Ghosts & Computers (Including The Vertical Plane)

[SimonBurchell]

Thanks for that.

Have never read the book and would never pay for it.

It does read like fiction.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

We may have had this article before on here but if so it is worth another read:

"Asked whether it could be a hoax, Wright stated unequivocally: ‘if it’s meant to look like early modern English writing, it doesn’t even look close.’ Webster’s feeble riposte was that any academic wanting to keep his or her position would not say ‘this is real.’ However, more damningly Wright carried out an analysis of the incidence of adjectives in front of nouns, and found an almost identical frequency between Lukas’s messages and Webster’s descriptive passages (26%, and 26.6% respectively, whereas the frequency of a sample of other writing from the period Webster was writing the book was 32-35%. Webster unsurprisingly denied authorship, claiming he was not present for about four-fifths of the occasions the messages were received (he would according to his testimony often go for a drive while waiting for them to appear). Vordeman finished by saying that Wiseman had spoken to the ‘two’ SPR investigators, not specifying the second. She said they had chosen not to appear, but thought it was a hoax, though adding they ‘had no idea how it was done,’ a curious declaration presumably intended to avoid a direct accusation. Webster sounded grumpy at being challenged by Wiseman, and said he was happy to wait for Lukas’s manuscript to come to light. One suspects he will have a long wait.'


https://tomruffles.wordpress.com/2020/08/14/the-vertical-plane-by-ken-webster/

 

[Paul_Exeter]

A comment on Reddit suggest the BBC Micro chips were made just down the road from Dodleston:

raysanders56
•3 yr. ago

The Edword 2 chip in the BBC micro was manufactured by Clwyd Technics Ltd., Unit 4B, Antelope Industrial Estate,. Rhydymwyn, Clwyd CH7 5JH. About 11 miles from Dodleston and half that from Hawarden school.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChilluminatiPod/comments/mchbnt

The address does check out but I have no about chip manufacturing. If this was the case then that is a coincidence too far for me.

Have found a free pdf of this book online @SimonBurchell you are right, if I didn't know it was meant to be true I would think I was reading a novel

 

[Robbrent]

It's many years since I read the book, I remember being quite interested and to be honest excited at the prospect of interdimensional communication however I have mellowed over time, one would think that with the profusion of PC's and other electronic devices this would have become quite common by now but alas non of my computers have ever picked up communications from another dimension.

There are too many unclosed loops in the story it's a bit like Schole

So it's filed under things that never happened, it's about time the authors fessed up

 

[Steven]

I've got the book at home (it was my late father's purchase) but have never read it - I just disbelieved the story from the start, even from the very little I'd read about the case.

 

[escargot]

I've got the book at home (it was my late father's purchase) but have never read it - I just disbelieved the story from the start, even from the very little I'd read about the case.

I read it, like this -

 

[Steven]

 

[Robbrent]

I think back when it was written IT was still a mystery to most people, and we just didn't understand how the basics of it worked, I doubt it could be pulled off today good story nonetheless would have made a good Black Mirror Episode

Just to refresh my memory was it proved the writing was not in the English of the time it was meant to be written, was there any historical trace of the communicator? Did the person from the future make any predictions or tell us what the future was like? I mean futurology is a lottery in some respects we have not advanced as we thought we would (I am till waiting for my package holiday on the moon) but in other ways more than many had ever imagined, IT and the Web, Mobile technology did they say anything about that?

 

[Robbrent]

I have pondered this one again, and just think it was a practical joke that took upon a life of it's own, one would think that if it was possible there it would have happened at least a few more times especially with the proliferation of IT

I wonder if the authors will ever fess up?

 

[SimonBurchell]

I have pondered this one again, and just think it was a practical joke that took upon a life of it's own, one would think that if it was possible there it would have happened at least a few more times especially with the proliferation of IT

I wonder if the authors will ever fess up?

I wonder if it started a low-level poltergeist, and the author ran with it. The book is very much structured as a novel rather than relaying real events. The earlier events read as genuine poltergeist phenomena, although the author could easily have taken them from genuine poltergeist occurences. I remember the case was featured in the FT at the time (I bought the book via the FT, back when the FT still sold books).

 

[escargot]

I have pondered this one again, and just think it was a practical joke that took upon a life of it's own, one would think that if it was possible there it would have happened at least a few more times especially with the proliferation of IT

I wonder if the authors will ever fess up?

I wonder if it started a low-level poltergeist, and the author ran with it. The book is very much structured as a novel rather than relaying real events. The earlier events read as genuine poltergeist phenomena, although the author could easily have taken them from genuine poltergeist occurences. I remember the case was featured in the FT at the time (I bought the book via the FT, back when the FT still sold books).

Words out of my mouth.

 

[catseye]

Good point about the poltergeist. Certainly with my laptops, it doesn't take a lot of effort to depress a key sufficiently to cause writing on the screen and I would have expected poltergeists to have at least tried to use this form of communication by now, if they really are discarnate entities.

Or perhaps they are, and we're all busy blaming the cat.

 

[SimonBurchell]

Good point about the poltergeist. Certainly with my laptops, it doesn't take a lot of effort to depress a key sufficiently to cause writing on the screen and I would have expected poltergeists to have at least tried to use this form of communication by now, if they really are discarnate entities.

Or perhaps they are, and we're all busy blaming the cat.

I can't remember now, its ages since I read the book, but the whole thing kicked off with items being bizarrely rearranged - chairs or bottles or something - I'll see if I can dig the book out. It then moved to the computer-based communications and the other stuff tailed off.

 

[Erinaceus]

I wonder whether poltergeists or other entities should be able to communicate using touchscreens? Phones and many laptops have them now. There would be no need to exert pressure although the lack of conductivity could be a problem.

 

[catseye]

I wonder whether poltergeists or other entities should be able to communicate using touchscreens? Phones and many laptops have them now. There would be no need to exert pressure although the lack of conductivity could be a problem.

Conjures up images of Julian in 'Ghosts' and his strenuous efforts to put on bets...

 

[escargot]

I wonder whether poltergeists or other entities should be able to communicate using touchscreens? Phones and many laptops have them now. There would be no need to exert pressure although the lack of conductivity could be a problem.

Don't give them ideas.

 

[escargot]

Conjures up images of Julian in 'Ghosts' and his strenuous efforts to put on bets...

He's such a great character.

 

[Tempest63]

My iPhone has been up to its old tricks again with people questioning why I was ringing them in the early hours of the morning.

I was in hospital Wednesday for an endoscopy and had to be sedated for the procedure so was a bit lacklustre when I got home. Decided on an early night to sleep it off but at 10.30 pm whilst I was in bed, my iPhone, charging on the hall table, phoned one of my work colleagues. It hasn’t done this in months, calling people of its own volition, but it now seems that it is calling the last number I dialled during the day. Obviously a fault on the phone.

I reckon I will have to put it on aeroplane mode each time I turn in for the night.