[extropy-chat] Re: Damien grants psi evidence

[Damien Broderick]

At 03:36 PM 12/18/2004 +1100, David <deimtee at optusnet.com.au> wrote:

>I assume someone must have already thought of the possibility that
>if PK effects are real then millions of punters all mentally
>commanding different numbers to be drawn may well cancel each
>other out.

This is one of the obvious possibilities parapsychologists thought of as 
quickly as you did. And it is apparent from the results of all the lottos 
ever conducted that if PK is real, it isn't cumulative in this way. How so? 
Because an enormous number of punters are guided by birthdays. That means 
they're all rooting (apologies to Aussies) for the range 1-31, especially 
1-12. Birth years are less likely to have any bearing. There are other 
numbers known to get more or less than their fair share, depending on their 
position on the entry form (people dislike edges). My book shows which they 
are; by selecting your numbers from the dispreferred options, you'll 
increase your share of the winnings *if those numbers happen by chance to 
come up*. If group PK were in play, it's unlikely that any of the numbers 
31 and up would *ever* be drawn. In reality, there's not much variation in 
the presentation histories of the randomized balls, as the null hypothesis 
predicts.

>ps. What was the unpredicted anomaly that was found?

Since you have an au @, David, you have a chance of finding the book and 
learning this Amazing Occult Secret!

Damien Broderick