I suggest that you can't. Evidence may not be proof but may possibly defy satisfactory explanation.
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And taking that a bit further there's also no evidence to prove these things don't exist, that being the case both arguments for and against are every bit as valid as each other.
 
PMN said:
And taking that a bit further there's also no evidence to prove these things don't exist, that being the case both arguments for and against are every bit as valid as each other.
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I think it's best to keep an open mind.

Being a debunker or denier is equally as bad as being a true believer. I think it's best (if you're interested) to study with an open mind.

Fortean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fort
 
woof woof said:
I think it's best to keep an open mind.

Being a debunker or denier is equally as bad as being a true believer. I think it's best (if you're interested) to study with an open mind.
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I couldn't agree more, blindly following one or the other makes no sense to me. I was more throwing a kind of Newtonian equal and opposite viewpoint thing out there. :)
 
lapirata said:
crop_circle_orb_storm_021.jpg
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Without a doubt dust particles, nothing paranormal going on there.
 
I remember in the late 1980s and early 1990s there were a lot of people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and the like, some of stories given mainstream coverage even but in the age of the internet where everybody is connected these sightings and reports would at the very least be observed by hundreds if not thousands of connected people instantly able to post a full HD res video online.

I suppose what I am saying is a lot of paranormal investigators and enthusiasts have largely discredited their own field.

The other problem with things like orbs is that they are the result of too many leaps of logic: maybe they are bits of dust, maybe not... But what a massive leap to assume they are some sort of spirit or manifestation of a human that's now dead. The whole process of getting from a to b defies any sort of logic. I'm not discrediting it entirely, but let's see some peer reviewed scientifically tested evidence.
 
woof woof said:
There speaks someone with a completely closed mind. There are lots of clear images of for example... supposed UFO's and ghosts and other funny things. Seek and you shall find.

I doubt that "evidence" can be conclusive unless you physically capture the thing. Suppose you yourself take a picture on an alien who then flies away in his UFO. Can you prove he was an alien? I suggest that you can't. Evidence may not be proof but may possibly defy satisfactory explanation.
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Suppose you give us a definition of "evidence"?

I have a hypothesis: puppies and kittens can actually learn to fly. To prove this, I am going to conduct an experiment, and throw a succession of kittens and puppies over Beachy Head. My reasoning is: well, so the last one went squish, but the next one may fly!

I have an extremely open mind. Provide me with a single episode of 'psychic phenomena' or whatever you want to call it, that stands up to proper investigation, and I'll be converted to your cause.

Take you time, I'm just off to feed my unicorns. And you can't prove that I'm not, can you?
 
lapirata said:
How about starting a thread on your forum asking why people never seem to be able to take an in focus image / video of the ufo's they see but can manage with everything else?
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Simply answer for this - If the picture was in focus it would mean it would get identified very quickly and would no longer be a UFO.

In essence, they are UFOs BECAUSE they are out of focus, not out of focus because they are UFOs.

Also, you can get out of focus pictures of my cat under the right circumstances, or if you put my camera in the hands of someone without the necessary skills...... Maybe you should start a thread on your forums and ask if my cat is an alien.
 
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I have taken tens of thousands of pics. On a few I have had orbs, one of which was at a supposedly haunted place. Coincidence, say 3 or 4 pics in 80,000?
 
I thought this thread was going to about these -



Definitely not aliens ;-)
 
cambsno said:
I have taken tens of thousands of pics. On a few I have had orbs, one of which was at a supposedly haunted place. Coincidence, say 3 or 4 pics in 80,000?
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Thing is, unless those 80,000 pictures were all taken in the exact same lighting with the same settings with multiple cameras and lenses then I'd suggest the results are pretty meaningless on their own. There are too many variables.

And in any case, even if you do take the results at face value what does it prove?

Ghosts exist? Heaven exists? Hell exists? God exists? An afterlife exists?

All it really proves is that in one specific location your camera captured some out of focus particles.

I don't see the correlation between orbs and any of the above - its simply something somebody made up without applying any rational, testable or reproducible scientific method, like the earlier assertion made by some which links emf and ghosts. In truth there is no such relationship that can be proven.

If you really want to see some orbs, go take a picture in your garage or loft with an old compact in the dark. Trust me...the garage is the most haunted place in the whole world ;-)
 
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I've had them show up in dusty tunnels, when I switch to off camera flash they mostly vanish as the dust isn't lit close to the camera lens.
 
PMN said:
And taking that a bit further there's also no evidence to prove these things don't exist, that being the case both arguments for and against are every bit as valid as each other.
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But the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. Until they have met their burden of proof, the logical thing to do is to reject the claim.
 
Paranormal - the word was coined in the early C20th - just refers to things that we don't understand and can't explain with our current knowledge. It doesn't necessarily imply 'spooky' or the X Files. Demonstrating television, cellphones, digital cameras and many other things we take for granted, and which a lot of people don't actually understand, might have led you to the stake for witchcraft a few hundred years ago. This isn't very long ago in terms of human history.

Mysteries - things we can't explain - are interesting. They do attract cranks and conspiracy theorists, but not everyone who is intrigued by them is a nutcase. I can say "I believe ghosts are manifestations of people who have died", or "I think playing with a oujia board is inadvisable, it can open a door to dangerous entities" but I can't prove a case for either. If I wanted to prove anything, I'd have to follow the accepted protocols. I can't do this, and have no intention of trying to, because I don't really believe that either is true. That doesn't mean I'm not curious, I'm interested in learning more about a lot of things that aren't necessarily useful or important to other people.

Give the OP a break. He posted a civil question, and made a mistake by grumbling that no-one responded promptly, but there was no need to flame him about being interested in the paranormal.
 
As Carl Sagan said: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". For some reason the people who claim that there is 'something' in this sort of stuff seem to have an extraordinarily low standard of evidence. Quite often this seems to be that a friend of a friend experienced it and therefore it must have at least some credibility.

Generally, the more a thing is investigated, the more we learn about it. In ancient Greece they posited four elements. We now know there are rather more than that, and have empirical proof in support. Another example is the search for ever-smaller atomic particles. With 'psychic phenomena', explorations have gone on for thousands of years using ever more sophisticated techniques. Not a single provable instance has appeared. Not one. Ever.

Of course there is a small chance that the Overlords are hushing it all up... ;)
 
I know a few people who say they've seen ghosts, or something that appeared to be a ghost. They're sensible, rational, intelligent people and don't belong to paranormal groups or chatter about this as a rule. I'm quite sure they believe that they saw something, but whether they actually did, and what it was, is another matter. Atmosphere, light, shadows, temperatures, your expectations, your own mental state and a few other things probably come into play.

As far as I'm concerned, searching for explanations is just as interesting as speculating about whether ghosts are manifestations of dead people.
 
If you want evidence..check out a documentary I saw the other day called 'Blair Witch Project'

Then come back and say there is no evidence.
 
Steve said:
If you want evidence..check out a documentary I saw the other day called 'Blair Witch Project'

Then come back and say there is no evidence.
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:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Properly laughing!
 
Careful of leakage...
 
big soft moose said:
actually you said some people thought they were paranormal , while others thought they were dust.

they're dust - simples
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Hi all, my name is Garry and I run a small and friendly UFO/paranormal forum in the UK, we have a thread on Orbs in photo's, some say they are some form of paranormal entity but I and others say they are dust/insects etc, I am no expert so I thought I would ask you guys, I hope this is the correct place to put this question, looking forward to your views. Regards Garry.

I guess my assumption that you were blind is correct.
 
lapirata said:
Hi all, my name is Garry and I run a small and friendly UFO/paranormal forum in the UK, we have a thread on Orbs in photo's, some say they are some form of paranormal entity but I and others say they are dust/insects etc, I am no expert so I thought I would ask you guys, I hope this is the correct place to put this question, looking forward to your views. Regards Garry.

I guess my assumption that you were blind is correct.
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You really are quite the social charmer aren't you. :shake:
 
really not worth arguing about (although if you were certain they were dust, why did you even ask the question ? ) - if you said that originally then i apologise but the fact remains that its dust so you have your answer - have a great day
 
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lapirata said:
I guess my assumption that you were blind is correct.
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Yes, a photography forum populated by blind people...

Seriously, get a grip. You were moody in your second post and that set the tone for the rest of the thread. Whatever negativity has come into this was brought on largely by yourself so perhaps you should look at the way you word things rather than being another one of those people who blames everyone apart from himself.
 
Garry, I can see that you have had roughly the same reaction from other forums on which you have posted the same question. And you appear to employ the same level of charm there as here.

Just a thought, but if you act with a little more restraint and maturity, you may receive a more agreeable response.

But however polite you are, I'm afraid that ghosts still won't exist.

Sorry.
 
Thats a lot of forums joined to ask a question where you already know the answer :thinking:

Someone more cynical than I might suggest you were doing it to promote your site ;)
 
jon ryan said:
But however polite you are, I'm afraid that ghosts still won't exist.
.
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maybe if we all held hands and asked really nicely :lol:
 
big soft moose said:
maybe if we all held hands and asked really nicely :lol:
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Aren't we all meant to clap? Shall we try, boys and girls? If we all clap really, really, loudly, the ghosts will hear us, grant us three wishes, and kill the giant! :D

(I've just remembered why I gave up professional acting)
 
I went out with a girl once who believed all this claptrap - she used to reckon that a ghost wouldnt manifest in the presence of a non believer because they could feel the negativity in their aura (sounded like a convenient excuse to me)
 
PMN said:
Yes, a photography forum populated by blind people...

Seriously, get a grip. You were moody in your second post and that set the tone for the rest of the thread. Whatever negativity has come into this was brought on largely by yourself so perhaps you should look at the way you word things rather than being another one of those people who blames everyone apart from himself.
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Sure one moment of impatience from me required pages of **** taking and ridicule, funny how many gave it out but when I give a bit back I again have to except rudeness, as for looking at ones self, I often do, something certain members on here also need to do, anyway many thanks to the few who did answer with out ridiculing me. Regards Garry
 
Why would you feel ridiculed garry ? After all you thought it was just dust, not anything paranormal anyway
 
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