X-Message-Number: 5795
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 10:40:18 -0800
From: John K Clark <>
Subject: Spoon  Benders

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In #5790 On Thu, 22 Feb 1996 NEUROMANCER <> Wrote:



                >Telekinesis, for example, has been firmly established as an
                                >empirical truth

             
That is nonsense!


                >Carl Sagan is quick to denounce it, of course  

            
Of course he denounces it. Carl Sagan is a good scientist and
realizes that  extraordinary claims require extraordinary
evidence. The spoon benders would  need to eliminate the rampant
fraud and improve  their evidence astronomically before it could
even reach the level of mediocre.  The "experimenters" ignore
even the most basic controls to prevent cheating, professional
magicians are  astounded and much amused by the gullibility of
these "scientists". 

Well, maybe I'm be too hard on these people, scientists are
accustomed with  dealing with nature, and though it may be
subtle it does play fair. People don't.




                >but virtually any competent clinical experimentor with
                
                >experience will admit (however grudgingly) that there is
                                >"something to it."



Why grudgingly? Any scientist would LOVE to be able to prove such a thing, 
it would instantly make him the greatest scientist since Newton,
but they can't prove anything because the spoon benders can't do anything, 
not one thing, that a second rate stage magician can't do, and do it under 
identical conditions. Magicians are more fun to watch too, they have more 
style.




                >what are its implications for a human of the post-nanotech
                                >future?


Zero.


                                        John K Clark        


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.i

iQCzAgUBMSy0yn03wfSpid95AQG5dgTvX+XpYeplzKK8QDTf33Om/lG4mwi9+r9t
RjghnGoHaKzAaoZ5/X1uaDm4K2YPj49x7pwpernoxrSm1HZ//uudX9K8HY3frtEB
Z522fYLlpPvgOTyttsrdh1JDwSz7K1FjD5x4AZDKWUers6DYrxPivZJMLw5D5oK8
TkgC1/O9d5GTC2t/tpZ6P51XMOvujn7bBKRXTLM/vxJkTlhGA7U=
=cMNh
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=5795