ESP Proof?

[Marat]

Daryl Bern, a Cornell University psychologist has presented results of nine experiments using more than 1000 subjects which he claims prove that ESP exists. His paper reporting his results in detail has been accepted for publication by the well-respected, peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Some psychologists are complaining now that the results should not have been published since ESP can't exist.

[jimmydasaint]

Well Esoteric groups (and I tentatively include Freemasons here) seem to have ESP already tapped. The people I have met claim that you can become telepathic with another person by synchronising your own breathing patterns with theirs. These guys seem to think it is a passe subject:

 

What is ESP?

 

 

perceptions that are obtained without the use of bodily known senses

sight, sound, smell, taste,touch.

these perceptions are also known as PSI phenomena

no recognised by science as a mode of perception as it lies outside the realm of scientific explanation at this time

usually grouped into 4 main categories

many people use a combination of these.but it is not uncommon to have one more developed than the rest.

Link

Edited January 10, 2011 by jimmydasaint

[Ringer]

Personally I think people getting worked up about the journal publishing the work troubling. I don't believe in precognition, but instead of outrage why not repeat the experiments and show where he was wrong. If the data is interesting it should be published, regardless of majority belief. If the experiment was done improperly or the result modified it will be shown in repeat experiments.

 

[edit]

If it is true he could apply for the JREF Challenge and retire. [/edit]

Edited January 10, 2011 by Ringer

[Marat]

I agree that scientists should have a look at everything before concluding that it should be suppressed. After all, when Newton first posited gravitational action-at-a-distance to account for the observed force interactions among the planets, all the scientists in Europe complained that that amounted to positing an immaterial, mystic force explanation rather than using good old particles in motion, as the dominant Cartesian model required, but its a good thing they couldn't censor him.

[Ringer]

Here's a draft of the paper if you haven't read it. I just now found it and have to go to bed, winter break's over, so if anyone reads it don't spoil the ending.

[John Cuthber]

Ringer,

if ESP works then you won't need to read it.

On the other hand, if it doesn't work, then there's no point reading it.

I didn't bother.

[Marat]

It is like the problem I once noticed in my community when a large newspaper ad was published to announce that the date of the annual meeting of psychics had been changed. The fact that the ad had to published at all called into question the point of having a psychic meeting in the first place.

 

But I did read the article, which presented an interesting discussion of the possible mechanism of ESP if it does turn out to be real, which the authors suggest might be based on entanglement and Bell's theorem.

[Ringer]

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6015/272.full

 

Here's some more critic on the article that I was reading today

[dragonstar57]

perhaps a physic should be "invited" to Iraq and see if (s)he can figure out where the traps are

Edited January 31, 2011 by dragonstar57