a matter of perspective

Forteana - Anomalous Phenomena Explored

Charles Fort, born Albany NY in 1874. He collected material, published in articles from a variety of sources, that detailed phenomena that lay outside accepted theories and beliefs of that time. He also distrusted authority in all forms - religious, scientific, political, philosophical or otherwise…

“Throughout his life, Fort was skeptical about scientific explanations, observing how scientists argued according to their own beliefs rather than the rules of evidence and that inconvenient data was ignored, suppressed, discredited or explained away (which is quite different from explaining a thing).” - Fortean Times minibio.

Being a “Fortean” means different things to different people. For me it is an interest in all things that stray outside conventional thought, the simple fact that it challenges what we believe and understand. It is also the inherent distrust in authority for the point of view of those in authority convinced that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Fortean, to me, is being, at the very least, of open mind.

This page does not intend to be all thing Fortean, but rather a personal perspective of my Fortean interests. Enjoy. The main blog also logs stories of interest, these can be found filed under Forteana

Mysteries

The Mary Celeste, The Bermuda Triangle, Crop Circles, Faerie, these are just a few of the many mysteries that fascinate us. Again, as with all Forteana, you are only asked to open your mind. There will always be explanations, but these will never satisfy the curiosity of everyone.

Crop circles, as much as I would like to actually see one for myself, could be explained as mysterious natural phenomenon, extra terrestrial origin, or the high-jinx of University students - the latter suggestion is more of a mystery as to how a group of students can be organised and do such elaborate designs and remain undetected. The results, however, are simply amazing, and go to illustrate how such a simple occurrence can captivate so many people. It gets our imaginations working, they stalk the darker corners of our conscious.

The Mary Celeste is a good example of a strange event that has evolved into a great mystery of the unknown. However, if you read the accounts and investigations from the time of her discovery it seems to all make sense. Reading the novel Marie Celeste by A C Doyle, it seems to be connected to some strange, super natural occurrence. This in itself is an interesting read, and less mundane that the unfortunate, and most likely, explanation.

The Philadelphia Experiment is an account of temporal displacement during WW2. Essentially, the experiment involved “shifting” a warship from one place and making it appear somewhere else without it physically traveling the distance, the ship disappeared and almost immediately re-appeared in another dock. The Wikipedia entry gives the account as balanced as possible but it sides more with the skeptical explanation. The following link is the “official” site.

When these mysteries are documented they also provide interesting reading, and this is, after all, what Charles Fort himself collected, stories that related to phenomena that stray outside of the confined world of orthodox explanation.

The Mary Celeste | Crop Cirlces | Faerie | Unexplained Mysteries | The Philadelphia Experiment

Ancient Civilizations

The idea that thousands of years ago civilisations existed that were either more “advanced” or as comparably advanced as ours is now could seem absurd. However, there are dedicated teams and individuals who are convinced there is enough evidence to suggest this is not only probable but fact.

As with most things of Fortean interest, these people work outside, or on the fringes of, what is considered to be conventional, and thus widely acceptable, authorities and institutions, either historic or archaeological. The evidence these people present is simply too uncomfortable for conventional theories and interpretations to accept. That a civilisation could exist, thousands of years ago, that simply goes beyond our comprehension and understanding is simply unacceptable.

However, there is tantalising evidence to suggest that such civilisations did exist and our understanding of them is non-existent. Atlantis is probably one the best known “mythical civilisations”, there are many more and in addition to these there are experts who suggest our understanding of more well known ancient civilisations are simply misunderstood or misinterpreted, the ancient Egyptians being a good example.

Having read “Chariots of the gods” many times, it does spark some questions about a distant history that we simply will never fully understand. Whilst the suggestions fly in the face of not only conventional science and theology, the evidence and arguments presented create debate and an alternative perspective.

Atlantis | Graham Hancock | Robert Schoch | Erich von Däniken

Cryptozoology

The idea of any “crypto-science” is to examine those elements that are discarded by orthodox science because they fall outside what can be explained.
Cryptozoology is that element that is interesting is all things zoological that are ignored by orthodox science, and surfs the fringes…
“Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are presumed to exist, but for which conclusive proof is missing” - WikiPedia

Arguably orthodox science does stray into this area simply because new species are found, or someone finds a yeti or something. With physical evidence it is difficult, although not impossible, for science to ignore.

Cryptozoology (wikipedia) | Cryptomundo | Cryptozoology | Fortean Zoology

UFO

The phenomena of UFO takes on a life of its own, and seems to evolve as time goes by. The net has provided even more of an opportunity for UFO related sites, which I think adds to the general confusion.

There are indeed, in the literal definition of the term, many UFOs in our skies. The term ‘unidentified’ simply means that you can’t state, for sure, what the object flying in the sky actually is. Whilst a great many objects can be discounted as being terrestrial in source - either strange flying objects built in someone’s back yard, or new military vehicles - there is a significant proportion that remain unexplained. There is evidence to suggest that these are extra terrestrial, not of this earth.

UFOs can fall into the Fortean domain because, whilst they fall outside of the orthodox view of the world and everything around us, there are too many stories and sightings that can’t be simply explained away, they are phenomena that are outside currently accepted thinking and general belief.

The benefit of a free mind is that you can judge for yourself. My view is, much like the poster in Agent Mulders office states, “I want to believe”, and the sub-title of the X-files also goes “The Truth is out there”. There is enough evidence, should you want to look for it, that there are incidents that lie outside the ability to simply explain it away, and so it is worth at least accepting it is a strange phenomenon.

UFOInfo | HBCCUFO | NUFOC

Ghosts and Spirits

You are alone in a darkened room. The flashes of lightening illuminate the window frame. The air goes cold. You are aware of another presence in the room. Chills run up your spine. You hide under the covers but the feeling remains. You hear footsteps, but the floor is carpeted. Then the feeling fades.

Okay, so there are better ghost stories around, but this is to illustrate the classic version designed to scare people. There are many, many ghost stories around, and they have been in existence for many thousands of years. Some designed to pray on our fears of the unknown, others are simply part of folklore and legends.
There are, of course, two camps. Those who believe and hunt out ghosts, others who try to prove that such phenomenon are explainable with the aid of science.

The fact that there exists thousands of references to ghostly encounters is worthy of an entry on its own. Some things are simply not explainable by science or otherwise. Just because we can’t see it, or prove it, does not mean to say the phenomena do not exist. Whether you believe or not, in a strictly Fortean sense, these stories do make interesting reading.

Wikipedia | Ghost Hunters | Ghost Photos

Skeptics

With everything there are two sides. Whilst Forteana plays the role of observer, the two “actor” roles are those who believe and defend, and those who refuse to just simply believe and require clear evidence.
Skeptics are as important as those who believe, they add balance and challenge those who claim wild claims.

There are those who concentrate on anomalous phenomenon and attempt to expose fraud or find explanations for supposed weirdness. One of the most famous is James Randi who still has a prize for anyone who can prove, in a controlled setting, that they have super powers. Again, this is important as there are enough people out there who claim to have mystical powers and use their skills to lead people on. Another is the journal “Skeptical Inquirer” whose mission statement is to “encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminate factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community and the public.”. These investigations are equally important to Forteans since they provide a rich source of information.

I am not trying to suggest that skeptics are right (or wrong) but as an observer it is important to see both sides of an argument.

James Randi | Skeptical Inquier | Skeptics Dictionary

Fortean Links

Other Sites of Interest

Paranormal News - Most of the stories seem to fit into the broad range of Fortean interests. Some interesting reading if nothing else
The Anomalist - The anomalist is a daily review of world news on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries
Shuckland - A database of legends and encounters with the phantom hound East Anglia
¤ c i r c l e m a k e r s ¤ - circlemakers: Home of England’s crop circle makers. Making the world a more interesting place.
unexplained.info - unexplained.info: Your source for everything about unexplained phenomena.
Anomalous phenomenon - Discusses the various categories of anomalous phenomena
Strange Attractor - Celebrating Unpopular Culture