# What has made you question your scepticism? aka 'Things that make you go hhhhmmmm....' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680 "2013-04-14T14:26:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/21 "2013-04-15T15:36:22Z")
I’ve had a number of personal experiences that defy logical explanation, particularly as far premonitions or connections with other people. One friend in particular, at times past when we were much closer, I would often get notions about her, not just what had happened, but when, often verifiably down to within a few minutes. Admittedly, I do recall a couple instances getting notions that seemed to be wrong, but they were definitely in the minority, and I can’t say they were definitely wrong. I have also gotten notions on a few occasions about world events. For instance, I specifically remember saying to my friends the night before 9/11 that thousands of people would die the enxt and a few of the repercussions, mostly about how it would directly affect the three of us, but nothing specific about how or why they would die. I’ve had a few others like that about similar sorts of disasters, most recently that I remember would be the earthquake in Japan 2 years ago; similarly in that case, I had a notion that thousands would die the night before and I told one of my friends about it. I’ve also had premonitions related directly to events in my own life, particularly related to meeting new people or the ending of those relationships. For instance, before I met my ex-fiancee, I had already been aware of when I would meet her, how long the relationship would last, and certain aspects of what would occur in the relationship. Coincidentally, she had also mentioned that, despite strongly not believing in it, she had also been told by her grandmother when and how she would meet me, along with similar sorts of aspects to our relationship. Of course, the duration does have a degree of self-fufilling prophecy to it, so I’m less inclined to lend any weight to that. I generally consider myself a skeptic, and I certainly can see an explanation for many of these sorts of things, particularly as confirmation bias remembering times when one is accurate and forgetting times when I’m not, and if I’d just had one or two of those sorts of memories I’d have an easier time buying that, but I recall a lot more than would seem to fit with that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/22 "2013-04-15T15:56:20Z")
Nothing, and at the risk of being dismissive, I just don’t think that’s how skepticism works. I don’t make much out of things like coincidences and dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/23 "2013-04-15T16:32:19Z")
The most my world-view was rocked turned out to be a bad argument, but for a while it had me going. It was the argument about the probability of the first strand of RNA occurring by accident, requiring say 100 base pairs to be useful. Taken at face value, the probability against would happen only in an infinite universe, which at that time I also didn’t believe was the case. Of course, the argument was invalid, since we have no idea how many different “original RNA” molecules with any given number of base pairs would be useful, and we haven’t any idea what the process to construct it was (and whether selection could be involved in the process). Additionally, the hypothesis that the universe is either infinite, or at least large enough to make the possibility significant, seems like a simpler hypothesis that God – at least, these are statable hypotheses, whereas God is a pretty much unstatable hypothesis. But I do remember the feeling of my world view being seriously rocked. The experience told me that I was not as much the disinterested observer as I’d like to be, but also told me that I wasn’t totally immune to evidence contrary to my beliefs. I don’t remember specifics, but I’ve certainly had a few peculiar coincidences. As a skeptic, I don’t take them too seriously; none of them were beyond the realm of mere coincidences, despite the eery sense they invoked. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/24 "2013-04-15T16:59:45Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > There never was an athier nation 😉 For once, a time when the comparative/superlative form of athy is apprpriate! ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/25 "2013-04-15T17:44:14Z")
I have dreamed all my life a LOT. So, on to physical world Hummmms: While flying, a Malard duck at 12,000 feet. Hummmmm While flying, a duck at 8000 feet with 4 wings, fore & aft on each side. Hummm Had a cotton mouth snake strike at me through about a 2" hole. He came out almost a foot. One of my sisters had a cat go walk-about for 10 years. Came back & stayed. Yes, same cat. Hummmm I have stayed alive because of 1 in a million chances. Had a baby brother die because of 1 in a M on top of a 1 in a M on top of a 1 in a thousand that had to all line up. ( God pulled his card & there was no getting out of it. ) IMO, I can’t have come so close to death in so many different ways to think that science knows all the answers or will be answered in the future. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/26 "2013-04-15T18:28:00Z")
I have had sharp, sudden, pains (like pin pricks) in different parts of my body happen at exactly the same time, for the same duration, then just go away again. Also, when I pick at a spot on the back of my right leg (I think it’s an ingrown hair), I feel an answering twinge in my back, in the same place, every time. So acupuncture, hmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/27 "2013-04-15T18:42:55Z")
I once had something happen that I couldn’t explain. I may have told this story before on here but here it is: I was working in my backyard on a hot summer day and decided I wanted to stop for lunch. I had a sandwich shop/pizzeria around the corner I would normally eat at and I would always order my sub in a specific way so I usually called in advance. This day, as hot as it was, waiting in the store’s AC for my sandwich didn’t seem so bad so without going inside I walked from my backyard to the shop and when I walked in the guy behind the counter handed me my wrapped sandwich ready to go saying, “Here you are.” It was what I planned to order, the way I always asked for it. For some reason I felt weird asking him if I actually called so I just took the sandwich, paid and went home. I know I didn’t call. I didn’t have a cell phone back then and I never went into my house. No one else would have done it because I didn’t even have the idea to stop for lunch until I decided to stop and go to the shop. Best I got was a Me from a parallel universe gt his wires crossed and got stuck waiting for his sandwich. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/28 "2013-04-15T18:54:07Z")
Every time I experience a coincidence that is just too much of a coincidence, I get that feeling. Like the other day, I was watching the TeeVee and _Saving Private Ryan_ was on. Right after the scene where Capt. Miller questions the almost deaf GI about Ryan’s whereabouts, I flipped the channel and who was on whatever show I flipped to? It was the same over-emoting, dorky looking actor (the deaf GI, not Tom Hanks) who I don’t think I could peg in any other work ever staring back at me. I mean, really, what are the odds? Then I go look up the definition of “coincidence,” and it all comes back to me. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/29 "2013-04-15T19:59:42Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > In addition to the 1 in 365 chance thing, there’s also the issue that, depending on how you define as the Soviet Union ceasing to exist, the event occurred anywhere from Dec. 8 (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus sign the Belavezha Accords declaring the dissolution of the USSR) to Dec. 26 (The Council of Republics of the Supreme Soviet formally recognizes the dissolution of the USSR, then disbands). True, but I always feel that the flag being lowered at midnight over the Kremlin marked the true end of the USSR, and that happened at midnight from 25th/26th December. Like I said I don’t really think there’s anything to it but it _is_ strange timing. > [@AngelSoft](#): > > I’m not really a believer in ghosts. I think most of the ‘reports’ are people just looking for attention. However, I’m not a hundred percent convinced they don’t exist because of my mother. Ever since I can remember, she has told me about how she grew up in a haunted house. She saw the ghosts directly and on multiple occassions. Normally, I’d attribute it to memories being altered and strengthened with time. But both my other aunts AND my highly religious, very serious grandmother agree that my mother’s telling the truth. Apparently they all experienced these ‘ghosts’ at the home. So, I don’t know. Clearly the entire family believes they saw ghosts, so I can’t just assume they’re all lying. While this never made me believe in ghosts completely, it has made me pause in completely calling them fake. That’s pretty much how I feel on that issue, I’ve never seen anything myself _(nor do I want to)_ but I’ve heard too many stories from people I trust and respect to say there’s definitely nothing to it. > [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > There never was an athier nation 😉 Well back in the day when you wanted top-grade 100% proof no-nonsense athiesm the USSR was the go-to country. These modern ‘athiest’ nations are just lightweights by comparison. > [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > I’ve had some wierd coincidences happen in my life. One that I’ve mentioned earlier on this board involved sleeping in a building that had been part of prison/concentration camp during WWII. This was during the Yugoslavian Muslim/Serbian war. My group stayed there because the buildings were intact and big enough to hide our vehicles and the place was absolutely desserted. We didn’t know it’s history. Everyone was terrified and had been for quite a while, but that night I got a really good sleep. It felt like we were as safe as we were going to get and there was this feeling of comfort all through the night. Later we found out about the place’s history from the locals. They said it was haunted by nasty and vindicative spirits. It’s the only thing in my life that’s ever made me wonder about ghots. I recall that story from another thread, its a good one and quite moving. > [@GusNSpot](#): > > While flying, a duck at 8000 feet with 4 wings, fore & aft on each side. Hummm :eek: Thanks for the answers everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/30 "2013-04-15T20:15:59Z")
I don’t really believe in precognition, but I’ve had some really odd dreams that match exactly with something that happens in the future. The thing that keeps me from thinking I’m psychic, though, is that they’re all really tiny things. Things like an image of some girls walking down the aisles in a concert hall, and later I’m looking a certain direction and see those same girls. I’ve recorded some of the coincidences, but I’ve reasoned out that I “retcon” the dreams. My memories of them are always a bit vague, even when I record them, it’s always like “three girls walking down the aisle in an assembly”, maybe with the names of the girls. I never can give details like what they’re wearing. So I’m pretty sure that when I see an image that’s similar enough, I “retcon” the dream instead of “remember” it. That is, I superimpose the real image – the clothes, the people into the background, onto the more fuzzy part of my dream I remember. That and the dreams are so mundane, some of them are bound to happen. I mean, three girls, who I know are friends, walking down the aise in an auditorium that we were bound to have an assembly in at one time or another? They’re always things that could plausibly happen, and I have plenty of dreams that never come to pass. Still, it **feels** pretty uncanny which makes me wonder sometimes. Just a little. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/31 "2013-04-15T20:16:55Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > . . . One strange-seeming but almost plausible idea might explain why we are often miraculously saved from death: _Quantum Immortality_ > > “His consciousness, he argued, is bound at each branching to follow whatever path does not lead to death.” > > However – as I understand it – this wouldn’t explain why _other people_ are able to report their miracles to me; their near-fatal collision would have been fatal in most of the worlds _I_ inhabit, no? Exactly. There was a story in Amazing Magazine, “The Ultimate Anthropic Principle,” that dealt with this idea. Basically, a guy strapped explosives to his neck, and then went to Las Vegas to play roulette. If he won, great. If he lost, he died. As far as his consciousness was concerned, he always won. But as far as 37 out of every 38 observer-consciousnesses were concerned, some idiot splattered himself after losing. He only saw success. (Depends heavily on the many worlds interpretation being correct!) Still…consider how very close the world came to nuclear disaster in 1962… Maybe 95% of the “many worlds” died in flames – and we, therefore, aren’t conscious of those worlds. We only live in the very few worlds where the crisis didn’t spiral out of control… ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/32 "2013-04-15T20:22:08Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Well back in the day when you wanted top-grade 100% proof no-nonsense athiesm the USSR was the go-to country. These modern ‘athiest’ nations are just lightweights by comparison. Pssst. They’re making fun of you because you can’t spell ‘atheist’. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/33 "2013-04-15T20:25:26Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Pssst. They’re making fun of you because you can’t spell ‘atheist’. The USSR was just so athy though! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/34 "2013-04-15T20:25:42Z")
I’m a pretty firm believer in coincidences. Had a doosy a week or so ago. Took out about 5 books at the library. Started reading 2 of them - one about birds’ senses - about how birds perceive and interact with the world, and another called the World of Worms - about, well, the title is pretty explanatory. A couple of days later I get home late and decide to do a little reading before I go to bed. I pick up the bird book, and read a passage that describes some naturalist who opined that if everything except for nematodes ceased to exist, an observer could still get a sense of the world, because nematodes exist pretty much everywhere. I thought that a mildly interesting idea, read another chapter or 2, and headed to bed. Picked up the World of Worms from my nightstand, and the very next chapter was about nematodes! Whodathunkit! Hallelujah! But it gets better (I know what you are saying - how could it get better than lying in bed alone reading about roundworms…) In that chapter the author refers to some 19th century naturalist, who had this theory that if everything other than nematodes ceased to exist! :eek: I saw the light, and became convinced that there is a God, and It is a worm. Or maybe a bird… ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/35 "2013-04-15T20:34:17Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Pssst. They’re making fun of you because you can’t spell ‘atheist’. Well if thats the worst that ever happens to me I’ll get by alright. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/36 "2013-04-15T20:35:12Z")
There ain’t no difference between a flying saucer and a time machine. People get so hung up on specifics they miss out on seeing the whole thing. Take South America for example. South America, thousands of people go missing every year. Nobody knows where they go, they just, like, disappear. But if you think about it for a minute, you realize something. There had to be a time when there was no people, right? Well where did all these people come from, huh? I’ll tell you where. The future. And where did all these people disappear to? The past? That’s right! And how did they get there? Flying saucers. Which are really…? Yeah, you got it, time machines. I think a lot about this kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/37 "2013-04-15T20:38:16Z")
OUIJA BOARD! You know there was going to be one, didn you? A girl at this party wanted to talk to her recently deceased grandmother. The marker moved to say “Hello Jenny”. She totally freaked and didn’t come to school the next day. Everyone swore it was a supernatural event. Except me. Who pushed it around to say “Hello Jenny”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/38 "2013-04-15T20:40:49Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Well if thats the worst that ever happens to me I’ll get by alright. Don’t get your hopes up. Far, far worse things will happen to you, probably. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/39 "2013-04-16T00:30:41Z")
The most eerie ones are those which directly ping (as I say when I get one) something deeply personal. These sadly are the ones which are the hardest to get across to other people, because you would need to explain the personal side along with the physical parameters of the event in question. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680/40 "2013-04-16T01:22:50Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > The most eerie ones are those which directly ping (as I say when I get one) something deeply personal. These sadly are the ones which are the hardest to get across to other people, because you would need to explain the personal side along with the physical parameters of the event in question. For me, too. I’ve experienced quite a few very interesting coincidences that had me reexamining my skepticism. I manage to remain a critical thinker, if not exactly a skeptic. I really wish that I had somewhere to turn for a good explanation, because I’m certainly not satisfied by the ordinary definition of coincidence, and I’m not about to accept a supernatural answer without a great deal more information than I have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-made-you-question-your-scepticism-aka-things-that-make-you-go-hhhhmmmm/655680.md?page=3)