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Weird IHTM Tales From Reddit & Other Sites

Coal said:
Fear of what?
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Fear of things they don't know about and can't control.
Like when a teenager's Dad mocks their taste in music/fashion/friends/movies. Adolescents start making their own decisions and some parents don't like it. Sneering at youth culture expresses Dad's fear of their child's rapidly-approaching independence.

The supernatural itself is scary. Having to accept that rational people believe in it could bring back those childhood terrors we all had back when we were small and vulnerable.

We've heard the line 'I don't believe in ghosts but I saw...' so many times. Some people won't even accept what their own eyes show them.

It's all about our old friend cognitive dissonance. :nods:
 
Coal said:
Fear of what?
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Fear of acknowledging that there are things out there in the world (and the world of physics) that we don't yet understand. Or even know about. Some people want everything to be 'sorted' and therefore not to have to believe that there are more things in heaven and earth....etc.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
UK big cat sightings and musings:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/134iyjy

I thought this post was interesting:
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The problem with Big cat Mumsnet threads is realistically how many Mumsnetters are out there in the countryside, off the beaten track and at all times of day and night and not just occasional daytime visits to busy, managed parks and woodlands etc? It is interesting to hear their opinions and possible sightings but personally I would rather hear from the farming and land management community. Anyone, however, can be in the right place and right moment to see a ghost...
 
Paul_Exeter said:
The problem with Big cat Mumsnet threads is realistically how many Mumsnetters are out there in the countryside, off the beaten track and at all times of day and night and not just occasional daytime visits to busy, managed parks and woodlands etc? It is interesting to hear their opinions and possible sightings but personally I would rather hear from the farming and land management community. Anyone, however, can be in the right place and right moment to see a ghost...
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It's not mumsnet, it's reddit. Redditors are in the countryside beating any unbeaten tracks into submission at all times of day and year. Not like all them mumsnetters, some of whom have never been outside.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
It's not mumsnet, it's reddit. Redditors are in the countryside beating any unbeaten tracks into submission at all times of day and year. Not like all them mumsnetters, some of whom have never been outside.
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Sorry, my mistake :)

This annoys me:

"I would believe if there were any decent photos, but there never are. Everyone has a good camera in their pockets these days, and no clear pics of big cats in the UK in the wild have shown up so ‍♀️ all I see are blurry photos of housecats"

You hear it so often. Yet yesterday I was out walking and a fox crossed the path ahead of me, got half way and stopped as it turned to look at me. I quickly reached for my phone but it was gone again before I had a chance to enter the PIN and activate the camera...
 
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Ogdred Weary said:
It's not mumsnet, it's reddit. Redditors are in the countryside beating any unbeaten tracks into submission at all times of day and year. Not like all them mumsnetters, some of whom have never been outside.
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Redditors are sitting round in their pants typing out tall stories and calling each other names. Mumsnetters have all (gasp) actually had sex.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
I quickly reached for my phone but it was gone again before I had a chance to enter the PIN and activate the camera...
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Sometimes my phone camera switches itself on while I'm holding it before hitting the PIN.
It's never when I actually need to take a photo though!
 
escargot said:
Sometimes my phone camera switches itself on while I'm holding it before hitting the PIN.
It's never when I actually need to take a photo though!
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The secret services, monitoring you 24/7.
 
escargot said:
Fear of things they don't know about and can't control.
Like when a teenager's Dad mocks their taste in music/fashion/friends/movies. Adolescents start making their own decisions and some parents don't like it. Sneering at youth culture expresses Dad's fear of their child's rapidly-approaching independence.

The supernatural itself is scary. Having to accept that rational people believe in it could bring back those childhood terrors we all had back when we were small and vulnerable.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it's that straightforward - I think that the belief in the supernatural is also an existential fear defense. "If there's 'something else' then I don't have to fear death" kind of thing, or more prosaically "I've not achieved that much, but at least I was serving a higher purpose."

I also find it interesting that people believe in the supernatural but don't think it through. If someone (for the sake or argument) believes in ghosts, then the level of evidence used to justify this is about as good as say vampires, werewolves, soul rending demonic forces, bigfoot and so on. (How on earth do you sleep then? ), the 'proving too much' trap.

While I've no doubt there are people who do not acknowledge the possibility of the supernatural, and a proportion of them are denying the possibility out of 'fear of the unknown' (out loud) there may well be a quite a few that quietly just...don't. Especially in the context of the really quite awful things some quiet people do to get what they want.

Possibly a bit rude for folks to say "There are no ghosts so if you've seen one you're mad." though.

escargot said:
We've heard the line 'I don't believe in ghosts but I saw...' so many times. Some people won't even accept what their own eyes show them.

It's all about our old friend cognitive dissonance. :nods:
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...except that it's literally the case that what you 'see' or specifically, perceive may not be what was there, especially as there's much replicable work supporting the notion that 'what people think they saw is heavily influenced by what they expected to see and what they wanted to see'.

There are certainly times when the good odds are, that what someone thought they saw (especially if recalled a few times first) was not what was there (this is the 'Jonathan Creek method' - start with the premise that what was witnessed simply isn't possible... so what else that's feasible might have occurred?).

Fine judgement call there... :) "Am I being shadowed by a supernatural entity, or is it just a very quiet evening and I need to get a grip? (possibly on a handy weapon because there's no point in being an idiot about it...)"

catseye said:
Fear of acknowledging that there are things out there in the world (and the world of physics) that we don't yet understand. Or even know about. Some people want everything to be 'sorted' and therefore not to have to believe that there are more things in heaven and earth....etc.
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Fear of the unknown - reducing uncertainty, yep, agreed. Although it's interesting that believing in something palpably unknowable can reduce uncertainty :)
 
Coal said:
I'm not sure it's that straightforward - I think that the belief in the supernatural is also an existential fear defense. "If there's 'something else' then I don't have to fear death" kind of thing, or more prosaically "I've not achieved that much, but at least I was serving a higher purpose."

I also find it interesting that people believe in the supernatural but don't think it through. If someone (for the sake or argument) believes in ghosts, then the level of evidence used to justify this is about as good as say vampires, werewolves, soul rending demonic forces, bigfoot and so on. (How on earth do you sleep then? ), the 'proving too much' trap.

While I've no doubt there are people who do not acknowledge the possibility of the supernatural, and a proportion of them are denying the possibility out of 'fear of the unknown' (out loud) there may well be a quite a few that quietly just...don't. Especially in the context of the really quite awful things some quiet people do to get what they want.

Possibly a bit rude for folks to say "There are no ghosts so if you've seen one you're mad." though.


...except that it's literally the case that what you 'see' or specifically, perceive may not be what was there, especially as there's much replicable work supporting the notion that 'what people think they saw is heavily influenced by what they expected to see and what they wanted to see'.

There are certainly times when the good odds are, that what someone thought they saw (especially if recalled a few times first) was not what was there (this is the 'Jonathan Creek method' - start with the premise that what was witnessed simply isn't possible... so what else that's feasible might have occurred?).

Fine judgement call there... :) "Am I being shadowed by a supernatural entity, or is it just a very quiet evening and I need to get a grip? (possibly on a handy weapon because there's no point in being an idiot about it...)"


Fear of the unknown - reducing uncertainty, yep, agreed. Although it's interesting that believing in something palpably unknowable can reduce uncertainty :)
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Not believing one's own eyes is a bit different from asserting that everyone who thinks they've seen ghost is mad though. :chuckle:

Superstition is part of the human condition. Everyone has non-rational beliefs. Even NASA has its Launch Day Donuts and CERN its religious statues and prayer rooms.
Your most convinced and vocal atheist has a pair of lucky pants or a favourite combination of lottery numbers. ;)
 
escargot said:
Not believing one's own eyes is a bit different from asserting that everyone who thinks they've seen ghost is mad though. :chuckle:
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Part of my point :)
escargot said:
Superstition is part of the human condition. Everyone has non-rational beliefs. Even NASA has its Launch Day Donuts and CERN its religious statues and prayer rooms.
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This is true. I'd suggest this is a distant echo of the bred-in and probably 'on average useful' tendency to repeats things which worked and avoid those which didn't until the pattern becomes ingrained when the reason has long gone. A kind naïve 'Chesterton's Fence'.

I can't tell you how many cricketers I've known who have to put their left pad on first, or tap their special gentlemen's protection with their bat and so on. I note that my lucky twitches of watching the ball from the bowler's hand, playing straight and playing myself in, were incredibly fortuitous. :)

escargot said:
Your most convinced and vocal atheist has a pair of lucky pants or a favourite combination of lottery numbers. ;)
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The 'favourite lottery numbers' is a great trap. People get scared to not play them in case they come up...but 2,3,4,5,6,7 is just as likely to win and you're way less likely to have to share the money* ;)

* no of course I don't buy lottery tickets.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Sorry, my mistake :)

This annoys me:

"I would believe if there were any decent photos, but there never are. Everyone has a good camera in their pockets these days, and no clear pics of big cats in the UK in the wild have shown up so ‍♀️ all I see are blurry photos of housecats"

You hear it so often. Yet yesterday I was out walking and a fox crossed the path ahead of me, got half way and stopped as it turned to look at me. I quickly reached for my phone but it was gone again before I had a chance to enter the PIN and activate the camera...
Click to expand...
My phone allows camera activation without entering the pin, if I set it up so. I just have to swipe the camera icon in the lock screen, take a picture and close it. Screen still locked. Torch also, although that's on a hot button.
 
Coal said:
My phone allows camera activation without entering the pin, if I set it up so. I just have to swipe the camera icon in the lock screen, take a picture and close it. Screen still locked. Torch also, although that's on a hot button.
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Mine also opens of its own accord. I think it’s just a swipey thing across the screen not even using the icon. But of course when I want to open the camera it often plays dumb. It’s an iPhone and you can set it up to open with a double tap of the Apple logo on the back, I don’t think it’s any quicker though.
 
Coal said:
Part of my point :)
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My take is that the rudeness of calling the ghost-believers mad betrays a certain insecurity; they've taken an interest at some point and scared themselves.
If one is certain there are no ghosts then it doesn't matter and there's no need to insult anyone.

A bit like hearing footy fans arguing over which is the better striker. Zzzz, I'm off to the bar for another pint. Maybe a bag o'spuds.
 
Coal said:
My phone allows camera activation without entering the pin, if I set it up so. I just have to swipe the camera icon in the lock screen, take a picture and close it. Screen still locked.
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I see, thank you! That seems to be the default with my creaky, cracked old Android horror. :twothumbs:
 
escargot said:
I see, thank you! That seems to be the default with my creaky, cracked old Android horror. :twothumbs:
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Yeah, I can't speak for other phones, but I suspect it's doable on most android phones. As my 'Blackberry Key1' is getting on a bit, I may be forced to find out for myself.
 
Coal said:
Yeah, I can't speak for other phones, but I suspect it's doable on most android phones. As my 'Blackberry Key1' is getting on a bit, I may be forced to find out for myself.
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On my 7 year old Samsung, when not in use, the camera is activated by pressing the power button twice quickly.

I just tried it and the camera function was ready to use in about 3 seconds.
 
Coal said:
I also find it interesting that people believe in the supernatural but don't think it through. If someone (for the sake or argument) believes in ghosts, then the level of evidence used to justify this is about as good as say vampires, werewolves, soul rending demonic forces, bigfoot and so on. (How on earth do you sleep then? ), the 'proving too much' trap.
Click to expand...

The burden of proof for all those things is not the same, also what even are these phenomena? Literal vampires and werewolves? I imagine almost no one believes in those. Bigfoot as a flesh and blood animal or proto-human? Many people believe but that's not comparable to vampires and werewolves, nor, in the opposite direction, with ghosts. Bigfoot as some sort of supernatural or at least non-corporeal manifestation? Comparable with ghosts.

Also, what are "ghosts"? I'd say they were a set of phenomena - people seeing people (occasionally animals, or objects) that are not physically "there" as it were. Also phenomena that are auditory, olfactory and temperature related. There may also be "against the laws of physics" movement of objects or people being "touched" - some might say those are "poltergeists" but I'm not sure the ghost/polt distinction is helpful.

Are ghosts the "spirits of the dead"? That's the stereotype/archetype. I don't think they are personally. I think they are things people perceive and/or think they perceive and there may not be any "objective" reality to them.

I've missed out "soul rending demonic forces" as I'm not entirely certain what those are supposed to be.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Sorry, my mistake :)

This annoys me:

"I would believe if there were any decent photos, but there never are. Everyone has a good camera in their pockets these days, and no clear pics of big cats in the UK in the wild have shown up so ‍♀️ all I see are blurry photos of housecats"

You hear it so often. Yet yesterday I was out walking and a fox crossed the path ahead of me, got half way and stopped as it turned to look at me. I quickly reached for my phone but it was gone again before I had a chance to enter the PIN and activate the camera...
Click to expand...
Frustratingly, even when photographs are sometimes taken, they are then accused of being faked or otherwise "messed about" with!
 
Glitch in the matrix seems to have gone from Reddit that was the best one. I know some were being hidden on Monday in protest at changes but it’s not even there now.
 
Guess the outage was caused by a glitch.
 
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