Vision From Feeling

[Moochie]

<snip>

One professor suggested to me that I might be reading thermal information, which is heat patterns, which is vibrational information. This would have to be detected in person, and this would be the case of an extrasensory ability.

That wouldn't be The Professor, would it?


M.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

That wouldn't be The Professor, would it?


M.

Well it certainly wasn't me.

 

[skeen]

Hi everyone, I'm new.

I've read too many of the pages in this thread, and I conclude that not a single spec of evidence has been presented thus far.

You would think this would be super easy to test, but as with all other claimants, it drags out into semantics, dissection of words and phrases, and in the end, we're left with what we started with: nothing.

The claimant is 100% indistinguishable from every other claimant I've ever read on this forum, and seen in Randi's videos. If I can kick a ball I can kick it every time. Do what you say you can do, win the million dollars, and, quite frankly, shake the very foundations of our understanding of the entire universe.

I cannot fathom that someone who truly believes they have this ability, would do anything at all, other than proving it to the world - the repercussions of such a thing would stop the world in its tracks. But so it goes. As always.

 

[Moochie]

Locknar:
As I answered in thread http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129731&page=3 where you first presented this question:


ETA: You can all access the material of this skeptics group following that link. You are not required to join in order to read about our scheduled meetings, messages and discussions! Check it out!

I smell hoax. That's my ability and I'm sticking to it.


M.

 

[Senex]

Hi everyone, I'm new.

Hi Skeen!
Another escapee from AA

I've read too many of the pages in this thread, and I conclude that not a single spec of evidence has been presented thus far

.
And your point?

You would think this would be super easy to test, but as with all other claimants, it drags out into semantics, dissection of words and phrases, and in the end, we're left with what we started with: nothing.

Hold on, unlike these rascals I flirted. I didn't start with a date and I'm optimistic what I end up with.

The claimant is 100% indistinguishable from every other claimant I've ever read on this forum, and seen in Randi's videos. If I can kick a ball I can kick it every time. Do what you say you can do, win the million dollars, and, quite frankly, shake the very foundations of our understanding of the entire universe.

That's not fair.

I cannot fathom that someone who truly believes they have this ability, would do anything at all, other than proving it to the world - the repercussions of such a thing would stop the world in its tracks. But so it goes. As always.

That's not fair!

Did you notice how I stood up for you VFF? I even used an exclamation point

 

[Coveredinbeeees]

The claimant is 100% indistinguishable from every other claimant I've ever read on this forum, and seen in Randi's videos.

Welcome to the Forum Skeen.

Sorry to pick on your post but this has been said by a few people and you happen to be the most recent.

I disagree strongly with the statement that VFF is the typical woo claimant. Her main distinguishing feature, for me, is her response to every question asked of her. I give her a great deal of credit for this and it gives me a great deal of hope that she will benefit from her time on the forum.

Her responses may not always be satisfactory and do not always indicate an understanding of the question asked but it certainly looks like she reads and considers every post in this thread. This behaviour stands out a mile from the typical claimant.

VFF, I am happy to take it on trust that you are setting up a test with your local skeptic group as well as the IIG. I wish you the best of luck with those arrangements.

I do have to say that I can understand the frustration of some of the posters on this thread though. When you agree to informal testing on the board, such as your photograph diagnoses but simultaneously claim that the results of those tests will make no difference to your thinking one way or the other, as in case of the photo' provided by Prof' Yaffle, It does make the whole process seem like a waste of their time and yours.

I look forward to hearing what you think of the sort of test suggested by Ashles in his most recent post, where you test one of your chemical identification abilities but only give an answer when you feel the ability is working.

It would likewise be possible to set up a double blind cereal test exactly mimicking the conditions in which you claim to have "seen" bacteria glowing. You could run such a test in such a way as to only give an answer when you actually see the glow rather than straining to see it when it is not there. I would be happy to write a protocol for you.

Likewise your idea for a photo test where a large number of photos are provided and you only read the ones in which you "see" something without straining is a good one.

However, all of the tests described above would be wasted if you did not agree ahead of time that you could draw a useful conclusion from their results positive or negative.

With such an agreement the tests above would be worthwhile and could be run on the forum or, in the case of a double blind cereal test by you with an assistant, for your own edification.

In the absence of such an agreement I would suggest that the best thing to do would be to concentrate on the tests you are arranging with IIG and your local group. It is the path of least frustration

Best of luck,

'beeees

 

[VisionFromFeeling]

The longest reply with no interesting content - yet:

Professor Yaffle:

When you say that I should treat it as utter nonsense, do you mean that you saw nothing from the photo and justmade something up? Or did you see something similar to what you have been claiming here, but just not as strong?

Or to put it another way, if you got feelings like this from one of the subjects in a test, would you pass on her because you saw nothing, or would you include her in the test?

The perceptions from this picture are not guesses, nor do they represent the confidence level I have with persons in life. I was using an entirely different type of hunch and am interested in finding out if it is able to produce any kind of results, although I am expecting that it does not. I would not mind trying a test with pictures although it would be to find out whether I can or can not perform with pictures, and would not be to investigate a claim of mine, as I have never claimed to be able to reliably on demand produce the images from pictures. The information I have given you is not of the same form as in real life, it is not nearly as strong, so if it were the case of a test with live persons and the quality of the information was as low as here, I would not state it as my answer since in other cases I experience information more confidently and would prefer to have that tested for accuracy as it represents what I claim to do.

No, the hunches from your picture are not strong enough for me to state them as answers in a test. Yet I do not know what I might be able to do with pictures and am, even if barely, interested in finding out.

You must also understand that I have never sought to find some extrasensory ability in myself, and I am not interested in investigating what are the weaker parts of the perceptions since they do not occur frequently. I am not searching for some new "psychic ability" nor am I trying to enhance one. I am interested in testing the medical diagnose with live persons since it has already and on its own produced interesting results.

Pup:

So I don't understand the concept of pushing oneself, or guessing. The way I'm picturing it, you look at someone. Either you can see inside their body, or you can't. Or when you look at a beaker of a chemical, either you see an odd color or you don't. You would know whether you do or you don't.

With regard to chemical identification, colors from atoms, and medical diagnose from pictures and video, these are all perceptions that do not occur often, and not reliably often enough to be useful in a test setting. I have had little experience with these aspects of the perceptions and therefore in a test I will push myself even to the point of guessing, to find out if it is possible to produce anything of interest. As I have consistently stated these are not part of the claim I want to have tested, even if they were the case of a true even if infrequent extrasensory ability, I would have no interest in finding out. Medical information with live persons is frequent enough and interesting enough that I want to have it tested.

I have pushed myself on these tests of the other aspects of the perceptions to find out if there is anything of interest, and just as expected there does not seem to be. There either is no ESP ability in these other aspects, or their frequency is too low for us to find out, and I couldn't care less, since if there are abilities in these areas then it would also exist in medical diagnose in live persons and that is where I would find out.

So when you looked at the picture, did you or didn't you "see" what was wrong with her? I'm guessing the answer was no. But wouldn't it be cool if your response still turned out to be correct in all its details, huh? That little bright hope of "wouldn't it be cool" is what drives people to fool themselves. Otherwise, why bother to respond? Why not just say, nope, don't see anything?

I did not receive the type of perceptions that I do in real life. I received hunches, and I have no idea as to the reliability of these hunches and will find out in little tests such as these. Even if I were able to perform to some extent with pictures, I would never want a formal test on this since I am not interested. I am wanting to find out if there is any ability with pictures, more so on your behalf than mine. While we are moving away from the main objective and claim and are getting excited although the results were as expected.

desertgal:

...to validate that you had, in fact, made a correct diagnosis from a picture, but now: Those perceptions are just "nonsense". You can't confidently diagnose from photos or television. and the results are questionable if you do. Even though you claimed that you accurately detected, "many times" something from those mediums, that claim should be completely disregarded as evidence of your alleged ability, since you only want to be tested with live person demonstrations.

I have made correct diagnose from pictures and television in the past, and whether truly so or due to confirmation bias I can not recall a single incorrect instance. Past experiences deal with information that came on its own and was not forced or acchieved with effort, and these past experiences represent something very seldomly occurring that I have not wanted to have tested due to that. The information with UncaYimmy's and Professor Yaffle's pictures did not come on its own and was an effort made by me, I have reported hunches as opposed to perceptions as my answers, just to find out, but neither expecting any good results nor being interested in pursuing such a claim since there is a much stronger and more reliable expression of the perceptions in which I have had past experiences that compel me to have it tested. (I'm a master of long sentences by the way.)

I have never claimed to be able to reproduce perceptions from pictures or video on demand and that is the reason why I have not wanted to have it tested. I consider it untestable and also uninteresting. And yes the claim that past experiences have yielded accurate information can not be taken as evidence, that is correct and all in accordance with what I have consistently said.

My goal is and has been to test whether I detect accurate medical information from live persons.

And no I have no intentions of becoming a "working psychic", I have consistently said that I do not offer my "services" openly to people and that I would not charge a fee for trying, so yours and Pup's claim that I am headed toward that "temptation" is unfounded nonsense. What I have expressed however is an interest in meeting with more people to gain experience and a better understanding in what this is and what this isn't, and that is purely for test purposes done out of a scientific interest.

Kuko 4000:

You could also ask if people from this forum would be willing to meet you so you could do a reading on them?

I have made myself available for anyone willing to volunteer to meet with me and let me try this "ability" with them, and have received no answers yet even though there are those who are in the same area as I.

Lennyhipp:

Reading through a couple of pages, it seems to me you're crying for attention. You're making spurious claims, but the few times on here you've tried your abilities you fail epically, then make excuses about why you failed.

I think my perceptions are entitled to some attention from a skeptics point of view, and whether you can believe it or not I approach this impersonally. I don't think this is about me, which is why I don't discuss myself as a person here, I think it is about the perceptions, their level of accuracy, and what tests can be done to find out.

My claim is to detect medical information in live persons. I have agreed to test some of the other aspects of the perceptions but as expected they are either non-existent or do not occur reliably enough to be testable, and which ever it is has not been established yet nor am I interested.

Regarding UncaYimmy's pictures what I was the most confident in, and quite confident at that, was a problem with the neck vertebrae, which was correct. However I am not interested in tests or results with pictures since that is not the claim I am here to test.

but it seems to me like you're not interested in being tested, you just want some pen pals because you've got nothing to do!

I am absolutely and totally interested in having my claim tested and have done everything I can to work towards that goal. I've got plenty to do and this is one of those things right now.

My guess? (...) That you will fail just as miserably in person. I have SEVERAL well documented (in my medical record) maladies and have had 3 major operations and continue to have several medical conditions, and would be happy to volunteer for your services, and will GLADLY bring complete medical profile and x-rays for my proof. Let's get you tested already.

Wonderful. When and where can we meet? I'd love to be tested right away, today even, and have done all I can to proceed towards a test. Perhaps you could write a friendly reminder to the IIG asking why it takes them months always to get back to me.

Ashles:

For clarity were you talking to this professor of physics about your claimed ability?
Or were you generally referring to 'vibrational information'?
What was the context?
Is this professor contactable?

Yes I shared with this professor about my perceptions, the accuracy I have experienced, and my speculations as to what the source of that information might be. We had a brief discussion about how different animals perceive through vibrational information, such as light, and instruments designed to access more of the reality humans don't perceive. I would need his permission before involving him in this. This is not a typical scientific inquiry and involves topics that are undesirable to many which is why I am careful with how I deal with this.

Also, don't you feel a thermal test would be incredibly easy to set up?
Just casually you could see if a radiator was on or off.
It seems strange you would mention this yet seem to have never made any effort to test this.

Interesting suggestion, however I suspect that there is something "extra" when it comes to tissue structure that I'd be better able to detect.

Finally, would you object to a proposed chemical identification test in which you only made an identification if you were sure your ability was working?
So, much like your medical testing protocol, you can reject a test instance if you are unsure or feel your power is not working.
Surely that would be fair enough.

Yes I would agree to such a test. In the test with Madalch with the beakers I did not perceive the answer but answered based on hunch just to find out if there would have been other aspects besides color that could lead to answers. However,

I am not interested in searching for hidden potentials in psychic abilities and am as reluctant today as ever before to "try" the weakest aspects of my perceptions. I am not here to "find" a psychic ability. The objective is to study the perceptions of medical information in live persons, that occur with a reliably high frequency. There already is a good candidate for tests and I do not want to "try to find" something else that was never part of my claim. I am not "trying to be psychic", I am merely wanting to study something that in its own right has compelled me to look into it.

Old man:

No, when you tightened controls, your accuracy went down. That's not 'good' results.

My claim is medical diagnose from live persons and as pass-time I have agreed to test the weaker aspects of the perceptions.

Every mother can do that!

And every mother can detect what men have had a vasectomy? Maybe that's why they are mothers in the first place!

Cherry picking.

Absolutely not. The observations page represents all perceptions I have made since November 8 2008 where I have had the chance to investigate the accuracy of the perceptions. None have been excluded from that list. You'll just have to take my word for it since I can't prove what I haven't done.

No, Anita, it isn’t. In a normal human being, the small intestine is much lower than that.

I realize that now and agree that this represents incorrect information, thank you for pointing that out. Not to sound naive but I can not rule out that there'd been that feeling of cramp in that exact region and that it would somehow also involve the small intestine and have been perceived in connection. Sounds ridiculous I know but I am remaining objective. It is interesting that this person would agree with my description. Oh well, I can't wait to have real tests because how can I depend on the reliability of these persons' accounts of my accuracy? See, I embrace all results.

Every time I've felt that I was 'unusual' in anyway, I immediately tested it to death. It's hard to understand why you don't do likewise, especially with a 'power' as strong as your alleged medical diagnostic ability.

I have taken all steps that I can think of toward having a test. What more would you suggest that I do at this very point?

volatile:

Seems to me as if she only knows if the feeling is reliable or not after she's found out whether or not she was correct...

No I am well aware of the confidence level of the perceptions before hand. I stated the confidence level in both cases of picture tests with Forum members, but failed to emphasize the confidence level with the test with Madalch since I was not even trying something that was a specific claim of mine and just wanted to do it for the sake of trying.

Ashles:

At the moment it does seem a lot like guessing and then whenever there is a hit the ability was working and when there is a miss it was just a guess or 'finding out the limits of the ability'.

And that is why at a formal test I will clearly state the confidence level so that all of my answers can be checked for accuracy and a result can be obtained, at which no excuses can be made. My objective with all tests discussed in this thread has been to investigate the other aspects of the perceptions in case there is anything of use there, and mostly on your behalfs and not mine.

I would never come here claiming to be able to detect health information from pictures. I have had to test this due to requests from others.

Alright everyone: no more tests on what my claim is not. Let's just allow ourselves to become very impatient and bored while we await the tests of what my claim actually is, and that's how it's going to be. No more entertainment with the other aspects of perceptions.

Moochie:

That wouldn't be The Professor, would it?

Very funny (honestly is!), and that is why I now decide to not involve the professor in question in this discussion no matter what he would decide on himself if asked. This does not feel like the professional, objective and calm environment for scientific thought to which I would invite faculty. You skeptics are a special bunch.

skeen:
Hi and welcome to these lengthy skeptics discussion which have yielded nothing of interest yet.

I've read too many of the pages in this thread, and I conclude that not a single spec of evidence has been presented thus far.

You would think this would be super easy to test, but as with all other claimants, it drags out into semantics, dissection of words and phrases, and in the end, we're left with what we started with: nothing.

The claimant is 100% indistinguishable from every other claimant I've ever read on this forum, and seen in Randi's videos. If I can kick a ball I can kick it every time. Do what you say you can do, win the million dollars, and, quite frankly, shake the very foundations of our understanding of the entire universe.

I cannot fathom that someone who truly believes they have this ability, would do anything at all, other than proving it to the world - the repercussions of such a thing would stop the world in its tracks. But so it goes. As always.

In my defense, it is true that no evidence toward my claim has been obtained at this point. I would agree that it is a testable claim, but I have taken all measures that a psychic claimant can toward having tests of my claim. It has been one and a half years since I contacted a group of paranormal investigators. It takes them months to get back each time, whereas I reply in full within the next day.

I am definitely not like other claimants come across! I am absolutely interested in testing my claim and have done nothing to prevent that from happening! This discussion thread however tangles into discussions about the other aspects of my perceptions that I have not wanted to test or investigate.

And if it were the case of a true extrasensory ability what says that it should work at all times? It is not necessarily like kicking a ball, we don't know that. What if it's more like painting, where a person has to have the right inspiration in order for it to be productive? We don't know that. But, however, what is my claim, ie. medical information from live persons, works reliably well and reliably often and that makes it a testworthy claim. The other aspects of the perceptions occur infrequently. Medical diagnose from live persons occurs frequently.

I admit that I am careful in how I arrange these tests. I have not told the world about this or aggressively sought to have the test asap. It concerns a topic that is provocative to many and I must respect that. I am now beginning to take more measures toward having a test, since I see that others won't do the work for me although they should because I can not test myself.

Moochie:

I smell hoax. That's my ability and I'm sticking to it.

Hoax? From me having contacted a local skeptics group? What?? So even when I take what should be the right measures I've done wrong! There is no hoax involved. I joined a local skeptics group (http://skeptics.meetup.com/182/) and have asked for an opportunity to try my ability with them.

 

[Tristan Chi]

Hi everyone, I'm new.

I've read too many of the pages in this thread, and I conclude that not a single spec of evidence has been presented thus far.

You would think this would be super easy to test, but as with all other claimants, it drags out into semantics, dissection of words and phrases, and in the end, we're left with what we started with: nothing.

The claimant is 100% indistinguishable from every other claimant I've ever read on this forum, and seen in Randi's videos. If I can kick a ball I can kick it every time. Do what you say you can do, win the million dollars, and, quite frankly, shake the very foundations of our understanding of the entire universe.

I cannot fathom that someone who truly believes they have this ability, would do anything at all, other than proving it to the world - the repercussions of such a thing would stop the world in its tracks. But so it goes. As always.

Greetings skeen. That's my sentiments precisely. And my hat off for omitting the apostrophe in 'its'

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Thanks for clarifying, Anita. Just one more question if you don't mind? When you have seen things in photoes or video before, were they always of a similar nature to how you felt with this photo? Or do you sometimes get a strong sensation like you say you do when seeing a person in the flesh? And have you ever verified any information you thought you received in a photo/video? Apologies if you have already mentioned this, but it is a long thread and hard to keep track.

 

[Old man]

Old man:
My claim is medical diagnose from live persons and as pass-time I have agreed to test the weaker aspects of the perceptions.

Your EXACT words -

The CEREAL TESTS … have had very good results...

No, they haven’t had ‘good’ results.

And every mother can detect what men have had a vasectomy? Maybe that's why they are mothers in the first place!

Your EXACT words -

YES ONE OF MY "SPECIALTIES" IS TO KNOW WHEN PEOPLE HAVE TO PEE.

I wasn’t commenting on your vasectomy detection, was I?

I have taken all steps that I can think of toward having a test. What more would you suggest that I do at this very point?

Gee, I don’t know, how about going to the mall, picking out people who you think have had, say, appendectomies, and asking them if you’re right about it?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Anyway, just for the sake of your curiosity:

*The baby's body contains more water than is normal for babies of her age and size. Normally babies contain more of the dense, yellow fat tissue than she does. She has water where fat should be..... There is a lot of water in the front forehead part of the head, although not causing any pressure against the brain and is harmless.

I think this is very unlikely. Because of her condition, the doctors very losely monitor the hydration and electrolyte balance etc in her body. At the time of that photo she hadrecently had such tests and all were in normal range.

She is also lacking on nutrients, specifically the ones that build tissue (fat and protein) as opposed to vitamins and minerals.

At the time of the photo she was being fed a very carefully balanced nutritional feed as well as some breast milk. She was growing well so there is no indication that the nutrients were not being absorbed.

*The liver has an issue that would probably be helped by certain vitamins. The liver is darker than normal and slightly denser and harder than normal.

When her problems were being diagnosed, she had scans that would have indicated if there was anything unusual about her liver - there wasn't.

*There may be a slight drawback in what her awareness and learning level should be, however as an older girl and grown woman she would be fine.

The doctors believe there has been no cognitive delay as a result of her problems (which was a worry). She seems to be developing normally, except that her physical development is a little behind due to her being immobile for most of the first few months of her life.

And finally - what you didn't pick up, that I would expect someone to pick up if they could see into people's bodies and notice anything abnormal:

-A very large heart for her age, yet the heart is still smaller than the "space" for the heart. The heart is also different genetically than the rest of her body.

-A large amount of hair on her body.

-The presence of a particular drug (cyclosporin, an immunosuppressant) - which is what was causing the excess hair.

-Differences in her immune system, or her blood as a result of the aforementioned immunosuppressants.

In short she has had a heart transplant because of a severe congenital abnormality of her heart that the doctors were unable to correct.

 

[desertgal]

And no I have no intentions of becoming a "working psychic", I have consistently said that I do not offer my "services" openly to people and that I would not charge a fee for trying, so yours and Pup's claim that I am headed toward that "temptation" is unfounded nonsense. What I have expressed however is an interest in meeting with more people to gain experience and a better understanding in what this is and what this isn't, and that is purely for test purposes done out of a scientific interest.

Once again, you have put your own misinterpretation on what was said. Nowhere did Pup or I state that you would "charge a fee for trying", and if you can show me where we did say that, please do so.

In the other thread, you spoke of practicing the ability, which is precisely what we were speaking of.

As for "unfounded nonsense", a) what you were referring to as "unfounded nonsense" was, again, something that neither Pup nor I said; and b) given some of the unbelievable tales you have spun in this forum, you are hardly one to point a finger at anyone else for "unfounded nonsense".

 

[Ducky]

(Note: Just so there isn't any confusion, all discussion of being administrator of a forum has nothing to do with the JREF forums. This is specifically discussing the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe forums.)


I fear either this forum is feeding a very ingenious troll, or someone who is not all there.

I am to the SGU podcast's forums as Terry is to this forum (that is to say, I am the technical admininistrator.) All of the emails to sguadmin@theforum go to both me and the social-policy admin (Beleth.) I woke up today to the following exchange:

(from the newly registered user VisionFromFeeling)

I will kindly decline joining your skeptics forum since you do not welcome persons who believe that they have connections with other planets. I have come to understand myself as a reincarnation from a white dwarf star near Arcturus, and you force new members to answer "yes" to being human. As ridiculous as that sounds, especially to skeptics, it makes more sense to me than any other description of myself.

Please do not add me as a new member on your site.

Kind regards,
(name withheld)

Beleth replied:

Hi, -

I feel that I owe you an explanation as to why we ask that question.

Internet forums like the SGU's are constantly plagued by automated systems trying to register accounts so that they can post unwanted advertisements. There are a few well-regarded methods for thwarting such attempts. One is the random-letter graphic which is easy for an intelligent responder to read but is difficult for an automated process. Another is a random but easy question which the user has to answer. We have decided to use both these methods.

The question is not designed to discriminate against non-human intelligence; it is designed to weed out attempts to post spam to our board. As a considerable majority of the intelligences who apply for membership are human, it seemed reasonable to have our question be "Are you human?". No offense should be implied by this question. We welcome intelligent, civil discussion from all sources.

I see that you have answered "Yes" to this question despite your actual origin, so I am going to approve your application. Feel free to join us, or not, as you wish. All I ask is that you don't take our nominal attempt at security as a personal insult.

Regards,
Beleth
Administrator, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe Forum

I got Beleth's reply just as I was crafting this one myself which I didn't send as Beleth had addressed the issue much more eloquently and diplomatically:

"You're human, you answered yes to the question. Now we are at an impasse because either you lied to register your account or you're trying to screw with me. Since your email is polite I rule out that you are actually a white-dwarf star. Everyone knows that those are the frat-boys of the universe. They pee in your closet when too drunk, try to sleep with your sister, and end up drunkenly shouting obscenities at cops as you try to drive or walk them home. Since I don't see in your email (or your thread at the JREF) any moment where you slam a beer bong, light a fart and scream an affirmation of all that is awesome of the party I don't believe you actually are one.

This leaves two possibilities: Either you are human or you are a very deviously programmed AI spam bot. Given how polite your email is, and how quickly and swiftly you reply to posts on the JREF forum, I am not convinced you are human, meaning you lied in the registration process for this forum. I further think you cannot possibly be human as any human would have been peeing themselves with laughter at the thought of acting in the way you have so far.

Now, I am open to White Dwarf Stars on the forums. If this is indeed the case send me pictures of your most recent party and I will be convinced. That is, if you send me pictures that are convincing I will be convinced. None of this knitting doilies and watching NCIS type parties. I want to see crotch grabbing, puking on the floor, self-urination and faux girls-gone-wild contests ending in fistfights and insults of others being latent-homosexuals. If it is a truly epic party there will be pics of an excursion to spread poop on a neighboring fraternity's front door.

Anything less than an epic drunken frat party picture series means you're AI spambot and banned.

I'm not joking. Send me pics or I ****ing ban you.

Yours,

Ducky, Technical Administrator."

I'm not sure which would have been better to send. I think Beleth was much more charitable than I, but that is why he's the administrator of the moderation team and I don't deal with the public.

Seriously anyone who answers yes to being human to register for a forum then emails the admins and complains that they are a white dwarf star and you're discriminating against them is either not all there or completely screwing around.


Cheers.

-Ducky

 

[VisionFromFeeling]

Moving on...

- IIG West - ​

Since one and a half years I have now been in contact with the Independent Investigations Group (www.iigwest.com). In my defense although not intended as criticism the delay is due to their part as it typically takes them months to get back to me and I reply within the next day, but there is continuous even if slow progress. We are in the process of protocol negotiations and are not stuck in any difficulties or disagreements. Their last response involved issues regarding what ailments to include in the test, specifically I had said that ailments accompanied by pain would be easier to detect, and the IIG worry that they won't be able to find plenty of such subjects for the test. In my reply I agree to drop this suggestion in order to facilitate the arrangements of the test and I encourage the IIG to proceed since I believe that we can arrive at a test. I judge myself as being a most agreeable paranormal applicant and have agreed after careful consideration to all of the conditions, trusting that they as the testing organization know what is required of a test and having full faith that they are not trying to "trick me up". The only issue on my behalf is still whether music would distract me and I will have to find an answer to that.

A volunteer is needed to supply me with his or her e-mail address so that I can send the two versions of the protocol negotiation word documents to this person who can then post these as attachments on this Forum. I am unable to post .doc files larger than 19.5 KB and tried to crop the documents but it would end up being several of one paragraph each. I have seen others post documents here before so someone please step up and we can make the protocol negotiations available here for everyone. The best way to understand the work and interaction between myself and the IIG is to read those protocol documents.

- Winston Salem Local Skeptics Group - ​

I've joined a local skeptics group and that is perhaps the best thing to do at this point toward testing my claims. We are in fact meeting next Thursday!
E-mail from group organizer Jim Moury;

(...) Announcing a new Meetup for Winston Salem Skeptics Meetup Group!

What: Winston Salem Skeptics December Meetup
When: December 18, 2008 7:00 PM
Where: Click the link below to find out!

Meetup Description: This months meeting is going to be at Wake Forest University in the physics building. Eric Carlson will be giving a talk on testing applicants for the Million Dollar Challenge that is offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation. There is a woman from Charlotte that claims to have extra sensory perception and is interested in be tested and might be able to attend. As soon as we know what room number the meeting will be held on, we will pass that info on to you.

Learn more here:
http://www.meetup.com/f-a-c-t/calendar/9203122/​

To which I replied;

Wonderful! It is held sooner! [It was first said to be held on December 29th] I am that woman from Charlotte interested in testing possible extrasensory perception and will definitely attend! I wouldn't miss it for the world! Hope to see many of you there, and if time permits, please consider letting me try psychic medical diagnose on you. ​

Read about our meetings and online discussions on http://skeptics.meetup.com/182/
I have written to Dr. Carlson who is an active member of this skeptics group and that was two days ago but I hope to see him at the meeting. (He is my hero, did you guys know he is a Quantum Physicist? In my world that's like a famous celebrity!)

- Other measures - ​

I do not qualify to apply with the JREF MDC since I do not have sufficient media presence nor have I been able to have a demonstration of my abilities. Seems like I need a test before I can have a test.

I have started a discussions thread in our British equivalent at http://www.ukskeptics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3278 to engage more people into this.

I have written to a couple of professors who have conducted investigations in psychic medical diagnose before asking if they would be willing to assist me in my own investigation. I have not heard a reply and can't write again because that would be nagging.

I wrote to a local alleged psychic (I feel obliged to say "alleged" especially since I am in skeptic territory) asking whether it would be possible for me to meet with some of her clients or for her to promote my interest in meeting with volunteers for psychic medical diagnose. Perhaps us psychics are part of a supportive network. That was yesterday and I await her response. I assumed that this would be a good way of finding volunteers and could give me some more valuable experience and understanding into what these perceptions are, however not evidence.

- In conclusion - ​

Become involved with the local skeptics group and with them try to dismiss the possibility of an extrasensory perception. We can not burden them unless they make that choice to set up a proper test whose results would prove an ability, but can easily set up tests that will either conclude no ability, or conclude to proceed toward further and more properly set up tests. Proceed in arranging a test with the IIG. As much as possible meet with volunteers who would let me try psychic medical diagnose with them. Continue in discussions with skeptical forum members to enhance understanding of this phenomenon as well as gain valuable outside perspective into this.

 

[godofpie]

VFF-You can email the protocol pdf to me @ jim@agreatescape.net and I can post them on our meetup site. As soon as I receive the file from you, I will post a link here for others to see. Having a partially completed protocol should be a great help in trying to plan something for Thursday.

 

[Ducky]

For some reason I was starting to lean toward finding other discussion sites.

I tried to join The Skeptics Guide to the Universe Forum at http://skepchick.org/skepticsguide/ but believe it or not they ask "Are you human?" and you have to answer "Yes" in order to register, so I couldn't do that and asked myself where is an extraterrestrial incarnation from a white dwarf star near Arcturus supposed to go and luckily Randi welcomes the opinions of all forms of life.

Let's correct some misinformation here.

Hi, I am one of the admins at the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe Forum.

You answered yes to the "Are you human" question. I know this because had you not the registration process would have aborted. It did not abort, and your account was approved for permission to post. THEN you emailed us the fantastical pile of crap I quoted earlier.

So, the fact of the matter is you did register, you did answer yes, and then you emailed us some nonsense about being from another star system as a retraction of your registration.

Also, you registered at SGU on Dec 11th, 2008 - well after you've run a thread here at JREF for 11 pages (this thread starts on Nov 5th.) So no, you did not try to register with us first, and I have the logs to prove it.

This makes me think you are being less than forthcoming with your attempts to discuss whatever it is you're trying to claim here in this thread.

 

[Senex]

. THEN you emailed us the fantastical pile of crap I quoted earlier.

Hey, hey, hey. Slow down there Ducky. After reading Beleth's brilliant considered response I would have hoped working with someone as articulate as him would have worn off a little bit on you. VFF just has a sense of humor you don't understand.

(How am I doing VFF )

 

[VisionFromFeeling]

Professor Yaffle:

Just one more question if you don't mind? When you have seen things in photoes or video before, were they always of a similar nature to how you felt with this photo? Or do you sometimes get a strong sensation like you say you do when seeing a person in the flesh? And have you ever verified any information you thought you received in a photo/video? Apologies if you have already mentioned this, but it is a long thread and hard to keep track.

Photos and video has never been as clear as perceptions from persons in life. Only rarely do I perceive health information from photos. Information in videos is also rare but more frequent than photos. I have verified information from television, for instance being from Sweden when I describe the health of lesser known American celebrities on television who I have never seen before, friends confirm the information. These aspects of the perceptions are less frequent and not as interesting as what I perceive from persons in life.

At the time of the photo she was being fed a very carefully balanced nutritional feed as well as some breast milk. She was growing well so there is no indication that the nutrients were not being absorbed.

In my possible defense it takes days and weeks before certain changes in diet and nutrition reflect on tissue. So it seems from what you wrote that the girl hadn't been receiving nutrition, including fat I presume until recently? I'd be reading current tissue structure, not recent eating habits (unless I detect contents of stomach and intestines...).

I am sorry to hear about the little girl's health problems. We conclude from my picture test with you that I am unable to detect health problems from pictures posted over the internet. Thank you for clarifying this, even though the results were as I had expected. And let's proceed toward medical diagnose with live persons.

desertgal:
Thank you for clearing out what it was you and Pup intended. You see I just want to make it very clear that I am not offering services as a psychic nor collecting fees, and I am very passionate about keeping that clear.

Old man:

Gee, I don’t know, how about going to the mall, picking out people who you think have had, say, appendectomies, and asking them if you’re right about it?

I sometimes do watch people and perceive all sorts of health information that I would like ask about to see what my accuracy was, and I would absolutely love to do this at a mall! Is it legal? Is it inappropriate?

 

[VisionFromFeeling]

Beleth, Ducky and the SGU:
Thank you Beleth for explaining the purpose of the Are you human? question as a measure against spamming. Ducky, as you should know white dwarf stars are among the oldest and highest evolved among the conscious inhabitants of the universe and do not fit with your random description, although I am sure you intended this as a joke.

So, the fact of the matter is you did register, you did answer yes, and then you emailed us some nonsense about being from another star system as a retraction of your registration.

I answered yes to the question to find out if that was what it was asking for, and, assuming that I'd not be welcome I decided to ask that you withdraw my request for registration. Respect the feelings of other people, arguing against how people understand themselves is like arguing against the emotions people experience. It's just one of those things that are personal that each is entitled to in their own way.

Also, you registered at SGU on Dec 11th, 2008 - well after you've run a thread here at JREF for 11 pages (this thread starts on Nov 5th.) So no, you did not try to register with us first, and I have the logs to prove it.

This makes me think you are being less than forthcoming with your attempts to discuss whatever it is you're trying to claim here in this thread.

Yet again another skeptic says something that is totally untrue and speaks too soon, but I have grown tolerant to this behavior. Nowhere did I state that I would have supposedly tried to join SGU before joining the JREF! I was saying that I was considering finding other forums! Skeptics so often here misunderstand what I have said and done, and without first letting me explain what was really going on, they conclude some garbage and throw it at me. Skeptics are a special bunch for sure and quick to judge. But I love you guys.

Senex:

Hey, hey, hey. Slow down there Ducky. After reading Beleth's brilliant considered response I would have hoped working with someone as articulate as him would have worn off a little bit on you. VFF just has a sense of humor you don't understand.

(How am I doing VFF )

I was being quite sincere. Let's just move on to the objective of this thread. Let me go see what the British skeptics have concluded.

 

[Uncayimmy]

I meet with a person for the very first time and we've only known each other for a few hours. I decide to confide in him that I perceive health information and ask if I could try with him. He agrees, and I do my thing. I say that there is a very specific small region on his abdomen, right below the sternum, 1.5 cm wide vertically and 4 cm wide horizontally, in which the small intestine has a tendency of locking up, which would lead to a sensation not of pain, but strain. This information was absolutely correct and has no external symptoms. Why is it deluded to then conclude that there may be an extrasensory perception and to proceed toward tests of scientific standard? And if I were to fail all tests there is no problem since the perceptions do not interfere.

Anita, I keep advising you to rule out the ordinary first. What I am about to say you may not like to hear, but I say it with the utmost sincerity:

1) Guys, especially in college, will say anything to get into a girl's pants.
2) When people encounter someone they consider "out there" (and claiming to see inside a body is "out there"), they will often humor the person rather than contradict them.
3) Both of the above are especially true when meeting someone for the first time.

If the picture on your website is of you, I'm going to say that, well, I wouldn't kick you out of bed for eating crackers. If I were to have met you in college, I would have totally played into what you were saying. If I met you when I was 35, I would have said whatever I thought would prevent "setting you off" on some rant.

What I am describing happens every single day across the world. I am not saying that everybody behaves as I describe, but I'm willing to bet that just about everybody here can relate to having been in or seen situations like I described.

Meanwhile, not one of the billions of people to have graced this planet has been able to scientifically prove what you describe.

So, as a scientist, which hypothesis would you think more likely? ESP or people telling you what you want to hear?

I have never met you in person, but based on how much effort you spend talking about your "abilities" and the fact that you would diagnose somebody you just met tells me that you may not be aware of the sheer force of your personality.