Anomalous phenomenon
An
anomalous phenomenon is an observed
phenomenon for which there is no
agreeable rational explanation. Because such
observations don't fit into the established framework or
consensus reality, they can be the subject of controversy.
Some phenomena aren't widely accepted as
real by mainstream
scientists. Ideas about hard-to-reproduce anomalies are often deemed
pseudoscientific, partly because
science needs phenomena to be
reproducible.
Other phenomena are recognized to be real, but can't be readily explained. For example, many people have observed
unidentified flying objects; but their explanations for such objects differ. The
Tunguska event was an obvious and undeniable
anomaly, but ideas of its cause have ranged from asteroids to cross-dimensional rips.
Some examples of anomalous phenomena are:
*
folie a deux*
out-of-body experiences
*
near-death experiences
*
extrasensory perception*
ghosts
*
UFOs *
alien abduction experiences
*
twin connections
*
cryptozoology*
Spontaneous Human Combustion*
Deja vuSome anomalies eventually get a scientific explanation, losing their status as unexplained phenomena. For instance, while the idea of stones falling from the sky was once considered anomalous,
meteorites are now acknowledged and well understood.
Though actually a subcategory of anomalous phenomena,
paranormal phenomena are studied in the field of
parapsychology, and can be divided into three main classes:
* Mental phenomena: unusual mental states or abilities, such as
telepathy,
clairvoyance and
precognition* Physical phenomena: unusual physical occurrences that may be controlled by a conscious entity, as in the cases of
psychokinesis,
poltergeists,
stigmata or
materializations*
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and
near-death experiences (NDEs)
*
Classical civilization included unique signs and prodigies of
nature in works of
paradoxography such as
The Phaenomena (240 BC) by
Aratus of Soli.
*
Inoue Enryo, a
Japanese
educator and
philosopher, authored the six-volume
The Study of Yōkai (妖怪学). As a result, he was best known as
Dr. Ghost (お化け博士) or
Dr. Yōkai (妖怪博士).
*
Charles Fort, in his four works on anomalies, lambasted and ridiculed the scientists of his day for their shortsightedness. Some of the anomalies listed in his work have been explained and incorporated into modern science (e.g.
meteors), while others continue to be unexplained.
*
William R. Corliss'
Science Frontiers has covered reports in the
scientific literature regarding anomalies for years. He, through his Sourcebook Project, has published a large body of reports collected in many of the scientific disciplines.
*
Leonard George, a
psychologist who specializes in anomalous phenomena, compiled an authoritative encyclopedia of unusual experiences, activities, and beliefs in his
1995 book
Alternative Realities.
*
Fortean Times, a British monthly magazine, continues in the spirit of Fort's work by publishing reports of anomalous phenomena and longer investigative articles.
* The
Anomalist, edited by Patrick Huyghe and Dennis Stacy, is another magazine/journal devoted to the study of anomalies (which may be called anomalistics).
*
Strange Magazine is another magazine devoted to the study of anomalies in the spirit of Fort's work.
*
Fate Magazine, with the slogan "True Reports of the Strange and Unknown" has been published continuously since 1948, and is the longest-running publication of its kind.
*
*
*
Remote Viewing Secrets,
Joseph McMoneagle, Hampton Roads, 2000, paperback, 296 pages, ISBN 1-57174-159-3
*
The Conscious Universe,
Dean Radin PhD, Harper, 1997, hardback, 362 pages, ISBN 0-06-251502-0
*
Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources. John Klimo, St. Martins Press, 1987. ISBN 0874774314
*
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology, Lawrence Weschler, 1996, trade paperback, 192 pages, ISBN 0679764895 (see web site link above)
* Patrick Grim, ed.
Philosophy of Science and the Occult, 1982, SUNY, ISBN 0-873955730
*
Alien Abduction*
Abominable Snowman*
Agartha*
Ancient astronauts*
Ball lightning*
Bermuda Triangle*
Bigfoot*
Chupacabra*
Conspiracy theory*
Crop circles*
Cryptids (category)*
Cryptozoology*
Delusion*
Electronic Voice Phenomenon*
Fringe science*
Haunted Hollywood*
Hessdalen light*
Hollow Earth*
J. Francis Hitching*
Kirlian photography*
Legendary creatures (category)*
Levitation*
Light of Saratoga*
List of alternative, disputed, and speculative theories*
List of magazines of anomalous phenomena*
List of unsolved problems*
Loch Ness Monster*
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon*
Marfa lights*
Medical oddity*
Megacryometeor*
Men in Black*
Min Min light*
Mind control*
Mystery Spot*
Occultism (category)*
Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray*
OOPArt*
Orbs*
Oregon vortex*
Out-of-body experience*
Paradoxography*
Parapsychology*
Patapsychology*
Perinormal phenomenon*
Phoenix Lights*
Psionics*
Psychic detective*
Raymond Cass*
Remote viewing*
Skunk Ape*
Society for Psychical Research*
Spiritual possession*
Spiritualism*
Spontaneous Human Combustion*
Spooklight*
Star Jelly*
Stigmata*
Spring Heeled Jack*
Synchronicity*
Taos hum,
The Hum*
Teleportation*
Thunderstones*
Time Travel*
Tunguska event*
Unidentified flying object*
Vile Vortices*
Yeren*
The Fortean Times*
San Diego Paranormal Real Stories of the Paranormal
*
The Anomalist - resource monitoring latest strange news and book releases.
*
The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal*
Gargoyle's Paranormal Investigations*
Paranormal Storm Real Stories and Paranormal images
*
The Randi paranormal challenge*
The Society for Psychical Research - Founded in London in 1882
*
The American Society for Psychical Research*
The Cambridge Paranormal Research Society*
Introduction to parapsychology*
Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena*
ITS-DMS Paranormal internet TV
