Twitter's Psychic Experiment: Experts Investigate "Remote Viewing" Through Twitter

Daily Telegraph:

In the first scientific experiment to be conducted via the social messaging service, experts will investigate "remote viewing" - the psychic ability to identify distant locations.

Read the whole story: Daily Telegraph

Comments

[Connon]

09:35 AM on 06/12/2009

Wiseman has duped people with his 'remote viewing experiment'! Checkout the response at the International Remote Viewing Association (irva.org) and remote viewing sites to appreciate the irony that the remote viewing community anticipated his negative result. His SET UP was not scientific nor remote viewing. The particpants were not remote viewers. His conclusion is as ridiculous as saying swimming doesn't work because some non swimmers drowned when you told them to swim. As Russell Targ said "The secret is, remote viewing is extremely easy to do", but you do need to learn how before you can claim to be doing it.

With best intent
Loraine Connon

[nellie]

12:52 AM on 06/01/2009

Remote viewing and Twitter. Sounds like a perfect match.

[FreelanceMinion]

12:39 AM on 06/01/2009

I am always interested to see a new technology used in a new way for science, but I am worried some people who don't actually understand scientific testing and particularly double blind testing will be in charge and run this in a sloppy fashion thus proving something that doesn't happen. Even the slightest equivocation in the results and the woo crowd are going to say that Twitter "Proved" psychic powers exist when it is actually just within random chance or even cheating.

[SlithyTove]

10:23 PM on 05/31/2009

Sounds like unadulterated nonsense to me:

"If at the end of the experiment the votes correctly identify at least three targets, it will support the existence of extra-sensory perception."

Do these people understand hypothesis testing?

Looks like someone took JB Rhine's "New Frontiers of the Mind" waaaay too seriously..,and that book was written more than seventy years ago.

[MikeRdg]

06:51 PM on 05/31/2009

"The trial will be repeated with visually different locations four times."

"If at the end of the experiment the votes correctly identify at least three targets, it will support the existence of extra-sensory perception. "

that is the most scientific testing I have ever heard in my life!!!!!!!! By golly, gosh, darn.

reminds me of a story of a college student who took a math placement test. They took the entire test in about five minutes. Then went to the counselor office and asked now if they could now take basic math. The counselor informed the student they would have to check the math score and the student needed to wait. A few moments later, the counselor reappeared and stated the student was to enroll in college algebra, since that was the level they tested out for....... the student laughed...... must of been remote viewing of the math placement test.................. the student didn't not even have a pre algebra class.

[popart]

03:42 PM on 05/31/2009

dont use the word "psychic " and "scientific experiment" in the same sentence......there is no such thing as "psychic".....except in a fantasy context....there is no such thing as para normal....just so much wishful thinking along with various degrees of delusional thinking.

[skyslimit]

04:01 PM on 05/31/2009

well you can't prove it does exist but you can't prove it doesn't

[cdub1991]

04:55 PM on 05/31/2009

Google Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research.

[ranchero42]

05:43 PM on 05/31/2009

I am so glad someone decided to take this seriously!
Okay, maybe not so much.

[Herbert Ragan]

02:48 PM on 05/31/2009

PHHTTHHH!!!

[ranchero42]

03:26 PM on 05/31/2009

No not you. The other guy.

[ranchero42]

01:59 PM on 05/31/2009

I find myself at a loss for words. But I also sense you knew I was going to say that.

[MapleLeaf699]

01:37 PM on 05/31/2009

The only use twitter has ever had is wasting people's time. That's why they have such an abysmal retention rate after a month's use.