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| | Research and Review Articles |
| Colin S. L. KEAY | Progress in Explaining the Mysterious Sounds Produced by Very Large Meteor Fireballs | 337-354 |
| | Abstract: Strange sounds, heard simultaneously with the sighting of brilliant meteor fireballs many tens of kilometers distant, have been an enigma
for more than two centuries. The term "electrophonic sounds" is now widely
used to describe them and distinguish them from the normal sonic effects
heard after the fireball has passed by. A physically viable explanation for meteor fireball electrophonic sounds has been developed and verified by observation and experiment. The history of this neglected branch of meteor science
is presented in some detail, drawing attention to the difficulties which stood in
the way of a solution until fairly recently.
Introducti |
| Dean I. RADIN | Neural Network Analyses of Consciousness-Related Patterns in Random Sequences | 355-373 |
| | Abstract: Researchers investigating the effects of mental intention on the
output of random number generators have observed person-unique patterns or
"signatures" impressed into the data. A previously reported study used an artificial neural network to analyze the data produced in these experiments and
found evidence supporting the signatures hypothesis. The present study again
used a neural network to search for patterns, this time using new data and new
network configurations. Results of eight analyses confirmed the presence of
person-specific signatures. Suggestions for creating practical applications
from this phenomenon are outlined. |
| Sybo A. SCHOUTEN | Applied Parapsychology: Studies of Psychics l and Healers | 375-401 |
| | Abstract: Most research in parapsychology is aimed at understanding and
controlling paranormal phenomena like telepathy, precognition and psychokinesis. However, in everyday life the practical applications of these phenomena, mainly by psychics and healers, play a more important role. People
are generally more interested in the question of how effective these applications are than in scientific explanations of them. They want to know whether
they should consult a psychic for a specific problem or what to expect from
treatment by a paranormal healer. It is an important aspect of scientific activity to provide society with answers to such questions; answers not based on
belief or disbelief in the paranormal but on factual research data.
Research with psychics dates back to the last century. Considering the complexity of the problem it is not surprising that it took many years before proper statistical evaluation methods were developed. Based on studies in which
the paranormal impressions of psychics were quantitatively evaluated an assessment is given of what happens when clients consult a psychic and of the
merit of the impressions on which the psychics base their advice.
Compared to psychics, there exists a much larger community of active
paranormal healers. Despite this large number, the amount of research carried
out on paranormal healing is less than the number of studies done with psychics. However, there are many studies available on complementary medicine
in general which provide data relevant for the interpretation of the activities
of psychic healers. All these data give an indication for the effectiveness of
paranormal healing and of the main variables involved.
Two overview studies have been carried out, one on quantitatively evaluated studies with psychics, the other on studies on psychic healing and on complementary medicine. The present paper is a summary and overview of the
main results of both studies. |
| Ian STEVENSON | Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons | 403-410 |
| | Abstract: Almost nothing is known about why pigmented birthmarks
(moles or nevi) occur in particular locations of the skin. The causes of most
birth defects are also unknown. About 35% of children who claim to remember previous lives have birthmarks and/or birth defects that they (or adult informants) attribute to wounds on a person whose life the child remembers.
The cases of 210 such children have been investigated. The birthmarks were
usually areas of hairless, puckered skin; some were areas of little or no pigmentation (hypopigmented macules); others were areas of increased pigmentation (hyperpigmented nevi). The birth defects were nearly always of rare
types. In cases in which a deceased person was identified the details of whose
life unmistakably matched the child's statements, a close correspondence was
nearly always found between the birthmarks and/or birth defects on the child
and the wounds on the deceased person. In 43 of 49 cases in which a medical
document (usually a postmortem report) was obtained, it confirmed the correspondence between wounds and birthmarks (or birth defects). There is little
evidence that parents and other informants imposed a false identity on the
child in order to explain the child's birthmark or birth defect. Some paranormal process seems required to account for at least some of the details of these
cases, including the birthmarks and birth defects. |
|
| | Invited Essay |
| Robert McCONNELL | The "Enemies" of Parapsychology | 417-427 |
| | Abstract: The author regards as "enemies" of parapsychological research
(1) those critics who confuse parapsychology with popular superstition, (2)
those parapsychologists who know all the pieces of evidence for the reality of
psi effects but who lack the capacity to integrate and to evaluate that evidence
as a whole, and (3) those professional psychics whose faltering attempts to
apply psi for profit give the field a bad name. The author believes that parapsychology's urgent task is to bring mutual understanding between scientists
and the public by exploring the obscure but real psi phenomena that give rise
to popular superstition. He sees extrasensory perception and psychokinesis as
evocable, operationally-defined psi phenomena. However, he rejects as a religious endeavor the search for logical proof of their reality and advocates, instead, a Bayesian summation of countervailing intuitive probabilities. The
author rejects blind empiricism as a practical path to the utilization of psi. He
offers several speculations regarding future discoveries in parapsychology,
three of which are:
(1) Healing by self-hypnosis, as opposed to noncontact therapeutic touch,
may be normal in an evolutionary sense.
(2) Psychoneuroimmunology and psi may play complementary roles.
(3) The principal future importance of parapsychology may be to allow scientific understanding of psi processes occurring within the human body. |
|
| | Columns |
| Topher COOPER | Anomalous Propagation | 429-433 |
| Michael EPSTEIN | The Skeptical Perspective | 435-438 |
| F. NOEL | Guest Column: Unidentified Atmospheric Phenomena Observed by an Astronomer | 439-441 |
|
| | Letters to the Editor |
| | On Biological Transmutation of Elements | 443-447 |
| | Related:
Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 4 /1992 - The Skeptical Perspective [Epstein, Michael]
| |
| | Comments on Suitbert Ertel's Puzzling Eminence Might Make Good Sense | 447-448 |
| | Related:
Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 2 Summer/1993 - Puzzling Eminence Effects Might Make Good Sense [Ertel, Suitbert]
| |
|
| | Book Reviews |
| Paul ALPER | The Burt Affair by R. B. Johnson and Science, Ideology and the Media: The Cyril Burt Scandal by R. Fletcher | 449-451 |
| Paul ALPER | The Left-Hander Syndrome; The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness by Stanley Coren | 451-453 |
| Albert E. MOYER | Luna: Myth & Mystery by Kathleen Cain | 453-455 |
| James WARWICK | Cross Currents by Robert 0. Becker | 455-458 |
| | Related:
Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 4 /1994 - Comments on James Warwick's Book Review of Cross Currents
| |
