Ouija boards

Bobsyeruncle

Bobsyeruncle

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Just watched a film called ouija, and wondered if anyone had any experiences with a ouija board?
 
did one on an organised ghost hunt

i wasn't surprised that nothing at all happened!!
 
I've seen some before. Personally I think they're just used to scare the "believers".
 
I've tried it seemed to work but I dont believe in all that ghostie life after death crap. I think the movement is caused by the participants moving the pointer without realising they are doing it or on occasions deliberately.
 
I know they were marketed as a children's board game by Parker Brothers, but having used one once in the mid 80's, I wouldn't give one house room again.
 
Of course they don't work. Because there are no such things as ghosts or spirits or demons.
I'm always slightly bemused when I encounter grown adults who seem to believe all this silly nonsense.

At best they can provide an interesting demonstration of the ideomotor effect and confirmation bias.
 
ghoti said:
Of course they don't work. Because there are no such things as ghosts or spirits or demons.
I'm always slightly bemused when I encounter grown adults who seem to believe all this silly nonsense.
Click to expand...

Based on considerable personal experience I am equally bemused when I encounter someone such as yourself.

Re ouija boards, leave them very much alone.
 
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Earley Man said:
Based on considerable personal experience I am equally bemused when I encounter someone such as yourself.
Click to expand...
I've got this alien, from Jupiter don't you know, lives at the bottom of my garden where his invisible spaceship crashed. Of course nobody else can see him unless he wants them to and there's no way to detect him, but he's there. I'm always a bit bemused when people don't believe me.
 
ghoti said:
I've got this alien, from Jupiter don't you know, lives at the bottom of my garden where his invisible spaceship crashed. Of course nobody else can see him unless he wants them to and there's no way to detect him, but he's there. I'm always a bit bemused when people don't believe me.
Click to expand...

Its ok, ive seen him too.
 
Earley Man said:
Based on considerable personal experience I am equally bemused when I encounter someone such as yourself.

Re ouija boards, leave them very much alone.
Click to expand...


Do they only work in English though? Or are the demonic forces multilingual?
 
Ghoti, Nikon Nick and Ricardodaforce, thank you for your insightful comments, regarding which I would refer you to my signature line.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
 
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Earley Man said:
Ghoti, Nikon Nick and Ricardodaforce, thank you for your insightful comments, regarding which I would refer you to my signature line.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
Click to expand...

Youre most welcome. May I refer you to this line, that isnt my signature as I dont have a signature line, but its relevant in this case nonetheless...

"Jeeez, lighten up will you." - Nikon_Nick

Clearly, Ricardodaforce, Ghoti and myself dont believe in all that stuff...if thats ok. If you do, great...good for you.
 
Nikon_Nick said:
Youre most welcome. May I refer you to this line, that isnt my signature as I dont have a signature line, but its relevant in this case nonetheless...

"Jeeez, lighten up will you." - Nikon_Nick

Clearly, Ricardodaforce, Ghoti and myself dont believe in all that stuff...if thats ok. If you do, great...good for you.
Click to expand...

To all three of you. Sorry, please accept my apologies for taking your comments so seriously.
 
Earley Man said:
Ghoti, Nikon Nick and Ricardodaforce, thank you for your insightful comments, regarding which I would refer you to my signature line.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
Click to expand...


It was a serious question! Picture this, you are trying to communicate with a Spanish speaking dead person and you want to ask him/her in what year they died. Now using the power of google translate you discover the Spanish word for year is "año". However your ouija board only has the English alphabet, so you use the closest approximation and spell out "ano" as you can't spell out "año".
What you haven't realised is that you've actually asked the Spanish speaking spirit in which anus they died, no doubt generating all manner of wrath.
Hence my original question.
 
Earley Man said:
Ghoti, Nikon Nick and Ricardodaforce, thank you for your insightful comments, regarding which I would refer you to my signature line.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
Click to expand...
Amusingly, Bertrand Russell was very highly (and vocally) sceptical of the supernatural. And this quote is a call to scepticism. Who here is sure of themselves? I don't rule out the possibility of "ghosts" but I am extremely sceptical and doubtful of their existence; I'd put them in the same category as moon monsters. It's possible (in the broad sense of the word) that there is a population of monsters living on the moon; but it's highly unlikely.
Whereas you seem quite certain of yourself. Russell would ask you to examine your experiences honestly and with full scepticism, to start from a position of doubt, and see if your supernatural explanations can withstand such harsh analysis. Apply Occam's razor...is that which is attributable to the supernatural more easily explained by the KNOWN irrational characteristics of man, or by invoking "ghosts" for which no independent evidence exists?
There are many things I've experienced which I could lazily attribute to ghosts or spirits but I don't, because I start from a position of doubt or scepticism.

So tell me: are you CERTAIN you've experienced ghosts or demons or spirits; or do you have doubts? Are there other, more rational, explanations?
 
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Ricardodaforce said:
It was a serious question! Picture this, you are trying to communicate with a Spanish speaking dead person and you want to ask him/her in what year they died. Now using the power of google translate you discover the Spanish word for year is "año". However your ouija board only has the English alphabet, so you use the closest approximation and spell out "ano" as you can't spell out "año".
What you haven't realised is that you've actually asked the Spanish speaking spirit in which anus they died, no doubt generating all manner of wrath.
Hence my original question.
Click to expand...
Apparently you can make your own and use any alphabet from any language you like.
 
viv1969 said:
I know they were marketed as a children's board game by Parker Brothers, but having used one once in the mid 80's, I wouldn't give one house room again.
Click to expand...
Earley Man said:
Based on considerable personal experience I am equally bemused when I encounter someone such as yourself.
Re ouija boards, leave them very much alone.
Click to expand...
ghoti said:
So tell me: are you CERTAIN you've experienced ghosts or demons or spirits; or do you have doubts? Are there other, more rational, explanations?
Click to expand...
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

- Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio
 
Absolute non-sense, only as dangerous as the people who use them.
 
Cobra said:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

- Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio
Click to expand...
You often see this quote trotted out as if it defends all sorts of wacky beliefs. Ghosts, magic, ESP, crystal healing, compassionate conservatives, etc. But it's really a very shallow and wooly argument. It's just handwaving. It doesn't tell us anything. It basically just says "anything is possible", which really isn't a very powerful statement.
You could invoke it to defend any manner of silly positions.

"I think magnets work because of invisible magic three-legged pixies."
"Sounds a bit outlandish. Can you defend that position?"
"There are more things in heaven and Earth...yadda yadda yadda"
 
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ghoti said:
You often see this quote trotted out as if it defends all sorts of wacky beliefs. Ghosts, magic, ESP, crystal healing, compassionate conservatives, Religion etc. But it's really a very shallow and wooly argument. It's just handwaving.
You could invoke it to defend any manner of silly positions.

"I think magnets work because of invisible magic three-legged pixies."
"Sounds a bit outlandish. Can you defend that position?"
"There are more things in heaven and Earth...yadda yadda yadda"
Click to expand...

FTFY ;)
 
dexter35yrs said:
they do work in the right hands - but can be very dangerous
Click to expand...
Thrown with strength and accuracy they can bring down a horse at twenty paces.

But like anything that plays on insecurities and ignorance they can be very dangerous indeed to vulnerable individuals in the hands of exploitative charlatans.
 
ghoti said:
You often see this quote trotted out as if it defends all sorts of wacky beliefs. Ghosts, magic, ESP, crystal healing, compassionate conservatives, etc. But it's really a very shallow and wooly argument. It's just handwaving. "
Click to expand...
I also quite like
"There are none so blind as those who will not see" :)
John Heywood-1546
 
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Cobra said:
I also quite like
"There are none so blind as those who will not see" :)
John Heywood-1546
Click to expand...
I'd be very receptive to genuine evidence for ghosts. In fact I'd be fascinated to learn of genuine evidence for ghosts. However, all the "evidence" that exists is easily explicable through simpler and more pedestrian physical and psychological phenomena. But believers refuse to see this.

So it is, in fact, the believers who "will not see". They've closed their minds to the more efficient, more probable, more simple explanations and tend to try to make everything fit their supernatural world view. It's interesting that devotees of the supernatural often accuse detractors of "closed-mindedness" when really it is themselves who are closed-minded; in that they don't want to entertain alternatives or dissent.
 
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ghoti said:
I'd be very receptive to genuine evidence for ghosts. In fact I'd be fascinated to learn of genuine evidence for ghosts. However, all the "evidence" that exists is easily explicable through simpler and more pedestrian physical and psychological phenomena. But believers refuse to see this.
.
Click to expand...
Ok so from a "mocking" point of view you have now taken a "what if" stance.
That cool, I assume that you have never seem anything that you couldn't explain to yourself logically?
That's cool too. Any reputable paranormal investigation is carried out under controlled conditions,
and are not run by people looking for a cheap thrill (I cite Yvette Fielding ;) )

Most are done to disprove paranormal activity, not prove it.
Obviously TV shows wouldn't get the ratings if they ran their "investigations" that way, would they?

In another life (sic) My background was in scientific research,
obviously you need a logical, inquiring but also open mind,
or you stand a chance of missing so much of the "evidence" in front of your eyes.

Of all the Paranormal investigations I have been involved in,
most "occurrences" were explained by EMF (Electro-magnetic fields)
or "mass hysteria" etc Ok maybe that is a bit strong,
but you know what I mean by that, I'm sure.

BUT and there is always a but,
One investigation produced some very interesting "results"
These were all documented and sent along with video, temperature graphs etc etc
To two paranormal investigation university's, one in the UK the other in the states.
Neither could find a logical explanation for / of the readings findings graphs video etc.

The other but, the jury is still out on that one, some years later.

Yes I have a logical and open mind and I find the subject fascinating.
And yes I have seen & experienced things that I personally couldn't explain.
But as above, that is only a very very small percentage of perceived activity.
 
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Cobra said:
Ok so from a "mocking" point of view you have now taken a "what if" stance.
That cool, I assume that you have never seem anything that you couldn't explain to yourself logically?
That's cool too. Any reputable paranormal investigation is carried out under controlled conditions,
and are not run by people looking for a cheap thrill (I cite Yvette Fielding ;) )

Most are done to disprove paranormal activity, not prove it.
Obviously TV shows wouldn't get the ratings if they ran their "investigations" that way, would they?

In another life (sic) My background was in scientific research,
obviously you need a logical, inquiring but also open mind,
or you stand a chance of missing so much of the "evidence" in front of your eyes.

Of all the Paranormal investigations I have been involved in,
most "occurrences" were explained by EMF (Electro-magnetic fields)
or "mass hysteria" etc Ok maybe that is a bit strong,
but you know what I mean by that, I'm sure.

BUT and there is always a but,
One investigation produced some very interesting "results"
These were all documented and sent along with video, temperature graphs etc etc
To two paranormal investigation university's, one in the UK the other in the states.
Neither could find a logical explanation for / of the readings findings graphs video etc.

The other but, the jury is still out on that one, some years later.

Yes I have a logical and open mind and I find the subject fascinating.
And yes I have seen & experienced things that I personally couldn't explain.
But as above, that is only a very very small percentage of perceived activity.
Click to expand...
If you'd worked in scientific research you'd know that you don't respond to inexplicable data by saying "ghosts did it", you just say that it's unexplained. We encounter anomalous data all the time in scientific research. If we can't explain it we just say that we can't explain it. If it's interesting enough we might chuck out a couple of testable explanatory hypotheses. In order to say that it is (or even might be) ghosts you'd need to create a logical case, supported by independent evidence. So you'd need to define ghosts and their properties, backed up with evidence. You'd need, for example, to provide measurements you might expect from a typical "ghost" and compare your data to that. This would be difficult given that nobody has ever studied a "ghost".
A related question would be: why do you even try to detect "ghosts" using, for example, through this kind of electromagnetic radiation? How do you know this is even an appropriate way to measure "ghosts"? What is the proof of concept data? At what point in the history of research has anyone been able to isolate a known "ghost" and carry out tests to determine appropriate detection criteria? What if I say I believe in ghosts (I don't) but don't believe they are detectable or measurable? Maybe I believe they emit neutrinos and are only detectable using vast chlorine tanks? Maybe I believe they have no significant electromagnetic profile but can be detected because they distort gravitational fields in a particular way? How is anyone going to dispute that? Where is the research model for a "ghost"? How do you know your research methods are appropriate? (Serious question).

The whole field as it stands is just rather silly and is not taken terribly seriously by scientists involved in more rigorous research.

Start off by defining the specific physical parameters of a "ghost", then show me the measurements that have been made to support them, and then we can start to talk science. All this farting around with EM detectors and the like is just child's play.
 
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ghoti said:
If you'd worked in scientific research you'd know that you don't respond to inexplicable data by saying "ghosts did it",
Click to expand...
Well, that was a waste of time me typing that reply out, as it appears to have gone right over your head.

ghoti said:
Start off by defining the specific physical parameters of a "ghost", then show me the measurements that have been made to support them, and then we can start to talk science. All this farting around with EM detectors and the like is just child's play.
Click to expand...
I've never mentioned the word ghost, you did. ;)
EMF meters are just one tool that is used in paranormal investigations.
However its proven that EMF in extreme doses, will give people headaches,
felling dizzy and possibly blurred vision.
And of course the pulses, in extreme instances will move metal objects, to a greater
or lesser extent.
But I'm done now, as it seems your mind is totally closed,
where as above it seemed that its was open and enquiring.
 
Cobra said:
Well, that was a waste of time me typing that reply out, as it appears to have gone right over your head.


I've never mentioned the word ghost, you did. ;)
EMF meters are just one tool that is used in paranormal investigations.
However its proven that EMF in extreme doses, will give people headaches,
felling dizzy and possibly blurred vision.
And of course the pulses, in extreme instances will move metal objects, to a greater
or lesser extent.
But I'm done now, as it seems your mind is totally closed,
where as above it seemed that its was open and enquiring.
Click to expand...
It is open and enquiring. I'm asking for you to define to me precisely (with testable & falsifiable information) what it is you're looking for. I'm receptive to real data.
Are you able to provide that?
 
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