Hello fellow sajha friends, 
      I assume most of you are educated, intelligent people. I wanted to have a discussion about paranormal claims and why do people believe these claims. I define paranormal activities as reading mind, predicting future, healing, and many other unscientific claims. I can understand people who are unaware of critical thinking believing these things but why do educated people believe these garbage. Let's have a talk about this. 

I am only trying to create skeptical thinking among us.

   (we are getting away from the main topic )


     However,  I think we need to be careful of this herman Cain guy and all the other GOP party in general. They are religious nutcase.

         if you don't want to pay more for your booze and smoke (also food if you like to eat after being tired of driking and smoking :) ) spread  words against this fool. 

Read this book. Excellent book regarding mass delusion regarding paranormal claims.  


http://www.amazon.com/Paranormality-Why-What-Isnt-There/dp/0230752985

This is a fascinating topic.

I have always wondered about paranormal activities specially in Nepal. There are so many inexplicable paranormal incidents out there.

One thing that I have always been fascinated about is the thing called "वीर हेर्ने" where coal is rubbed on the palms of a virgin female and then "bir" is like a hanuman that shows the girl what happened like a movie on her palm.

Has anyone heard about this?

 I have not heard of this but does not surprise me. i am sure there is another culture in some corner of the world where someone  looks at your poop and sees the future. 

(All I have to say regarding this is "All One can see in the poop in the past (eating history and other vitals of your body) literelly!!!")

nayanepalibabu, what are you trying to prove by starting this thread?
Huh????
Are you trying to say that you are way smater than people who believe in paranormal activities?

P.S. Poop do indeed tell the future. If you have black poop, please go to the doc asap cause you might be dead in a few days and you might not be able to post on Sajha anymore.

Last question on this thread.  DId you family regrets finding you a dumb??????????????????????

        I do not want to talk about myself and get away from the main topic , I have repeatedly said I only used the tittle ("why are people so dumb ?") to get more people to participate in this thread. I obviuosly cannot say who is dumb sitting at my howm without ever meeting and knowing you all well.
    Attacking me personally is not going to make your points stronger. 

"Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about other people."   

  So talk about the ideas not about me.  Show me facts, researches and logical natural explanations,
         This is what is wrong with the blind mob. You all believe in something and attack others who make disgrees with your frictional paranormal claim.
  However, I am encouraged by all the comments and feedbacks. I am only trying to spread the idea of critcal thinking. 


Also Carl Sagan's book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark  is an excellent book for all the critical thinkers out there. 
       

"I can understand people who are unaware of critical thinking believing these things but why do educated people believe these garbage."
"Small people talk about other people."  

Look, you started out by judging others by saying why educated people believe in this garbage. Now, you are saying 'small people talk about other people'. Right now, I am wondering who is small, you or these educated people. HUH????

 @Violet You are still attacking me instead of talking about the main issue at hand. 
"I can understand people who are unaware of critical thinking believing these things but why do educated people believe these garbage." - by me
  In the above statement I have not personally attacked anyone in specific, I have merely pointed out the trend I have observed. I have made these statement to question our education that does not teach the value of criting thinking.


Also, please talk to me about the paranormal claims and its validity and not about your or my character. 

I never experienced any kind of activities mentioned above. But I will not deny it either.

NepaliBabu,
why don't you believe in those claims?
is that because it is not proved by science yet?
or you  do not believe what you have not seen/experienced?

just wanted to hear your opinion.

I don't think it is the education that makes you believe or not believe in supenatural//paranormal things, it is your own critical thinking that determines the side you choose.

Nayanepalibabu, maybe you should go back and read what you have written in very slow motion to really get the meaning behind it.
I dont wanna break it down for you cause if i do, it might get nasty.

I have already given my 2 cents on this thread. And now, lets just say I dont wanna talk to dumb people.

"Don’t argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

 I don't believe in these supernatural claims and pshysics claims because firstly I have never experienced it. Secondly, (hypethetical) if I do experience something unexpainable I would never jump to the conclusion that it is paranormal just because I don't understand and cannot explain. There are many things I don't understand and cannot explain. 
   So in this situation I would try to research and find out more about it and see if this experience contradicts well know scientific theories. There are many ways to proceed but I would not say it is done by god or something like that and stop exploring this matter. 

@footyfan i agree with you (I do not know who is the idiot here but well said).


Also for those of you out there with supernatural power  or powers you can win a million dollar, go to this website and prove your claim. It will be nice to see deservin nepali brothers or sisters winning the money :) 

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

I have a feeling he was referring to you.

 I must admit that I used to be really skeptical about "bhoots, prets, kala jadoos" etc until some event happened more than 10 years ago. I think I was in the 6th grade. That year's Laxmi Pooja (even though we don't celebrate Tihar) is probably one of the darkest nights of my entire life. Our house got broken into with an acquaintance turning into the culprit. How did we find out about it? 

Someone had my dad, a neighbor and I go to a "bir heraune" pundit. I can't even describe how mindblowing the experience was, even though I was barely a kid then. What's more, it was performed on my palms as it had to be done on some bachelor's palm. Little by little, I could see the images of the thief, his wife (accomplice). They climbed through the neighbor's house, entered my parents bedroom, 'appeared' to be using some sort of drug that made them unconscious, stole things and I even saw them walk into their home. What's even more surprising is the fact that we'd gone to the pundit within a couple hours since we found out that we'd been stolen of jewellery, cash etc., basically meaning that I wasn't imagining things that others had speculated. 

When we had the cop go to the guy's place, the dumb idiot had my dad's slippers right outside his door. 

That was such an awful experience as it led to another bigger stealing that we had to go through within the next couple of years which used to make me wish I was a grown-up adult who could beat the crap out of those thieves. 

All in all, I don't think "Why are people so dumb?" an appropriate title that warranted positive remarks. It was pure foolishness and hypocritical on your part. 

@ violet7
     It does not matter who footyfan was referring to. All I said is I agree with him/her.
       Also, Don't refer to footyfan as "he"  How do you know footyfan is a man. I checked footyfans profile. I did not see gender being listed. Don't assume that everyone you see is a man. I know chances of footyfan being male is high looing at other thread footyfan has replied (esp "would you marry namrata .... "  thread). but again I don't know. 

      All you do is attack me instead of talking about the issue. If you are done talking about the issue then that is ok. You do not have to attack me. This is not going to help anyone.
I want to hear from others regarding this issue. Regarding their belief or disbelief of paranormal claims and why. 

@ (eveyone/violet7) 
A good funny song :) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjOqU6GPf48

LoL! Nayanepalibabu, you just got a little dumber (dont know whether such a word exist).

 @ footyfan Maybe you should tell this "bir" person about the million dollar challenge. Here is the link again. (Also, I have already explained myself plenty of time regaring the choice of tittle.) 


http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html



@violet7   I will stop replying to your comments from now on. You have the right to free speech so continue to attack me or divert from the main issue.  

You know why I am attacking you. Because when people tell you why they believe in such stuffs, you keep telling them that they are wrong and call them things like 'foolish educated people".

Everyone has opinions. I know that but why are you trying to disprove something that someone else have seen or experienced?