Tunsa

I need to measure changes in human weight down to single grams. I do not care about the overall weight of an individual, but rather variations in weight due to breathing, evaporation, or outside influences.

What equipment is available to perform these sensitive weight measurements with research level accuracy?

I have been referred to LVDT systems, but I can't find any applications for these systems that would be appropriate for the range of weight that I am measuring along with the accuracy that I need. A reference to this type of information for LVDT systems or any other equipment would be very helpful. Thanks!

... would that section be filled with questions about whether the movie was true?

There are numerous myths presented by skeptics of Parapsychology to discredit the science. For example, many people say that Parapsychology is not taught in universities while a number of universities provide a Parapsychology focus as part of their degree programs.

I am interested in reading specific myths or statements that are presented as a skeptical perspective on Parapsychology. If you make a general statement like "All of this stuff is real", I will thumbs down you and you will not get a best answer from me. I want specific statements, and I am not interested in reading about your personal experiences.

On the other hand, I am looking for honest and thoughtful opinions without any regard to which position they are supporting. Please try to keep the responses respectful.

There are numerous myths that have been proposed as evidence of psi and the legitimacy of Parapsychology as a science. For example, people often misquote the statement that humans only use 10% of their brains.

I am looking for specific statements or claims that are made concerning the science of parapsychology. If you make some general comment like "None of this stuff is real", I will give you a thumbs down and you will not get a best answer from me. I want specifics, and I am not interested in reading about people's praise of their hero or any references to challenges.

On the other hand, I am looking for honest and thoughtful opinions without any regard to which position they are supporting. Please try to keep the responses respectful.

Parapsychology is the scientific study of psi phenomena using closely controlled methodology and established analysis techniques. It does not include the studies of crop circles, evidence of aliens, seaching for bigfoot, or ghost hunting.

If a well established and respected institution offered online courses in parapsychology, what sorts of courses would you be interested in taking? I will make a few suggestions, but if you have other ideas, I would be very interested in hearing about them.

Some suggestions:

- A study of specific psi research on topics like telepathy, remote viewing, psychokinesis, precognition, or clairvoyance.

- Research methods appropriate for parapsychology, including special topics related to the experimenter effect or weak signals.

- A theoretical analysis of the mechanisms behind psi.

- Psi in different cultures.

- A skeptical perspective on psi.

- Enhancing psi abilities and learning techniques used to develop skills like remote viewing.

- An ethical examination of psi.

- etc....

Would you be interested in achieving a degree or a certificate of completion, or would you just have a casual interest in studying the topics?

Any opinions or ideas are appropriate and would be appreciated, but please try to keep your answer respectful.

How do you define pseudo-science and how do you recognize it?

For example, would you consider astrology pseudo-science? How about astronomy?

Would you consider claims that all psi is performed using illusion and deceptions to be an example of pseudo-science, or do you just consider all psi to be pseudo-science?

Can studies that use the scientific method and a controlled design be considered pseudo-science?

How about analyses that ignore positive results because they do not fit with their world view?

Do you recognize pseudo-science when big, technical terms are used for no reason?

Do you see it when the same mantra is repeated without referencing any original source material?

Do you see it when negative results are ignored?

Do you see it when positive results are ignored?

Please, don't reference or quote wikipedia as a source since the information in that forum is never considered a legitimate academic reference.

I would appreciate responses that stick to the question and avoid the use of inflamatory or insulting language.

When scientists recreate the conditions that existed when the universe was first created and matter was formed, are they creating new micro-universes? Obviously, I'm not looking for evidence or convincing proof, but rather an opinion based on your understanding of the science and your ideas about the origin of the cosmos.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100215/sc_nm/us_physi...

These two terms have been used interchangeably in literature and reports over the years, but recent discussions have indicated that they are different things. I know that the hypnagogic state has been associated with hallucinations in the past, but those same hallucinations can occur in a hypnotic state. So, what's the difference?

Any references, especially published professional references, would be appreciated.

When you look into the sky midnight,

Do you see darkness or the lights?

Are you filled with hope or filled with fright?

Does darkness make you feel all right,

Or do you clamor for greater sight?

Do stars and planets make you bright,

Or are they just road signs through the heights?

Or is it cloudy where you live?

Where did the theory of the 5 senses and empirical research originate?

Traditionally, humans are considered to have 5 senses, but there are other senses that are attributed to other species. For example, fish are able to detect electrical fields, birds are able to detect magnetic fields, and fish have also been recognized to detect pressure and current in their environment.

Have experiments been performed to examine whether these senses could exist in humans, and could they exists in humans?

Also, there are other "senses" in humans like the sense of passing time that do not seem to be isolated to any specific physical organ. Are these additional "senses" included in observations when performing empirical or scientific studies?

Physicists have discovered that light will behave both like a wave and like a particle. In the classic experiment, light particles are directed through two narrow slits, and instead of projecting a particle beam, they produce an interference pattern as if they are waves. But, when the same experiment is performed while the researchers are monitoring the individual slits, the interference pattern goes away and light begins acting like a particle again!

I have included two video links which clearly demonstrate this phenomenon and relate it to uncertainty:

Dr. Quantum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc

Uncertainty and light:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH7z3TZFYWQ

What do you consider the impact of this discovery on the world of physical sciences? Do you see any relationship between these experiments and parapsychology? This is a science question, so I would appreciate reasoned responses, but I'm more interested in your opinions. Thanks!

I have heard the razor described with a few phrases including:

- Keep it simple.

- The simplest explanation is more likely to be correct.

- Choose the simplest of two equally likely solutions to a problem.

This link seems to describe the razor as a method for choosing between competing theories.

http://phyun5.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/no...

An absurd example is presented to help illustrate that hypotheses that cannot be falsified should be dismissed in favor of those that are based on physical evidence. I know that this is a principle of science, but I'm not sure what it has to do with the razor.

Also, it seems to discuss the principle that all evidence must be observable in the physical form (positivism) or considered irrelevant when choosing a hypothesis. Is this truly what Ockham was implying?

I have also read that the razor refers to a process of selecting hypotheses that should be investigated rather than dismissing hypotheses "out of hand" due to increased complexity.

There seem to be conflicting information presented (what a surprise!). I'm interested in reading thoughtful explanations of your interpretation of the term "Ockham's Razor". (Please refrain from providing extensive references and links without any content to your answer. Thanks!)

Please don't refer me to a site with a list of experiments or a skeptic site discussing the problems with experiments. I'm asking for your own personal ideas of what would make a good experiment.

Try to include information about the subjects that might be involved (general public, goats, sheep, or known psychics). Also include details about what would be tested, the methodology for the tests, and any essential controls. Finally, include an estimate of what should be considered adequate results to either support the hypothesis or disprove the null hypothesis.

Please consider that science does not require 100% accuracy, and sometimes 50.1% accuracy is not adequate to provide sufficient evidence that the results exceed chance.

I have one final suggestion that I hope you will consider. Please stick to your own answer rather than providing criticism of the other suggestions that are presented. There are a lot of other questions that provide a forum for criticism. Thanks!

I am trying not to be contentious with this question, but I am puzzled.

We have a number of debunkers on this site who claim to have experience with statistics, experimental design, and science in general. When questions come up related to a purely scientific topic, a question about experimental design, or questions about current research, why do so few debunker/scientists answer them?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiH7v...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aq0_m...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArNDj...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao3Kp...

I know that not everybody is always aware of all of the questions posted, but I have seen people who comb this forum answering other questions while apparently ignoring the legitimate science.

Also, when specific questions come up that are not easily answered by denying statements like "That doesn't exist and has never been proven" or "you're fooling yourself or lying", it seems that many of the debunkers ignore these questions.

Please don't take this personally since there are many people on this site who obviously have experience with science but have don't believe that the results are legitimate. I have no problem with that. I respect your opinion, and I have seen many thoughtful answers from people who do not believe in the results of parapsychological experiments. It's just that I would expect that legitimate scientists would be more interested in researching questions about design or current science than they would be in posting denying comments every chance they get.

BTW, I picked up these from the archive of questions that I answered, so my sample may be a biased, but I believe that this is an accurate appraisal of a trend, especially when it appears that a question is well researched and documented with scholarly references. I may be wrong about that. If so, I would appreciate it if you would show me some evidence to the contrary or provide me with a reason for passing these questions by.

I am truly interested and have tried to be respectful in my question, and I hope that this is not offensive to anybody. I would appreciate answers that are also respectful. Thanks!

There seem to be differing opinions on this forum as to what would be convincing evidence that a psychic ability is real. For some people, it might involve seeing it with their own eyes. For others, it might be a sound scientific paper written by a famous scientist. For even others, it might be some inspiration from a higher power that there is truth in what they believe.

What makes or would make these abilities "real" for you? (Please try to keep the answers personal rather than referring to some 3rd party that claims to have created a standard for proof.)

Telekinesis, Psychokinesis, Micro PK... It seems everybody wants to make things fly around the room without touching them. Why? Couldn't you just as easily pick something up and throw it with your hand?

There are so many other types of Psi phenomenon that it makes me wonder why so many people ask questions related to TK or PK. So, if you've asked this type of question or have some insight, I'd be interested in hearing your reasons.

BTW, please try to focus on this question rather than telling me about whether you believe PK is real or not. That's not the question.

Thanks!

I always hear people talking about how the US has the highest tax rates in the world, and they are afraid that if the top tax rate is raised 4% that corporations will begin leaving this country and setting up shop in other countries.

I looked at this site:

http://www.worldwide-tax.com/

The tax rates in the US are lower than almost every other country when you include municipal taxes, social security, and value added taxes. There are some that are lower, but they are not the larger, more industrialized countries.

Is there a reason to believe that corporations are going to leave the country even if the total US tax burden is lower than those in most countries? Aren't there some benefits to keeping a corporation in the US besides the lower taxes? Or maybe I'm just reading these tables wrong...

Science depends on experimentation and analysis in order to gather evidence. In addition, every field of science involves the review of literature that was previously produced in order to further advance the knowledge within the field.

For the professed skeptics on this site, are you a denier or a scientist who is skeptical of parapsychology research? Have you reviewed the scientific journals and scholarly research on parapsychology, or are you relying on secondary sources and popular skeptical literature to form your opinions?

Finally, if you consider yourself a true scientist, have you ever considered submitting your crticisms to a peer reviewed journal on parapsychology? Why or why not?

Many people on this forum call themselves scientific and they cite references to popular literature when presenting evidence for their answers. What do you consider to be legitimate scientific websites or literature and why? How do you see scientific documents as different from documents created to attract web traffic or cater to the biases and opinions of the general public? Can you give some examples related to parapsychology?

Fire walking is the process of creating extremely hot coals (up to 1100 degrees F) and walking across the coals without being burned. In the past, it was used as a spiritual ritual to prove faith and as a seminal event which defined the passage to adulthood.

Before it became a well known phenomenon, the western world considered fire walking to be a fraud or some sort of trick that involved placing chemicals on the feet to prevent them being burned. Even when viewing fire walking first hand, many people would not accept that there was any way that a person could walk across the coals without being burned.

In recent times, it has become commonly used in motivational seminars and team building techniques. Nearly anyone can perform fire walking if they learn how to do it and have the courage and confidence to do it.

Do you believe that fire walking is real? Were the early critics of fire walking skeptics or deniers? How do you define the difference between skeptics and deniers?