Aliens, ghosts etc

[hugh]

If that was aimed at me you'll have to disprove me before I prove you retarded I can write up an academically-referenced piece reviewing the current state of artificial sensory systems... though I should have probably have quantified my previous post as 'it's a distinct possibility as the technology exists to do do'.

The only real hurdle is keeping people alive in a simulated reality but given that people can live in vegetative state for years this might not be so impossible

No it wasn't directed at you, just the people who are like "I've seen ghosts omg can't believe you don't believe me cigarette!"
I believe artificial sensory systems are a massive part of the future of the human race (eg using it to pilot spacecraft and mine other planets - it will happen!).

[hugh]

I also believe in Aliens. Aliens are like a statistical certainty. I don't believe Aliens are walking amongst us whatsoever.

[dreamizm]

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

Interesting.

Might this explain deja-vu:

"In fact, bugs could be very common. An interesting question is whether knowledge of bugs or loopholes in a sufficiently powerful simulation are instantly erased the minute they are observed since presumably all thoughts and experiences in a simulated world could be carefully monitored and altered. This would, however, require enormous processing capability in order to simultaneously monitor billions of people at once. Of course, if this is the case we would never be able to act on discovery of bugs. In fact, any simulation significantly determined to protect its existence could erase any proof that it was a simulation whenever it arose, provided it had the enormous capacity necessary to do so."

[raboonthebaboon]

Don't believe in them, but I have seen something I could only explain as a ghost at the time and since. Person next to me saw it as well... weirdest thing was, we then heard about lots of people having a similar experience on the same stretch of road. Properly odd. I've never been able to explain it.... we ran someone over... I mean, properly ran someone the fuck over... we both screamed, I slammed on the brakes and we clearly hit them, but they had vanished by the time the car stopped and I jumped out.

yeah i remember you posting this ages ago
not sure how you can't believe in ghosts after something like that happened

[capo ultra]

@ gorillabearbear: My point is that there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other and so I take issue with statements like "How the fuck can anyone think there's any slight chance ghosts are real?"

if there is no evidence one way or another then surely the sensible stance is to assume they do not exist, otherwise you may as well randomly select anything that you have made up in your head with no evidence and believe in it. Seems immensely daft

[nowaysj]

Once you conceive of it, it does exist. Tricky universe. Sneaky Kittens.

[therapist]

@ gorillabearbear: My point is that there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other and so I take issue with statements like "How the fuck can anyone think there's any slight chance ghosts are real?"

if there is no evidence one way or another then surely the sensible stance is to assume they do not exist, otherwise you may as well randomly select anything that you have made up in your head with no evidence and believe in it. Seems immensely daft

Quite. There's little evidence against me being king of the universe, because where would you even start in disproving it?

[noam]

Once you conceive of it, it does exist. Tricky universe. Sneaky Kittens.

yea but you have to qualify 'exist'

there are loads of different arguments to do with this, conceiving is the easy part, determining in what way it exists is the next step

[nowaysj]

bah, I'll leave that 2 u!

[noam]

i think therefore i spam

[magma]

Don't believe in them, but I have seen something I could only explain as a ghost at the time and since. Person next to me saw it as well... weirdest thing was, we then heard about lots of people having a similar experience on the same stretch of road. Properly odd. I've never been able to explain it.... we ran someone over... I mean, properly ran someone the fuck over... we both screamed, I slammed on the brakes and we clearly hit them, but they had vanished by the time the car stopped and I jumped out.

yeah i remember you posting this ages ago
not sure how you can't believe in ghosts after something like that happened

I went to see the Neil Gaiman (League of Gentlemen etc) Ghost Stories play last year and the narrator dude asked the audience if they believed in Ghosts... hands go up... then he asks "Who's seen a ghost", loads of hands went down... mine conspicuously went up.

The closest I can get to it is from ghost stories, but I can't think of a rational reason for ghosts existing, so something's got to give. It's the most frustrating thing that's ever happened to me. I'll be telling it to Grandchildren and scaring the living shit out of myself all over again along with them.

[cityzen]

@ gorillabearbear: My point is that there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other and so I take issue with statements like "How the fuck can anyone think there's any slight chance ghosts are real?"

if there is no evidence one way or another then surely the sensible stance is to assume they do not exist, otherwise you may as well randomly select anything that you have made up in your head with no evidence and believe in it. Seems immensely daft

Indeed, although the difference being is that ghosts have been experienced by many thousands of people and thing that one makes up in one's head has only been experienced by the individual.
But therapist's original statement is so definitive that I had to pick up on it. In an infinite universe everything is possible, and so, while most people will say that ghosts do not exist, the possibility, however slight, remains. That is how the fuck anyone can think there's any slight chance ghosts are real.

[therapist]

I don't think anything could validate my question better than someone responding with "everything is possible."

[youthful_implants]

Once you conceive of it, it does exist. Tricky universe. Sneaky Kittens.

[Shum]

i think therefore i spam

nabbing this for my sig

[cityzen]

How the fuck can anyone think there's any slight chance ghosts are real?

I don't think anything could validate my question better than someone responding with "everything is possible."

That doesn't even make sense.
Your logic is sub par.

[therapist]

How the fuck can anyone think there's any slight chance ghosts are real?

I don't think anything could validate my question better than someone responding with "everything is possible."

That doesn't even make sense.
Your logic is sub par.

I asked how anyone can think ghosts exist. If believing "everything is possible" is the only way, it kind of says something about how negligible the possibility of their existence is.

I thought your answer was based on a nonsense concept, so yeah, my response was perfectly logical.

[cityzen]

Can you prove that ghosts do not exist?
No, you can't.
Can you then say to me there is no chance, however remote, that ghosts exist?
No, you can't.
But you are trying to, hence - your logic is sub par.

I would bring you back to the example of the black swan but I think it would be wasted on you.

[hugh]

If ghosts are real so are magical flying multicoloured breakdancing elephants. Except you can't see them and they have no means of being detected and leave no trace of their existence nor consume anything.

If you are going to start using false positives as an argumentative basis for the possible existence of ghosts then you can do the same for anything that you imagination could possibly conjure.

[Gewze]

I never used to believe in ghosts but thought something could exist in those realms but one night i felt breathing in my ear like 2 mins after i got in bed and i shit my wack so it kinda changed my mind to a degree