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WE'RE BACK!

October 2025 lilbrary presentations return for another season of lively multi-media presentatioins on "ghost hunting" with from a skeptical viewpoint, including high-tech pseudoscience, skeptical inquiry, critical and thinking pitfalls like cognitive biases. Free admission and open to the pubic. Note: Portions of this presentation may not be suitable for very young audiences.

When and where?

Oct. 21, 6-8pm

Kensington Branch Library

4121 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116

Oct. 28, 5:30-7:30pm

Paradise Hills Branch Library

5922 Rancho Hills Dr, San Diego, CA 92139

honoring the heroes of

skeptical inquiry

EMF (Electromagnet Fields): Localized electromagnetic fields are measured before and during an investigation, first as a means to determining a baseline of electromagnetic activity, and then as a means of measuring anomalies whose EMF measurements stray from that baseline. The presence of increased anomalous EMF activity is thought to coincide with the manifestation of some paranormal phenomena, and instruments such as a K-II Meter are now routinely used as a crude method of communication that allows alleged spirit entities to manipulate EMF fields to light up buttons on the meter, generallyas "Yes/No" answers. It is also thought that some individuals may have a genetically predisposed sensitivity to EMFs that causes them to experience phenomena they understandably interpret as paranormal: paranoia; headaches; nausea; skin irritation; nightmares; visual and auditory hallucinations; and more. This is why detecting EMFs, especially high EMF readings--called "EMF hot spots"--is a routine part of modern paranormal investigative procedure. It should be noted, however, that even though some countries (particularly in Europe) regulate wiring and appliances to protect consumers and employees against electromagnetic "poisoning," in the United States, protection against EMF poisoning has never been signed into law because the connection between high EMF and the abovementioned symptoms has never been persuasively argued by the medical community. This is why, in the United States, EMF poisoning is sometimes treated as though it is fringe science. Most paranormal investigators, however, remain quite open to the seriousness of it, making an EMF meter one of their most valuable tools.

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Personal Experiences Log

A paranormal investigation is theater—the good ol’ fashioned kind that comes out of rituals. When the rituals are collaborative, as they often are in, say, an EVP vigil, the theater is participatory as well, and everyone participates even when they have no lines. Participants want to compare notes, corroborate one another’s claims, and get in on social camaraderie of swapping anecdotes....

PPI Podcast #4: Critical Thinking (2009)

Part 3 of PPI's presentation: Science and Beyond - An Educated Look at Ghost Hunting, is entitled Critical Thinking and Logic. Presented by PPI President and Co-Director Karl Sherlock.

Recorded March 21, 2009 at Grossmont College, El Cajon, California

Length: 00:17:04