Who Can You Trust?

Dave’s Write Away
By Dave Scott, Host, Spaced Out Radio
Who Can You Trust?
Often I get questions from our Spaced Out Radio audience asking, “Dave, do you trust this person’s research?” or “Dave, what do you think of the opinions of that person?”  It puts me in a tough position because the wrong thing to do, in my opinion, is to put people down publicly.  This field is full of drama and people looking for any kind of dirt they can run with to appease their need for blood.  I’ve been on the wrong end of this a couple of times, and let me tell you, it’s not fun.  As much as you try to brush it off, have thick skin and not pay attention, you can’t.  It’s plain human curiosity that you want to read what others are saying about you, and you hope, for the most part that it’s a good review.  Some, obviously, not so good.  But you take it in stride, because that’s all you can do.
But with those inquiries about who to look for when it comes to proper research, what I try to do is educate the audience with whom they can trust.  They can figure out on their own whom they can’t.  Why is the education important?  Because there’s a lot of bullshit out there that can really affect a person, especially when it comes to conspiracy theories and conspiratorial type subjects.  But there are a number of people out there who have been self promoting geniuses and have no couth when it comes to making a name in these fields.  You will have to figure out who they are, but they are easy to spot.  They are usually ones seen kissing ass on social media to anyone who’s a big name and tagging the big name in tweets, Instagram or Facebook posts.  They’re seen with bought followers on social media.  They’re seen playing the role of ‘scientist’ or ‘journalist’ but they are neither and have never worked in their field of research choice.  They are the people who talk a big game but have little substance of their own research.  They are people who are always quoting other’s work.  They are name droppers.  They are social media hounds looking to get their name on anything.  They are ones who follow the popularity train, and will befriend people one minute and drop them the next.

It’s actually quite disgusting and at times makes me and others feel quite dirty.  Yet this is a good field to be in.  This is a fun field.  It’s a field where there are smart people who are trying to uncover some of the best mysteries our world has to offer.  Scientists, researchers, amateur sleuths mixed in with the professionals.  Men, women, LBGTQA+, race, religion, it doesn’t matter.  There’s a lot of good in the community where people just want to be people and work together and find out what they can to enhance the knowledge of everyone around them.  This is why it’s important to point out the charlatans, and praise those who are getting the work done.
Those who are working diligently towards the research, usually aren’t active very much on social media unless they have to.  They do very few media or radio shows.  They write a lot of books.  They are involved with other top researchers in trying to solve these riddles we call ‘paranormal’.  They are stoic in nature.  They speak at a lot of conferences as feature speakers because their demand is very high.  They talk with authority and when they speak, people from all facets of the field listen.  I remind my listeners that these are usually people who too busy with their methods and research to be diving into Twitter or Facebook drama, debating publicly on forums on whether or not a Tic Tac is a UFO or a piece of candy.  No they have their noses in books, in front of computers, or are on the phone constantly setting up conversations or travel plans for areas to research.  That’s what the real investigators do.  The rest are just weekend warriors who are more interested in getting on TV and raising their popularity.

So for the public out there wondering whom they can rely on for quality intel, information and proper research?  Look for those who are working quietly.  Look for those who aren’t whoring themselves out to every radio show or podcast.  Look for those who are working closely with the legends of the field.  Look for those who aren’t embellishing the truth for their own good.