TV show needs skeptic

Marian MacNair

Hello, my name is Marian MacNair and I am a researcher for the Discovery Channel kids program Mystery Hunters. Our young hosts investigate mysterious
phenomena from around the world. We always include a section
where we look into other possible natural or scientific explanations for the
observed phenomenon. The aim is to encourage kids to think critically about
what they see and hear, but also to maintain their sense of wonder about the
world.

We intend to visit Castle Leslie in County Monaghan in Ireland this summer. This
place interests us because apparently several different guests reported seeing
the same apparition while sleeping in one of the castle's rooms. Over the
years, family and employees have had many sightings of Castle ancestors. We are
looking for someone with expertise in these matters who can suggest alternate
possible explanations for the phenomenon: could it be a trick of the light or
the nature of the Castle? Could it be the suggestibility of the old castle and
the history of its hauntings? Can you suggest an expert in Ireland who would be
qualified to critique such hauntings?

I am hoping to complete the research for this story by next week. I
apologize for contacting you in such haste, but I only just discovered the
existence of your organization.

Marian

aidan_walsh

I'm sceptical about the legititimacy of the post... Will I do?

Marian MacNair

http://www.discovery-kids.co.uk/mystery_hunters/

williamgrogan

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but there are no ghosts in Castle Leslie in County Monaghan because there are no ghosts anywhere. You don’t need an expert on anything in particular to tell you that.

There is a pov that these types of TV programs that claim to try and educate children in “critical thinking” achieve the exact opposite. By even coming to Ireland to a castle to look for ghosts you are adding legitimacy to this supernatural nonsense.

davros

Just noticed this request. I have forwarded it to the head honchos in the Society.

williamgrogan

Has the Discovery Channel anything to do with the Discovery Health channel?

I just watched another con job being broadcast on it (21:00 14-06-04). They were using “radio waves” to “melt” fat on a silly woman’s bottom. She paid £700 (i.e. €1,000) for a treatment session where they “increased the temperature of her fat cells so that they melted”. My wife came in and asked how much weight did she loose. J***s!

The con artist measured her bottom before the “treatment” and then afterwards and announced that she had lost 2.5 cms over the ½ hour treatment. I didn’t see any pool of fat on the floor so I wonder where the fat disappeared to. Presumably to loose 2.5 cms of fat from your ass you would have to shed several kilos of tissue.

The “mark” was interviewed afterwards and while she didn’t say she actually weighed less or was actually any smaller she said she did “feel different”, maybe she meant more stupid.

Unbelievable!

How can this be allowed to be broadcast?

We are living in cloud cuckoo land.

robindch

William -

> there are no ghosts in Castle Leslie in County Monaghan
> because there are no ghosts anywhere. You don’t need
> an expert on anything in particular to tell you that.

I think you're being unnecessarily dogmatic -- I know plenty of people who are just as convinced of their belief in ghosts, spirits and the rest of it, as you are in your skepticism of same. If you make a flat declaration like this, you must back it up with proof. However, as I've no doubt you're well aware, it's not possible to demonstrate that ghosts don't exist [we could be 'looking' in the wrong 'place'], consequently, such blanket-statements are inappropriate.

Of course, given the skeptical belief that they don't exist, together with the large amount of direct evidence to suggest that they don't, the onus is upon the belief's proponents to demonstrate that they do, a demonstration that I, and I've no doubt, many others, would enjoy having a closer look at.

Anyhow, I think this is a good opportunity for one of the more photogenic skeptics (of whom I'm not one), to brush their hair and teeth and take an all-expenses-paid trip to Monaghan, courtesy of our friends in Discovery Channel

There are few enough occasions when rationality and skepticism turns up on telly and, I for one, think we should try to change that.

robin.

williamgrogan

I'm not being dogmatic, there are no ghosts.

BOO! Sorry only joking.

However, those that promote Evolution have started to decide en masse that debating with Creationists/ID nuts is a waste of time and adds legitimacy to their position in so far as they can claim that they won the debate with say, Dawkins or even the audience agreed that the Evolutionists failed to convince them etc..

Recently Michael Shermer of Skeptic magazine debated with these people against his better judgement and decided afterwards that he wouldn’t do it again.

I have seen many examples of this; e.g. Randi tells everyone that he is NOT a psychic and then proceeds to do psychic tricks which convince the audience that he is a psychic – now they believe in this rubbish more than at the start of the program, 20 years ago on radio I heard Patrick Moore and another astronomer in a debate with Astrologers totally demolish the pro-Astrology brigade but the audience which were 60/40 unbelievers v believers before the debate afterwards swung 40/60 in favour of Astrology and that magician Daren ? convinced half of Britain recently that he could communicate with the dead EVEN though he said he was tricking them.

Do you not think that when Scientists take part in programs about Ghosts that it adds legitimacy to this nonsense? Otherwise why would a Scientist be there? Often in these situations (such as an Open Uni. Program I watched on Science v God last night) the Scientist is very slow to come straight out and say, this is nonsense.

Having said that, I don’t see what else they can do, other than call them idiots. Maybe if Scientists starting playing a bit rougher people would take more notice. This seems to be Dawkins position. He is very aggressive towards all forms of con artists and creates quiet a stir when he does it.

It’s all part of the current culture thing to be “respectful” of others “opinions”. BS, if someone says there are ghosts you can either waste your time arguing with them or tell them they are just stupid morons. Is it not worth trying the latter?

If you hold hands with them and empathise with them and nod wisely and then try and point out their false logic they’ll just tut tut and say you are not in touch with your spiritual side or some other such rubbish.

(BTW on that Open Uni. program, I was flabbergasted to see that Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered Pulsars, is a serious card carrying Methodist. Said she understood why Science doubted God but when she was in Church she could “feel” his presence. Maybe now we know why she didn’t win the Nobel Prize.)