At what point does what is considered paranormal become normal?
Since all things paranormal appear to be popular at the present time, I thought it would be a good idea to examine what paranormal is (at least my own definition) and at what point paranormal becomes normal.
To my mind, paranormal is a large term that simply means "not (yet) explainable by science". Having said that, since all societies have legends or folk tales about ghosts and monsters (remember the Bogey Man who would "get" you if you didn't go to bed), does the fact that these stories commonly exist make the stories normal? I think we can conclude that something that is common could most likely be considered normal.
Many accounts have surfaced of children having the ability to see (and accept) entities that adults do not. It's only when they are told that it's not normal or acceptable that they lose these abilities (or at least stop talking about it). What would happen, I wonder, if we were more accepting and allowed them to explore these things further? What new doors of knowledge would this open?
It used to be considered normal for people to believe the sun revolved around the earth. Science has since taught us that this is not the case. When the first duck-billed platypus was sent to Europe for examination, it was thought to be a hoax. That's understandable - who would have thought that an animal with a duck bill, a beaver tail, and webbed feet that also lays eggs would be real? But it is.
The mountain gorilla was a legendary creature until its "discovery" in the early 1900s. Now we not only accept that this animal exists, we are sometimes fortunate enough to see one in a zoo.
The point I'm trying to make here is that what is considered normal is constantly changing and evolving. It follows that as our definition of normal expands, what is considered paranormal shrinks, and will continue to do so.
