• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Can geomagnetic activity affect telepathy? (Michael Persinger)

WSEN

New Blood
W
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
9
I know, telepathy hasn't been proven and I'm a skeptic on the matter as well. However, Michael Persinger posited a theory:

In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information.

Here is the Research article I'm talking about:

http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/...-activity-affect-telepathy-michael-persinger/

Edited by jhunter1163: 
Edited for Rule 4. Do not copy and paste large blocks of text from other sites.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
WSEN said:
I know, telepathy hasn't been proven and I'm a skeptic on the matter as well. However, Michael Persinger posited a theory:

In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information.
Click to expand...

This is a hypothesis, not a theory.

Do many theories (in general) never get tested? It just then remains a hypothesis doesnt it?
Click to expand...

Even if it's tested, it remains a hypothesis until a theory is formulated from the results.

The first step in formulating such a theory is demonstrating that there is such a thing as telepathy. People have been trying and failing to do this for a century at least.
 
WSEN said:
I know, telepathy hasn't been proven and I'm a skeptic on the matter as well.
Click to expand...

I'd go one step further and say that telepathy has been conclusively disproven until further evidence is presented. I'm not open minded about it unless this happens.
 
So, the papers referenced include Persinger as an author on all of them?

Hmmm.... :rolleyes:

~Dr. Imago
 
Nope, the papers referenced are his own theories, some of which are researched with others.
These reference lists are for many of his theories.
However, what I am addressing is the one on top, with Krippner.
 
WSEN said:
What I find it alluring is that he, along with Stanley Krippner, suggests that it is true.
..
What I do find alluring is that he posits his theory about Telepathy in 1974,
Click to expand...
Alluring is fine, but have a good look at what's on the hook.

(Or is he adding quantum mechanics now, as seen in the lecture, to his telepathy theory, because his 1974 theory without Quantum Mechanics didn't work?)
Click to expand...
Yes.

He possibly can't be lying. He truly believes in his stuff and that's why he would keep researching and hold onto his theory for this long. If he KNOWS that his theory is false, then why would he keep researching and publishing the same theory?
Click to expand...
Don't let all that form incredulity and lead to arguments from ignorance and company.
 
WSEN said:
Nope, the papers referenced are his own theories, some of which are researched with others.
Click to expand...

Squeegee Beckenheim said:
That's not a "nope", then, that's a "yup".
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Pursuing this "theory" requires that one accepts a priori that telepathy exists and is measurable. To that end, referencing someone else's work where this premise has been established would bolster his credibility.

My personal opinion is that it's not worth the time to discuss something that is not already established as existing no matter how many papers he's published on the subject.

In the meantime, why don't we discuss whether pink unicorns prefer cotton candy or Skittles as their main food source instead?

~Dr. Imago
 
He possibly can't be lying. He truly believes in his stuff and that's why he would keep researching and hold onto his theory for this long. If he KNOWS that his theory is false, then why would he keep researching and publishing the same theory? I just cannot understand his psychology.
Click to expand...


Easy. He is comfortable with a good position that pays him to continue his experiments. This is not a matter of "lying/not lying", that's a false dichotomy. He could be obsessed (OCD) with his search, despite all logic, and has found his niche for getting lots of publications using his compulsion. It is not all that uncommon in academia. The science driving the "publish or perish" phenomenon is surprisingly often simply nonsense.

It is not uncommon in the humanities or politics either. Sort of like Orly Taitz' niche as a birther.

The problem often is, who is going to tell Persinger, "No, you can't publish stuff like this any more." It is not unheard of for someone to labor in obscurity for decades with a single minded hypothesis, being thought of as a crackpot, and only then to wind up being vindicated. So academia is very hesitant to be critical of someone with tenure, even when it seems so obvious that pseudoscience is involved. I've seen it many times over my years in various universities. Look at Michael Behe with his creationist rants about irreducible complexity. It has been shown to be bollocks, but that doesn't mean he is necessarily lying.

And....Morgan Freeman? Really? He started out pretty reasonable with his show, and over time has pandered to the public demand for stuff like the History Channel is into.
 
This seems to me to be total horsefeathers.
I can buy strain causing triboluminescence and EM effects, though I've personally seen evidence for neither in this context, but so far as I know nobody has found remotely reliable evidence of telepathy.
I must disagree with dafydd in one detail: This is not putting the cart before the horse. It's putting the cart before the invisible pink unicorn.
 
Rule number 1 of "explaining something": Before attempting to identify whether something affects a claimed phenomenon first of all verify the claimed phenomena indeed exists - all else is a waste of your time if the foundations of your researches doesn't exist.
 
I can implant negative thoughts in peoples minds. I can make people get suspicious of one another. I force them to leave a room without saying a word or touching them. I can and will demonstrate this amazing power at will under any circumstances. I don't think geomagnetic activity effects this, but my mind is open to the possibility. My farts are bad.
 
I know for a fact, because I made it up myself, that it is geomagnetic activity that is keeping the vampire unicorms at bay.
 
WSEN said:
In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information.
Click to expand...
(my emphasis added)
The emphasis points out the problem with this hypothesis (aside from as you point out the non-existence of telepathy and clairvoyance!) - 40 years on and no credible experimental confirmation of the hypothesis.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom