Dean Radin PHD - EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE FOR PSI PHENOMENA
May 31, 2023
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Dean Radin, a PhD researcher delving into psi phenomena, shares fascinating insights on telepathy and precognition. He explores over a century of peer-reviewed research that challenges conventional physics, and discusses the psychological nuances of belief and emotional connections in experiments. The podcast also addresses mind-matter interaction and the intriguing cases of remote viewing in military contexts. Radin argues for a shift in scientific attitudes towards these phenomena, linking them to emerging perspectives in quantum mechanics.
The podcast reveals that extensive research over a century, including nearly 5,000 Gansfeld sessions, demonstrates statistical significance in psi phenomena such as telepathy.
Dean Radin emphasizes the importance of understanding consciousness as an informational phenomenon rather than strictly causal, potentially reshaping our grasp of reality.
Despite historical skepticism surrounding psi research, an increasing acceptance among scientists suggests a gradual normalization of discussions on these anomalies.
Deep dives
Understanding Psi Phenomena: Telepathy, Precognition, and Mind-Matter Interaction
Psi phenomena encompass three main categories: telepathy, precognition, and mind-matter interaction. Telepathy involves the transmission of thoughts or feelings between individuals across distances, evidenced through experiments like the Gansfeld method, where receivers attempt to identify images sent by a sender under controlled conditions. Precognition refers to the ability to perceive future events, often through dreams or gut feelings that align with later occurrences, demonstrated in laboratory settings where autonomic responses precede emotional stimuli. Mind-matter interaction explores how consciousness may influence physical systems, with studies suggesting that focused intent can alter random number generators, monkeys or other physical phenomena, thus bridging the gap between thought and material change.
Experimental Evidence and Statistical Significance
A significant body of research, including nearly 5,000 Gansfeld sessions published across over 100 studies, indicates results ranging from 30% to 32% accuracy in identifying target images. This slight increase over the expected chance rate of 25% demonstrates a level of statistical significance, often described as a 'six sigma result,' suggesting the presence of a genuine phenomenon beyond random guessing. Meta-analyses have identified that factors such as emotional connections between participants can enhance these effects, with some paired individuals achieving rates as high as 70%. This accumulating evidence challenges skeptics who often attribute anomalies to methodological flaws or assume such phenomena are illusory.
Skepticism and the Challenge to Mainstream Science
The reluctance of traditional scientists to accept psi phenomena poses significant obstacles for research in this field, partly due to the belief that such phenomena contradict established laws of physics. Critics often dismiss experimental findings by framing them as irrelevant or proposing alternative explanations that overlook the compelling data collected over decades. This skepticism not only creates barriers to funding but also impacts the willingness of researchers to pursue investigations into psi phenomena. Nevertheless, conversations among forward-thinking scientists are increasingly recognizing the need to explore these anomalies, potentially reshaping our understanding of consciousness and reality.
The Role of Consciousness in Psi Phenomena
Psychologist Dean Radin suggests that the underlying phenomena of psi might be informational rather than strictly causal, analogous to quantum entanglement where correlations exist without direct interaction. Experiments indicate that consciousness may have a non-local aspect allowing for connections that transcend traditional notions of space and time. Continuous exploration into consciousness, including how focused intention can influence outcomes, further complicates our understanding of perception and reality. The implications of this research suggest that a broader and deeper understanding of consciousness could help integrate psi phenomena into the scientifically accepted framework.
Experimental Models: Physics, Mind-Matter Interaction, and Retrocausality
Radin describes how studies have leveraged principles from quantum physics to test hypotheses related to mind-matter interaction, revealing phenomena where intent can influence random systems. Research on retrocausality suggests that future intentions can seemingly affect pre-recorded data, blurring the lines between cause and effect. For example, trials involving random number generators demonstrate significant outcomes suggesting that observer intention impacts results even when they are not immediately aware of being observed. This research points to a complex relationship between consciousness and physical systems, indicating potential avenues for breakthroughs in both physics and psychology.
Normalization of Psi Phenomena in Science
As growing numbers of researchers venture into the study of psi phenomena, there is a gradual normalization occurring within scientific circles despite historic skepticism. Journals specializing in anomalous phenomena are increasingly gaining acceptance, allowing for research collaboration and debate similar to other scientific domains. The idea that psychic abilities could represent an extension of normal human faculties resonates with a wider audience and is reinforced by anecdotal evidence of personal experiences with these phenomena. Ultimately, the integration of these studies into mainstream discourse depends on the continued accumulation of supporting evidence and the development of coherent explanations for these complex phenomena.
Just how much evidence for psi phenomena is there today, when we put together the data from all the studies? What theory of reality could account for such phenomena?
In this episode we have the baffling results of the scientific study of psi phenomena to get our head around. Broadly speaking psi can be broken down into four categories: telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance, and mind-matter interaction. The mere mention of these words immediately conjures images of magicians, charlatans and soothsayers duping a susceptible public; so combine that with the fact that nothing of these experiments and results have ever been properly covered in the scientific press, except by sceptics to dismiss them as physically impossible, as they would defy our current conception of the laws of physics: and the consequence is that scientifically educated people like us may have had absolutely no idea that there was more than 100 years of serious scientific peer-reviewed study on these effects from credible institutions like Princeton University and Stanford Research Institute, with debate and disagreement like any other field of science. Still, you can understand why professional scientists that are interested do this research out of the public eye, and the difficulty of other main stream scientists opening up to the results; as not only would it mean opening up to an alternative understanding of the laws of physics and mind, but also to be accused of believing pseudo-science.
So I ask listeners that you sit through this presentation of the evidence patiently and just stay open to the possibility, as let’s face it the testimonial evidence for these anomalies is overwhelming. So who better to speak to about this baffling data, than one of the world’s leading psi researchers for over 30 years, psychologist Dean Radin.
Dean got his degree in Engineering with Physics at the University of Massachusetts, and his PHD in psychology from the University of Illinois. He’s the head scientist at The Institute of Noetic Sciences and has worked in R&D for AT&T and GTE, as well as holding positions at Princeton University and SRI international.
He has written many books on these topics for those who want delve deeper but the ones we’ll concentrate on today are ‘The Conscious Universe’, ‘Entangled Minds’ and ‘Real Magic’.
00:00 Intro
07:35 4 types of PSI experiments: Telepathy, mind-matter interaction, Precognition and Clairvoyance
10:30 Typical scientific response: delusion, illusion, mental illness, ignorance of the scientifically possible, and often that’s true
11:30 The Ganzfeld telepathy experiments: 5000 experiments with a 25% chance, result shift to 30% (6 sigma - a billion to one chance)
23:00 These phenomena may be bubbling up from the unconscious, so best to avoid conscious reporting methods
32:14 Mind-matter interaction: quantum random number generator experiments (4.5 Sigma result)
40:20 Dean’s ‘non-local connection/ observer effect’ theory for how psi works
44:80 Evidence for quantum coherence in the brain (See episode on ‘Quantum Biology’)
51:45 Robert Jahn, Princeton University Dean of Engineering, founder of PEAR Labs
56:30 A shift in openness to PSI
59:30 The Stargate remote viewing program at SRI: Dean’s role
01:07:00 Sceptic Ray Hyman: the strongest evidence for psi comes from Dean Radin and Jessica Utts
01:15:00 What’s being studied at IONS, that Edgar Mitchell founded following his mystical experience
01:35:00 Journals with editorial prejudice and psi research friendly publications
References:
Dean Radin 'The Conscious Universe'
Dean Radin 'Entangled minds'
Telepathy Gansfeld meta analysis of 29 studies (1992-2008)
Precognition experiments meta analysis of 90 studies (-2011)
Mind matter experiments eta analysis of 216 studies (1959-2000)
Stargate Remote viewing program 1974-1996 Documentary ‘Third Eye Spies’
Evidence for quantum entanglement in the brain
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