Bstndance,
an experiment as logical as Seattle's is the equivalent of throwing yourself off a building and saying "if there is a god, he'll save me" ain't gonna happen whether there is a god or not.
Not really. Your experiment could certainly prove God's existence if he chose to act, but no one is claiming that God routinely saves building-jumpers, so if he failed to act, it would not really tell us anything except that another one bit the dust, as usual. On the other hand, Ouija board believers do claim that spirits routinely provide actual information through the board. That claim can easily be tested.
The experiment is designed to prevent you from tricking yourself. For example, if one of the operators chooses a number in his own mind, it would be no big surprise if the Ouija board then magically produces that number, since part of the control is coming from the person who chose the number. Or he might say that the board correctly produced the number even if it's only in the general range, because obviously that's a more exciting answer. Most of us have experienced the part of us that spontaneously changes bits of a story to make it more exciting. Writing the numbers down and having the writers and the operators work separately prevents this type of cheating. That's all.
SWALKER
SNG...I have a close friend who would form a question in his mind and the Ouija Board operator would not know a question was even being asked and the Board would spell out the answer. The operator then asked "I wonder what that means" and this person said "It's the answer to the question I was just thinking." [...] This person has never lied to me and is most trustworthy, so I tend to believe it.
That type of anecdotal evidence is certainly interesting. And I'm sure that your friend is sincere and personally believes the effect to be real. But again, when you're with friends, and you're having fun, and you're trying to see some paranormal effect, and perhaps you have a bit of a nervous curiosity about spirits, there is a lot of environmental pressure to see something there. That's not to say that in such an environment it would be impossible to see things accurately. But it does suggest that there is the possibility for stories to become exaggerated, even un- or semi-consciously. My experiment is designed to remove that type of ambiguity.
...some could get it to work and others couldn't. Maybe some people just don't have the MAGIC TOUCH!
It's certainly possible. That's the beauty of the experiment. I personally do not need to have it work for me. I'd be more than content to see it work for anyone. Seriously, if you could pass this experiment and I could verify that you hadn't cheated, I'd become a believer overnight. And I think it would be spectacularly interesting. But, alas, I fear there is nothing there but our own subconscious expectations and fears.
John Doe,
I don't believe in this stuff either, but can you see an irony in your last paragraph?
Umm...I'm not sure exactly, unless you're suggesting that "rigorous method" could be a clever way to trick ourselves. :-) I know you're only joking, but just for the sake of clarifying, the best-designed experiments are simple and straightforward. This experiment is extraordinarily straightforward. The only "rigor" would come in making sure the participants didn't cheat.
SNG
