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[escepticos] Lori Geller
Esta es buena.
Saludos
Mario
________________________________________________
Planeta Escéptica http://www.geocities.com/planetaesceptica
R&R! http://www.geocities.com/rocaandroll
________________________________________________
----- Mensaje original -----
De: Barry Karr <SkeptInq en aol.com>
Para: <CSICOP-ANNOUNCE en LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Enviado: jueves, 15 de febrero de 2001 10:20
Asunto: The "Psychic" Parrot & Best Kept Secrets
> Psychic Parrot
>
> The Monday, February 12, 2001, edition of USA Today featured a story on
page
> 9D about a Congo African gray parrot named N'kisi. The parrot's owner,
Aimee
> Morgana, and British parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake both claim that
the
> bird is demonstrating psychic abilities.
>
> According to the USA Today article, Morgana first suspected N'kisi's
alleged
> abilities while she was admiring an "explicit" picture in the Village
Voice
> personal ads. From the cage across the room, N'kisi crowed "Oh, look at
the
> pretty naked body." This incident led her to believe that there was
> something much more unusual about the parrot than its mere appreciation
of
> the human form.
>
> Morgana, a 42-year-old production designer who lives in Manhattan, read
> Sheldrake's 1999 book, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home
and
> Other Unexplained Powers of Animals, which convinced her to contact the
> author about her talented pet.
>
> As a result, Sheldrake collaborated with Morgana in a "double-blind" test
of
> N'kisi. The British researcher's web site (www.sheldrake.org
> <http://www.sheldrake.org>) has a special "N'kisi Project" section
devoted
> to this investigation, described as "... a series of controlled
experiments
> and ongoing research in interspecies communication and telepathy,
conducted
> by Aimee Morgana and her language-using parrot. With the collaboration
and
> support of Dr. Rupert Sheldrake."
>
> On the web site Sheldrake states that "The experiments were conducted at
> N'kisi's home over 6 weeks, and consisted of Aimee looking at photographs
> depicting items from N'kisi's unedited keyword vocabulary that had been
> prepared, sealed in envelopes, and randomized by a third party. This was
> filmed as it took place in an enclosed room on a different floor, with no
> possible line of sight for any 'cueing', while a separate
time-synchronized
> camera automatically filmed N'kisi in her cage to record her [vocal]
> reactions."
>
> A total of 78 images were viewed in 26 test sessions. Sheldrake claims
> "hits" ("vocalization of target keywords or accurate descriptive
phrases")
> for 32 images in these sessions. The other of images elicited "few"
misses,
> which Sheldrake distinguishes from "no scorable response." Sheldrake also
> states that there were "[c]omments omitted in editing these segments for
> time [that] consisted of attempts at contact and other mundane remarks
> irrelevant for scoring purposes." Both in the USA Today article and on
his
> site Sheldrake is cited making the assertion that the probability is one
in
> a BILLION of their results were due to chance.
>
> I have inquired about obtaining a video of these trials (preferably
> unedited) or a transcript. We are eagerly anticipating a response.
>
> The USA Today story was disappointing, even disturbing. It was an
uncritical
> and unbalanced report on Rupert Sheldrake's claims about psychic
abilities
> in pets. The article states that Sheldrake's work "has been met with
> skepticism among some scientists" (italics mine). This statement leads
> CSICOP to wonder exactly which scientists comprise the assumed majority
> actually convinced by Sheldrake's claims.
> Totally lacking in the article is any recognition that mainstream
scientists
> aren't merely disputing Sheldrake's results because they're
controversial.
> The fact is that other researchers can't seem to replicate them.
> Conspicuously absent from the story was Sheldrake's previous psychic pet
> research-namely, his 1994 experiments in England videotaping the behavior
of
> a terrier named "Jaytee" for Austrian television. He concluded that the
dog
> could sense when his owner was coming home through a psychic
"connection."
> Specifically, Sheldrake speculated that animals are guided by "morphic
> fields" and telepathic influences from their owners.
> However, Richard Wiseman, Senior Research Fellow in psychology at the
> University of Hertfordshire in England, tried to reproduce Sheldrake's
> results by setting up his own videotaped trials of Jaytee. Wiseman, whose
> findings were published in the British Journal of Psychology (1998),
failed
> to find any evidence that Jaytee had an extrasensory ability to predict
his
> owner's return.
> Contary to the rhetoric floating around, the field of parapsychology is
> getting a fair hearing from psychologists like Richard Wiseman and Susan
> Blackmore in England, and Ray Hyman in the United States. The fact is
that
> despite the hype this field of research continually fails to produce
> reliable, repeatable results.
> I've sent a letter to the editors of USA Today stressing these points and
> hope they'll see fit to publish it.
>
> Kevin Christopher
> Public Relations Director, Skeptical Inquirer
> kchristopher en centerforinquiry.net
>
>
> Best Kept Secrets
>
> University of Pittsburgh Physics Instructor, David Willey writes to tell
us
> that he will be featured on the Learning Channel Program "Best Kept
Secrets"
> (see schedule below).The show was taped here at CSICOP headquarters and
will
> feature amazing demonstrations and firewalking. For more information on
these
> demonstrations see the CSICOP website articles:
>
> http://www.csicop.org/si/9911/willey.html
> http://www.csicop.org/genx/firewalk/index.html
>
> "Best Kept Secrets of the Paranormal," will air on The Learning
> Channel (TLC) on the following dates:
>
> Sunday, 2/18 at 10:00 PM
> Monday, 2/19 at 1:00 AM
> Saturday, 2/24 at 7:00 PM
>
> Realize that these dates and times can change, but these dates reflect the
> latest schedule from TLC.