Submitted by Mad Scientist on
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Not all scientists dismiss the supernatural, paranormal or mythological. There are a few who think, "hmm, humanity has believed in this supernatural, paranormal and mythological thing for tens of thousands of years it seems, maybe there is something to investigate after all". For psychic ability, Joseph and Louisa Rhine were two such scientists and they helped to begin an investigation that continues to this day, involving a small number of scientists spread over the globe.
There are many scientists who don't have time for the supernatural, paranormal and mythological. This is because there are easier, more physical things for our present day science to study. Most modern day scientists want results that can be reproduced. They don't want to study something like psi, which doesn't seem to work as easily as turning a light switch on or off. They want to see what they are studying as clearly as possible and see how changing one variable effects the other. They can work with things that are more easily observable and I don't blame them! Studying the supernatural, paranormal or mythological is challenging!
There are also those scientists who completely dismiss the paranormal. As you say, there is no proof that the s, p and m do not exist, but these people will spend the lion's share of their time trying make the public believe the supernatural, paranormal or mythological do not exist. I don't fully understand such thinking as it seems a wasted effort to me. Why not spend your time doing actual science instead of some crazy hatchet job?
Perhaps they are afraid people following in the Rhine's footsteps will take public funding away from their science projects. I think this is an unfounded fear on their part and they would be better off targeting the extreme waste of money on "defense-related" (weapons of warfare) research spending than attacking the relatively tiny group of parapsychologists. (Relative to most topics in Science, Parapsychology has had very little funding and most of the funding originates from private not public sources).
Still, these "pseudo-skeptics" will freak out if money is spent investigating such topics because they are certain "it does not exist!" They will simply dismiss any finds that counter their beliefs. Positive experimental results? They will say it was only a coincidence.
Looking critically at extraordinary claims is a good thing but outright rejection of the evidence without even viewing or considering it is just nutty!
"The fact that many attacks on parapsychology are highly dogmatic and emotional and couched in ridicule and intimidation rather than scientific argument suggests that parapsychology threatens something quite important to these critics. That something may be their grasp of reality."-Carlos S. Alvarado, Ph.D.
Yet sometimes the impossible is proven to be fact in a way no one can dispute and the million dollar prize is taken. For example, 19th century scholars thought Homer's story of Troy was just a myth and the place didn't actually exist. A man named Heinrich Schliemann (with the help of Englishman Frank Calvert) demonstrated the mythology was actually true when he went to what is now modern day Turkey and dug up the ruins! He found a treasure in gold and artifacts and sadly, much to expense of Turkey and its people, illegally smuggled the riches out of the country. His questionable ethics aside, Schliemann did prove that mythology can be true and the naysayers could be doing better things with their time!