I address some specific problems in the two target articles offered here (Rao and Palmer/Alcock: Parapsychology review and critique), which are indicative of more general problems that plague the larger debate. Because such problems are rather typical of scientific conflict, I address general problems of assessment in a second section. In a final section. I make some comments about the future of this debate.

The current study replicated an Owen & Sparrow (1976) genre séance study to examine the relationships between transliminality, psychokinesis (PK), subjective experiences, contagion effects, and variations in electro-magnetic field activity. Eleven participants in two series of mock séance sessions were observed and recorded for anomalous, subjective and somatic experiences. No verifiable PK occurred, but relationships were found between geo-magnetic and electro-magnetic field activity as well as subjective anomalous experiences. Electro-magnetic fields were found to significantly vary across sessions. Transliminality and related (...) measures were not related to subjective reports of external anomalous phenomena. Implications of electro-magnetic and geomagnetic fields associated with subjective anomalous somatic reports and future research are discussed. (shrink)

A Critical review was conducted on criticisms expressed in books and on websites of Duncan MacDougall’s weight measurement experiment upon the death of terminally ill patients; theoretical simulations of MacDougall’s experiment using a modern weighing system with load cells and thermohydraulic analysis were employed. The following conclusions were obtained: (1) the uncontrolled escape of moisture from bodies due to insensible perspiration has practically no effect on the conclusion of his experiment that there had been anomalous losses in the weight of (...) his patients upon death; (2) the speculated effect of convection air currents on MacDougall’s balance scales does not exist; (3) vibrational disturbances caused by cardiac and breathing activities, which disappear after the death of the patients, have practically no effect if the change in weight upon death is in the tens of grams rather than a few grams; and (4) the speculative tricky role of buoyant force of air on the body can be denied. Therefore, all the cases of his experiment do remain as pioneering cases published in a scientifi c journal. Theoretical implications of his experimental result and future perspectives of the experimental approach to this subject are discussed. (shrink)

It’s not often that I get to feel like a spokesperson for empirical conservatism. But that happened recently when I was invited to give a talk at the 50th Annual Conference on Anomalous Phenomena sponsored by the International Fortean Organization (INFO). The occasion provided several healthy illustrations about what I suppose we can call boggle relativity. The conference was stimulating, challenging, and professionally run, and I was happy to meet quite a few very smart and pleasant attendees—among them, the SSE’s (...) treasurer John Reed, MD. In fact, I very much look forward to attending future INFO conferences. (shrink)