Extrasensory perception: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:54, 21 February 2006

Revision as of 15:23, 21 February 2006

Line 38:

=== Difficulties testing ESP ===

Among the difficulties having to do with proving the existence or non-existence of '''extra-sensory perception''' are that, if ESP exists, it may have a subtle rather than an overt effect, and that the ability to perceive may be altered by the nature of the event being perceived. For example, some proponents of ESP put forward that predicting whether a loved one was just involved in a car crash might have a stronger effect than sensing which [[playing card]] was drawn from a deck, even though the latter is better suited for scientific studies. This, ''in part'', is why scientists remain skeptical;, therealthough cases of ESP involving subjects who are familiar with each other have yielded results that would indicate a positive demonstration of ESP [http://www.sheldrake.org/articlesnew/pdf/Lobach.pdf]. There are no consistent and agreed-upon standards by which ESP powers may be tested, in the way one might test for, say, electrical current or the chemical composition of a substance. Often, when self-proclaimed psychics are challenged by skeptics and fail to prove their alleged powers, they assign all sorts of reasons for their failure, such as that the skeptic is tainting the environment with "negative energy." This, and the widespread practice of charlatanry in ESP and psychic circles[http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general542.html], causes most scientists and rationalists to dismiss ESP claims out of hand.

There is some dispute over the interpretation of results obtained in scientific studies of ESP, as the most compelling and repeatable results are all small to moderate [[statistical]] results. Critics of ESP argue that the results are too small to be significant, while proponents of ESP argue that the results are consistent in numerous studies, and that the combined [[Statistical significance|significance]] is large. That an inordinately large number of trials must be conducted to obtain statistically significant results is seen as a problem for verifying the legitimacy of ESP claims.