[ExI] heaves a long broken psi

[BillK]

On 1/24/10, Damien Broderick wrote:
<snip>
>  I see. First you explain that psi tests are bound to give results that
> deviate from chance because the mind produces patterned or skewed or
> non-random streams of calls, and these inevitably match better or worse than
> m.c.e. against a short randomized list, which easily accounts for the
> non-chance results of parapsychologists--and then you explain that this is
> why such tests can never be replicated by non-parapsychologists! If what you
> say were valid, anyone who tries this should get results at the same level,
> including the most ruthless skeptics, because it's just an artifact, right?
>
>

Slight misunderstanding here.  I meant that, of course, the tests can
be done by anyone, although it's not as simple to set up as it might
appear. The second 'random' was meant to refer to the fact that
sometimes you get results above chance level and sometimes you get
results below chance level. And, assuming all the strict controls are
in place and actually work properly, that has nothing to do with psi
but is due to the unpredictability of the universe we live in.

BillK