dr wu
Doctor Prog
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2002
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Dr Wu --I didn't really want to lead the whole discussion into parapsychology, which is not what this thread is about, and I only mentioned telepathy because it seemed like the kind of faculty that an advanced alien entity might have acquired, as one of a number of possibilities, but in any case I have to question your assumption that it somehow lies outside "day to day science." In fact, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Parapsychology is in fact established as a recognised field of science, with its own peer reviewed journals and imaginative and innovative researchers. The research designs used today employ strict double blind protocols and recognised techniques of statistical testing -- in fact many ESP studies have generated a huge amount of data, the remote viewing studies probably being the best known, implying a level of significance equal to and often better than that achieved by conventional psychology. The situation hasn't progressed much as regards general acceptance, however, with some sceptics questioning the validity of statistics itself (Hansel was the first to try this line). (Nobody seems to have noticed the awkward fact that modern quantum theory relies massively upon statistical theory, so if there is something fundamentally wrong with it, that would have rather scary implications for physics). If you have experienced some of these phenomena yourself, all the argument seems a bit irrelevant, I have to say.
One excellent introduction to a lot of modern parapsychology is Lynne McTaggart's The Field, and also her later book The Intention Experiment.
There are several excellent surveys of the Remote Viewing studies available.
On Sufism -- a lot of scholars still view Sufism as an exclusively Islamic form of mysticism. This is partly because Muhammed himself practiced Hanifite exercises and the Sufis regard the Hanifs as part of their stream; and because the Quaran contains multiple levels of meaning, like most Sufic teaching materials. And because many of the traditions of the Prophet were patently Sufic. The best introduction to the whole area is Idries Shah's book The Sufis, which concentrates upon the major figures of the tradition such as Rumi and Ghazzali, and the influence of Sufi thinking on Westerners such as Roger Bacon and organisations such as the Masons and the Knights Templar. Shah's own emphasis in over 30 books has been to emphasize the value of clear thinking and the control of the intellectual and emotional faculties that interfere with it, so even if you aren't interested in the mystical elements Sufism is of immense practical help at a psychological level.
I'm not sure what part of Science you think supports or recognizes parapsychology because I'm betting none of the regular channels do.
It's considered outside of the field by almost all scientists....it's nice they have their own peer reviewed journal but that means little when it comes to real facts. A great deal more data and studies are needed to make it seem credible to most.
Having said that.....I also see no reason to again assume that space traveling aliens would or could use telepathy.......there is no good repeatable evidence that it even exists contrary to what some might say that follow that 'field'...nor that it could be used in any meaningful manner.
And I'm not sure what Sufism has to do with this thread ...whether or not aliens exists and are here.
btw...I have no problem with good reproducible studies into psi aspects but we have yet to have real science get involved....to the extent it needs to be to prove it one way or the other.
I have read a few books over the years that suggest that 'psi phenomena' could be 'events or glitches' in the 'Quantum' fields around us but this has yet to be shown.....and currently I don't think anyone is even doing any real research into this. It remains only an intriguing idea.
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