Think Anomalous: An Introduction
Despite my insatiable hunger for all things anomalous, I find I’m constantly scrounging for good content.
It’s not that there’s nothing out there. The internet is flooded with information on anomalies. You could spend days watching video evidence of ghosts on YouTube and re-runs of “Ancient Aliens” on TV.
The problem is that very little media content on anomalous phenomena could be called scientific, and the most rigorous stuff is rarely the most visible. Anyone who’s ever sifted through the tangled heap of anomalistic media will know that it takes an awful lot of digging to find the same quality of content we’d expect from more accredited sources. Unfortunately, the cream does not always rise to the top.
The triumph of subpar media in the marketplace of ideas has led many otherwise intelligent, discerning individuals to think that the study of anomalies is a laughable pseudoscience. The result is an almost complete embargo on anomalistic research in the scientific community, and an undervaluation of its importance at the social, cultural, and even political level.
Think Anomalous aims to reverse this unfortunate situation by acting as a guide to the signal in the noise of anomalistic media. The site aspires to be a reliable source for sobering, scientific thought, and to help people navigate important research and resources in the anomalistic literature.
Think Anomalous content challenges the way that we cover anomalies in the scientific community as well as in popular media, and contributes to a higher-level discourse on research aims and methodologies. By educating the public on the right - and the wrong - way of conducting anomalistic research, we seek to lift the veil of ridicule draped over this neglected field, and to replace it with an air of scientific respectability. Content will never resort to the same kind of hokey sensationalism common in the media; we make videos you won’t be embarrassed to share with your friends.
The site offers two streams of content: a blog, and a video series. The blog critiques scientific and media treatment of anomalous phenomena, and engages readers in nuanced discussions of theory, method, and epistemology in anomalistic research. In the coming weeks, we’ll discuss what happens when skeptics hear ghosts, debunk the myth of the “flying saucer,” and explore the science behind the theory of the mass hallucination.
Videos offer reviews of some of history’s most fascinating anomalies, and communicate vital concepts and events in anomalistic research to a wider audience. All videos are short and concise, and will be modelled after the work of famous vloggers such as John Green and C.G.P. Grey, or those produced by Ted-Ed and SpiritScience. Videos will be presented by myself, but will also feature original illustration. In upcoming videos, we’ll review the story of the Solway Firth spaceman, explore the mysteries of the “Miracle of the Sun,” and introduce “the man who invented the supernatural.”
Through these two streams of information, Think Anomalous will help guide the public to the most reliable sources of anomalistic information, and steer popular discourse further in the direction of rational inquiry.
Think Anomalous is an expanding platform, and it’s my hope that the site will find a sympathetic audience that will help nurture it to maturation. I welcome all comments, questions, and feedback, as well as submissions for publication on the blog. I look forward to your engagement.
- Jason Charbonneau
Published 2016/2/29
It’s not that there’s nothing out there. The internet is flooded with information on anomalies. You could spend days watching video evidence of ghosts on YouTube and re-runs of “Ancient Aliens” on TV.
The problem is that very little media content on anomalous phenomena could be called scientific, and the most rigorous stuff is rarely the most visible. Anyone who’s ever sifted through the tangled heap of anomalistic media will know that it takes an awful lot of digging to find the same quality of content we’d expect from more accredited sources. Unfortunately, the cream does not always rise to the top.
The triumph of subpar media in the marketplace of ideas has led many otherwise intelligent, discerning individuals to think that the study of anomalies is a laughable pseudoscience. The result is an almost complete embargo on anomalistic research in the scientific community, and an undervaluation of its importance at the social, cultural, and even political level.
Think Anomalous aims to reverse this unfortunate situation by acting as a guide to the signal in the noise of anomalistic media. The site aspires to be a reliable source for sobering, scientific thought, and to help people navigate important research and resources in the anomalistic literature.
Think Anomalous content challenges the way that we cover anomalies in the scientific community as well as in popular media, and contributes to a higher-level discourse on research aims and methodologies. By educating the public on the right - and the wrong - way of conducting anomalistic research, we seek to lift the veil of ridicule draped over this neglected field, and to replace it with an air of scientific respectability. Content will never resort to the same kind of hokey sensationalism common in the media; we make videos you won’t be embarrassed to share with your friends.
The site offers two streams of content: a blog, and a video series. The blog critiques scientific and media treatment of anomalous phenomena, and engages readers in nuanced discussions of theory, method, and epistemology in anomalistic research. In the coming weeks, we’ll discuss what happens when skeptics hear ghosts, debunk the myth of the “flying saucer,” and explore the science behind the theory of the mass hallucination.
Videos offer reviews of some of history’s most fascinating anomalies, and communicate vital concepts and events in anomalistic research to a wider audience. All videos are short and concise, and will be modelled after the work of famous vloggers such as John Green and C.G.P. Grey, or those produced by Ted-Ed and SpiritScience. Videos will be presented by myself, but will also feature original illustration. In upcoming videos, we’ll review the story of the Solway Firth spaceman, explore the mysteries of the “Miracle of the Sun,” and introduce “the man who invented the supernatural.”
Through these two streams of information, Think Anomalous will help guide the public to the most reliable sources of anomalistic information, and steer popular discourse further in the direction of rational inquiry.
Think Anomalous is an expanding platform, and it’s my hope that the site will find a sympathetic audience that will help nurture it to maturation. I welcome all comments, questions, and feedback, as well as submissions for publication on the blog. I look forward to your engagement.
- Jason Charbonneau
Published 2016/2/29
