We all seek evidence of the truth, but what constitutes presentable evidence? First off we have to know the difference between the two kinds of evidence. The two kinds of evidence are SUBJECTIVE and OBJECTIVE. How do we use the two kinds of evidence together and what evidence do we present to the public or the client if it is a private investigation.
 
Subjective evidence is any evidence that can be interpreted differently by different observers. An example of Subjective evidence would be food. I may find a certain dish very enjoyable while another person may be repulsed by the very thought of the same dish. During an investigation two investigators may walk into a room with activity and have two very different experiences. Does that mean that both investigators had something totally different happen to them? Possibly. but not necessarily. It could have been the same phenomena just interpreted differently by each of the participants. Much the same happens when a group of friends watch a movie together. They all see the same movie but some may interpret it as a good movie while others interpret it differently. The movie going experience is Subjective.

Objective evidence however is not open to interpretation. For example of Objective evidence, we can use the food and movie from the Subjective examples. The food could be a baked potato. No one can dispute that it is a baked potato. They may not like baked potato's or the way the potato was prepared but, as long as it is a potato and it was baked it is a baked potato. Every movie has a title, that title is what that movie is called. It is indisputable whether someone likes the name or not.
How does this relate to the paranormal during an investigation?

During the investigation we set up a lot of equipment that is suppose to record evidence of the paranormal. Video Cameras  get actual moving images of the phenomena, Still Cameras record photographs of the activity, Emf meters record fluctuations in the electromagnetic energy in the environment, etc... All of these things record objective evidence. That Objective evidence may or may not be Paranormal in nature but, it is indisputable as hard evidence of something.

We also frequently have personal experiences. Personal experiences can range from an uneasy feeling to feeling the temperature drop to being touched, to actually seeing a full bodied apparition. Unless, these are recorded on the equipment, they are subjective evidence. Could the cold spot be a ghost or would someone else interpret it as the result of drafty window? Was the ghostly touch a true ghost or did you brush up against something unaware. While our experiences may be real, without something to back them up they are open to interpretation by others.
 
Because Psychic phenomena can not be adequately proven in the minds of mainstream science, it remains Subjective. That does not mean we can not use Psychics and other Subjective evidence in our investigation. If a Psychic tells you a ghost is standing in the doorway and you take a picture and it shows a ghost standing in the doorway should you say the photo is invalid because a psychic told you where to take the photo? No! The Psychic impression was Subjective but the photo is Objective. That is a good example of how the subjective should be used in conjunction with the objective during an investigation. Subjective evidence can be used to point you in the direction of objective evidence
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So what evidence should be presented to the client? We should not hide subjective evidence but, at the same time we should not base our conclusion on something that is open to interpretation. Only objective evidence can be used as proof. Subjective evidence can be used to find and add to the objective evidence.

Charles Bennett

Tech Manager