Written on October 25, 2026
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Results
| Answer | # | % |
|---|---|---|
| Real | 185 | 88% |
| Fake | 25 | 12% |
Wow, the vast majority believes in the supernatural! I honestly went into this thinking it would be the opposite.
“Ha, take that you fucking atheists.”
— Cliffe Knechtle
Demographics
Those who said Real were fairly mixed in every way.
Those who said Fake were almost entirely white people, but fairly diverse in gender and age. The only non-white person was a young filipino-ish woman.
Discussions
A half dozen people asked what I meant by supernatural. I said “anything from God to ghosts.”
A few people were Christians and put Real.
I was surprised how many people included aliens in the supernatural. It was at least 3 or 5 who stated it without being asked. For the few who asked me if it counted, I said no, because if they’re real, they’re just as natural as we are. (I watched too much Stargate SG-1 when I was young.)
Several people said they believe in ghosts because odd things happened that are very ghost-y.
Several people said they don’t believe in ghosts, but they believe in spirits.
Some people said they believe in alternate dimensions.
Some people said they don’t believe in ghosts or spirits, but that there’s got to be more to the cosmic fabric of reality, and that science can’t explain it all.
One young man who said Fake said that everything is scientific, and if we discover something like ghosts, they too will by definition be scientifically explainable. And that nothing can exist outside of the realm of science.
Song of the Day
Third Eye by Tool
Honestly the song is more about drugs than the supernatural. But the drummer has a fascination with the occult. And the song was probably written after a Peyote experience. And it seems likely they believe in something supernatural.
The crashout
For the first time ever (I think), I just crashed out and left my survey early.
It wasn’t a physical crashout. I wrote a little rant on the back of my survey about how much life sucks.
Anyway, I threw away the survey and waited for my YouTube Premium downloads to finish. Matan Even hosted a debate I wanted to watch.
While I was waiting, a young man approached me. He said he was “one of the Protestants from last week.” Apparently he read my article from last week where I described my interaction with them.
He said he had been thinking of me all week, and that he drove to Chicago to see me. How coincidental that he caught me just before I left.
Anyway, I ranted to him about life and we talked about religion and he bought me food and beer and then I left and caught my train.
But it was quite cathartic and helpful. I think God brought him to me at that moment for my sake more than his, though he kept saying how surreal it was that he was in that situation, himself being an introvert.