A friend and I are arguing over ghosts.

I think it’s akin to astrology, homeopathy and palm reading. He says there’s “convincing “ evidence for its existence. He also took up company time to make a meme to illustrate our relative positions. (See image)

(To be fair, I’m also on the clock right now)

What do you think?

  • EvilBit@lemmy.world
    37·
    2 days ago

    Science has never in the history of science reliably shown a single interaction between physical entities and any sort of non-physical force. The only way ghosts could be real is if you redefined the term “ghost” to the point of breaking, like saying that the memory of a person is a ghost.

    Plus, it fails the smell test in a million ways. What makes a ghost exist? Why aren’t we positively lousy with ghosts? Are there rules? What would they be and what mechanism is there to both quantify and effect them? Why do ghosts follow the rotation and revolution of the earth but otherwise aren’t physically bound? How can one have any sort of cognition? If a ghost does, how can it perceive anything without intercepting photons or other physical phenomena? If there are ghosts and somehow they have cognition and perception, are we obligated to leave Netflix on when we leave for work?

            • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
              13·
              2 days ago

              The earth’s magnetic field is fluid and changing, magnetism is affected by electrical current or heat.

              • EvilBit@lemmy.world
                5·
                2 days ago

                I don’t mean that any given magnetic field is unchanging, I mean that the principles are stable and well-understood. We never see magnetic fields just randomly change with no reason or else navigation and all kinds of other technologies would be fucked forever.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          2 days ago

          You keep saying “physical force”…

          That’s not a real term in physics.

          The only possible explanation, is you mean any force that is already explained by physics, is that what you mean?

          Because that would be the same as insisting we know everything, which no one who knows anything about physics would ever try to claim.

          So…

          What exactly do you mean when you keep saying “physical forces”?

          • EvilBit@lemmy.world
            31·
            2 days ago

            I mean there’s no way to go from immeasurable to measurable except in scale, and anywhere north of quantum scale, physics has been reliably predictable and measurable. Ghosts’ purported impact is on a scale well above that which is unexplained.