Prompt: A cable television show about ghost hunters claims to use good science to study ghosts. Based on evidence from the text, construct an argument that either supports or denies this claim. Explain whether the methods used by amateur ghost hunters are good scientific practices.
This an assignment for 8th-grade science meant to help others. I understand this answer is not perfect.
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Answer:
Remember, these sources are often not reliable. Not only is it from emotion-appealing televisions, those performing the show are often amateurs and not experts of the field. Collecting evidence that ghosts are real is weak as searching for them provides little to no factual evidence. In essence, ghosts are not real because they rely on singular phenomena, personal feelings, and questionable environments.
Firstly, evidence supporting the claim that ghosts are real is fake because amateur ghost hunters use singular events as evidence. For example, "Ghost Hunters" reveals that "ghost hunters... observe something they do not understand at first, like a sudden flash of light on a wall or sounds coming from an empty house". However, many variables could be affecting these events and should not be taken as evidence unless fully scientifically proven. The ghost hunters lack process and are resistant to new, valid information. This shows that they do not rely on scientific inquiry and instead rely on outdated pseudoscience. Evidence is also often based on subjective experiences. This way of gathering information is fallible because feelings and emotions that are misleading can be a result of health issues, etc. For example, if you closed your eyes during a car ride, would you know exactly where you are heading solely by that experience? Of course not! By closing your eyes, you lose your ability to see clearly in light. This is the same way with ghosts. If you only search for ghosts at night, you lose a large ability to view good details concerning the ghosts. Besides, the ghosts do not appear only at night just to vaporize in the morning. If they exist, then why is evidence taken only at night and not during the day?
In conclusion, understanding how evidence will support your claim is imperative. Yet this basic tool is lost among the so-called "ghost hunters".
