Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Paranormal Society

What does Paranormal mean?

Sunday, 14 November 2010 09:46 |

Paranormal is a general term (coined ca. 1915–1920^[1]^[2]) that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation"^[3] or that indicates phenomena that are understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure.^[1]^[4]Paranormal phenomena are distinct from certain hypothetical entities, such as dark matter and dark energy, insofar as paranormal phenomena are inconsistent with the world as already understood through empirical observation coupled with scientific methodology^[5].

Thousands of stories relating to paranormal phenomena are found in popular culture, folklore, and the recollections of individual subjects.^{[6] (Wikipedia)}

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According to an article by Christopher Orapello on the meaning of 'Paranormal' the author states that

"When broken down, in Latin, para means above, outside, or beyond and normal means that which is according to the norm, not unusual. Together, these two terms convey the meaning above or beyond that which is normal, beyond that which is according to the norm. Paranormal is typically used as an umbrella term for psychic phenomena, telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokenesis, as well as any type of haunting or similar occurence. What is often referred to as being paranomal are factors that seem to exist in the world which are currently unknown or able to be recognized by orthodox science. Factors that are above science's current ability to know or measure" (Mid Atlantic Paranormal Research).

Last Updated ( Monday, 15 November 2010 13:16 )