Paranormal Nation by Fitch Marc E

Author:Fitch, Marc E. [Fitch, Marc E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780313382079
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2013-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

The power of belief has compelled some of humanity’s worst atrocities, all in the name of some unproven, unknown entity. Skeptics, on the other hand, take the world for only what can be seen and proven with empirical evidence. It can be a noble position at times, while in other cases skepticism can become the very thing it claims to rebuke—blind faith. Either way the skeptic’s position can ofttimes lead him or her to being the lonely nerd sitting by him- or herself at the lunchroom table. In other words, the skeptic can be a bit of a downer.

Carl Sagan is, perhaps, the most famous skeptic in recent history. His ability to render science interesting for the masses made him a great spokesman, similar to Stanton Friedman. And like Stanton Friedman, he attended the University of Chicago and worked on serious scientific programs, largely with NASA. Friedman and Sagan sparred occasionally regarding the question of alien life forms visiting earth. Friedman coauthored a book about the Betty and Barney Hill abduction while Sagan worked to debunk the story. However, they remained mutually respectful, and Friedman actually wrote an article on Sagan after his death, praising his ability to bring science to the masses.

While Sagan did work with NASA, much of his fame and fortune came from engaging with the paranormal. He was the preeminent skeptic; the intellectual who used science to trump the faith and folklore of the masses and assure the world that the modern scientist had everything well in hand—that life and the cosmos could be boiled down to a chemical equation or quantum physics. Unfortunately for the skeptic, those chemical equations and quantum physics are written in a language that is largely unreadable to the average Joe or Jane. This leaves the skeptic/scientist in the position of being the sole possessor of the knowledge of the mysterious workings of the universe; it puts the skeptic in an elitist position, which means he or she can often have difficulty reaching the masses.

It is difficult to draw a line through the sand as to which side has benefited more from paranormal’s economic potential. Certainly, those who teach and write about the paranormal have a very large group of customers willing to buy books, DVDs, and attend lectures. Indeed, most of the world is comprised of religious people who believe in a supernatural explanation for existence, and thus, are inclined toward paranormal belief. However, the skeptic enjoys a level of prestige that is often lost on those who follow belief and faith over empirical science. That prestige comes with the various merits and degrees bestowed upon these men and women by universities and colleges. These are men and women who are adept and trained in the sciences. They have been trained to see the world through the prism of known science. If they form any differentiation between the known and the unknown, it is a difference between the observation of a known and understood natural occurrence and a yet-to-be-understood natural occurrence, but still a product of nature and the physical forces that operate therein.

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