Paranormal
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Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology (Parapsychological Association), the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions." <ref>Glossary, The Journal of Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association, accessed August 05, 2006</ref> The term is derived from the Latin use of the prefix "para", meaning "against, counter, outside or beyond the norm."
Many see the word paranormal as a term that describes subjects studied under parapsychology, which deals with psychical phenomena like telepathy, ESP, and survival studies like ghosts and reincarnation. However, the paranormal sometimes describes subjects outside the scope of parapsychology, including anomalous aspects of UFOs, some creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and many other non-psychical subjects.<ref>What is PSI? What Isn't?, Parapsychological Association, accessed August 01, 2006</ref>
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[edit] Paranormal Studies
The validity of the existence of paranormal phenomena is controversial and debated passionately by both proponents of the paranormal and by skeptics. Validity issues aside, however, a survey of the beliefs of the general United States population in regards to paranormal topics was conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2005.<ref>Gallup poll shows that Americans' belief in the paranormal persists, Skeptical Inquirer, accessed October 28, 2006</ref> The survey found that 73 percent of those polled believed in at least one of the ten paranormal items presented in the survey.
Items included in the survey were as follows (the percentage of respondents who indicated that they believed in the phenomenon is in parenthesis): Extrasensory perception (41%), haunted houses (37%), ghosts (32%), telepathy (31%), clairvoyance (26%), astrology (25%), communication with the dead (21%), witches (21%), reincarnation (20%), and channeling spiritual entities (9%).
Only one percent of those surveyed believed in all ten items.
The items selected for the survey were chosen because they "require the belief that humans have more than the 'normal' five senses."
Another survey being conducted [1] by researchers from Australia's Monash University<ref>Out-of-this-world response to online Australian ghost hunt, AFP, accessed November 21, 2006</ref> seeks to determine what types of phenomena people have experienced and the effects these experiences have had on their lives. The study is being conducted as an online survey and so far, over 2,000 respondents from around the world have taken part. Interim results reveal, around 70% of the respondents have had an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way. About 70% also claimed to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there; 80% have reported having a premonition, and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life. The online survey concludes at the end of 2006. Link to Survey
[edit] Perinormal Phenomena
Paranormal phenomena, by definition, lacks a complete scientific explanation. If at some point the phenomena is explainable by science, it becomes perinormal. Perinormal phenomena is a term that has been suggested to describe previously unknown forces which at first appeared to be paranormal and were later verified scientifically. The name is derived from the Greek "peri", meaning "in the vicinity of". While paranormal phenomena remains scientifically questionable ("beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation"), perinormal phenomena can eventually be shown to be "skeptic-approved".<ref>Richard Dawkins this Week in Las Vegas Said he Believes in the Perinormal, eSocialScienceNews, accessed August 29, 2006</ref>
One significant modern example of a perinormal phenomenon is electromagnetic fields (EMF). At one time EMF was debatable from a scientific perspective but later was proven to be real and is currently accepted by scientific and medical communitities.<ref>Richard Dawkins this Week in Las Vegas Said he Believes in the Perinormal, eSocialScienceNews, accessed August 29, 2006</ref>
Smaller examples of perinormal phenomena include medical oddities which at first may baffle medical professionals, and later turn out to have a mundane cause. An excellent example of a perinormal medical oddity would be the "Pregnant Man" from Nagpur, India. When doctors went to remove what they thought was a tumor causing the man to look pregnant, they instead found a human being inside the man's abdominal region. What could have been misconstrued as the paranormal case of a pregnant man, was actually the perinormal case of fetus in fetu -- the man's twin brother had been growing inside his abdomen for 36 years.<ref>A Pregnant Man?, ABC News, accessed October 17, 2006</ref>
[edit] Paranormal Subjects
Although this is not intended to be a complete list, the following subjects are widely considered to be paranormal:
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
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