TRANSCRIPTS
The evidence lies in the fact that very few, if any, successful demonstrations have taken place under controlled conditions to eliminate the possibility of fraud or sleight of hand… a quick hand movement used in magic tricks to distract the observer.
Now I’m going to set you a task which will involve
investigating some of the points I’ve raised. I want you to do some research into different types of mind over matter. You should focus on one of the three areas I’ve mentioned, and identify examples of micro-PK and macro-PK. I want you to look at some research and find out what measures were taken to eliminate bias or fraud.
Unit 11, Lesson 11.3, Exercise E≤2.22
The question is how reliable is the evidence? It’s quite clear that anecdotal evidence of PK is not sufficient to prove its existence. Research has shown that people are unreliable witnesses and very susceptible to suggestion. So, although some people claim that they have seen objects move as a result of PK, I’m afraid this just can’t be true. The evidence lies in the fact that very few, if any, successful demonstrations have taken place under controlled conditions to eliminate the possibility of fraud or sleight of hand … a quick hand movement used in magic tricks to distract the observer.
Unit 11, Lesson 11.4, Exercise E≤2.23
Extract 1 MAJED: The lecturer we listened to last week introduced a number of interesting issues. In my part of the seminar, I would like to build on what she said, and give an example of macro-PK. For my research, I looked at teletransportation … that is moving objects from one place to another without touching them. The evidence for most cases is anecdotal, as the lecturer said. But I found some experiments that were carried out by scientists under laboratory conditions. According to the Federation of American Scientists, a number of very convincing experiments were carried out in China in the early ’80s and ’90s. They involved using the mental powers of children and young adults to move an object from the inside of a container to a new location, without opening or damaging the containers, or the objects. The experimenters used different types of containers with radio micro- transmitters and high-speed photography. They eliminated the possibility of fraud with blind and double blind methods and documented the data and experiments very carefully.
Extract 2
EVIE: OK, following on from what Majed has said about trying to make experiments as objective as possible, I’d like to talk about the experimenter effect on the results of experiments in Direct Mental Interaction with Living Systems. My research is an example of micro-PK. There’s been a lot of discussion about whether the attitude of the experimenters can affect the actual responses of the participants in laboratory experiments into DMIL. Two researchers, Wiseman, who is a sceptic, and Schlitz, a believer in psi, carried out two joint experiments to find out if the experimenter’s belief in psi affected participants’ scores in remote staring experiments. In each series of experiments, they reproduced the laboratory conditions by using the same equipment and techniques ... CCTV, skin sensors, randomization and double blind procedures. The only difference was that in one experiment Wiseman did the staring, and Schlitz did the staring in the other. On both occasions, they found that Wiseman’s participants had lower scores than Schlitz’s. At first, it looked as though they had fairly clear-cut proof of the experimenter effect. But the third time they collaborated, the results were not significant enough to prove their theory. So it looks as though experimenter–participant interaction is more complex than it seems.
Extract 3
EVIE: Right. Thank you, Evie. I’m going to expand the topic by mentioning another type of mind over matter. This is another example of micro-PK. I’ve been looking at meditation and how it’s possible to influence the body with the mind. The most carefully controlled experiments that I could find go back to 1970, when Elmer and Alyce Green invited Swami Rama, an Indian master of yoga, to demonstrate how he could raise and lower the temperature in different parts of his hand, and lower his pulse until it was almost undetectable. The researchers took a lot of precautions to prevent fraud or tricks. They attached psycho-physiology equipment, including a cardiotachometer, and a thermistor to the yogi to measure his heart rate and the temperature on either side of his hand. Two of the researchers stayed in the room with the Swami, so he couldn’t cheat, while all his physical responses were being measured on the equipment in a separate room. What’s amazing is that they found that he really could control his pulse and the temperature in his hand.
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