5 Ways Science Ruins Your Halloween

Rhykker

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5 Ways Science Ruins Your Halloween

Here are five horror tropes that science disproves.

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UNHchabo

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Rhykker said:
If a ghost passes through an object, then it can exert no force on it, and thus cannot manipulate it.
What if it works like a non-Newtonian fluid? Anything can move slowly through them, but fast movement causes them to act like a solid. If ghosts were real, why couldn't they be able to slowly walk through a door, then knock over a vase with a quick swing of their arm?
 

Razorback0z

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"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov

In my opinion we are racing towards a new era of religion, spirituality and superstition. As science advances beyond the understanding of the vast majority of citizens who fund it (let alone 3rd world populations), another quote becomes more relevant. Clarke's 3rd law.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

That's about where we are at right now. Most people could deal with the ideas of space flight and vaccinations, but as we discover more about quantum physics, genetics and advanced biology and realise we basically have to abandon notions of human purity and endless life on earth. Science may as well be magic for all the difference it makes to people.

So I don't think it matters that much to people whether the thing they believe in or draw entertainment from is real or not. So much of science is unreal to them that the line is being blurred every day and people care less and less. Halloween was never that big in Australia, the last few years its just exploded, hell we are having a Halloween party and that's something I never thought Id say, but the kids love it so.... whatever..

For the believer no evidence is required, for the unbeliever no evidence is enough.
 

Vigormortis

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Agreed on all points but the final. Monsters.

Depends on which type of "monster" or monster-mythos we're speaking of. The possibility of such creatures existing, and more importantly, posing a threat to humans, isn't beyond the realm of possibility.

There are, of course, a lot of mitigating circumstances that would come into play. Just as there is the far more important question of the longevity of the threat, once the creature or creatures come onto the scene. But there's still that (slim) possibility.
 

Nimzabaat

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ritchards said:
Science, ruining everything since 1543

Cheer up. We haven't even explored one planet out of the entire universe yet. It's far too early for people to be claiming complete certainty on anything. Besides, science gets proven wrong all the time, usually by better science. So it's possible someone will invent a device and go "holy crap, ghosts are real, put it in the book".
 

Drake Barrow

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Nimzabaat said:
ritchards said:
Science, ruining everything since 1543

Cheer up. We haven't even explored one planet out of the entire universe yet. It's far too early for people to be claiming complete certainty on anything. Besides, science gets proven wrong all the time, usually by better science. So it's possible someone will invent a device and go "holy crap, ghosts are real, put it in the book".
I'd love to see something impossible show up, something that leaves sufficient evidence of its occurrence for the skeptically minded but doesn't lend itself to complete understanding. The best example I could draw on would be the event that creates "The Zone" in the book Roadside Picnic. Of course, that example would involve the deaths of multiple thousands of people, so perhaps "love to see" isn't the best choice of words.
 

Saulkar

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Drake Barrow said:
Nimzabaat said:
ritchards said:
Science, ruining everything since 1543

Cheer up. We haven't even explored one planet out of the entire universe yet. It's far too early for people to be claiming complete certainty on anything. Besides, science gets proven wrong all the time, usually by better science. So it's possible someone will invent a device and go "holy crap, ghosts are real, put it in the book".
I'd love to see something impossible show up, something that leaves sufficient evidence of its occurrence for the skeptically minded but doesn't lend itself to complete understanding. The best example I could draw on would be the event that creates "The Zone" in the book Roadside Picnic. Of course, that example would involve the deaths of multiple thousands of people, so perhaps "love to see" isn't the best choice of words.
Get out of here STALKEaRa, this is mah arteefacta. If ever a zone popped up I would take a few years of hardcore military and survival training just to be able to enter one and expect to survive. My only real fear would be snorks, those guys are dicks. Oh wait, we are talking about the 1978 novel. I would personally prefer the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. one as it is supernatural yet not scientifically unlearnable, even if you have to create new laws to understand how everything works.

P.S. Goddamn, motherf!cking auto playing adds! ARGH!!! How many damn times do I need to refresh before they go away?! I am at my wits end here and it does not matter how many times I email the staff because there is always a new one to replace the previous one.

ARGH!!!
 

chikusho

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What about The Walking Dead type zombies?
First off, there isn't an explanation for what causes zombie-ism in that universe, everyone who dies simply comes back.
What if that's cause by some sort of parasite that's been secretly infecting people over generations, and just suddenly activates? Being inside the host body, they could repurpose human systems to create a binding agent that slows down the deterioration of the body while strengthening the tissues in the brain in order to keep piloting us for as long as possible.
 

Nimzabaat

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Drake Barrow said:
Nimzabaat said:
ritchards said:
Science, ruining everything since 1543

Cheer up. We haven't even explored one planet out of the entire universe yet. It's far too early for people to be claiming complete certainty on anything. Besides, science gets proven wrong all the time, usually by better science. So it's possible someone will invent a device and go "holy crap, ghosts are real, put it in the book".
I'd love to see something impossible show up, something that leaves sufficient evidence of its occurrence for the skeptically minded but doesn't lend itself to complete understanding. The best example I could draw on would be the event that creates "The Zone" in the book Roadside Picnic. Of course, that example would involve the deaths of multiple thousands of people, so perhaps "love to see" isn't the best choice of words.
Well at the risk of being anecdotal, one of my friends lost all sensation in his body. It lasted only a couple of weeks and while he was hospitalized, all the doctors could determine was that he couldn't feel anything. They even burnt him just to be sure he wasn't faking. It was a medical mystery that was never solved.

As for personally witnessing something that science considers impossible... I think the key is to keep an open mind. Not open to the point of "Jesus appeared in mah toast!", but not immediately skeptical either. Personally i'd love to have the time/money to go around checking out unexplained phenomena, just in case there was that one experience that would change my world view.
 

Thaluikhain

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Vigormortis said:
Agreed on all points but the final. Monsters.

Depends on which type of "monster" or monster-mythos we're speaking of. The possibility of such creatures existing, and more importantly, posing a threat to humans, isn't beyond the realm of possibility.

There are, of course, a lot of mitigating circumstances that would come into play. Just as there is the far more important question of the longevity of the threat, once the creature or creatures come onto the scene. But there's still that (slim) possibility.
This is true, though apex predators have been identified (and generally hunted to the brink of extinction), they are boring nowdays.

That wasn't the final point, though, the point was that you should be scared of pirates, which is true. They are humans, and thus the most fearsome creature on the planet.

Unfortunately, this is true of most readers as well, which makes them a bit less scary than they would be to, say, pandas.
 

Kenjitsuka

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"You know what you should be afraid of? Pirates. Science can't debunk pirates."
Pfff, pirates! Everyone knows NINJA PIRATES are way scarier!!!

And about monsters; they *can* come from outer space or another dimension (see "The Mist")...
Their habitat etc. would all be there, so all they need is to suddenly be introduced on Earth.

And another thing; humanity can eventually genetically manipulate beings into monsters, as well.
We've turned *wolves* into *chihuahuas* already, and that was with no petridishes involved! :D :D :D

P.S.
To see humans without a sense of pain in action, I'd recommend Jet Li's movie "Black Mask":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mask_(film)
 

CaitSeith

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The funny thing is that the baseline of several horror movies is "the science was wrong". And really, it isn't like in the real world hasn't ever existed a scientific theory accepted in the past that years later was proven wrong, and had to be corrected.
 

Sylocat

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If there's anything worse than people who think magic/ghosts/whatever are real, it's people who smugly pat themselves on the back for being aware that it isn't. And one thing even worse than bad science is using bad science to debunk other bad science.

No, I don't believe in ghosts, but this is a terrible way to debunk them. There is literally nothing more unscientific than declaring that anything that doesn't fit our currently-understood models of reality must be impossible. And this article does precisely that.

(oh, and what does this have to do with Halloween? Does the author of this article think that anyone old enough to read this site dresses up as monsters because we think they're real?)
 

chikusho

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Halyah said:
chikusho said:
What about The Walking Dead type zombies?
First off, there isn't an explanation for what causes zombie-ism in that universe, everyone who dies simply comes back.
What if that's cause by some sort of parasite that's been secretly infecting people over generations, and just suddenly activates? Being inside the host body, they could repurpose human systems to create a binding agent that slows down the deterioration of the body while strengthening the tissues in the brain in order to keep piloting us for as long as possible.
If everyone had it then it wouldn't go undetected. Scientific research into our own bodies with ever more powerful tools is still ongoing after all.

CAPTCHA: garlic, yum

No it isn't captcha. It tastes badly!
The human body is still a mystery in many ways. The brain particularly so.
If everyone had it, I think it would be even harder to detect, because then there would be nothing out of the ordinary to find when studying a brain.
 

chikusho

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Halyah said:
A parasite would stand out pretty easily seeing as they bring -nothing- good to the table. Hence the name.
Well, first, the parasite would have to stand out as an anomaly. There are many areas, (in fact, most areas) we still don't completely understand. Considering that the brains functions are still far from completely mapped out, and in many ways the brain looks partially different from person to person, it would not necessarily stand out until they tested that specific area of the brain to find its purpose. If it was a noticeable parasite at all, it could just as easily be some kind of bioflora.