The problem is, sitting here at my computer in a cool room, I imagine I can feel a difference in heat when my other hand is held a foot or so above it. It's not a big difference, and of course there's no blinding, but there you go. Oddly, it seems to work better for me if my hand on the desk is palm down.
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Planning a "human energy field" test, help appreciated.
- Thread starter Kuko 4000
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Kuko 4000
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marting
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Really? 1 foot is about 30 cm, I think you're imagining, but of course we will test this out in the room with our team, and if we need to proceed to the real test there will be sufficient controls to eliminate this. Ask someone to test your heat sensitivity
Check out "black body radiation." You would be surprised just how much long infra-red is radiated by a hand at body temperature. It's well over a watt. The skin is very sensitive to temp changes and the differential between what is radiated and absorbed creates a small delta t that isn't all that hard to sense.
Kuko 4000
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I've done a few heat tests in my life, and in fact, did one with Tapio just a couple of hours ago, I would be VERY surprised if anyone could detect a difference through heat from 30 cm in average indoor conditions, at least here in Finland. I've actually been surprised how difficult it is when blinded even if you place your hand as close as possible. Have you ever tried it blindfolded with your friends or family?
Someone would need to translate the relevant parts from the Wikipedia article to make me believe that anyone could reliably detect the heat from a distance of 30 cm in average indoor conditions. It was too technical for me to understand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body#Radiation_emitted_by_a_human_body
marting
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The "trick" to sensing fairly low levels of infra-red on the skin is to shift position or heat source dynamically. A long time ago I posted an example of a blind person being able to go outside at night and tell if there was a low overcast or clear sky. Cloud temp of a low overcast is just a few degrees below ambient ground temp. The trick is to hold bare arms straight out and rotate arms between palm up and palm down every 10 seconds or so about 180 degrees. The surface facing a clear sky will feel noticably colder. Step inside an open carport and try the same thing and you will be astonished at the difference between the two.
As for the math/physics, think of it this way. a lightly clothed human emits approx the same amount of power as infra-red light that a 100 watt light bulb does in total. Only a small part of power consumed by a light bulb is emitted as visible light most being dissipated by conductive heat with successivley decreasing portions dissipated through infra-red and visible light. So humans are very bright objects, just not at frequencies we are efficient at percieving.
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I do most of my work to prepare for legal testimony, and the law uses 1 in 20, or p<=0.05.
I would consider p<0.1 (or 1 in 10) to be 'weakly significant', to the point that further research would be needed. 14 of 20 here would be enough to warrant scheduling another trial - I would recommend that the test be repeated, with protocols determining whether that would be done immediately or on another day.
p<0.05 (1 in 20) to me is not 'proof', but it is 'significant'. Without being informed about JREF Challenge Protocol, I would say this might be a step in qualifying. Someone more informed should weigh in here....
p<0.01 to 0.001 (1 in 100, through 1 in 1000). There is a high probability that the results are not due to chance. These are strong results. Something is most likely going on here. I would use the phrase 'highly significant', and maybe even consider the word 'proof', at least tentatively.
Challengers will complain about retests, significance standards, and the like, but don't forget that the claims are of the sort that challenge the very fabric of our knowledge of how our universe works. Big claims require high standards of proof - and in truth, your subject's goal should be get results that would only occur by chance one time in billions, even trillions. This isn't a very long process: 80 or better out of 100 is about a one-in-a billion chance event, as is 23 in a row.
It's also important to stress that replicating results is also a key to science. If your subject truly has the power claimed, then failed re-tests under different circumstances provide extra insight into the nature of the power (doesn't work in direct sunlight, or near large numbers of people, etc. etc.)
Roma
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At least once I would like to have "warmed fake" hands introduced just to find out if it is the small amount of heat that the psychic is detecting and not actual "human energy".
Maybe add recorded breathing or coughing sounds to make it really seem like there is a person on the other side when you do that.
Oh , does it have to be "human" energy that is detected ?
Could you put a couple of caged hamsters on the other side, maybe a sleeping monkey ?
Maybe add recorded breathing or coughing sounds to make it really seem like there is a person on the other side when you do that.
Oh , does it have to be "human" energy that is detected ?
Could you put a couple of caged hamsters on the other side, maybe a sleeping monkey ?
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I would find it interesting to have trials with ping-pong paddle sized pieces of the aluminized bubble wrap stuff brought over the hand, to see if the reflected heat would cause a positive.
I don't know if agreeing that there could well be a real effect, but that it has some other source than "human energy" would go over well or not. My guess is probably not.
Roma
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But what about Dr. Colin Ross's "eye beams of energy"
He agreed, later, that there was something other than his magic eye beam that was causing the computer to produce a noise (eeg electrodes recording eye blinks), and said that he would try again when he worked that out.
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2008/08/colin_ross_has_an_eyebeam_of_e.php
Sherman Bay
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Since today is ASAP day, what are your results?We are proceeding with the test tomorrow
Thanks for all the help, I'll report back asap.
Kuko 4000
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She had a "healing" at 2 o'clock, we had agreed to start the test at 1 o'clock in her own room. She arrived at 1:30 and had forgotten about the test (even though we met a few days earlier and double checked to meet on saturday). She was sincerely sorry and we agreed to sort out another date in the near future. On a positive note, me and Tapio got a good rehearshal and are now very well prepared and familiar with the surroundings. I hope we can do it next week.
Kuko 4000
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We did the test last friday, short story is this:
20 guesses, pass mark at 17.
She felt the energies clearly on the open test.
She didn't feel the energies at all in the real test.
We discussed this after the test and before looking at the results.
She said that she was too nervous to reach the "other consciousness".
We agreed to repeat this test again multiple times, and after every test she would say how she felt.
1 is good X is unsure 2 is bad.
After 20 tests, we will compare if there is any noticeable trend in the results compared to how she feels.
We are taking this approach since it seems it's the most constructive way to get her thinking and discussing about her ability for real.
So, we will repeat the test 19 more times in the next couple of months.
20 guesses, pass mark at 17.
She felt the energies clearly on the open test.
She didn't feel the energies at all in the real test.
We discussed this after the test and before looking at the results.
She said that she was too nervous to reach the "other consciousness".
We agreed to repeat this test again multiple times, and after every test she would say how she felt.
1 is good X is unsure 2 is bad.
After 20 tests, we will compare if there is any noticeable trend in the results compared to how she feels.
We are taking this approach since it seems it's the most constructive way to get her thinking and discussing about her ability for real.
So, we will repeat the test 19 more times in the next couple of months.
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Kuko 4000
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Of course, none of us know any of the results until all 20 tests are done. We will ask her confidence level after every session. The open test question is the one I'm pushing bit by bit, I see it pretty much as the key to our progress. I'm hoping to get a definitive answer to that during our meetings. To my surprise, after the first test, she was open to the VERY small possibility that there are no "energies" involved and that she's just imagining it. Interesting...