Sep 15 2007
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Fundamentalist Skeptics Not In The Majority
In the foreward to Parasychology and the Skeptics, a new book by Chis Carter (I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s the X-Files Carter) parapychological researcher Rupert Sheldrake somewhat affirms our faith in scientists and the scientific method with regards to the paranormal:
From my own experience of talking to scientists and giving seminars in scientific institutions, dogmatic skeptics are a minority within the scientific community. Many scientists are curious and open-minded, if only because they themselves or people they know well have had experiences that suggest the reality of psi phenomena. Nevertheless, almost all scientists are aware of the taboo, and the open-minded tend to keep their interests private, fearing scorn or ridicule if they discuss them openly with their colleagues.
I believe that for the majority of the scientific community, in spite of the appearances created by vociferous skeptics, what counts more than polemic is evidence. In the end, the question of whether or not psi phenomena occur, and how they might be explained, depends on evidence and on research.
If intelligent debate played well in the press and on TV, the fundamentalists would never get the audience that they do not deserve. Unfortunately, the loudest and most dismissive personalities get the money and the airtime. See my Penn and Teller essay for more on this.
Presenting evidence on paranormal topics in a public forum seems primarily doomed to either 1) Predetermined negative findings and/ or ridicule or 2) Wide-eyed wonder with no substantial supporting evidence, at least for the time-being. If we are lucky, this will start to change in the years to come. (Are you reading this Paul Kimball?)
Fortunately, there are a few brave souls with academic credentials who provide a well-balanced and scientific forum for research and discussion of the paranormal. This organization is the Society For Scientific Exploration, a group that I have mentioned in the past. The academics who make up the board and membership are actually using science and scientific methods, as well as peer review to look at UFOs, cryptids, ghosts, ESP, etc. They also recognize that some scientific methods may have to change before we find out more about what is beyond the edges of current understanding.
Thanks to Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractror for the link.
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September 15th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
article from UVa mag
http://tinyurl.com/2jzb75
Open to Anomalies:
U.Va. professor leades one of the oddest
scientific societies around
5 ‘originals’ from UVa (like psychiatry professor Ian Stevenson who studied ‘reincarnation’ )
—
hey, CIA use to fund some ‘wacky’ studies…
even at ur local Mental Health Center
m
September 17th, 2007 at 12:29 am
mouseonmoon,
Thanks for the link to the article. Of course they get Michael Shermer to comment. He has obviously not read any of the SSE literature or journals. I doubt whether he has the smarts of any of the SSE members, if only because he covers himself in the mantle of “science” while letting his emotions dictate what he thinks are legitimate issues for research.