Me and Science (part 2)
So, you’ve all got hold of a copy of Dean Radin’s book
Oh dear. That means I’m going to have to tell you about it….
Here goes..
As you know, I have a bone or three to pick with science because of their blinkered attitude to all stuff natural (like intuition, that is). I’ve always wondered why it is that scientist seem to be incredibly intelligent and incredibly stupid at the same time. Radin’s book
To start with, there are some very good quotes from various authors, like this one from a chap called Thomas Etter,
When a belief is widely held in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrar, we call it superstition. By that criterion, the most egregious superstition of modern times, perhaps of all time, is the “scientific” belief in the non-existence of psi.
You can see why I warm to Radin, can’t you?
In chapter 3, ‘Who Believes in Psi”, he argues convincingly (by quoting surveys and studies) that the two most commonly used arguments against those who believe in psi, (that they are somehow stupid or mentally deficient and easily duped) is overwhelmingly dismissed by clear evidence to the contrary. Intelligent, well-educated people are the ones who believe, not downright stupid, or those suffering from mental illness (although skeptic would like to put such believes into a mental health category).
As for the other main argument against so-called ‘proof’ of psi (as in telekinesis, premonitions and the like), Radin systematically destroys the objections of skeptics. He does this by discussing the surveys of experiments made over the years and subjecting the results to statistical analysis such that possible non-recorded results are taken into account along with many other factors. (Please bear in mind I’m telling you this because you haven’t read the book and I’m summarizing a great deal in a little space.)
The results of such meta-analyses are such that the psi factor is significantly above mere chance, and this continues year after year, experiment after experiment.
One of the nicest touches is that, due to the pressure from skeptics, experiments about psi are more carefully controlled than ever before in order to avoid criticism of experimental weaknesses and faking of results. I’m sure he had a gleam in his eye when he reported that,
Psi research has always attracted a particularly passionate form of scrutiny, so theses experiments, on average, tend to be more rigorously designed and executed than those in other fields.
He then has a note which says,
This is supported by a study by biologist Rupert Sheldrake, who found in a large survey of experiments published in the physical, biological, medical and psychological sciences that standard protections for experiment bias, the double-blind design, were vary rarely used in mainstream disciplines but used frequently in parapsychological studies.
and he then gives the journal reference (Journal of Scientific Exploration, if you’re interested, (12(1), 73-78).)
I just hugged myself with glee!
There’s an awful lot more to this book than the couple of things I’ve pointed out and you really should go and get it for yourself.
If there’s one message which comes through from this book, it is that science is not the dispassionate edifice it pretends to be. It is as blinkered as those it accuses. It ignores results it doesn’t like and this attitude has forced those involved in psi to become ever more aware of what they are doing; the reverse of science itself.
Although I’ve pretty much said as much in other posts, it’s Sooooooo nice to have someone else be able to quote chapter and verse!
So, don’t just sit there….go and get it!!
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