Bad Information…

-Cap’n Casper

 As I mentioned in the last show, I had occasion to send a friendly letter to the magazine Haunted Times a few months back. I had picked up the Summer 2008 edition during a trip to the bookstore. My first thought was ‘wow, this is something I could contribute to…’. My opinion soon changed after perusing a couple of articles within, and in an effort to increase the accuracy of the information they had presented I decided to write the following:

**note: This letter was sent to the staff and the only reply that I received stated that my letter was being forwarded to the author of the article. I did not receive another reply. **

to: hauntedtimesmagazine@yahoo.com

 

-an honest review of your publication

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

            I am a researcher and certified paranormal investigator in Kansas city and was recently exposed to your publication during a business trip. In a world of over-commercialized ‘para-mania’ I have been eager to find a magazine contributed to and operated by serious researchers, and would like to be part of such a periodical. After reviewing the Summer 2008 edition of Haunted Times, I am admittedly disappointed. While the stories of haunted history are for the most part well written, the articles involving any modicum of scientific content leave much to be desired. My intention is not to incense the staff or writers of Haunted Times, nor am I a disgruntled reader seeking retribution. I do feel however, that it is my duty as a researcher to inform you of the erroneous content presented in your magazine. To properly illustrate my perspective as a concerned investigator, I shall tackle one article from this issue point by point. Further analysis can be given throughout the publication if needed.

 

Page 56:

                         Can a ghost follow me home?

 

                                    By: Brian Schill

 

Page 57, paragraph 2:

 

            ‘A ghost, being composed of a bioelectric field that was once part of a living,           physically manifested human is still subject to the laws of physics.’

 

·         This statement is at best conjecture, with no evidence offered to support the author’s supposition.

  

‘We know that the First Law of Thermodynamics, paraphrased, states that “energy can neither be created nor destroyed.” ‘

 

·         The author is paraphrasing the Law of Conservation of Energy. The First Law of Thermodynamics is a more specific implementation of this law that states (paraphrased, of course): ‘for a thermodynamic system, the sum of net heat supplied to the system and the net work done by the system is equal to zero’. The author is using this statement to refer to the aforementioned ‘bioelectric field’ energy, not a thermodynamic process.

 

            ‘When the physical body dies and the biochemical breakdown of the physical           structure has been initiated the energy from the human body – the 60Hz   bioelectric pulse created by the heart and distributed throughout the body by the central and peripheral nervous system- is not destroyed at the time of death. Rather, the second law of thermodynamics takes over and the energy is released and redistributed into the local environment through covalent bonding.’

 

•    It’s hard to know where to start with this one. The author begins by referring to a ‘biochemical breakdown’ after death (presumably something like decomposition based on the terminology), then changes to the release of energy. No supporting reference could be found regarding the ‘60-Hz bioelectric’ pulse cited, and the author offers none.

•    The Second Law of Thermodynamics does apply to the tendency of a system to increase entropy over time, but the author has already gone from a chemical process to the release of a phantom energy so this law cannot be properly applied to the author’s statements due to the lack of specificity and supporting statements.

•    Covalent bonding is the process by which two atoms are bound together by the sharing of one or pairs of atoms and does not apply to what the author is saying: is this a release of energy or matter?

 

‘It is, however, a primary point of interest to paranormal investigators when the Second Law of Thermodynamics is circumvented. When the bioelectric field cannot disperse, it coagulates in the local atmosphere until it then becomes self-aware again.’

 

•    Come on, here. First of all, how does the Second Law of Thermodynamics become circumvented? Second, how does a ‘bioelectric field’ coagulate? Third, how does the Second Law of Thermodynamics even apply to this situation?

•    By what processes does a coagulated ‘bioelectric field’ become self-aware?

•    The author is not making any sense here.

 

 

Page 57, paragraph 3

 

‘The bioelectric field – a ghost – is now subject to a different set of laws than the living. Rather than having to adhere to the laws that govern physically manifested beings and objects the ghost must now conform to the laws of physics as they apply to energy.’

 

•    While I do not dispute that many things paranormal operate at a different level and are governed by laws outside of Newtonian physics, the author is making blanket statements without regard for proof. All living organisms do posses some kind of ‘bioelectric field’ , but how can you have such a field without the ‘bio’? There must be some sort of state change, but the author does not seem too concerned with this inconsistency.

 

‘The first and most obvious physical limitation that is placed on a being that is comprised of a bioelectric energy field is the Law of Conservation of Energy.’

 

•    I thought that the ‘ghost’ was now subject to the laws of energy: how then would it experience a ‘physical limitation’?

 

            ‘The basic premise of this  law [of Conservation of Energy] is that energy behaves in a manner that will allow it to conserve its charge, a self preservation instinct for the inanimate field, if you will.’

 

 

•    Wrong. Totally and completely wrong. The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only change forms. The chemical energy stored in my laptop batteries will gladly and freely give up their energy to allow me to sit here and write.

•    Up to this point, the author has based most of his statements on false definitions and erroneous applications of the laws of Newtonian physics. He has offered little if any supporting evidence and/or statements to back up his claims.

 

            While I have only covered the bulk of the first section, I do not believe it necessary to go through the rest of this particular article. In his opening statement, the author claims to teach parapsychology classes. It disturbs me that students are being taught the fallacies presented in this essay. The author also claims to provide an explanation to the question at hand, but this article seems to raise more questions than it answers.

 

            In the ‘epitaph’ of this issue of Haunted Times, Mark Mihalko speaks of the ‘uphill battle with acceptance from the established scientific community’. With content such as that critiqued here, the battle is sure to become more fierce. How can we as investigators expect to gain respect from the scientific community when articles such as this, articles in which the author butchers the laws of physics so terribly, and even calls the foundation of Quantum Physics ‘wildly misguided sci-fi fantasy concepts’ later in the article? I’m sure Einstien, Bohr, and others would not appreciate his candor. Additonally, the author makes no appempt to offer supporting evidence for his ill-advised claims.

 

            Please do not take this letter in the wrong way. I am truly a concerned investigator, and desire honest results from thoughtful research. As such, I feel that it is my duty to inform you of the errors presented in your publication. Although the list I have presented is by no means complete, I do believe that it is enough to make the point.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

James Presnell

Kansas City Paranormal Research

http://kcparanormal.net