[ExI] CRACKPOTS (was electoral college)

[Will Steinberg]

On Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 19:38 John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Aug 20, 2018 at 1:03 PM, Will Steinberg <steinberg.will at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> 1) Give me a list of exactly what constitutes the "psi phenomenon" and I
>> will consider taking the bet.
>>
>
> I'm not picky, any of the usual drivel will do, telepathy, telekinesis,
> remote viewing, fortune telling, faith healing, contacting the dead etc.
>

Still too nebulous.  Most of those could be a lot of different things.

What I am getting at is that you are effectively stating nothing in your
annual post.  For example, what if people put out a series of complex and
specific chemical signals that could be interpreted as thoughts with good
resolution?  Not 'telepathy' I'd guess.  How about sensing some kind of
weak electromagnetic field?  Would that be telepathy?  Does it have to be
caused by some heretofore unknown force?

I don't believe in telepathy etc, but I don't not believe in it.

It relates to consciousnessness:

1) Because I think your stances on both are anti-curiosity.

2) Because in a way it doesn't seem that much more ridiculous to be able to
know someone else's thoughts as it is to know my own.  I'm not even sure
I'm in here in the first place!

To me, the fact that qualia are somehow associated with my CNS neurons is
mysterious enough that I think anything under the auspices of qualia (such
as seemingly remote connection of 2 minds) is only equally as improbable as
that--which is to say, neither are really considerations of probability,
which is why I don't think it makes sense to believe or not believe.

Telekinesis is much more of a stretch.

>
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