The founders of APP were so interested in the contradiction between paranormal and science, that we did a formal study and then formed a collaborative project to take it further.
If you're also interested enough to want to do something, here's your chance. Let's bridge the gap between paranormal and science.
We're glad to make your acquaintance!
Want to help?
There's room for all interested parties to help pull the project forward.
- Experiencers, please post your experiences in the appropriate forum. (PAST= "Library," CURRENT= "Debunking")
- Investigators, Researchers and Skeptics: Please join the methodology forums. (We need your input to get it right.)
- Pass the word. Tell your friends about the project (and survey). We're also on Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.
- Volunteer to be a moderator or organizer.
Want to up the ante?
Those who are REALLY motivated can become Gold Members. The project's resources are free for everyone to use. But reasonable people realize that it takes resources inputs to sustain an organization.
Depending on which goals the members want to pursue, like advertising, real engineering of new equipment, and hiring professionals.
We have a few ideas for next phases of the project.
• Obtain peer review for the first phase of Study #1 (from professional skeptics)
• Continue Study #1 – Recent paranormal claims analysis (with volunteers)
• Start Study #2 – Directed survey (with the public)
• Foster a “paranormal library” of anecdotes and paranormal researchers
• Start a round table on debunking, measurement of a micro-environment (house, etc)
• Start a round table on engineering “TAPPA” (The APP Apparatus) for taking measurements
• Create a self-debunking guide and field guide book
• Marketing to encourage interested skeptics and experiencers
• Intake claims that have passed self-debunking
• Send qualified skeptics/pn investigators with TAPPA to verify claims
ADVERTISING
Why advertising? The first answer is to get helpful information to distressed people. After all, that was the primary motivating factor in how the project got started. (The contradiction between paranormal and skepticism is already maddening, but after joining Reddit and seeing so many people asking for help, this project was created.)
How best to help those people? Well, science will provide the best answers. Experts are easy to find. We can easily ask them to participate. So they require no advertising at all.
But they (experts: skeptics, scientists, researchers, academics) WON'T participate unless there is something substantial for them to do. In short, it would help a lot for as many people as possible to take the survey and add their experiences to the Paranormal Library.
Side note: Right now science dismisses the paranormal, out-of-hand, like wholesale denial. The only way to prove otherwise is to provide evidence contrary to established theory. Again, in short that takes people. We would like to put out a worldwide call for evidence, with the caveat the the skeptics get to establish guidelines for vetting. (Science FIRST, or the whole effort is useless.) The first step is to prove that "something" is happening, and that will all depend on how the debunking goes. Maybe everything really can be debunked. But maybe everything can't. Only time (for the scientific method to work) will tell.
So internet advertising is cheap, sure. And we (the founders) will fork out for that, no problem. (Yeah, we're REALLY interested in this subject.) BUT TELEVISION ADVERTISING. On one hand it's actually cheaper than you'd think. For only a few hundred bucks a month you can actually get a decent queue of spots on off-prime channels. OTOH, how would YOU like "a few hundred bucks a month" coming out of YOUR paycheck?? Yeah, therein lies the quandary.
EQUIPMENT
Not only advertising, but EQUIPMENT! There is a Methodology Panel that is working on designing a proper test apparatus for home use, for people to measure all the things in a room that could be causing a disturbance. Full disclosure, that panel has not even gotten underway yet so it's quite a while in the future, months at least.
PROFESSIONALS
Truth be told, we are not professionals at any of the aspects of this project. We are hobbyists. The website, logo, survey, marketing, and PAPER WRITING are all our amateur efforts at furthering the project's goal. Also, as some science podcasts have noted, much more progress can be made if the project had a full-time administrator instead of one who squeezes the project into their spare time after work and family commitments.
We've put out calls for experts to join the methodology panels, and we're counting on INTERESTED experts to help us shape the science part of the project. We can wing the rest if necessary, so no worries.
HOWEVER if you, too, want to go the extra mile...
We offer a Gold Membership, for a single, small donation.
What's that? Right now you get a nifty gold nameplate and the designation of Gold Member on your posts and profile, so you can show that you take the issue seriously.
To keep the project open, we don't have extra content to offer. Once we set up the website's virtual storefront, a swag page will be included. At that time we'll probably run a fundraiser because by then the Methodology Panels will have uncovered some of the best practices we should be publicizing. And at that time new gold members might receive a promo of some kind.
We would definitely include current Gold Members, as you had faith in the project when there was no quid-pro-quo, if the promo thing came to fruition.
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Want to be a Gold Member?
THANKS, for real. Your gift will help us get a step closer to achieving our goals, some of which are listed above, like advertising for participants and hiring experts and engineers. Gold membership (and that nifty Gold nameplate) means you want to see this project succeed.
(one-time PayPal donation)
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Thank You!