Science Jobs - Paranormal?

[Melanydac]

Hey Everyone :-D

 

I was just wondering if there are many Science Jobs out there focusing on paranormal activity? I would really like to look into this kind of work as i find it fascinating, I also enjoy gathering info on other dimensions such as dream planes and how the subconscious mind works.

 

Iv included a Wikipidia link to give an idea of what kind of areas I would like to go into.

 

Any suggestion would be welcome

 

Mel

Edited June 22, 2009 by Cap'n Refsmmat
de-spam

[Sisyphus]

Well, "paranormal" stuff is unscientific, by definition. If it were supportable by science, it would be called something else. Dreams (though not whatever "the dream plane" is) and the subconscious mind, however, are not "paranormal phenomena." If you wanted to study them, you could approach it from neuroscience or psychology.

[Phi for All]

Moved from Suggestions (which is really more for suggestions and comments about this site) to Other Sciences.

 

 

 

I always had a fascination with the paranormal as well, but while I found myself open to the possibilities, as I gained a firmer scientific footing I realized that paranormal activity never fits into what science is about. No one ever gets evidence that can pass rigor and review, no one can ever make predictions or form a repeatable experiment, and no theories are ever formed from the massive amount of efforts put into the "research". In short, supernatural and paranormal are classifications that almost automatically remove themselves from true scientific interpretation. While individual pieces of evidence can be analyzed, the bigger pursuit is not measurable by the scientific method.

[swansont]

Are the Ghostbusters hiring? That's about the only job I can think of, unless it involves being a charlatan of some sort.

[SH3RL0CK]

This seems to have been kind of a fad during the 1970's with quite a bit of "research" performed. Even today there are "legitimate" jobs in these fields. See for starters:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapsychology

 

From the article:

Since the 1970s, contemporary parapsychological research has waned considerably in the United States...Two universities in the United States still have academic parapsychology laboratories: the Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia's Department of Psychiatric Medicine, studies the possibility of survival of consciousness after bodily death; the University of Arizona's Veritas Laboratory conducts laboratory investigations of mediums. Several private institutions, including the Institute of Noetic Sciences, conduct and promote parapsychological research. Britain leads parapsychological study in Europe, with privately funded laboratories at the universities of Edinburgh, Northampton, and Liverpool Hope, among others

[ydoaPs]

You could get a job on one of those shows on Scifi, Discovery, or History channels.

[CharonY]

I think the paranormal as a kind of quasi-science was quite "in" in the 19th to the early 20th century. Nowadays I do not see much of a way to make a living out of that. Except to write books for those that "want to believe". Or something like that.

[Melanydac]

lol Ghostbusters is a bit of a stretch i think Swansont

 

I do agree that this is not conventional science, but I do happen to consider anything that requires research would need some sort of scientific method to proceed do you agree?

 

"Parapsychology is a discipline that seeks to investigate the existence and causes of psychic abilities and life after death using the "scientific method"

 

Lets see.. and yes this is just one example im using.

 

Take for example astral projection (or astral travel) im sure u know that this is when a person has an out-of-body experience considered to involve an astral counterpart that separates from the physical body and travels to one or more astral planes or the physical world (this is what i meant by dream planes) Astral projection is experienced as being "out of the body".

 

This is not always considered dreaming as astral projection may be practiced deliberately. Some Shamanic religions practice this technique, with the soul's journey or "ascent" being described as 'an...out-of-body experience' wherein the spiritual traveler leaves the physical body and travels in their dream body or astral body into other realms.

 

Something else that interests me is Ley Lines you can have a look at that entry for more info.

 

In not actually talking about chasing ghosts around here although I do believe they exist, but I would like to be able to study something along these lines, and im not worried if I get discredited for wanting to pursue this line of work actually, I am a firm believer that you have to do what you have a passion for in life.

 

Thanks for all the feedback Id love to hear more

 

Mel

[iNow]

Mel - I think perhaps the single biggest challenge you will face is... In order to make your research scientific, you must first put forth clear definitions of your terms which are falsifiable, and replicable by others.

 

For example, I dare you to put clear parameters which are testable and which can be falsified for this "astral plane" concept you referenced. It just ain't gonna happen, and... until it does... it's not science. Your definition is too "fuzzy." It's too, "Hey man, this is like way far out. Are those cup cakes?"

 

 

Now, if you're interested in stuff like telepathy... then you could maybe posit a mechanism. Let's say you think that a magnetic field is generated around the human body as a result of chemoelectric conduction in our nerves and synapses... and that maybe this electric impulse which travels through our bodies results in a magnetic field (as per experiments from Farraday). Perhaps that field is somehow impacted by the iron in our blood, which pools in specific areas of our brain, and hence impacts our perception. Maybe that field interacts with a similar field put out by other humans, and the interpretations we make after perceiving that multi-biomagnetic field interaction is what we commonly call telepathy.

 

You can absolutely test those things... test if there are minute magnetic fields surrounding the body, of if concentration of iron in the blood has any impact, or even if the topic of ones thoughts impacts the nature of the field or the way it's perceived. You could even make comparisons to electric fish, which put out a pulse and are able to perceive their environment based on the EM field surrounding them and it's perturbations.

 

That's all science.

 

Here's the rub, though... You still have to find a way to test and define the concept of telepathy itself in a way that is falsifiable and replicable. Good luck with that. Seriously. The research is easy, but convincingly showing that it supports your "para" conjectures is not. You can show that such fields exist, and even measure their interactions, but after that it's a ginormous leap to proving this has any relevance whatsoever to your concept of telepathy.

 

Anyway, good luck. I used to be much more interested in stuff like this. Then, I started learning more about 'actual' science and tended to let go of the things which were based more on wish-thinking, since reality was so much more interesting and informative.

Edited June 19, 2009 by iNow

[Melanydac]

Hi iNow

 

You are probably right in saying "Your definition is too "fuzzy." It's too, "Hey man, this is like way far out. Are those cup cakes?" lol

 

Most people look upon this subject as fanciful im sure, the fact still remains that there has been research into this kind of work in the past and still is, I don't think that anyone would actually go into this kind of work if there were absolutely no substance to it though do you?, and although it's not classed as an exact science which has thus far not had many valid findings, it would be for that very reason that I would like to delve deeper into it , it could well be a case of curiosity kills the cat, but where there is smoke there is always fire.

 

The human brain is a powerful thing, who knows what it is capable of doing when used to its full extent and if a person activates its unlimited potentials.

 

I think as humans we only use a minimal part of our brains on a daily basis but there is yet so much more we can find out and tap into, you spoke about magnetic fields in the human body and electric pulses used by animals... this sounds very interesting and it would be something id be interested in studying further.

 

So although the area of pseudoscience will granted be a challenge im sure, that's what it's all about, the challenges and proving what has not yet been proved and as you also said be able reach a falsifiable and replicable conclusion.

 

Mel

[iNow]

Most people look upon this subject as fanciful im sure, the fact still remains that there has been research into this kind of work in the past and still is, I don't think that anyone would actually go into this kind of work if there were absolutely no substance to it though do you?,

Yes, actually... I do. People believe in all sorts of "woo" that has no grounding in reality, because... well, because it's easier, and that's just sort of human nature. I mean, hell... Just look at religion. (Generalizing here) For practically every claim they make there is zero empirical support... no evidence whatsoever... not one iota... yet just look at how many vast numbers of people believe that without any doubts.

 

I'm just saying, lots of people believe lots of things which are not reasonable or grounded in reality, so that's not a very good criterion for you to use when thinking that some field has any worth or merit.

 

 

it could well be a case of curiosity kills the cat, but where there is smoke there is always fire.

That's just it, though. For many of these things, there's not even smoke... Just people who think there's smoke. Try to keep that in mind as you move forward.

 

 

The human brain is a powerful thing, who knows what it is capable of doing when used to its full extent and if a person activates its unlimited potentials.

 

I think as humans we only use a minimal part of our brains on a daily basis but there is yet so much more we can find out and tap into

Just FYI - That's an old urban myth, and is non-representative of reality. We actually use all of our brains. More on that here:

 

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

 

 

Enjoy.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Has nobody noticed that the OP was spam?

[Mokele]

Before discussing the merits/flaws of a career in paranormal investigation, you need to figure out a much more pragmatic question: Who will actually pay you to do this?

 

Those who work in science either are in industry (where you're paid to produce something via science, such as a drug or device), or academia (where you're paid to teach and bring in grants that the university can take a percentage of). In either case, your employment and continued research is contingent upon providing a service to your employer.

 

Who is actually going to hire a 'paranormal investigator'? You can't produce anything really useful, so no industry will fund you, and no university will let you teach this stuff. And TV shows on the subject care more about ratings than integrity (the same goes for normal science, too, which is why most TV science personalities aren't researchers anymore, if they ever were).

 

 

The merits of your field are irrelevant if you can't pay rent on your apartment. Even if there *are* phenomena that deserve investigation, who will pay you to do it?