[extropy-chat] Elvis Sightings

[John K Clark]

"Benjamin Goertzel" <ben at goertzel.org>

> As discussed in the CF literature

The word "literature" gives this crap far more class that it deserves.

> there are many different kinds of control experiments you can run in this
> setting. A control experiment using light water is only one of the
> options.

You need to run lots and lots of control experiments, but if you want to
impress real scientists light water is number one on the hit parade.

> For instance, you can run a control experiment using a dead palladium

Personally I don't give a hoot in hell if the palladium is alive or dead,
but if you want to run that control too then fine.

> As Julian Schwinger pointed out [..]

Julian Schwinger died of old age 13 years ago, and in all that time the
field of cold fusion has not moved a billionth of a nanometer. It has not
move a Plank length.

>  a control with a dead palladium cathode is just as
> meaningful, or more so.

That is just ridiculous, USE LIGHT WATER!

> I don't see why you keep bringing ESP into the argument

Because both ESP and cold fusion are sublime examples of junk science.

> I am open to the possibility of ESP and related phenomena being real

Why am I not surprised?

>  CF really does not violate  known physical law

If that's all they were arguing I would not call it bullshit, but they claim
to have experimental proof of it, and that is steaming reeking putrid
BULLSHIT!

> He says he gave up on submitting his CF papers because dealing with
> editors and referees was such a pain

I understand, setting up a proper experimental setup with all the pesky
control experiments and such can be a real pain, easier to just post it on
the web. I mean, everybody knows everything on the web is true.

> peer review is not a protection against fraud

Bullshit. Like everything made by humans it is not perfect but it is pretty
damn good. On those rare occasions when they are wrong (caught by other peer
reviewed journals I might add) it is a HUGE story. Nobody makes much of a
fuss when the National Enquirer is wrong about a statue of Elvis found on
Mars.

> there is really no way to know whether a complex experimental result like
> this is correct or not

Then it is not Science.

> If you knew me better you would know that I'm actually a highly skeptical
> individual.

All I know about you is what you have posted to the Extropian list, on that
basis I must conclude that the above statement is BULLSHIT.

  John K Clark