Paranormal vs Supernatural
Ever wonder what the difference is? I did some research, and quickly discovered there were lots of opinions out there, most dancing around the same basic distinctions (though some were quite different). I found the one that made the most sense to me, and suspect that’s what I’ll be using as my guidelines when I’m reviewing books in the future. The entire article at Knowledge Nuts can be found here. For purposes of this post, I’m going with their opening lines. Works for me.
“The terms “paranormal” and “supernatural” are often tossed around to mean the same thing—something we don’t understand. They’re actually two separate terms, though. “Paranormal” refers to something that’s not understood by current scientific knowledge; there’s the potential that something paranormal will someday be explained scientifically, and there’s a likelihood there’s a good, natural explanation for it. “Supernatural” refers to a phenomenon that is beyond our capability to understand, now and simply forever, because it just doesn’t operate under our rules.”
That’s really interesting! I’ve never heard the difference defined so clearly before. Thanks for this.
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I liked it, too, Callum, and it made sense to me. A lot of the others were so jumbled and overlapping that they sounded more like the way people were USING the words, rather than a real distinction between them. Glad you liked it. Hope you’re having a great day, and planning a fun weekend. 🙂
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