A renowned pseudoskeptic has taken a remarkable turn in his belief about the afterlife and what is understood as the so-called ‘paranormal’. Dr. Michael Persinger, the famed University of Ontario neuroscientist who is a self-professed atheist, hailed by skeptics for his “God helmet” experiments as evidence against NDEs being evidence of an afterlife death, has turned the tables on his skeptical fans by announcing that he has now discovered a proven telepathic link in his experiments with test subjects connected by magnetic fields.
The mainstay of skeptical research has been to prove that extrasensory perception, telepathy, the sixth sense, and mediumship are nothing more than a trick of individuals who are often wrong. This change of belief is a great advance not only for the scientific community and a great thorn in the side of neuroscience due to the revelations and evidence that resulted from the experimentation of the Doctors. Perhaps Dr. Michael Persinger should be hailed as an intrepid explorer known for his intrepid investigative approach to subjects normally despised by intellectuals and ignorant egos.
The scientist is famous for his “God Helmet” experiment, which was a test that involved wearing a helmet that stimulated the temporal lobes with a magnetic field, this in turn induced religious states. Dr. Persinger has come to the conclusion that there is indeed a connection between two people connected by a magnetic field. He argues that “what we have found is that if you put two different people at a distance and put a circular magnetic field around them both, and make sure they are connected to the same computer so that they receive the same stimulation, then if shine a light into one person’s eye, the person in the other room receiving only the magnetic field will show changes in their brain as if seeing the flash of light “We think it’s tremendous because it may be the first macro demonstration of a quantum connection , or the so-called quantum entanglement. If true, then there is another potential form of communication that may have physical applications, for example in space travel.”
Of course, like any skeptical researcher, he has to remain somewhat skeptical of his own results in order not to lose face with the skeptical movement, however the results speak for themselves and the fearless Doctor is not afraid of being controversial. He has this to say about his colleagues in the scientific field: “I think the most important thing in science is to have an open mind. It is very important to realize that the real subject of science is the search for the unknown. Unfortunately, scientists have become extraordinarily group-oriented. Our most typical critics are not mystical believers. They are scientists who have a narrow view of what the world is like.”
What does this mean for our work in Science and Mediumship?
This is a big step in the work to help people understand the validity of the sixth sense, ESP and of course mediumship, but we shouldn’t get too comfortable as there is so much more to do. While we view this as a breakthrough, we must remember that there will be an even greater concerted effort to investigate the claims and show them to be weak and inconclusive. This is why we must not rest on our laurels and continue our research, testing and validating evidence based on sound scientific principles to ensure that our standards in mediumship remain high.
jockbrocas
Medium
Founding Member of ASSMPI