Do data have feelings?

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David Metcalfe's weekly news bulletin referred to the Windbridge Institute's monthly news bulletin, which included this rather weird item by Mark Boccuzzi:
http://windbridgeinstitute.com/datasets/

To summarise, data from random number generators were recorded during sessions in which meditators concentrated on feelings of love and hate. Then the values from these datasets were somehow added (it would be interesting to know more details) to produce a single sum value for each. A random value between these two was then generated to serve as a neutral value.

These three values were then used as seeds for pseudo-random numbers which varied some of the details of an online game. Players were initially asked to rate their level of happiness, then one of the three seed values was randomly selected for use in the game. At the end, the players were again asked to rate their level of happiness.

The results were analysed for 120 different players, and a highly significant difference was found between the changes in happiness while playing the game in the three different conditions (p < 0.00001). Those who had been assigned the seed generated using meditators concentrating on love got happier while they played. For hate they got less happy, and for the neutral seed there was no significant change.

[Edited to remove the question about what it meant.]
(2018-11-12, 09:52 PM)Chris Wrote: Those who had been assigned the seed generated using meditators concentrating on love got happier while they played. For hate they got less happy, and for the neutral seed there was no significant change.

What does it all mean?

It means that scientific researchers can't abide not having a number, a scale or a measurement. Nothing is valid without being associated with a statistic. The section in bold above is, to me - a non-scientist - a statement of the bleeding obvious.
I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our comprehension.
Freeman Dyson
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  • tim
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Man so many things that could be said about this, it's really cool of course. I mean personally I don't think the numbers themselves have any feelings, but being carriers for a signal? Maybe. I mean maybe by being charged with "happy' energy maybe it makes the generator create events that then makes people happy because it's gravitating back to its lowest energy state or something. Who knows though, as always more research is needed.
"The cure for bad information is more information."

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