The scientific method is only one of the means people use to obtain information about the world around them, even if it is one of the more reliable and reproduceable means.…

Jeez, that took me more than an hour to write.

Bit like the cook's lament, "that took me all afternoon to cook, and YOU scoffed it in 5 minutes!!!".

But thanks, it tasted great all the same!

I can't claim to have had supernatural experiences of my own, but I have a sense of spirituality. There are lots of people who use their intuitive as well as their rational faculties. IMO each is part of an integrated whole.

The thing is, I don't have much of a…

Don't you have a cat or something?

Schrödinger had one. I think it was rather grumpy, being half alive and half dead. (That all makes psychics look a bit less weird).

Ah, the point at which physics became indistinguishable from a Zen Koan.

Norbert Weiner notes "it was neither Heisenberg…

After all, our bodies are mass and energy are they not? And, correct me if I'm wrong, but energy never dissipates, does it?

I don't want to be seen as attacking your source of spiritualiuty here, but it may be amistake to try to base it on sciente in this…

the colonial nature of the term/box/brand 'science'.

The what?

Umm, science as the coloniser of 'all things right'. By broadly defining science in the way that people have, here and in other places, once something becomes proven, it becomes science. I'm interested in the expansive nature of that as a…

Do do do do do...

Safe holidays everyone!

the colonial nature of the term/box/brand 'science'.

The what?

I think its reasonably plain that anecdotes are not "science", but anecdotes are still evidence, and frankly it is absurd to claim otherwise.

It's also absurd to claim all evidence is equally good.

Surely most people have had some exposure to an event that can't be explained by any conventional means.

Cargo Cults arose because planes were beyond the 'conventional means' of pacific tribes. Hell, I suspect many people in NZ would struggle to explain the principles of jet engines or why wings…

Coincidence, spooky things the human subconscious naturally does when you're worried about people you care about, acquiring information without realising it (eg the news the night before the morning paper…

And your co-worker's account of what she experienced is just that — what she experienced — it is not necessarily the same thing as what actually happened

If you say you saw a unicorn, I'd suggest that some sort of veterinary examination would be in order before I would believe…

But if you're asking me to believe that the third-hand account has a woo-woo explanation

First, its a second hand account, but my coworker says she would be willing to swear an affidavit, Swift Boat styles (not that I intend to have her do that).

Second, this is a form…

I think its reasonably plain that anecdotes are not "science", but anecdotes are still evidence, and frankly it is absurd to claim otherwise.

I tend towards the view that "anecdotal evidence" is a contradiction in terms. A sample of 1 is not statistically significant.

Personally, I like "I can has Heisenburger?" but that's a level of geekery well beyond that which is socially acceptable.

Not here it isn't!

Indeed. The Physics Dept at Canterbury had one of those big maps with 'you are here' written on it. Someone with a vivid had written 'you…

I am not attempting to satisfy a scientific definition of proof. In fact, I would prefer not to express these sorts of ideas in the language of…

Personally, I like "I can has Heisenburger?" but that's a level of geekery well beyond that which is socially acceptable.

Not here it isn't!

Burden of proof aside, you'd want to be sure a psychic was reliable: not talking to the wrong dead person, hearing them properly, conveying their messages faithfully etc. Otherwise it's a fun trick but not worth paying the entry fee for. Telephone communication is…

...reliability and simplicity which are unavoidable hallmarks of useable applied science.

no, that's a very weak argument against the existance of the paranormal. I might not want to have a psychic design bridges but on that view of science there's no reason why they might not be able to communicate…

Everyone clear on this ?

Completely freaked out.

Don't you have a cat or something?

Funnily enough, I use cats as an example explaining semiotics to students. You see, hairballs are an index wheras the written word "CAT" is a symbol.

At least I haven't brought up Foucault. Quasi-semi-coulda been architect types love him with Bentham's Panopticon and…

On the matter of cats in boxes…

With the aid of Sox our backyard cat I have been able to get in touch with Schrödinger’s original cat (we used a cat modified Ouija board).…

Schrodinger's lolcat: In ur quantum box. Maybe. Personally, I like "I can has Heisenburger?" but that's a level of geekery well beyond that…

Never underestimate people's ability to make up stories or embelish them for effect.

And never doubt a sceptic's tendency to cast aspersions on people they have never met, and whose veracity they cannot know... :)

Look I'm just grumpy about the cricket.

He keeps chasing the black swans.

Don't you have a cat or something?

Schrödinger had one. I think it was rather grumpy, being half alive and half dead. (That all makes psychics look a bit less weird).

A co-worker told me the following story.

My co-worker's grandfather died a few years back. Her grandfather called her a pet name that only he used for her (which I have forgotten), but let's assume that the…

Anyway, that's more or less the version according to Popper ...

Oh great. Here's me trying to make PAS less intimidating and you waltz in and start quoting Karl bloody Popper ...

Don't you have a cat or something?

;-)

Didn't Einstein have a couple of theories which weren't proven until decades later?

There's no way that science is infallible. It's premised on error-checking, and you have to recognise the possibility of making errors in order to investigate them and weed them out.

I am not a scientist, nor do…

AUS: 185/3 (36 overs)

Dammit. Ever since PA stopped blogging specifically on sports, I've forgotten to keep up. 'Scuse me.

Part of the fee was that she gave you a tape…

Could be true. But. There's no possible way to test it, therefore it's a useless hypothesis... Despite scientists since Newton exhaustively investigating the paranormal, anecdotes are still the best we can do when it comes to psychics

It is too close to holidays to get all philosophy of science on…

That sounds like an argument from authority. When you're thinking about bold claims like psychic abilities, it's more important than ever to hang onto the rules of sound argument.

I wasn't making an argument at all, just pulling up a vague memory which I wasn't sure was true, hence the…

Didn't Einstein have a couple of theories which weren't proven until decades later?

That sounds like an argument from authority. When you're thinking about bold claims like psychic abilities, it's more important than ever to hang onto the rules of sound argument.

Einstein and Newton are often invoked in support…

My co-worker's grandfather died a few years back. Her grandfather called her a pet name that only he used for her (which I have forgotten), but let's assume that the pet name was "carebear" for the purposes of telling the story.

Anyway, shortly…

If this stuff were true, it would be a valuable and useful tool, which should be researched, investigated, codified, standardised, and generally exploited like any other technology.

The fact that clairvoyancy never has been put to practical use…

http://sensingmurder.co.nz/index.html

The investigators who follow up on it are from this place, which seems to be legit at a glance:

http://www.totalpropertyservices.co.nz/risk_management.htm

Some ex police officers and I presume some people who couldn't make the police (why…

"Unless it can be disproved it can't be discounted."

That's a recipe for gullibility. I would rather discount things that can't be proved.

Didn't Einstein have a couple of theories which weren't proven until decades later?

Personally I'm happy to have an "I don't know" box. I'll put earth going…

Kyle, I don't think it's a safe assumption that it's not a complete fraud. That is how psychics work.

Well I said 'suspect', not 'assume'. It's possible that it is a fraud. Just that my second-hand experience with being on the show, is that it's not.

I don't know how…

That's a recipe for gullibility. I would rather discount things that can't be proved.

No doubt alternative explanations can be put forward, but it is interesting when the psychics put forward explanations that depart from the police's version of events (ie, that could not…

For example, some psychics have stooges in the waiting room outside theatre auditoriums who report back with overheard conversation. Some use listening devices.

Even without that sort of deception, maybe some…

This show makes me very angry, actually. It's a fraud on the public, promoting superstition, and a nuisance to the justice system.

Well, this sound strange from a Catholic – which would pretty strongly imply a belief in the supernatural – it makes me very angry too. Because it's bloody…

One very obvious answer is that they WERE told. Or that there were multiple takes, and all the takes with bad guesses were left on the floor. Or that many of the participants are actors working to a script.

Those are the obvious answers. Assuming it's not a complete fraud,…

It amazes me that people watch shows with psychics and believe the premise that the psychic is working cold.

Yeah, like, if they can somehow divine where a person was killed – as they've claimed to do in both the episodes I've seen – then how come they don't ever…

How the hell did they figure all that out without being told?

At the beginning of every episode of Sensing Murder, they say that during the psychic sessions, only correct information is confirmed to the psychic by the production crew, which suggets it could go like this:

Psychic: I'm sensing…

One very obvious answer is that they WERE told. Or that there were multiple takes, and all the takes with bad guesses were left on the floor. Or that many of the participants are actors working to a…

Well I can't argue with that logic. Perhaps Sensing Murder could do a Clinton Impeachment edition :) It is a fascinating show.

Heh. I watched one a couple of weeks ago because of a family connection. Apparently the police officer who is in charge of the case now made two…

...the Ron Paul candidacy, now those guys really are adding something new (if kind of scary and weird)

Ron Paul makes Huckabee look, if not sane, then understandable.

Well when I assess who bears the closest resemblance to a a fake psychic out of John Campbell and Sidney Blumenthal... well, I'll pick the hack courtier over the well-respected biographer every time.

sometimes its better to put your trust in people who aren't there [to witness the events]

Well I can't argue with that logic. Perhaps Sensing Murder could do a Clinton Impeachment edition :) It is a fascinating show.

the one hand you get a good (but increasingly common) celebrity story,…

Personally I am more interested in watching the Ron Paul candidacy, now those guys really are adding something new (if kind of scary…

Whatever his shortcomings as a writer may be, Blumenthal was there, and you and I were not.

When the book is laced with incredibly detailed accounts of conversations that he wasn't privy to unless one of the parties was wearing a wire, I'll take that with the proverbial seasoning. I've…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Burton#Vincent_Foster

With all due disrespect to Sydney Blumenthal, I read The Clinton Wars with the same extreme skepticism that I' applied to Alistair Campbell's diaries. The self-justification of courtiers is a literary genre with a long pedigree, but usually more enjoyable as fiction than history.
And that's really unfair to…

Helen may not approve though...

As I said on another thread, people respond to Obama because they believe he can change the game, while Clinton is the status quo.

There's also a school of thought that holds that the more people see of Obama the more they like him — and the more they see…

It's just not good enough to position yourself as the only person who can stand up against the Republican smear machine, and then have your own campaign workers caught taking a leaf out of the Rove play book.

When my parents were last in the US, they were told by…

As I said on another thread, people respond to Obama because they believe he can change the game, while Clinton is the status quo.

There's also a school of thought that holds that the more people see of Obama the more they like him — and the more they see…

Obama's a smoker too?

yes, but don't say his trying to quit could be an advantage with young voters who might find something they can identify with. If you do then that's a Clinton smear campaign. Honestly, i'm not making it up , that's what some people are trying to…

WTF were these people thinking forwarding a nasty smear against an opponent, period?

poor judgement call. Just goes to show the right has no monopoly on that.

...and then have your own campaign workers caught taking a leaf out of the Rove play book.

pfff, they weren't. Mind you that…

As in the AA advert that includes the lines "..for when you get a flat tyre on the way home from a manicure".

And a restaurant ad that coins the noun "delish". As in "..sample our delishes..".

The saving grace is…

It's a strange genre of magazine – the kind that deliberately attempts to go for a rool high claaaass reader. But the main hallmark of these magazines seems to be really poor subediting. Not just apostrophe catastrophes, but overall sloppy writing.

That sounds familiar...

No doubt another glossy that dupes advertisers out of their cold hard cash and ends up in the bin unread with the publishers quickly fading away.

It's a strange genre of magazine – the kind that deliberately attempts to go for a rool high claaaass reader. But the main hallmark…

I think that's true if you're the campaign director. But in a dogfight like the Democratic primaries are turning out to be, to low/medium level campaign staffers who are slogging it away and probably passionately believe in their 'guy' and probably can't see that forest for the trees.

Quite true,…

I note I'm smack in the middle of their distribution zone but can't recall ever reading one. No doubt another glossy that dupes advertisers out of their cold hard cash and ends up in the bin unread with the publishers quickly fading…

I bet there's a heap of jokes and stories and whatnot going around most political campaign headquarters around the world, which you wouldn't want getting out in the public domain.

Slightly off-topic, but last night I flicked on Parliament TV for the first time to see exactly what it was,…

Perhaps he means to say something like this:

[Let's] stop the underfunding of the higher income areas and [stop giving funding] to the poor areas [above higher income areas].

Yeah, them po' folks have had it too easy for far too long (?)

That's pretty much how I read it…

what is that first sentence supposed to mean?

Perhaps he means to say something like this:

[Let's] stop the underfunding of the higher income areas and [stop giving funding] to the poor areas [above higher income areas].

Yeah, them po' folks have had it too easy for far too long…

Quite apart from the apostrophe catastrophe (TM Jo Hubris) and other punctuation crimes, what is that first sentence supposed to mean?

I think it's a conjugation abrogation. Doesn't he mean 'giving' rather than 'give'? (Although, if you're asking what 'higher income areas' and 'poor areas' are in this context, I…

I'd like to see an actual random blog, with entries on such topics as even-toed ungulates, Berlin-Mitte, sludge metal, representation theory and Saskatchewan Highway 782 (selected courtesy of hitting the "Random article" link at Wikipedia).

A lot of livejournals come close.

Fair enough, but I think any PAS reader who is really interested can find endless reports on the resignations of the two volunteers. All I wanted to do is provide a link that showed I just wasn't making it up in some Clinton-hating fever dream.

When you get right…

I'd like to see an actual random blog, with entries on such topics as even-toed ungulates, Berlin-Mitte, sludge metal, representation theory and Saskatchewan Highway 782 (selected courtesy of hitting the "Random article" link at Wikipedia).

And very informative articles they were. Personally, I'd always had trouble distinguishing between Stoner Sludge…

Rose has said she did not agree with the e-mail but was sending it to other area Democrats to show them how dirty politics was getting. Olson did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

maybe not a…

and that doesn't change because this story was indefensibly bad

i'm missing something here, how was this article so bad?

from the article about the Clinton staffers it's hard to know what exactly happened. It seems they forwarded on haox emails. Why they did that is not addressed. People forward…

There is a right wing fringe saying this crap about Obama.

And at least two Clinton operatives in Iowa who were quite happy to pass it on, until they got busted. Who the hell knows how many others are out there who aren't stupid enough to put one of Chris…

Mr Taillie has a blog, where he expresses "random" views.

Of course, looking at his blog, it seems that all of his posts are restricted to the area of sales, business and the NZ economy. OMG! Randomz!!!

I'd like to see an actual random blog, with entries on such topics…

dog-whistle? i think yes.

and re:christmas exhaustion. i soooo hear you. someone bring me back regular working weeks. please. anyone.

I try not to go in for evil-MSM ranting, but I really have to agree with the bloggers venting about the Washington Post's awful front-page story about Barack Obama — and about big media's own self-serving response to the subsequent furore.

Well, I'd take a slightly different POV from most:…

from the WaPo article –

Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet…

It is also just a few kms from Waikeria prison.

The surrounding land is pretty sweet dairy country so I…