Congratulations, you may be psychic!

Weekly World News, that bastion of scientific credibility, has reported that 53% of people are psychic, based on a study done at the University of Virginia on the townspeople and students of Charlottesville.

Say what now?

This study was published by the "parapsychology division of the University of Virginia School of Medicine" in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Although the article does not name specific researchers from the study, the division of which they speak is most likely the Division of Perceptual Studies, founded by Ian Stevenson in 1967. Dr. Stevenson was a psychiatrist and researcher who devoted decades of work to collecting past-life experiences and evidence of reincarnation. Unfortunately, though he carried out this work all over the globe until his retirement in 2002, he did not produce scientifically compelling evidence to back claims of such experiences. I encourage you to read his entry in Bob Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary, which is fascinating and quite thoroughly researched. He also co-founded the Society for Scientific Exploration, which is deserving of a separate post, already in the works and long overdue. (I've been busy... yadda yadda...)

Naturally, the UVa library has a subscription to the journal, so I look forward to finding it in the Alderman stacks later this week when I get a chance. Unfortunately, I can't find a version online, or even an abstract at the moment. According to the article, however, the study was a self-reported survey of 622 participants. Until I get a look at how the participants were selected, it's hard to say whether this is an accurate cross-section of the American population, as is claimed. (Maybe we are just special?) One researcher is quoted in the article as saying,

50% of America is psychic – the results of this survey confirm this fact.

I'm skeptical that any researcher into the paranormal would make such a sweeping and incorrect statement, especially if they expect to be taken seriously. The lack of a name attached to the quote only encourages my notion that this was made up whole cloth by a "reporter". At any rate, a self-reporting survey is no way to prove that a phenomenon exists. Serious scientific studies need to be double-blinded and carefully controlled before a claim can be shown to have validity. Participants in this survey report such paranormal experiences as déjà vu, out of body experiences, apparitions, hauntings, and more. Although these may be terrifying to a person in the moment, a more rational explanation is often to be found. A few years ago, a team of neuroscientists reported that they may have found a biological cause for that eerie feeling of déjà vu. Paranormal investigators such as Joe Nickell have found rational explanations for many hauntings and paranormal claims over the decades. Many psychics have stepped up to take James Randi's Million Dollar Challenge, and none have passed preliminary testing. If half of us were psychic, someone would have noticed by now.

So, this article was published in a cheesy tabloid with a screaming, Vulcan-ish child on the logo. So what? Most people running across this article will snicker and move on. A small percentage, no doubt, will add it to the pile of "evidence" for their already-cherished beliefs in the paranormal. I'm more interested, personally, in what the survey-study itself has to say, and how much more widely it is reported, especially locally.

Muchas gracias to cvillenews.com for the link! Also, kudos to them on the clever title.
Cross posted at One Astronomer's Noise

Fun with Skepticism

“The UltraMind Solution: The Simple Plan to Sharpen Your Mind; Boost Your Mood; Increase Your Memory; and Even Reverse Autism, ADD, Depression, Alzheimer’s and More…”

I was a little dismayed this past weekend to see such trash playing on my local PBS. As this Salon.com article notes, PBS is discrediting itself by running such dubious claims. (Fair disclosure: the author disputes the Salon.com article here.)

In a fit of mild rage, I wrote to WVPT. My letter follows:

WVPT,

I turned on WVPT this morning to see you were running a show by a man claiming to cure Alzheimer's, depression and ADD with some breakthrough vitamin method.
http://www.theultramindsolution.com/launch/special

I don't have to do much research to realize that his claims are overblown, and thus, highly suspect. Surely if he had found a solution to deal with issues like Autism or dementia, he would have a Nobel prize by now.

I'm very disappointed to see my local PBS playing an infomercial like this. Most folks trust that PBS will air shows that are of a high quality and that have been, in a sense, "peer reviewed" for substance and factual content. By seeing this infomercial played on WVPT, viewers may assume it's a legitimate health program.

Assuming the cost of this show was very cheap or even free, and that this may have had a part in it being played, I would suggest instead filling that time slot with a re-run of Virginia Farming, an old movie, or even just the station call letters with music.

Thank you for your time,
Amanda Snyder
Charlottesville, VA

And they wrote back! (contact info removed to protect the writer from spammers and malcontents....)

Good morning, Amanda. Thank you for taking the time and interest to write.

I hear and understand your concern. It is true, Dr. Hyman would love for our viewers to buy his book – and of course, we would like viewers to do so through WVPT where the money will support the programming cost. The UltraMind Solution program fully outlines for viewers the ideas presented in his book and there is no attempt to sell viewers a specific vitamin or food for which he makes a profit. It is hard to turn on the news today without hearing someone proclaim that making more healthful life choices can improve many aspects of our lives. Dr. Hyman has earned the respect of many of his colleagues in making that point in a manner that most of us can do and understand.

Just like those who give news analysis, financial strategies or exercise tips, this is simply one more piece of information we can all use in making our own decisions about how we can live our best life.

Again, thank so much for writing.

I hope you always find many entertaining, educational and informative programs on WVPT.

w****



W******
Director of Programming
WVPT/WVPY - Virginia's Public Television
****
****@wvpt.net
"Our job is to make the agony of decision-making so intense you can escape only by thinking." Fred Friendly
www.wvpt.net

Only on WVPT! Only because of you!

I'm really disappointed in their response. It clearly indicates that the money takes precedence. I encourage everyone to write to PBS about this show.