Knowtex

"Paranthropology: Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal" is an anthology edited by Jack Hunter (PhD student at Bristol University). Its subject is the anthropology of paranormal phenomena.

the listserv for the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology recently brought my attention to an interesting and highly important story: the saga of attempts by researchers to publish replication studies (particularly when such studies do not report results consistent with the original study).

Jean-Michel Abrassart discute de la psychologie anomalistique (2e partie).

Scientific research is difficult to do well, and people are flawed and biased. As Carl Sagan noted, science is not just an ideal abstraction, but is very much a human endeavor, and as such is messy and imperfect.

In 2010, Daryl Bem of Cornell University published a paper which claimed subjects could recall certain words in an exercise better if they were then shown the words again - after they had handed in their test.

Chris French: Science progresses when repeat studies back or refute previous research, but getting 'replications' published can be a nightmare.

A few weeks ago I published at Rationally Speaking a guest post by my former (undergraduate) student Maaneli Derakhshani, who made a case for the scientific status of parapsychology.

Belief in the paranormal arises from the same brain mechanisms that shape most human thought.

The Project Barnum website was launched in September 2011 after accusations by audience members that self-proclaimed UK psychic Sally Morgan was being fed information while on stage.

Electromagnetic field detectors measure signals from faulty wiring and radio waves — but some paranormal investigators say they can also sense spirits. Temperature guns to track cold air in haunted sites are another key component in a ghost-hunter's toolkit. Scientific sense can be made of it all.