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Ghost Towns In Washington (state)
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a ''séance''. Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, haint, phantom, poltergeist, shade, specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammersmith Ghost
The Hammersmith Ghost murder case of 1804 set a Precedent, legal precedent in the UK regarding Right of self-defense, self-defence: that someone could be held liable for their actions even if they were the consequence of a mistaken belief. Near the end of 1803, many people claimed to have seen or even been attacked by a ghost in the Hammersmith area of London, a ghost believed by locals to be the spirit of a suicide victim. On January 3, 1804, a 29-year-old excise officer named Francis Smith, a member of one of the armed patrols set up in the wake of the reports, shot and killed a bricklayer, Thomas Millwood, mistaking the white clothes of Millwood's trade for the shroud of a ghostly apparition. Smith was found guilty of murder and Capital punishment, sentenced to death, later commuted to one year's Penal labour, hard labour. The issues surrounding the case were not settled for 180 years, until a Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal decision in 1984. Ghost Fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions. Christianity In Christianity, exorcism is the practice of casting out or getting rid of demons. In Christian practice, the person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is a member of a Christian Church, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers and religious material, such as set formulae, gestures, symbols, sacred images, sacramentals, etc. The exorcist often invokes God, Jesus or several different angels and archangels to intervene with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Datura
''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, Vespertine (biology), vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets or mad apple (not to be confused with angel's trumpets, which are placed in the closely related genus ''Brugmansia''). Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells. All species of ''Datura'' are extremely poisonous and Psychoactive plant, psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, Toxidrome#Anticholinergic, anticholinergic toxidrome, psychosis, and death if taken internally. The name ''Datura'' originates from the Hindi and Sanskrit words for “thorn-apple,” with historical and cultural significance in Ayurveda and Hinduism, while the English term “Jimsonweed” derives from its prevalence in Jamestown, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychoactive Plant
Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work: Psychoactivity may include sedative, stimulant, euphoric, deliriant, and hallucinogenic effects. Several hundred psychoactive plants are known. Some popular examples of psychoactive plants include ''Coffea arabica'' (coffee), '' Camellia sinensis'' ( tea), '' Nicotiana tabacum'' (tobacco), and ''Cannabis'' (including hashish). Psychoactive plants have been used ritually (''e.g.'', peyote as an entheogen), medicinally (''e.g.'', opium as an analgesic), and therapeutically (''e.g.'', cannabis as a drug) for thousands of years. Hence, the sociocultural and economic significance of psychoactive plants is enormous. History of psychoactive plants Many plants contain substances that alter moods and cause euphoria. Some of these psychoactive plants were known to the ancients. The history of poppy cultivation dates back to 3400 BC. In Mesopo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Science
Live Science is a science news website. The publication features stories on a wide range of topics, including space, animals, health, archaeology, human behavior, and planet Earth. It also includes a reference section with links to other websites. Its stated mission is to inform and entertain readers about science and the world around them.{{r, mission History Live Science was originally made in 2004. It was acquired by ediaNetwork, later called Purch, in 2009.{{r, purch Purch consumer brands (including Live Science) were acquired by Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ... in 2018. Reception In 2011, the '' Columbia Journalism Review''{{'s "News Startups Guide" called Live Science "a purebred Web animal, primarily featuring one-off stories and photo gall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Evidence
Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical evidence have tended to focus on epistemological questions regarding its role in theory testing ... even though empirical evidence also plays important and philosophically interesting roles in other areas including scientific discovery, the development of experimental tools and techniques, and the application of scientific theories to practical problems." Such evidence is expected to be empirical evidence and interpretable in accordance with the scientific method. Standards for scientific evidence vary according to the field of inquiry, but the strength of scientific evidence is generally based on the results of Statistics, statistical analysis and the strength of scientific controls. Principles of inference A person's assumptions or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Conversation (website)
''The Conversation'' is a network of nonprofit media outlets publishing news stories and research reports online, authored by academics with professional journalist editors to produce accessible research-informed outputs. Articles are written by academics and researchers under a Creative Commons license, allowing reuse without modification. Copyright terms for images are generally listed in the image caption and attribution. Its model has been described as explanatory journalism. Except in "exceptional circumstances", it only publishes articles by "academics employed by, or otherwise formally connected to, accredited institutions, including universities and accredited research bodies". The website was launched in Australia in March 2011. The network has since expanded globally with a variety of local editions originating from around the world. In September 2019, ''The Conversation'' reported a monthly online audience of 10.7 million users, and a combined reach o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Committee For Skeptical Inquiry
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization (before merging with CFI as one of its programs in 2015), to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators, and authors. It is headquartered in Amherst, New York. History The committee was officially launched on April 30, 1976, and was co-chaired by Paul Kurtz an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. It is not the same as junk science. The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is widespread agreement "that creationism, astrology, homeopathy, Kirlian photography, dowsing, ufology, ancient astronaut theory, Holocaust den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Hunting
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating list of reportedly haunted locations, locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts. Ghost hunting is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, science writers and skeptics. Science historian Brian Regal described ghost hunting as "an unorganized exercise in futility". Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect "evidence" supporting the existence of paranormal, paranormal activity. Ghost hunters also refer to themselves as paranormal investigators. Ghost hunters use a variety of electronic devices, including EMF meters, digital thermometers, both handheld and static digital camera, digital video cameras, including thermographic camera, thermographic and night vision, night vision cameras, Night-vision device, night vision goggles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falsifiability
Falsifiability (or refutability) is a deductive standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses, introduced by the Philosophy of science, philosopher of science Karl Popper in his book ''The Logic of Scientific Discovery'' (1934). A Scientific theory, theory or hypothesis is falsifiable if it can be logically contradicted by an empirical test. Popper emphasized the asymmetry created by the relation of a universal law with basic observation statements and contrasted falsifiability to the intuitively similar concept of Verifiability (science), ''verifiability'' that was then current in logical positivism. He argued that the only way to verify a claim such as "All swans are white" would be if one could theoretically observe all swans, which is not possible. On the other hand, the falsifiability requirement for an anomalous instance, such as the observation of a single black swan, is theoretically reasonable and sufficient to logically falsify the claim. Popper propo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mario Bunge
Mario Augusto Bunge ( ; ; September 21, 1919 – February 24, 2020) was an Argentine-Canadian philosopher and physicist. His philosophical writings combined scientific realism, systemism, materialism, emergentism, and other principles. He was an advocate of "exact philosophy" and a critic of existentialist, hermeneutical, Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenological philosophy, and postmodernism. He was popularly known for his opinions against pseudoscience. Early and personal life Bunge was born on September 21, 1919, in Florida Oeste, Buenos Aires. His mother, Marie Herminie Müser, was a German nurse who left Germany just before the beginning of World War I. His father, Augusto Bunge, also of some German descent, was an Argentine physician and socialist legislator. Mario, who was the couple's only child, was raised without any religious education, and enjoyed a happy and stimulating childhood in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Bunge had four children: Carlos Federico and Mari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
