Universities Weblog

Well, some of them say that, anyhow.

A recent study revealed that college graduates were much more likely than college freshmen, or those who did not seek a higher education, to say they believed in paranormal phenomenon.

This suggests that as a student's education advances, s/he experiences an opening of the mind. Since this should be the main goal of any education, I'll have to go on record as stating that this is a good thing.

What do you think? Do you find yourself open to more possibilities, or have the 'facts' you've learned served to strengthen your existing opinions?

From Live Science:

Believe it or not, higher education is linked to a greater tendency to believe in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena, according to a new study.

Contrary to researchers' expectations, a poll of 439 college students found seniors and grad students were more likely than freshmen to believe in haunted houses, psychics, telepathy, channeling and a host of other questionable ideas.
More significantly, the new survey reveals college is not necessarily a path to skepticism in these realms.

While 23 percent of college freshmen expressed a general belief in paranormal concepts—from astrology to communicating with the dead—31 percent of seniors did so and the figure jumped to 34 percent among graduate students.
"As people attain higher college-education levels, the likelihood of believing in paranormal dimensions increases," Farha and Steward write.

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