If ghosts existed, don't you think more people would have experienced them?

[AudioFreak]

This is just some food for thought for believers in ghosts.

Think of the entire population of the world. Now contrast that to how many people have already lived and died throughout all of human history. The number of the dead is logically far greater than the number of the living.

Now, assuming the dead have any interest in the living, don't you think that more than just the handfull who have been reported on Unexplained Mysteries would have gotten a message back to us? For every person there are many many dead people (I'm not going to even guestimate what the actual figures might be, but rest assured it's more than a 1:1 ratio of dead to living). Doesn't it make sense that with numbers like that EVERYBODY would have had multiple encounters with ghosts?

Despite the lack of scientific evidence to support their existence, doesn't the sheer lack of encounters provide evidence that they're unlikely to exist?

 

[Monza]

Good point. The number of dead people rises every day. Couple this fact with the advancements in photography, such as digital cameras, camera phones, etc. and you would think that the possibility of a ghost being captured in a photo would increase exponentially. Yet, the "best" photo evidence of ghosts are pretty crappy. At what point do we conclude that ghosts don't exist?

 

[politas]

Actually, given the constantly increasing population figures across the entire world, it is quite possible that only about half of the people who ever lived have died.

 

[baron]

A bit of a moot point because I doubt there are many people out there who, after making any attempt to seriously study the phenomenon, have concluded that ghosts are actually dead people.

 

[Yeah_Right]

I've wondered about this myself, but I suppose the woo answer would be that most spirits "cross over", and "experiencers", see what's left behind.

 

[AudioFreak]

Actually, given the constantly increasing population figures across the entire world, it is quite possible that only about half of the people who ever lived have died.

While population has grown immensely in the past hundred years, I'm still confident there are more dead people than living. Anybody care to do the math or cite any statistics? Purely out of logic I'd say this doesn't add up at all.

I'm betting that with all the generations to account for and the fact that people are dying every day that the number of dead is still greater than the number of living. Not to mention that EVERY living person is a GUARANTEED addition to the dead pool, where as there is no guarantee that a living person will reproduce.

 

[skeptifem]

i agree. even if just one percent of the dead became ghosts (for whatever reason) it would still be a huge number of people floating about.

 

[eir_de_scania]

It depends on why you become a ghost, doesn't it? If only those with unfinished businesses lag behind perhaps the number isn't that big.

But if everyone of us becomes a ghost I imagine the astral plane is quite crowded. No wonder the mediums are so vague, it's just so hard for them to hear what an individual spirit says with all that background noise.

 

[warren sinden]

I know someone who has been certified dead by a medical doctor twice already.
He said that both times he saw himself entering into a dark tunnel & at the end there was a very bright light.
Both times he got pulled out of the tunnel before he reached the end.
The only conclusion that I can come to is that it is the chemical reaction in the brain before it shuts down, but I don't have any scientific proof for that.
The big question is does a person have a soul?
What is your definition of a soul?
Is it a separate entity or is it part of your brain that disintegrates when you die?
I don't think anybody has been dead long enough to actually know what goes on in the after, life if there is an after life.
Once we know more about the human brain we might be able to answer all these questions.
A ghost could also be the early stages of a living organism being developed or maybe an organism that hasn't developed properly.
Could a ghost actually be a real spirit that has been created through our own minds. i.e through us thinking about it?

 

[AudioFreak]

I know someone who has been certified dead by a medical doctor twice already.
He said that both times he saw himself entering into a dark tunnel & at the end there was a very bright light.
Both times he got pulled out of the tunnel before he reached the end.
The only conclusion that I can come to is that it is the chemical reaction in the brain before it shuts down, but I don't have any scientific proof for that.

Seems like a logical enough conclusion although there have been SO many near-death experiences where people have said similar things it's almost like alien abductions.

The big question is does a person have a soul?
What is your definition of a soul?
Is it a separate entity or is it part of your brain that disintegrates when you die?

I don't think that's the big question at all. You can't question the existence of something which lacks definition. Do you believe in Schnorbles?

I don't think anybody has been dead long enough to actually know what goes on in the after, life if there is an after life.

Sure they have; they're still dead.

Once we know more about the human brain we might be able to answer all these questions.
A ghost could also be the early stages of a living organism being developed or maybe an organism that hasn't developed properly.
Could a ghost actually be a real spirit that has been created through our own minds. i.e through us thinking about it?

At this point I have to call woo. I've seen plenty of organisms without consciousness, but never seen consciousness without an organism (lest we venture into some sort of AI discussion, but that's beyond the scope of this thread). Nothing is created outside of our own perception and action simply by willing it. I can't create a ghost by thinking about it without fooling my senses in the same way a believer might "hear" the voice of a loved one in white noise.

 

[Hawk one]

Actually, given the constantly increasing population figures across the entire world, it is quite possible that only about half of the people who ever lived have died.

Well, apparently, this isn't so.

I also remember once seeing the webpage that did indeed calculate it to have been about 105 billion people living through all times. Couldn't immediately find it, but I did find this little summary. If you want more info, I could do some more searching, or feel free to do your own.

 

[Autolite]

Interesting point but moot. When one employs logic or reason to illustrate the "non-existence" of ghosts one must understand that those who believe in ghosts are, by definition, impervious to logic or reason ...

 

[Starthinker]

At what point would ghosts begin? I mean, are there caveman ghosts? Neanderthal ghosts? Slightly upright monkey ghosts? Which also begs the question, are there insect ghosts or giraffe ghosts?

 

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Eh...cause skeptics are so close-minded? And close their minds to all ghostly encounters?

 

[Solus]

What I wonder about in all the stories I've heard about ghosts is why is there the unnecessary fear? All the reactions I've read of have been fear and mostly the people are half asleep since ghosts tend to appear at night.

Amusing, if wasn't losing it completely and somehow ghosts actually existed. If a ghost visited my room at 2 AM, I would want to observe the ghost and try to have a conversation. The rule (apart from horror movies) is that ghosts can't hurt you so what's there to be afraid of? That's why woo stuff is so boring; it's always the same old story. Bring me some variety please.

 

[krelnik]

Here's another reference on the issue of how many people have ever lived (and therefore died). Seems pretty well researched, but I'm no demographer:

http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/HowManyPeopleHaveEverLivedonEarth.aspx

They came up with 106 billion, which would make it 17 "ghosts" for each living person.

--Tim Farley

 

[Aepervius]

Eh...cause skeptics are so close-minded? And close their minds to all ghostly encounters?

Sadly the population of skeptic is quite small in comparison to the population of "believer". I sometimes even think that the population of gullible is even greater than the one of skeptic.

 

[Erin]

Ghosty believers see it for what it is - a message from your subconscious to you. Make use of it but keep it to yourself.

 

[Tim4848]

Good point. The number of dead people rises every day. Couple this fact with the advancements in photography, such as digital cameras, camera phones, etc. and you would think that the possibility of a ghost being captured in a photo would increase exponentially. Yet, the "best" photo evidence of ghosts are pretty crappy. At what point do we conclude that ghosts don't exist?

It depends on what you believe to be ghost. If you think that our inner energy is going to dress this possibility, with things that are not true, then you are kidding your self. Out of body afterlife is the same inner energy that a human uses to live in their body, and the only thing stopping them from truly finding out if this is possible, is thinking about it differently than ever before.

Do you know, that there are some people on this earth, right now in real time, has never use a real telephone before, and if it was not for a machine, a lot of others would not be able to do it as well.

Out of body afterlife can not speak, they have no mouth, they only have there thoughts, and the wave activity that causes, depending on what confidence is working at the time of the transmission, and making sure that all parties are on the same page.

The first person who invented the light bulb, did not get the credit he deserved, but we still got a light bulb out of he deal. I have no problem if somebody else comes up with an idea and make it work, I just wanted to at least get the path cleaned up a bit, because you would not even know it was there, if I did not come along.

Thank you for reading my thoughts,
Tim

 

[Tim4848]

Sadly the population of skeptic is quite small in comparison to the population of "believer". I sometimes even think that the population of gullible is even greater than the one of skeptic.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that history has always shown us, that anything we set our minds too, becomes a reality, so laying on a bunch of rocks and complaining is a minority these days, because nobody like negativity, just to be negative.