New Science Perspectives on Ghosts and Other Paranormal Phenomena by Ian Irvine (Hobson)
Rated "G" by the Author.
Last
edited: Monday, January 2, 2023
Posted: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
An earlier version of this talk transcript/essay was delivered at the Aradale Creativity Retreat (held at Aradale Asylum, Ararat, Victoria in October 2014). The Retreat weekend was organised by Cohesian Press and the audience for the talk included speculative fiction writers (horror, fantasy and SF) as well professional mediums and members of the Australian Paranormal Society. Consequently the tone is highly speculative and exploratory – the goal being to inspire creative writers and artists – rather than overly ‘academic’.
This piece belongs to Hermes and Sesheta: (Unheralded) Gods of the New Media Revolution, Vol. 2 ofThe Collected Works of Ian Irvine (Hobson). (Nonfiction)
* CURRENT PUBLISHER: The Zoetics Institute (2016) (formerly: Mercurious press). The article is one of the later chapters of the forthcoming work: Hermes, Sesheta and Thoth: (Unheralded) Gods of the Postmodern Transition, to be published by the Zoetics Institute.
Dr Ian Irvine (Hobson) is the author of two novels, a book of poetry and an acclaimed nonfiction book on chronic forms of alienation and ennui. His works have featured in various Australian national writing anthologies as well as in over 100 journals and magazines. He has co-edited over 20 writing anthologies and has taught as a creative arts educator and some times course coordinator since 1994. He is the founder and chief songwriter of the alt. rock band Interstitium, and was also the lead singer and co-songwriter of Australian alt rock band "Goya's Child (Original)" before his departure in 1994.
I have read your article and must commend you on the breadth of your study. Immediately I noticed that many of the cable channels… History, Discovery, PBS… etc. are producing TV series covering topics devoted to paranormal and new science.
While traditional scientific methods have debunked many mythical and magical revelations of the past, the new science of quantum mechanics with its strange, often unproven theoretical "weirdness", has given imaginative people all kinds of leverage to help them reintroduce old myth and create new ones. The Internet helps create cults or groups of "believers" who reinforce each other with anecdotes and additional creativity that seems nearly unstoppable, even if debunked by reputable review.
In the case of the several series on cable TV claiming this or that, the search always takes place with "talking heads" of some authority describing what the actors are doing, using the latest scientific techniques. There is a lot of use of very dramatic music and when they get close to a dramatic "find" they cut to a commercial. I've watched a number of these soap operas. The heroes always get close to making a discovery but never seem to, and in the season with the promise that they will "find the truth" in the next season.
At least the dramas are presented as all-out fantasy and don't claim to have any scientific basis like the wildly improbable time travel in 12 Monkeys.
Our human genome is full of viruses similar to HIV-1. These have played an important role in human evolution and still play an important role in human embryology and day-to-day chemistry. Just how important are they to our evolution past and future?
Our human genome is full of viruses similar to HIV-1. These have played an important role in human evolution and still play an important role in human embryology and day-to-day chemistry. Just how important are they to our evolution past and future?
While traditional scientific methods have debunked many mythical and magical revelations of the past, the new science of quantum mechanics with its strange, often unproven theoretical "weirdness", has given imaginative people all kinds of leverage to help them reintroduce old myth and create new ones. The Internet helps create cults or groups of "believers" who reinforce each other with anecdotes and additional creativity that seems nearly unstoppable, even if debunked by reputable review.
In the case of the several series on cable TV claiming this or that, the search always takes place with "talking heads" of some authority describing what the actors are doing, using the latest scientific techniques. There is a lot of use of very dramatic music and when they get close to a dramatic "find" they cut to a commercial. I've watched a number of these soap operas. The heroes always get close to making a discovery but never seem to, and in the season with the promise that they will "find the truth" in the next season.
At least the dramas are presented as all-out fantasy and don't claim to have any scientific basis like the wildly improbable time travel in 12 Monkeys.
Ron