Why has this forum become so slow?

I'm of similar mind.  Its why I found the study from an Israeli team of scientists on directed evolution interesting and posted it on these forums.  It seemed to really challenge the bedrock of random mutation which, to my understanding, is foundational to modern scientific evolutionary theory.

I didn't get a ton of traction with it, so my breakthrough sense of the study was likely misplaced.  Still, its that type of experimental finding that really interests me.

Can you post a link please. Remember that I have discussed the scientific work of the Discovery Institute (think Intelligent Design) at Skeptiko and here to some extent. I really think Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is extremely unsound - so the possibility that evolution is happening in some other way seems a natural possibility. See my discussion about Michael Behe's book:

https://www.skeptiko-forum.com/threads/b...ost-128576

Radin did a recent podcast on Skeptiko which was rather weird. Most of the interview was good, but then Alex moved on to discuss his new company, Cognigenics, which is looking for ways to enhance a person's psychic potential by genetic manipulation!

I'm curious as to what role Radin had in developing whatever Cognigenics is selling. Apparently he invented a new branch of science, genetic neurospsychology?

I hope its successful b/c that would further enhance his profile and thus the profile of Psi research...tho I am wary that the promises made are not going to come to fruition. One can hope it at least leads to some reasonable progress even if the sales pitch is an over-reach...

It just sounds kinda gimmicky to me.

I'm of similar mind.  Its why I found the study from an Israeli team of scientists on directed evolution interesting and posted it on these forums.  It seemed to really challenge the bedrock of random mutation which, to my understanding, is foundational to modern scientific evolutionary theory.

I didn't get a ton of traction with it, so my breakthrough sense of the study was likely misplaced.  Still, its that type of experimental finding that really interests me.

"I didn't get a ton of traction with it, so my breakthrough sense of the study was likely misplaced."

I don't think you should be discouraged over a lack of responses. We all have our own particular interests, it could have been a breakthrough, just not appreciated by those who are focussing instead on some other topic. Don't forget there are quite a number (whether members or not) who just read the forum to learn about things.

You should keep posting on topics which interest you.

Can you post a link please. Remember that I have discussed the scientific work of the Discovery Institute (think Intelligent Design) at Skeptiko and here to some extent. I really think Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is extremely unsound - so the possibility that evolution is happening in some other way seems a natural possibility. See my discussion about Michael Behe's book:

https://www.skeptiko-forum.com/threads/b...ost-128576

Link: https://psiencequest.net/forums/thread-e...4#pid46724

I think if we want more people we would have to have more interviews.

And then post annoucements of those interviews in the appropriate Reddit/Twitter/etc spaces.

Personally I'm wary of attracing too many of the "new" pseudo-skeptics, many who have apparently no degrees or never used those degrees in their field...they are just sad internet personalities.

OTOH simply being too shy about any public venture prolly isn't helping awareness of parapsychology at all...

I agree about everyday life. The only reason why I ever became interested in topics such as telepathy or precognition and later in past lives as well as NDEs, was because of my own personal experience of some of these (not had an NDE though).

But still, the online world is a big place, there are lots of options on where to post, such as facebook, instagram, twitter, and numerous others. Its interesting that Dr Sam Parnia's team have recently started using instagram as a main platform, supported by twitter, and soon to be joined by a new youtube channel.

To an extent - and I see it in other forums as well, discussion activity has shifted more towards those other platforms, rather than dedicated forums such as this. Or possibly in some cases to a blog, where an article is posted, followed by related comments/discussion.

Regardless of politics, doesn't it worry you that social media are now censored? I don't use any of them.

Another concern I would have, is that (I think) there is no way to use them anonymously using a pseudonym, as most people here do. The algorithm that decides whether what I post here might be of interest to someone else I know, would be totally opaque.

Regardless of politics, doesn't it worry you that social media are now censored? I don't use any of them.

Another concern I would have, is that (I think) there is no way to use them anonymously using a pseudonym, as most people here do.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I tend to use a different username on every website or forum. The obvious exception is continuity between here and a previous forum. This applies on social media too. I don't use my real name there. And I don't use the same pseudonym twice. These days I consider real names as too valuable to hand out like free candy-bars to all comers. Close real-world friends know who I am. Online its a different game.

The algorithm that decides whether what I post here might be of interest to someone else I know, would be totally opaque.

Sorry, I don't understand what it is you are meaning here.

self propagating. if forum lacks activity why bother to engage which leads to low activity. like the idea of regular interviews like the 'other' place as it creates a singular common topic to rally around. like in the days of limited tv channels. people at work and on the bus would be discussing previous evenings show. I'm apt to think that on this forum there may be too many niche forum topic areas. Like in those restaurant rescue shows where the menus have a million choices on them which pretty much flummoxes patrons so they stay away. restaurant's find success with offerings pared down that'll fit on one or both sides of a single menu sheet.  the few threads that have much activity seems to be those common to all..... like this one, or the covid business, or political ones etc. 

I mean you have the 'psi' area split into a hundred sub categories then a 'related topics' split into another hundred categories of more or less the same for goodness sake, heh. 

maybe someone here has the wherewithall and mindset to create a podcast or youtube channel.

Hmm, I like the different topic breakdowns, and don't necessarily see them as being redundant even if sometimes you have inevitable overlap.

Also, I'm curious what having more engagement would mean. If people want to shove politics into everything I assume Skeptiko still allows for that? If it's pseudo-skeptics bringing up their tired talking points, demanding engagement on their terms...pretty sure skeptic-centric spaces abound?

Additionally, I find that oftentimes the claim for "free speech" is less about conversing and more about inflicting?

When liberty is mentioned, we must always be careful to observe whether it is not really the assertion of private interests which is thereby designated.
  -Hegel

If people want to shove politics into everything...

If that was aimed at what I said, I only mentioned politics solely for the purpose for pointing out it's common to all of us and that's why those threads seem to garner activity. Personally I think it serves no purpose to have politics here as there's lots of other forums that cater to that kind of thing.

Sciborg Patel... it's a bummer when I come around here and see all the interesting threads you post yet there is rarely any activity. Maybe simply putting that stuff up on here for people to consume is your sole motivation, idk. But it would be great if your topics generated a lot of discussions.