# has a spirit ever been captured on camera? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002 "2004-03-07T19:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/61 "2004-03-08T17:33:57Z")
Bub, you are on the wrong message board if you think we should respect everybodies beliefs, when said beliefs are ignorant. The motto of THIS message board isn’t “A nice place to chat about your beliefs, where everybody respects you and is nice and friendly” Have you read any of Cecils columns? Go away if you can’t handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/62 "2004-03-08T18:04:16Z")
**Ilsa** has a philosophy? Now I’m picturing the chick from _Casablanca_ standing beside Bill and Ted while they tell Socrates that “All we are is dust in the wind, dude.” ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/63 "2004-03-08T18:10:16Z")
I am in the Natural Sciences, philosophy is my sworn enemy! ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/64 "2004-03-08T18:16:03Z")
Even ethics? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/65 "2004-03-08T18:20:14Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > Even ethics? I go out of my way to torture small animals. (Warning for the humor impaired: this is a joke.) ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/66 "2004-03-08T18:30:26Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > I go out of my way to torture small animals. Ahhh… But have you ever tried capturing their little spirits on camera? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/67 "2004-03-08T19:21:34Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > I am in the Natural Sciences, philosophy is my sworn enemy! “So, Socrates, we meet again! There can be only one!” ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/68 "2004-03-08T19:52:26Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > Bub, you are on the wrong message board if you think we should respect everybodies beliefs, when said beliefs are ignorant. > > The motto of THIS message board isn’t “A nice place to chat about your beliefs, where everybody respects you and is nice and friendly” > > Have you read any of Cecils columns? > > Go away if you can’t handle it. What crawled up your ass and died? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/69 "2004-03-08T20:53:36Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > What crawled up your ass and died? And did you capture its spirit on camera? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/70 "2004-03-08T22:36:13Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > And some people choose to respect other people’s beliefs without looking down their nose at them. Not all beliefs deserve respect. Some people believe that God made the white man to rule over all other races. Do you respect that belief? I assume not. Yet that belief has just as much factual, replicapable support as **CheekyMonkey** ’s demons. Which is to say, none at all. Now, certainly, believing in demons is more respectable than believing that race is a valid indicator of human worth, but only on a moral or ethical plane. Intellectually, it is not at all worthy of respect, because we have better answers, _provable_ answers, for all of the things historically attrubuted to demons and spirits. I’m not saying there’s no room in the world for faith or spirituality, but only after logic and science have been exhausted. By way of example, there’s no excuse for believing in a six day creation in this day and age, not with what we know about astronomy, physics, and the birth of the universe. But if you want to ask, “Why was there a Big Bang?” science doesn’t really have an answer to that. “God” is as good an answer as any. > [@](#): > > Whew, I sure am glad to have that one cleared up. :rolleyes: Considering that, after 5000 plus years of recorded history, there’s still no concrete proof for the exsistence of a ghost or spirit that doesn’t amount to anything more than a bad dream and a skin condition, I don’t really see how much clearer the issue could be. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/71 "2004-03-08T23:14:37Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > I am in the Natural Sciences, philosophy is my sworn enemy! I hope that’s not what they are teaching you in your school, since it is inaccurate. Tars Tarkas, biologist. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/72 "2004-03-09T00:13:25Z")
> [@Tars Tarkas](#): > > I hope that’s not what they are teaching you in your school, since it is inaccurate. > > Tars Tarkas, biologist. Oooookayyy… Come on dude. It was a joke. It’s a running joke in the Bio department. We have a set of particularly ditzy Philosphers in the Liberal Arts department. I am aware that Kant, Bacon, Lakatos, Platt etc. are important figures in the history of science. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/73 "2004-03-09T00:23:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Not all beliefs deserve respect. Some people believe that God made the white man to rule over all other races. Do you respect that belief? I assume not. Yet that belief has just as much factual, replicapable support as **CheekyMonkey** ’s demons. Which is to say, none at all. > > Now, certainly, believing in demons is more respectable than believing that race is a valid indicator of human worth, but only on a moral or ethical plane. Intellectually, it is not at all worthy of respect, because we have better answers, _provable_ answers, for all of the things historically attrubuted to demons and spirits. I’m not saying there’s no room in the world for faith or spirituality, but only after logic and science have been exhausted. By way of example, there’s no excuse for believing in a six day creation in this day and age, not with what we know about astronomy, physics, and the birth of the universe. But if you want to ask, “Why was there a Big Bang?” science doesn’t really have an answer to that. “God” is as good an answer as any. > > Considering that, after 5000 plus years of recorded history, there’s still no concrete proof for the exsistence of a ghost or spirit that doesn’t amount to anything more than a bad dream and a skin condition, I don’t really see how much clearer the issue could be. Fair enough. I know that anecdotal evidence doesn’t go well around here, which is why I didn’t mention it before. I might have brought it up if the original thread had been in IMHO instead of GQ. Still, I think **Epimetheus** was an asshole unnecessarily. I know it’s the Pit, but assholish behavior is not required, just allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/74 "2004-03-09T00:27:05Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Fair enough. I know that anecdotal evidence doesn’t go well around here, which is why I didn’t mention it before. I might have brought it up if the original thread had been in IMHO instead of GQ. > > Still, I think **Epimetheus** was an asshole unnecessarily. I know it’s the Pit, but assholish behavior is not required, just allowed. I actually agree with you. We usually disagree, but I don’t have anything against you personally. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/75 "2004-03-09T00:28:43Z")
Cool! Does this mean we can be civil? Because I’m all about that. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/76 "2004-03-09T00:31:33Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Cool! Does this mean we can be civil? Because I’m all about that. Were we not being civil? I’d rather have friends than enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/77 "2004-03-09T02:02:24Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Oooookayyy… > > Come on dude. It was a joke. It’s a running joke in the Bio department. We have a set of particularly ditzy Philosphers in the Liberal Arts department. > > I am aware that Kant, Bacon, Lakatos, Platt etc. are important figures in the history of science. :rolleyes: Stop being an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/78 "2004-03-09T02:12:21Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Has a stupid question ever been captured on camera? Don’t move - I’ll get my polaroid 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/79 "2004-03-09T15:46:58Z")
> [@Never Have I Because I](#): > > fear was also supposed to be in quotes, as i don’t have any fear of big words. Ahhh, but a fear of capital letters can be quite debilitating. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002/80 "2004-03-09T23:27:42Z")
Ilsa: As **Philster** essentially said, “Has a spirit ever been captured on camera?” is a factual question in the same way that “Did Walter Mondale win the 1984 presidential election?” is a factual question. They both have factual answers. The OP was perfectly suited to GQ; I really don’t understand your beef. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-spirit-ever-been-captured-on-camera/233002.md?page=5)