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From: Rabi Gupta <rabigupta@mailexcite.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 22:04:29 -0800 |
There's a book that might interest you. Cambridge University Press has just published William Dembski's »The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities«. This book was ostensibly written to challenge Darwinian evolutionary theory. But it also provides a mathematical foundation for the types of statistical inferences parapsychologists use to identify paranormal phenomena. In particular, the book shows how to deal with statistical experiments whose p-values are extremely small (like those that regularly come up in parapsychology experiments). The response of the skeptical community has been interesting to watch. They are mainly concerned about what the book will do in the creation-evolution controversy (see http://www.junkscience.com/oct98/rudin.htm). But as you know, the same skeptics who regularly bash creationism (like Martin Gardner, Michael Shermer, Paul Kurtz, Stephen Jay Gould, James Randi, and the late Carl Sagan) are also those who regularly bash the paranormal. These skeptics seem worried about »The Design Inference« (cf. the ongoing discussion on the usenet group talk.origins as well as the reviews at www.amazon.com). A useful synopsis of Dembski's book can be found at http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9810/dembski.html. »The Design Inference« promises to put paranormal phenomena on a solid scientific footing. This book should have ramifications far beyond the creation-evolution controversy. --Rabi Gupta +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | UFOMIND MAILING LIST | | Supporting the World's Largest Paranormal Website | | www.ufomind.com Moderator: Glenn Campbell | | | | Archived at: http://www.ufomind.com/misc/ | | Submissions to: ufomind@lists.best.com | | "unsubscribe" (in body) to: ufomind-request@lists.best.com | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Paranormal personalities Index: William Dembski (#4)
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Created: Nov 21, 1998