# I pit Halloween for bringing the woo-woos out! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 17, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669 "2004-10-17T14:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/41 "2004-10-18T03:05:09Z")
Look, mysteries and mythos are what propel and sustain mankind. They are worthy pursuits and lead to understanding and knowledge. So called, Psi and other paranormaliities are ageless recurring phenomenon that continue to defy our understanding. They exist, whether they be artifacts of mind and human perception or actual physical occurences. In the truth of the paranormal science finds purpose. Apparently some are stuck in the confines of the dark age of Science and see nothing wondrous anymore and are maybe a bit insecure that current scientific understanding is not the be all and end all. This I find sad. Break throught the linear concepts of science and logic and think **supernaturally** —here lies the new the unthinkable…the unthought. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/42 "2004-10-18T03:09:22Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Break throught the linear concepts of science and logic and think **supernaturally** —here lies the new the unthinkable… Truer words were never spoken. Unthinkable, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/43 "2004-10-18T03:16:19Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Look, mysteries and mythos are what propel and sustain mankind. They are worthy pursuits and lead to understanding and knowledge. So called, Psi and other paranormaliities are ageless recurring phenomenon that continue to defy our understanding. They exist, whether they be artifacts of mind and human perception or actual physical occurences. In the truth of the paranormal science finds purpose. Apparently some are stuck in the confines of the dark age of Science and see nothing wondrous anymore and are maybe a bit insecure that current scientific understanding is not the be all and end all. This I find sad. Break throught the linear concepts of science and logic and think **supernaturally** —here lies the new the unthinkable…the unthought. You, sir, are so steeped in horseshit that you are silly with it. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/44 "2004-10-18T03:24:06Z")
…if we don’t include the paranormal and learn to think in new paradigms(language and concepts of “woo-woos”.) how will we ever develop the language and conceptualization required for a unified scientific theory of everything. Scepticism is a good thing, but outright dismissal in prejudice serves no good. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/45 "2004-10-18T03:24:41Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > Why would anyone feel the need to find a rational explanation of ghosts? How about finding a rational explanation for leprechauns? How about finding a rational explanation for nuclear ninja…? > > You just don’t get it, do you? You’re starting with the assumption that there _is_ something that requires an explanation. You call it “ghosts.” In short, you’ve already decided that there are ghosts, and now you’re looking for an explanation for them. What has led you to conclude that there are ghosts? > > You say, “…there may well be a rational explanation for all of it…” What is “all of it?” I didn’t say anyone needed to find an explanation for _ghosts_, just an explanation for experiences that seem to be paranormal in origin. I do get it. I haven’t concluded ghosts even exist but based on my own experiences and experiences of people that I know personally and trust completely, I think is a possibility. “All of it” would be anything that falls under the the definition of “paranormal” that can’t be easily explained. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/46 "2004-10-18T03:30:50Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > Truer words were never spoken. Unthinkable, indeed. Inconceivable to you, obviously…a foregone thought to me. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/47 "2004-10-18T04:04:29Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Inconceivable to you, obviously…a foregone thought to me. Somehow, you and “foregone” seem to fit nicely together. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/48 "2004-10-18T04:12:01Z")
> [@Greywolf73](#): > > I didn’t say anyone needed to find an explanation for _ghosts_… > [@Greywolf73](#): > > I’m all for finding a rational explanation of ghosts… Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/49 "2004-10-18T04:17:03Z")
This is no joking matter, a nuclear ninja death sponge killed my brother! Also, a nuclear ninja death sponge bit my sister once. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/50 "2004-10-18T04:19:37Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > So called, **Psi** and other paranormaliities are ageless recurring phenomenon that continue to defy our understanding. Pounds per square inch? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/51 "2004-10-18T06:29:56Z")
Do you want to know what has convinced me that all claims of “Psi” are crap? 45 years of people being tested and found wanting. 45 years of frauds. 45 years of cold reading, hot reading and just plain crapping reading. 45 years of walking through fairs supposedly _filled_ with psychics, thinking as hard as I possibly can “Say 'red and green and I’ll give you $20”, and getting no takers. 45 years of watching people make the most fantastic claims and then backing out when push comes to shove(I’m not even going to bother with the hundreds of links I could make on this board and oh so many others). 45 years of _abso-fucking-lutely nothing_. If you’ve got something to show me, then ghoddamnit show me. Here, I’ll make it REAL easy-there is a coin on my desk. It has been on my desk for over 15 years. Tell me what the coin is. I don’t want to hear about “bad vibes”. I don’t really give a leap about the negative vibrations supposedly given off by skeptics. Juest realize this-if I didn’t want to find an actual case of the paranormal, do you think I would have bothered searching for it all this time? I swear to ghod, if you “true believers” were as lax in other disciplines as you were in this one, none of you would have made it out of grade school. The absolute crap you people are willing to accept as evidence both astounds and frightens me. Just. Show. Me. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/52 "2004-10-18T07:38:14Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > buttonjockey,That was weak. You’d have been better served to light some scented candles and concentrate on the color lavender as a way to counter me than that lame-ass attempt at mockery based on my username. OK, you ignorant, jabbering pile of whale shit, I’ll do better. It’s fine and motherfucking dandy to call bullshit on frauds and fakes, but what you’ve done is lumped the flimflam artists and snake oil salesmen in with those that actually BELIEVE in something. The concept of the existance of unseen energies is thousands of years older than modern Christianity, yet you seem to have no problem with a spooky, invisible, omnipotent father figure, who lives in a city in the sky, and watches your every move. Or maybe you do, who knows? The lack of completeness and eloquence in your OP leaves me wondering what you do actually believe. Not that you have to believe anything at all, but who the motherfuck do you think you are to say that people who believe in certain things are > [@](#): > > sad, insecure sacks of shit you misanthropic puddle of donkey cum? The ability to cling to a belief, whether it’s in vampires and the tooth fairy, or the established group of religions and/or faiths, or simply science, is a cornerstone of humanity. Said faith is, like it or not, the boundary that keeps many societies civilized, and has done so for lo these many years. Of course, there is a downside to that faith, a HUGE downside, in that wars are fought in its’ name, and people die because of it, but overall, more good than bad has been wrought in the name of belief and faith, than bad. No matter the stripe. Next, you’ll be pitting Christmas, as it brings out the “ho-ho’ers” with their “good cheer” and their pesky belief in aforementioned father figure. :rolleyes: With any luck, I will be the next ‘creduloid’ that quoth to your witless brain the works of Will Shakespeare, and I will show you then the very meaning of a flogging, you insignificant speck of worm shit. Oh, and have a nice day. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/53 "2004-10-18T08:29:14Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > Next, you’ll be pitting Christmas, as it brings out the “ho-ho’ers” with their “good cheer” and their pesky belief in aforementioned father figure. :rolleyes: Hey, one holiday at time, schmuckus. That is a _figurative_ flogging you’re threatening, isn’t it? I know how easily some creduloids resort to violence. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/54 "2004-10-18T09:07:20Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Careful now, you’re spreading negativity or bad vibes or unbalancing your energy centers or whatever the fuck it is. Good point. How about, “Fuck you!”? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/55 "2004-10-18T09:17:34Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > You, sir, are so steeped in horseshit that you are silly with it. Or perhaps steeped in the scum of a pup. Get a life, child. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/56 "2004-10-18T09:58:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > This is the time of year when discussion boards are overrun by doofuses talking about “psi” and “energies” and all the other non-existant crap this crowd just loves to wallow in. Crimoney, what a sad, insecure sack of shit you have to be to cling to belief in such nonsense. The part I don’t understand is why they bother drawing a line anywhere. If you believe in shit like psi, why not go ahead and believe in the Tooth Fairy, homeopathy, vampires, Advanced Aluminum Supersonic Nazi hell Creatures, too? It’s _phi_. Dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/57 "2004-10-18T10:09:52Z")
[symbol]f[/symbol] or [symbol]y[/symbol]? I’d strongly recommend the autobiography of [urlhttp://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/]Susan Blackmore, who spent two decades earnestly searching for something, _anything_ to confirm the existence of the things she started out believing in. How many people must have careers like hers before we conclude that these things are just _not there_? (Trivia for BritDopers: she’s now shagging Adam Hart Davies.) ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/58 "2004-10-18T10:11:04Z")
Sorry, [Susan Blackmore](http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/59 "2004-10-18T11:36:25Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Yikes, I thought for a moment you were being harrassed by [Ronnie Woo Woo](http://www.ronniewoowoo.com/). That would definitely merit a pitting. > > (Can you believe Ronnie Woo Woo has an official website?) This guy is so annoying it obliterates all belief and credibility. Prove to me that anything could be more irritating than this guy and you’ll have done something, creduloids. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669/60 "2004-10-18T12:12:47Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > The ability to cling to a belief, whether it’s in vampires and the tooth fairy, or the established group of religions and/or faiths, or simply science, is a cornerstone of humanity. The ability to cling to a belief for which there is no evidence whatsoever is one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses. The species and its civilization would advance by leaps and bounds if it could overcome this crippling disability. And science is not a faith. If science can’t prove the theories it comes up with, those theories get discarded. Faith, on the other hand, exists in an evidence vacuum, and stubbornly persists even after it’s been thoroughly discredited. > [@buttonjockey308](#): > > Said faith is, like it or not, the boundary that keeps many societies civilized, and has done so for lo these many years. You’re not going to trot out that tired old argument again, are you? That, without religion (or something like it), we would have no ethics, and would run around killing each other? Humanity’s innate sense of ethics is what gave rise to notions of morality in our religions, not the other way around. I note in passing that **Aeschines** is now completely devoid of debating points, and has become quite desperate. This is what happens when faith is held up to the light of reason. It has no answer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-halloween-for-bringing-the-woo-woos-out/269669.md?page=4)