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From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.sci,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Mind and Brain and Ki
Message-ID: <677@opus.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Aug-84 03:41:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: opus.677
Posted: Tue Aug  7 03:41:11 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Aug-84 01:25:51 EDT
References: <215@imsvax.UUCP> <118@mouton.UUCP>
Organization: NBI, Boulder
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>>	On the other hand, if he says, "This is true, but I can't prove it.",
>>	then I'll laugh in his face and tell him to move to net.religion :-).
>>			Ray Chen

>A lot of people are saying "PSI does not exist," as if they're experts
>or something.  What if I say electrons don't exist because I've never seen
>any evidence for them?...
>
>When you people say PSI (and all that other mumbo-jumbo) doesn't exist,
>how do you explain (to yourself) the existence of acupuncture, all those
>wierd things the asians do with karate, aikido, ta-chien...

Look carefully at what Ray was postulating:  If someone says, "This is true
but I can't prove it", you're safe to laugh in his face.  If instead he
says, "Something is happening here and I don't know what it is..."  [do
you, Mr. Jones--oops, sorry!:-], as is generally the case with, say,
acupuncture, then you say, "gee, yeah, I hope that investigation turns up
something soon."

There's a big difference between saying "we don't know what's going on
here" and "there's something going on that you can't explain."

In truth, if I'm going to be careful I should say "I don't know of anything
which is not explained by conventional science but which is explained by
some unconventional Psi concepts" - but I've gotten so fed up with the
interminable hedging, waffling, changes of position, and just plain lying
of most of the Psi camp that I say "Psi doesn't exist" for the sake of
simplicity.  When I see any significant information coming from them, I may
change the way I say it.
-- 
Dick Dunn	{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd		(303)444-5710 x3086
	...Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been.