dir (02/17/83)
In response to eagle!karn's comments: "'Reality' is independent of ... people who engage in wishful thinking." I disagree: "Reality" is dependent on people's thought, for the only reality we know (or can know) is through our own experience and common agreement. (I do not claim that reality is illusionary, only that its "true" nature is indescribable in terms we'd understand.) "Smart people are subject to human failings." I agree: Of course smart people can be fooled, but the question is, would you be more likely to believe people smarter than you, or less informed than you? Nearly every non-mundane thing we know is based on what other people tell us. "Given that parapsychology requires that rational, methodical research techniques be ignored ...." I disagree: This statement clearly demonstrates very little knowledge about serious parapsychological methods, which follow the same techniques as mainstream psychology. Now, as to the merits of experimental psychology, well, that's another topic. "The number of believers in ESP would not sway me." I disagree: The history of science shows how astonishingly persuasive peer pressure is. We may be scientists, but we are human first. D. Radin - BTL Columbus