199 lines
8.0 KiB
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199 lines
8.0 KiB
Plaintext
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet except where noted!
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February 15, 1994
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PSI.ASC
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Bert Pool.
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Scientists peer into the Mind's Psi
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Science News, Volume 145, January 29, 1994
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New evidence supporting the existance of what most folks refer to
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as telepathy - and what parapsychologists call "anomalous processes
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of information or energy transfer" - boasts a rare distinction: It
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passed muster among peer reviewers and gained publication in a
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major, mainstream psychology journal.
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Suspicion of research into peculiar and unexplained forms of
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communication, known as psi effects, runs deep among psychologists.
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For a century, reports of psi and other psychic phenomena have often
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dissipated in a mist of poor experiment design, wishful thinking
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about chance statistical results, and outright cheating.
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"I used to be a skeptic," says Daryl J. Bem, a psychologist at
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Cornell University and coauthor of the new report with the late
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Charles Honorton of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. "But
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we met strict research guidelines and the results are significantly
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significant. We hope the findings prompt others to try replicating
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this effect."
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Bem and Honorton describe studies of the ganzfeld ("whole field")
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procedure in the January PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN. Honorton died in
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November 1992, before the article was accepted for publication.
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The ganzfeld procedure tests for telepathic communication between
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a "sender" and a "receiver". Honorton directed 11 studies between
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1983 and 1989 that avoided the methodological problems of previous
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ganzfeld experiments. Bem - also a magician who knows how people
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can simulate psi effects - visited Honorton's laboratory in 1983 as
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one of several outside consultants who evaluated the project.
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Shortly thereafter, the two scientists joined forces.
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Honorton first showed volunteers around his lab to make them feel
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comfortable. A receiver and sender then sat in separate,
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acoustically sealed rooms. Each receiver had Ping-Pong ball halves
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taped over his or her eyes and heard a steady humming noise through
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headphones. A red flood light illuminated the chamber. After
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performing relaxation exercises, the receiver described all thoughts
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and images aloud for 30 minutes.
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Page 1
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At the same time, the sender concentrated on a randomly selected
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target - one of 80 still pictures (including art prints and
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advertisements) or one of 80 short video clips (such as a scene of a
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tidal wave).
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Receivers later sat at a computer displaying a random sequence of
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the target image and three decoys. They rated the degree to which
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each of these images corresponded to those experienced during the
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ganzfeld period.
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The researchers labeled as a "hit" any session in which a receiver
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rated the target as most like the ganzfeld image.
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Bem and Honorton statistically combined ganzfeld data from 11
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studies involving a total of 100 men and 140 women. Overall,
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receivers obtained a hit about every third session. Compared with
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an expected random hit rate of one in four, this represents a
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modest, statistically significant effect, Bem and Honorton argue.
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One study of 29 music, drama, and dance students yielded a hit rate
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of one in two, one of the highest reported for a ganzfeld session.
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Creative or artistic abilities may somehow boost ganzfeld
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performance, the researchers contend.
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Belief in psi and an extroverted personality also showed links to
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increased hit rates by receivers.
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The ganzfeld procedure may dampen bodily and external sensations and
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allow receivers to detect normally weak psi mediated information,
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Bem suggests.
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No scientific consensus exists to explain how psi-ganzfeld effects
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could occur, although some parapsychologists propose a mechanism
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based on quantum theory (SN: 1/11/86, p.28), Bem notes.
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"Bem and Honorton's article is very sophisticated statistically and
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you can;t dismiss their findings," holds Robert Rosenthal of Harvard
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University. "They haven't shown that we go around reading each
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other's minds, but there's a phenomenon here that requires
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explanation."
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Rosenthal and three other psychologists served as referees for the
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ganzfeld paper. Each referee recommended it for publication, but
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two cite lingering concerns about the data.
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Although Bem and Honorton conducted "experiments of high quality,"
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the results differ in curious and unexplained ways from previous
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ganzfeld findings, writes Ray Hyman of the University of Oregon in
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Eugene, in an accompaning comment.
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For instance, only video clips produced significant psi effects in
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the new studies, but pictures yielded good performance in Honorton's
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ganzfeld experiments prior to 1983, Hyman says. In another
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departure from earlier projects, psi effects did not increase when
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receivers and senders were friends, he adds.
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And for some reason, hit rates increased mainly for targets that
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appeared in more than one session, Hyman argues.
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Page 2
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Moreover, of the 11 ganzfeld studies, smaller samples displayed
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larger hit rates than larger samples, notes Lee D. Ross of Stanford
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University. "if the effect is real, this is the opposite of what
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you'd expect," he contends.
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Subtle factors influencing the results may still be eluding the
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researchers, Ross adds. Only a single, large-scale replication can
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shed light on Bem and Honorton's results, according to Ross.
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Four ganzfeld studies, including one directed by Bem, are underway.
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These samples should be pooled into one large study, Hyman assets.
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- B. Bower
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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Page 3
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