Why do you seriously consider psi?

I voted 'other' because none of the other options totally 'fit the bill'.

I guess it's complicated. 

It's basically a mix of things.

I voted 'other' because none of the other options totally 'fit the bill'.

I guess it's complicated. 

It's basically a mix of things.

Yes it felt a bit like being asked “have you stopped beating your partner - yes or no”.

A mix of the third and forth options - so, "other."

Well I think there is a difference between entertaining an idea of something that "might" be true and believing something as part of the worldview created by, I guess the ego. How do we really tease out what we believe at rock bottom? Do you think that facing death either through illness or near sudden death brings out a person's true ideas about how they "really" think about the nature of reality? I think a lot of people give ideas lip service but when the rubber meets the road, things may be different.

I don't disagree...but if I put "why do you entertain the idea that psi might be true?", then someone will tell me that they don't, they 'know' it to be true, and so on.

How we tease out what we believe at rock bottom would make an interesting thread, I think.

Linda

Thank you to everyone who voted and/or took the time to give their thoughts.

A bit late to the party, but I think it might make the world we live in a much more interesting place.

I put up this survey to get a rough idea of the main reason(s) people believe in psi. The poll questions are based on what people have said on the Skeptiko forum over the years. But if your reason is different, I also put in "Other". Please explain why, if you use this option.


This doesn't just refer to committed believers, but to anyone who doesn't dismiss psi out of hand - which probably applies to most everyone here. And by "psi" I mean any of the topics we talk about here.

Linda

I have an aversion to the label, so never mention it. I'd rather just describe the actual phenomena I find interesting, and why I believe such phenomena will probably need to be understood differently.

I have an aversion to the label, so never mention it. I'd rather just describe the actual phenomena I find interesting, and why I believe such phenomena will probably need to be understood differently.

Thank you. 

So labels and any reference to how these are understood aside, the question would be "why do you find these phenomena interesting"?

Thank you. 

So labels and any reference to how these are understood aside, the question would be "why do you find these phenomena interesting"?

I'm afraid it still doesn't make much sense to ask a question about why people find something "interesting" and then make them jump a series of hurdles labelled "strongly compelling" (even if the last one is merely "compelling" for some reason).

Thank you. 

So labels and any reference to how these are understood aside, the question would be "why do you find these phenomena interesting"?

Well I would replace "...these phenomena..." with a description of some very specific phenomena... then I could try and explain my interest.