New telepathy test, the sequel.

In a telepathy experiment, if friendly and serious-sounding answers tend to be more accurate than those which seem hostile, aggressive, absurd or crazy, it would be a monumentally foolish error to not separate out the friendly and serious-sounding answers, with the hope that their hit rate will be higher than the random-chance level of 25%. I generally find that this procedure leads to a significant improvement (see the second test for an example). More generally, observing a correlation between credibility and accuracy is strongly suggestive of a real ESP effect, this is why these considerations are always central in any test of Michel H's alleged propensity to communicate his modest thoughts to others.

Everything you say here is consistent with an experiment in which you assign credibility ratings before you see the answer. You have refused to do this.
 
When I assign credibility ratings ... I am careful to do it regardless of the correctness of the post...

No, you don't. Your "credibility ratings" correlate to whether the data are favorable to your belief. They correlate negatively to posts where the credibility is not even a matter of subjective judgment anymore, because you have been told by their authors whether they were intended seriously. You disregard this information and try to accuse the authors of revisionism -- but only in the cases where the data favor your belief.

I believe, and continue to believe that this is not only very doable, but also easily verifiable by readers who follow the work.

No. It's blatantly cheating, and the readers who have followed your work have not agreed in the least with your attempts at post hoc data filtration. Quite the contrary, they have recommended methods that make this post hoc review entirely unnecessary, and would completely obviate any need to justify it or convince anyone that it's not improper manipulation of the data. When you refuse to consider such protocols, the readers rightly conclude that it's probably your intention to structure your experiment in a way that gives you opportunities to cheat, and then hope later not to get caught.

In a telepathy experiment, if friendly and serious-sounding answers...

You've proven you can't tell serious answers from facetious ones.

...tend to be more accurate than those which seem hostile, aggressive, absurd or crazy, it would be a monumentally foolish error to not separate out the friendly and serious-sounding answers...

No. If you're admitting that your opinion of the tone of answers is just a proxy for the "accuracy" of the answer, then you're just putting a thin smokescreen in front of value-based data culling, hoping to make it look like blind metadata-based culling. Believe me, we can see right through it.

I generally find that this procedure leads to a significant improvement...

Probably because that's what it was intended to do. And exactly why it's cheating.
 
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A "Loss Leader" is the part of a magnetic computer tape that has no magnetic coating.

I've been using computers for several decades, including ones whose primary storage was magnetic tape. This is the first time I've ever heard of that term used to describe tape leader. I'm not disputing you; I'm just presenting you with a gold star for being able to tell me something that applies to my profession, that I didn't know, and isn't part of your profession. The tapes I still have in my possession don't have any nonmagnetic leader. But the wisdom of winding a fair amount of tape through the drive before starting to write on it is still valid. The few feet of tape at each end of the reel tend to get really beat up with use, and become unsuitable for storing data. They're still magnetic, just physically unable to store data reliably anymore.

I always thought your name was the familiar marketing term: something sold at a loss to attract customer attention to more profitable items.
 
Also don't forget to consider the cumulative evidence of what people don't say.

For example, people on social media don't say "Can anyone else hear Michel's thoughts in their head?".

Perhaps the clearest evidence that you do not possess a remarkable power is precisely the fact that people do not remark on it.
I assume there is some degree of rejection of this alleged phenomenon within the public, some people seem to be ready to lie about it. One reason is perhaps that many people like the idea that they are "special", but not so much that somebody else is "special". Look at this question (with a bar diagram): https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090713154232AAtUFZK
(I was born in February 1958).
 
There are some well known statistical tools to deal with these issues (binomial distribution, calculation of p-value and so on). Ganzfeld experiments are also successions of little tests, called trial or sessions, with a 25% probability of success from random chance alone for each test: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganzfeld_experiment.

If your hit rate is for example 50% (instead of the 25% expected from random chance alone), and your sample is large enough, then one generally says that an ESP effect has been found.


Assume a sample size of two people (which is about the number of actual answers you get in your Yahoo! experiments). Assume a random chance rate of 25% (which is the chance in a 1-in-4 test). How many trials would you have to run to see a hit rate of 50% with a 95% degree of confidence?


I've been using computers for several decades, including ones whose primary storage was magnetic tape. This is the first time I've ever heard of that term used to describe tape leader.


Oh, the same is was true for video and audiotapes. I certainly remember audio cassettes that were marketed as "leaderless." In fact, I found several on Amazon.


I always thought your name was the familiar marketing term: something sold at a loss to attract customer attention to more profitable items.


And with the death of magnetic tape storage, the first several pages of results on Google for "loss leader" refer to the marketing term.
 
When I assign credibility ratings (see for example the analysis of my second test on this forum:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9516155#post9516155), I am careful to do it regardless of the correctness of the post
No, you absolutely do it to favor "correct" answers. We've noted it and pointed it out to you dozens of times.

If you'd like, you may use the protocol which Loss Leader has been presenting which lets you assign credibility before you know whether an answer is correct or not.

Oh wait, you ran away from that protocol.

I believe, and continue to believe that this is not only very doable, but also easily verifiable by readers who follow the work.
Yes, that's why you've been caught with your bias showing so many times.

In a telepathy experiment, if friendly and serious-sounding answers tend to be more accurate than those which seem hostile, aggressive, absurd or crazy, it would be a monumentally foolish error to not separate out the friendly and serious-sounding answers, with the hope that their hit rate will be higher than the random-chance level of 25%. I generally find that this procedure leads to a significant improvement (see the second test for an example). More generally, observing a correlation between credibility and accuracy is strongly suggestive of a real ESP effect, this is why these considerations are always central in any test of Michel H's alleged propensity to communicate his modest thoughts to others.
Interestingly, you run away from any sort of test where you assign credibility before knowing whether the answer is correct or not.

Funny old world, innit?
 
I assume there is some degree of rejection of this alleged phenomenon within the public, some people seem to be ready to lie about it.

How does this not cut both ways? There are many ways to fake telepathy, and some people seem to be willing to lie about that too. A number of your arguments are predicated on people who believe as you do being paragons of virtue, while people who disagree with you -- regardless of the reasons they give -- are dishonest and abusive. When a large part of your methodology promises that you personally will be honest and impartial when judging the responses, we all just sort of giggle a little.
 
I've been using computers for several decades, including ones whose primary storage was magnetic tape. This is the first time I've ever heard of that term used to describe tape leader. I'm not disputing you; I'm just presenting you with a gold star for being able to tell me something that applies to my profession, that I didn't know, and isn't part of your profession. The tapes I still have in my possession don't have any nonmagnetic leader. But the wisdom of winding a fair amount of tape through the drive before starting to write on it is still valid. The few feet of tape at each end of the reel tend to get really beat up with use, and become unsuitable for storing data. They're still magnetic, just physically unable to store data reliably anymore.

I always thought your name was the familiar marketing term: something sold at a loss to attract customer attention to more profitable items.
So did I, but even a standard audio cassette for home use has exactly the same uncoated substrate at each end, usually transparent.
 
I assume there is some degree of rejection of this alleged phenomenon within the public, some people seem to be ready to lie about it. One reason is perhaps that many people like the idea that they are "special", but not so much that somebody else is "special". Look at this question (with a bar diagram): https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090713154232AAtUFZK
(I was born in February 1958).

Because you went data mining for any vague thing which you might somehow construe as "support" for your misguided notion.

It was a fad which came and departed for lack of evidence.
 
Interestingly, you run away from any sort of test where you assign credibility before knowing whether the answer is correct or not.

Funny old world, innit?


Also interestingly, Michel actually altered his credibility rating in the one test where he was required to assess credibility prior to knowing who had a correct answer. He assessed them before he knew the results, then did another assessment after.



Funnily enough, his result improved when he did a reassessment after he knew which answers were correct.



He is far too frightened to try a real test, as he is afraid that his belief in his own "talent"* will evaporate if he is properly tested, and as shown here on many occasions that he simply will never perform a test where the odds are not all in his favour, up to and including only liking answers and posts that agree with him, and accusing those people who don't agree with him of either being angry, or being a liar.



It is rather sad in a way - such a wasted life.



Norm



* this is not suggesting that Michel has any talent in telepathy, and it is also sad that it is necessary to put such disclaimers in posts here so that in future, Michel will not yet again take them as vindication or cite that I consider that he has this talent.
 
I've been using computers for several decades, including ones whose primary storage was magnetic tape. This is the first time I've ever heard of that term used to describe tape leader....

Same here. I will point out, though, that Loss Leader doesn't play a musical instrument. ;)
 
I assume there is some degree of rejection of this alleged phenomenon within the public,
There hasn't been any of that here. There has been rejection of your dishonest methodology which is a different thing.

some people seem to be ready to lie about it.
Certainly one person has been identified who is ready to lie about it.

One reason is perhaps that many people like the idea that they are "special",
Again, one person has been identified who would like to believe that.
 
Michel: these are not serious posts. Like the similar ones you quote so approvingly, they are taking the piss at your expense. Get it now?
I would agree that these posts are not serious. They are also not answers to my test, which is still active as long as it is not closed (Nay_Sayer and fromdownunder have both given good answers in at least one of my tests in the past, but they seem to be in a different mood these days).

I keep reading the target sentence from time to time, so I don't have to tell myself I made a mistake of neglect if suddenly somebody gives an answer.

This kind of joking is acceptable, I think, particularly when Nay_Sayer says:"I use a lot of foul language when I transmit".
 
They are also not answers to my test, which is still active as long as it is not closed (Nay_Sayer and fromdownunder have both given good answers in at least one of my tests in the past, but they seem to be in a different mood these days).


Yes you have already said this recently, and the test date you cited (August 2013) was the one where I made four successive posts citing the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 as the answer to your test. As I already posted in response to your statement.

Are you really that desperate to prove to yourself that you have the power that you claim that somebody who posted every possible answer to your so called test had a "good" answer?


Which answer of mine that you cited was "good" by your definition? The 1, the 2, the 3 or the 4? All of which were posted within three minutes of each other? So stop lying about what I posted when it is so simple to provide evidence which contradicts what you claimed.

Since you have brought this up twice now, I expect an answer to the bolded question.

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12944630&postcount=1450



Your continued failure to accept reality is getting rather sad.



And you still have not responded to this. obviously because you can't:



Show me where either he or Loss Leader said that they thought you had psychic abilities and stop making stuff up that you cannot support.





Norm
 
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I would agree that these posts are not serious.
Excellent. Progress at last.

They are also not answers to my test
Answers to your tests are even more likely to be facetious than other posts because your tests are a joke. To anyone with the slightest understanding of how such a test would need to be designed to produce reliable results (which describes most of the regular posters here) they are utterly laughable. Laughing at them is therefore the most natural response.
 
They are also not answers to my test, which is still active as long as it is not closed


Well, you were offered an option to do a realistic test here, rather than a toy test on another site, and you ran away as you always do when reality gets close to your limited comfort zone.



Norm
 

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