The evidence for the most compelling psi phenomena

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Quote:In 2018, Professor Etzel Cardeña, PhD, who holds the Thorsen Chair in Psychology, including parapsychology and hypnosis, at Lund University, published a landmark review paper surveying thousands of psi studies in "American Psychologist," one of psychology’s most respected journals.

In this conversation with Hans Busstra, Cardeña explains his main findings and why a dismissal of psi without looking at the data is “as unscientific as you can get.” Cardeña’s conclusion is that the cumulative evidence for psi phenomena is so strong that outright dismissal is no longer scientifically justified.

Although the effect sizes reported in many psi experiments are small—for instance, in controlled laboratory settings, participants in precognition studies predict randomly selected images only slightly above chance—the statistical significance across large bodies of research is nonetheless striking.

In other words, if one applies the same standards of scientific rigor used elsewhere in psychology, it’s scientifically unjustifiable to dismiss psi phenomena simply because they challenge prevailing materialist assumptions or because their effects are small.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell
(This post was last modified: 2026-05-08, 11:33 PM by Sci. Edited 1 time in total.)
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(2026-05-08, 11:28 PM)Sci Wrote:
The definition of Psi is "anomalous transfer of information or energy".  I am skeptical about physical energy transfer.  I am sure about the transfer of emotional "energy" sourced from meaning flowing in from the surrounding environments.  Information gain, without a physical signal as stimulus, is a constant narrative reported in all history.  Anomalous info becomes noted in cultures because it is veridical and useful in a real environment. The output of Psi, from real people can be verified as fully formed configurations that connect meaningfully in a local environment.

My take on most compelling evidence for Psi is the multitudes of actual events reported in the world.  They become observables for science when taken into account the continual large scope of reports, such as members contribute here.  Even one event in all history raises doubt.  Billions of personal events occurring, needs better understanding in formal terms.  I will not report any personal stories but will say my wife (like many) has a story.  It is crazy to me that so much evidence is ignored.

Here is one of my favorites: The Dutch Ambassador's wife who verified the event to I. Kant.  He was hired to report about it.  It was well-known in Europe.

Quote:   The "Dutch Ambassador's Lost Receipt" is a famous anecdote from 1761 regarding a supposed psychic experience of Emanuel Swedenborg, which was investigated and documented by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his 1763 letter to Charlotte von Knobloch and later referenced in his work, Dreams of a Spirit-Seer. 
I love it, that it was Kant who had to report that those present confirmed the finding of the documents based on Swedenborg's instructions.  
 https://www.newdualism.org/papers/C.Broad/Kant-and-Psychical-Research.htm
Quote: The lost Receipt. M. de Marteville was ambassador from Holland at the court of Stockholm. [He died April 25th, 1760.] Some time after his death the goldsmith Croon demanded from the widow payment for a silver service which her late husband had bought of him and which had been duly delivered. She was convinced that the bill had been paid ; but she could not find the receipt, and was in considerable distress, as the sum was a large one. She invited Swedenborg to call, explained the circumstances to him, and asked him to try to get in touch with the spirit of her husband. Three days later Swedenborg called on Mme de Marteville at a time when she had company to coffee. He said that the receipt was in a certain bureau upstairs. She answered that this was certainly a mistake, for that bureau had been cleared out and thoroughly searched and the receipt was not among its contents. Swedenborg answered that, if she would pull out the left-hand drawer, she would notice a certain board. If this were pulled out, a secret compartment would be disclosed, containing not only the receipt but also the late ambassador's private Dutch correspondence. The whole company adjourned to the room, the drawer was opened, and everything was found as Swedenborg had foretold.
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