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Today and tomorrow
Feb. 19th, 2004 01:04 amTonight was the ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha meeting at Penderel's Oak, and jolly pleasant it was, too.
Tomorrow, however, is something completely different.
It's Skeptics in the Pub!
From that page:
Evidence for and Against the Paranormal
The Society for Psychical Research was started by a group of eminent academics in 1882 (when spiritualism was much in vogue) to investigate scientifically and impartially the evidence for paranormal phenomena (i.e. not explainable by current scientific theory). This covered telepathy, hypnotism, mediums, apparitional experiences. Many were attracted by possible proof of an after-life.
Today, the subject tends to be split between:-
(1) "Parapsychologists" - who concentrate on ESP in statistically controlled experiments- a topic now pursued in research departments at various UK universities, especially Edinburgh & Northampton.
(2) "Psychical Researchers" who do field work as well as experiments , examining psychic experiences (e.g. premonitions) 'ghostly' disturbances, phenomena associated with mediums. etc. Some psychical researchers are spiritualists who believe that mediums are in touch with the dead.
The Soc. Psychical Research is a private organisation containing a mixture of experimentalists, sceptics about the paranormal, committed believers and spiritualists. It is supposed to adhere to no corporate view and is generally hated by spiritualists and believed to be a centre of superstitious nonsense by orthodox scientists.
The clearest evidence for the existence of anything paranormal comes from experiments in ESP. From 1930-50 these were mostly card-guessing situations. Subjects had to guess a series of hidden card symbols. A few exceptional subjects got consistently high scores over a long period. More often experimenters pooled the results of groups of unselected subjects obtaining much smaller but still significant results.
Over time and with increasing sophistication of testing, especially since computers allow of automated experiments with electronically randomised target sequences and mechanical recording of guesses and matching to targets results have become rarer and smaller. Normal explanations of positive findings centre upon sensory leakage, statistical artefact, the file drawer error, and fraud. The fact that repeatability is never guaranteed and that when one effect disappears a different one is claimed, is regarded as reason to dismiss the work as unscientific. The fact that ESP is not generally apparent in normal life, even in betting situations, is a powerful reason for scepticism. Yet there are examples, both experimental and anecdotal, that seem impossible to dismiss.
[According to time available a selection of examples, positive and negative, may be described]
The speaker is Donald J. West MD, Litt.D FRCPsych.
Emeritus Professor of Clinical Criminology, Cambridge. Council Member and former President of the Society for Psychical Research.
Born 1924. Medical degree from Liverpool University. Trained in psychiatry in London. Specialised in psychiatry of criminality. Changed to academic criminologist. Written books on Delinquency, Murder, Homosexuality Sex crime.& Psychical Research. Retired.
Interested in psychical research since a student. As a young man worked for a few years as Research Officer for Soc. Psychical Research. Contributor to SPR publications. Involved in assessing applications for grants (from Trinity College Cambridge) for research projects in psychical research.
P. S. I'm sure you're all gagging to hear about the Expedition to Éire. Well, it was very pleasant indeed, thank-you, but I'm too busy with paid writing to write about it at the moment. Soon, honest, real soon now...
Tomorrow, however, is something completely different.
It's Skeptics in the Pub!
From that page:
Evidence for and Against the Paranormal
The Society for Psychical Research was started by a group of eminent academics in 1882 (when spiritualism was much in vogue) to investigate scientifically and impartially the evidence for paranormal phenomena (i.e. not explainable by current scientific theory). This covered telepathy, hypnotism, mediums, apparitional experiences. Many were attracted by possible proof of an after-life.
Today, the subject tends to be split between:-
(1) "Parapsychologists" - who concentrate on ESP in statistically controlled experiments- a topic now pursued in research departments at various UK universities, especially Edinburgh & Northampton.
(2) "Psychical Researchers" who do field work as well as experiments , examining psychic experiences (e.g. premonitions) 'ghostly' disturbances, phenomena associated with mediums. etc. Some psychical researchers are spiritualists who believe that mediums are in touch with the dead.
The Soc. Psychical Research is a private organisation containing a mixture of experimentalists, sceptics about the paranormal, committed believers and spiritualists. It is supposed to adhere to no corporate view and is generally hated by spiritualists and believed to be a centre of superstitious nonsense by orthodox scientists.
The clearest evidence for the existence of anything paranormal comes from experiments in ESP. From 1930-50 these were mostly card-guessing situations. Subjects had to guess a series of hidden card symbols. A few exceptional subjects got consistently high scores over a long period. More often experimenters pooled the results of groups of unselected subjects obtaining much smaller but still significant results.
Over time and with increasing sophistication of testing, especially since computers allow of automated experiments with electronically randomised target sequences and mechanical recording of guesses and matching to targets results have become rarer and smaller. Normal explanations of positive findings centre upon sensory leakage, statistical artefact, the file drawer error, and fraud. The fact that repeatability is never guaranteed and that when one effect disappears a different one is claimed, is regarded as reason to dismiss the work as unscientific. The fact that ESP is not generally apparent in normal life, even in betting situations, is a powerful reason for scepticism. Yet there are examples, both experimental and anecdotal, that seem impossible to dismiss.
[According to time available a selection of examples, positive and negative, may be described]
The speaker is Donald J. West MD, Litt.D FRCPsych.
Emeritus Professor of Clinical Criminology, Cambridge. Council Member and former President of the Society for Psychical Research.
Born 1924. Medical degree from Liverpool University. Trained in psychiatry in London. Specialised in psychiatry of criminality. Changed to academic criminologist. Written books on Delinquency, Murder, Homosexuality Sex crime.& Psychical Research. Retired.
Interested in psychical research since a student. As a young man worked for a few years as Research Officer for Soc. Psychical Research. Contributor to SPR publications. Involved in assessing applications for grants (from Trinity College Cambridge) for research projects in psychical research.
P. S. I'm sure you're all gagging to hear about the Expedition to Éire. Well, it was very pleasant indeed, thank-you, but I'm too busy with paid writing to write about it at the moment. Soon, honest, real soon now...
