The Paranormal Blog

(This is a LENGTHY post... but if you want, you can skip to the bottom and read the end question...)

I got into it recently with a fellow on Facebook who was horrified that The Ontario Science Centre was being used as the venue for a Harry Potter exhibit... basically, he wrote, and I quote...

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"Sorry for the caps but THIS IS NOT SCIENCE! WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! What is wrong with the OSC...anything to make a quick buck!"
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I responded...

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"I have an idea! Let's make a tourist attraction about as dry as the average grade twelve science class! That will get young kids and parents interested in the topic! Well spotted! We must ensure that science is NEVER fun, NEVER presented to explain things that seem magical, and most importantly, a scientific educational/entertainment facility should NEVER fiscally viable!"
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Later, I also included this statement (after many...)

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"As a young'un in the early 1970's, Doctor Who got me into the ideas temporal physics... Star Trek got me into the idea of light-speed/hyper-speed travel... in the late 1970's, Doctor Who on TVO was "hosted" by Sci-Fi writer Judith Merril who would explain the concepts of both the "science" and occasionally the ethics behind the episode that aired. I could also add Close Encounters and Star Wars to various bits and bobs which led to...

Asking questions!

"How could this be possible?" and "How did they film this?"... See more

As a teen, in the 1980's, I then used the half-assed knowledge obtained from movies and TeeVee shows to make a complete ass out of myself with people who DID know more about the "real stuff" then me... but because of that, I learned... and ended up actually enjoying and pursuing a greater understanding (and education) in classical physics and mathematics... so I wouldn't look dumb anymore.

As such, I'm a TINY bit of a pedant on certain aspects of physics and generally nature as a whole... and have a low tolerance of those who ignore the findings of science and, as well, those evangelical non-scientists who can't see beyond their own preconceived dogmatic notions. (Eliminating "hypothesis" and "observation" from their mantras.)

NOW, why the bloody blue hell go into this?

#1: KID likes Harry Potter.

#2: KID wants to fly on a broom and play whatever the frig that game is.

#3: KID wants to make potions.

...in turn...

#1: KID still likes Harry Potter and drags parents to Science Centre putting more money in their coffers. (Hopefully, enough to convince them to do some much needed updating...)

#2: KID ends up seeing the exhibit and learning about green screen technology... belief in "magic" changes to awe of technology.

#3: KID ends up seeing the rest of the exhibits because parents drag him/her around... finds out about REAL potions (called "chemistry").

LAST: KID develops lifelong interest in science.

Think this isn't real?

Do something I've done... Ask the guys that work in JPL, NASA, Lockheed Martin... heck, even in my industry, medical instrumentation, "sci-fi" and "fantasy" has played a HUGE hand in getting people to work towards developing the "impossible" using, oddly enough, the possible...

Ergo: I think this exhibit is a VERY good thing!"
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OKAY, sorry about the RIDICULOUSLY long stuff here, but it got us thinking....

The Ontario Science Centre took some grief from this fellow about the Harry Potter exhibit...

I've heard people kvetch about The Beer Festival at Old Fort York...

Many people think Casa Loma in Toronto has no business displaying anything but early twentieth-century exhibits...

THESE points made, when we held the first Torontoghosts event in Y2K at Old Fort York, literally one-hundred supposed paranormal, folklore, and history buffs asked one question...

"Where is the fort located?"

They honestly did not know the location of the city's oldest buildings and easily, it's most historic and (yes) reportedly haunted spot.

WHERE am I going with all this?

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Do you feel it's right or appropriate to hold SEEMINGLY not-connected events at historic sites just for some exposure and income for those locations?
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Me, I'm obviously okay with it... provided it's not the ONLY event(s) offered at the site and false, faked, or bogus history isn't served to the masses and presented as "the truth" about the place. (I have zero tolerance for hoaxes.)

What say you?