Why is it easier for skeptics to believe in coincidence than spirits?

Question

I mean, when something happens out of the ordinary (and what are the odds), skeptics will shrug it off and say "Oh what a coincedince" and never attribute the incident to spirit? why?

sorry about all of the mis-spellings up there. I clicked too soon before I re-read. OOOps. Please answer the question anyway.

Answer 1

I can only answer for myself. For any given event that needs some kind of explanation, I start brainstorming what the possible explanations could be, as I bet many people would likewise do. "Spirits" is not an explanation that pops first thing into my head, but I am willing to put it on my list. The next thing I do is rank the possibilities according to how likely I think each one is, and then I start with the most likely explanation and try to systematically rule each one out, in order from most likely to least likely. Pretty reasonable approach, I'd say.

What happens is that before I ever get to the "spirits" explanation, I've found that I can't rule out some more likely explanations that I've come up with. Since that's the case, I don't have a logical reason for assuming the spirit explanation and dismissing the rest.

You might be saying to yourself right now, "hey, who are you to judge what is likely and what isn't?" Good point. We all make those judgments personally, unless we are scientists and then we have to defend our judgments scientifically. But here on Yahoo Answers, you're free to believe the way you want.

EDIT: Kinda interesting to see how bitter some people are against their imagined antagonists who dare to think differently from them! So much for "open-minded".

Answer 2

I'm just going to guess at this since I'm not a debunker which is what I suspect you mean when you ask about YA skeptics.
When a person accepts all the underlying assumptions of conventional science (which real skeptics do not do) despite their flaws and contradictions and choose to think in conventional ways then that person will go to great lengths to fit unusual happenings into the conventional view. For instance there were very sophisticated and complicated models (and mathematical equations) used to explain how the planets reversed orbit (starting going backwards for certain times of the year) in order to fit this observed activity into the then current understanding of the solar system. This is described by some psychologist as small scale creativity. Almost any article published in a peer reviewed science journal meets this criteria building on known principles and adding a very very small idea.
Large scale creativity is an example of Einstein's work on Relativity which overturned the foundational understandings of physics.

Thus, a debunker can easily accept an amazing coincidence (1 out 10 million chance being demonstrated 85 times out of 100 in a controlled experiment) much easier than they can even entertain what theory would be required for something that defies conventional science to be true. They think in "why this can't happen" terms and not in "what would make this possible terms"

I also think with your question in particular there are assumptions to what spirit means and can and can not be rather than looking for a cause (even say undiscovered wave lengths of energy that people might attribute to spirit causes) they instead dismiss the idea (because in their belief system spirits can't exist) and choose not to investigate.

Answer 3

I think "believers" have to get over the skeptics not believing. I used to wish things would happen to me. I didn't go out "looking" for them (except when I messed with a Ouija board for fun). I believed there were angels and saints..but that I wasn't good enough for them to appear to. Then everything happened all at once. ..and I went along with it. If only I hadn't let it happen. If only I had had someone to guide me (on earth) about spirits etc. People just kept saying to "let it happen". I went to just about everybody to try to find out what was happening to me. I just made a fool of myself. I wish I'd kept my mouth shut !!!!!! I think the skeptics have a lot more peace than I do. People shouldn't mess with things they don't know that much about. There were too many "coincidences" for me to deny that something was happening. I think the skeptics should just leave it alone. I think their answers should be scientific etc. answers showing other possible good reasons that things happen.

Answer 4

Because coincidences happen regularly in everyday life and offer a much simpler explanation than alleged 'spirits.' If you are going to attribute something to a spirit, why not just attibute it to elves or an invisible purple platypus. You have as much evidence for one as for the others.

Answer 5

I think you can ask yourself the same question in reverse. Why do you find it easier to believe in spirits than it be coincidence. Truth be told, a great many things that are truly coincidence are given paranormal explanations because there are the other half of the crowd that like certain random things to be special.

My take is that if you know it was a spirit and they believe it's coincidence, neither of you are harming one another with your belief and so both are okay.

Answer 6

Well, proof, for one. Remember what you asked the next time someone says something completely ridiculous to you and/or you suspect they are lying to you. Do not ask for proof ... just simply believe in them and have faith in what they are saying. You can't do that, though. It'd be foolish. You'd need proof, evidence, precedent, anything!

However, if you like math, read the article I linked to below. It basically says that no matter how ludicrous something may seem, it is neither mysterious or coincidental.

--From the article--

The mathematician will answer that even in the most unbelievable situations, the odds are actually very good. The law of large numbers says that with a large enough denominator -- in other words, in a big wide world -- stuff will happen, even very weird stuff. ''The really unusual day would be one where nothing unusual happens,'' explains Persi Diaconis, a Stanford statistician who has spent his career collecting and studying examples of coincidence. Given that there are 280 million people in the United States, he says, ''280 times a day, a one-in-a-million shot is going to occur.''

Answer 7

hi kimberlee.....

from reading most of their answers to a paranormal situation...(skeptics)... most of them wanted to believe in the paranormal...(ghosts) and they tryed real hard to experience and see a ghost...but when nothing happened over and over, they came to the conclusion that it just doesnt exist.....but the truth is the same experiences just dont happen for every single person on this planet.....thats why they shrug it off as a coincidence...and the fact that they just dont have hard evidence...specially with spirits existing, and until they actually experience something BIG, then they might think differently.......

Answer 8

I think you're being a bit hard on those who call themselves skeptics. Everyone - skeptics and believers alike - should use logical thought (and, where necessary, basic mathematical principles).

For example, if you roll a dice, and 3 comes up 22 times out 100, this is quite within the normal range expected by chance. If it comes up 42 times out of 100, then this is beyond reasonable chance, and the reason should be investigated.

I don't know of *any* phenomenon that occurs beyond what chance would predict that hasn't been investigated. So do you have a particular "coincidence" in mind? If so, please post details.
.

Answer 9

Wushu;
the lack of evidence for certain subjects open the door to attacking the question or the question asker.
If I said all birds were dead, you could see one bird and prove me wrong.
If I said all yellow marbles with green spots were suddenly missing, it would be very difficult to prove it one way or another.
Some places you are innocent til proven guilty and other places you are guilty til proven innocent.
Then some places they just kill you and be done with it.

Answer 10

Probability and reason.

Millions of events happen to you. Every now and then two of those events will seem unusual or somehow connected. You are much more likely to remember such events. Even though they rarely happen, because you remember them it seems like they happen all the time. Because there is no way to falsify or verify any paranormal claims, you can make anything *seem* unusual if you believe it strongly enough.