Paranormal Investigations

An article in the Washington Post On Faith section in response to their question: Polls routinely show that 75 percent of Americans hold some form of belief in the paranormal such as astrology, telepathy and ghosts. All religions contain beliefs in the supernatural. Is there a link? What's the difference?

Author

Comments on the Status of Psi Research

news from the edge

A while ago I wrote a post about Project Alpha, a ruse concocted by James Randi in which two magicians pretended to be psychics in order to fool some parapsychologists. One of the magicians went on to a professional career, using the stage name Banachek.

Dr Chris Roe places a pair of enormous fluffy earphones over the head of a blonde 20-year-old woman.

Abstract: Do telepathy, clairvoyance and other "psi" abilities exist? The majority of the general population believes that they do, and yet fewer than one percent of mainstream academic institutions have any faculty known for their interest in these frequently reported experiences. Why is a topic of enduring and widespread interest met with such resounding silence in academia? The answer is not due to a lack of scientific evidence, or even to a lack of scientific interest, but rather involves a taboo. I will discuss the nature of this taboo, some of the empirical evidence and critical responses, and speculate on the implications.

Among the one third of Americans who believe in ghosts are high-ranking officials in the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.