Robert Krulwich on people being influenced by their own future

[Bluegill]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/01/04/132622672/could-it-be-spooky-experiments-that-see-the-future

One of the most respected, senior and widely published professors of psychology, Daryl Bem of Cornell, has just published an article that suggests that people — ordinary people — can be altered by experiences they haven't had yet. Time, he suggests, is leaking. The Future has slipped, unannounced, into the Present. And he thinks he can prove it.

OK, I don't believe in this stuff. It certainly would need to be researched a LOT more, repeated by others with more evidence gathered, before I really took this too seriously.

What I find most interesting is that this was on NPR, which I respect more than most news sources, written by Robert Krulwich, who I like. And he seems to think highly of Daryl Bem, with whom I am unfamiliar. Is anyone else here familiar with his research?

I just putting this up here for discussion.

 

[marplots]

OK, I don't believe in this stuff. It certainly would need to be researched a LOT more, repeated by others with more evidence gathered, before I really took this too seriously.

Well, it's just anecdotal, but I think the fact that I went to college made me do better in high school; and because I did so well in high school, I naturally did pretty well in grade school. Also, the fact that my wife and I had children seemed to influence us getting through some tough early times in the marriage that kept us together -- a year before the children were born.

I hope you see the difficulty here when you play with cause and effect. "Your honor, the fact that I murdered him only made it more likely that I would have purchased a gun."

 

[Bluegill]

Yeah, I sort of like how that works, myself. "Nah, I'll study for the test after I'm done with it." "Hey babe, I think we'd better make love tonight in order to increase my chances of successfully hitting on you now."

 

[TubbaBlubba]

So can I buy stuff before I earn my money?

 

[Crazycowbob]

Heheh, reminds me of the backwards episode of red dwarf, where time was running in reverse. Made for great entertainment, but I think as far as reality is concerned, this guy may be a little confused

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188366

~~ Paul

 

[Fnord]

"Mr. Springer, the fact that my wife will decide to divorce me in the future influenced my decision to cheat on her now."

"Dr. Phil, my future self is an old maid, so why should I bother losing weight?"

"Your Honor, the inevitability of my client serving a life sentence for murder influenced his decision to commit the crime; he is therefor 'Not Guilty by Reason of Coercive Predetermination'."

 

[marplots]

"Mr. Springer, the fact that my wife will decide to divorce me in the future influenced my decision to cheat on her now."

"Dr. Phil, my future self is an old maid, so why should I bother losing weight?"

"Your Honor, the inevitability of my client serving a life sentence for murder influenced his decision to commit the crime; he is therefor 'Not Guilty by Reason of Coercive Predetermination'."

I was set up! Because the cops captured me, I was bound to commit the crime. It's entrapment! Had they not caught and convicted me, I wouldn't have done it. After all, a man is innocent until proven guilty. Of course I did it -- they proved me guilty, I had no choice.

 

[godless dave]

NPR has really gone down the tubes in the last 10 years. I still respect it more than any other American news source, but that's really not saying much.

 

[Bluegill]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188366

~~ Paul

Thanks, Paul! I looked for a thread on this but must have used the wrong search words.

See, this is why I don’t usually start threads or even post very much…someone else always beats me and/or says it better. In this case, I was beaten by several months…

 

[Cuddles]

Well, it's just anecdotal, but I think the fact that I went to college made me do better in high school

Well, change the tense a little and it doesn't sound quite so silly - "The fact that I was going to go to college made me do better in high school (because I worked harder so I could go to college)".

So can I buy stuff before I earn my money?

Welcome to the world of credit cards.

 

[Bikewer]

Time is definitely leaking from the future. I found some on my hands this morning....

 

[quarky]

Time is definitely leaking from the future. I found some on my hands this morning....

A good detergent will remove it.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Well, change the tense a little and it doesn't sound quite so silly - "The fact that I was going to go to college made me do better in high school (because I worked harder so I could go to college)".

It doesn't sound silly unless you, say, end up caring for your suddenly sick mother instead of going to college.

 

[Soapy Sam]

So can I buy stuff before I earn my money?

The history of western economics, encapsulated in one pithy question.

 

[quarky]

so it is time travelers, after all?

Sperm banks probably play into this phenomena as well.

 

[Jeff Corey]

Time is definitely leaking from the future. I found some on my hands this morning....

Weird. I found it on my side. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1hhs2_rolling-stones-time-is-on-my-side_music

 

[Mike!]

Time is definitely leaking from the future. I found some on my hands this morning....

I think I must have found a leak right here myself.
Now days, I have no time for anything, but when I was younger, I remember having plenty of time to goof off without a care.
It must be true! Someone should invent a time cork!!!