As noted in last nights post here I was able to finally tracked down a copy of Steve Volk's Fringe-ology. I had first heard of this book about a month ago from one of the numerous sites I frequent (honestly I can't seem to remember at the moment which one it was). Then I heard him on a couple of podcasts that I listen to, first he was on Open Minds Radio and then he made an appearance on Mysterious Universe. After listening to him on these interviews I was pretty excited to read his book. It seemed like maybe finally someone else had woken up and realized that we just don't know anything. What I mean is that in his book Volk explores all many of Fortean, or as he calls it paranormal, phenomena with as unbiased of an opinion as you could hope to have.
Volk seems to realize that while debunkers may believe they have science on their side, at times they can be just as quick to believe as those that are true believers. Volk argues that the truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes, in the 'Excluded Middle' if you will. It's very refreshing to hear people coming to this conclusion. After all in many aspects of life we are dealing with too many unknowns. I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that we simply don't know what something is or where it comes from.
The problem that we run into is that instead of searching for whatever evidence may exist out there, we simply find evidence that backs up our preconceived notions. Volk points this out in his book to the chagrin of both True Believer's and the Debunkers. I'm not very far into the book but I am already enjoying it very much and look forward to it only getting better as I go along. So with that if you will excuse I have to get back to finishing the book. Look for a full review of it to come soon, in the mean time I highly recommend you get yours hands on it. Trust me, as long as you remain an open minded as you can you will not be disappointed. Who knows, perhaps you may even learn a thing or two. Until next time this is your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying, Have a Happy 4th of July!
Volk seems to realize that while debunkers may believe they have science on their side, at times they can be just as quick to believe as those that are true believers. Volk argues that the truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes, in the 'Excluded Middle' if you will. It's very refreshing to hear people coming to this conclusion. After all in many aspects of life we are dealing with too many unknowns. I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that we simply don't know what something is or where it comes from.
The problem that we run into is that instead of searching for whatever evidence may exist out there, we simply find evidence that backs up our preconceived notions. Volk points this out in his book to the chagrin of both True Believer's and the Debunkers. I'm not very far into the book but I am already enjoying it very much and look forward to it only getting better as I go along. So with that if you will excuse I have to get back to finishing the book. Look for a full review of it to come soon, in the mean time I highly recommend you get yours hands on it. Trust me, as long as you remain an open minded as you can you will not be disappointed. Who knows, perhaps you may even learn a thing or two. Until next time this is your friendly neighborhood Fortean Philosopher saying, Have a Happy 4th of July!
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