More non-skeptical phenomena below, delete if you wish
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This just happened a few hours ago, and I thought that others here might
also find it as scary/hilarious as I did.
I stumbled across a semi-professional "psychic test" website, and because
it's run by Dr. Dean Radin, I thought I'd have a go. The first test was
"card guessing." I think I tried something similar long ago, with results
at chance levels (only occasionally guessing right.) This time I tried
imagining which grey square would have the photo, then clicking on it
immediately. First trial, guessed right (one chance out of five.) Next
one, guessed right. NEXT one, guessed right. This feels very odd! Next
one, I was going to click a card, then got a strong "feeling" that another
one was right, so I clicked this other one... and was wrong, but my FIRST
choice was right! Next trial, guessed right, aaaag! Next trial,
guessed totally wrong (finally!) After 20 trials (with a several more
hits and a few total errors.) the results given were 9:1 against. Stats
fluctuation, eh? Scary though.
Next we try the "remote viewing" test, wherein you try to describe a photo
first, then it's presented later. OK, looking at the grey square, I
immediately start getting strong "storytelling" things happening in my
head. A staring eye. A blue sky. The eye is surrounded by brown-black
feathers, that of a predator bird. It's a single dark-feathered bird
standing on something white, like a brown/black hawk on a stump of a dead
dried white tree in the desert against a blazing blue sky. It's not
moving much, but the wings are open and flapping for some reason, all the
individual dark feathers splayed out and distinct. OK, now we look at the
photo. Ek. It's a line of penguins standing on the edge of a tall white
iceberg with water below, many flapping penguine wings, with bright blue
water and white ice (no sky visible though.) Hmmmm.
Next one... my impressions are strong and totally different. Dark
background. Dark and stuffy, like hot summertime camping in pitch black
night time woods with no breeze. White puffy thing in the center.
Marshmallow. Round and soft/organic, with a sharp-edged disk below.
Cooking marshmallows over a campfire? Vaguely, but this is a closeup on
the marshmallow, no fire. Hot sweaty darkness with a marshmallow and a
sharp-edged disk below it, the marshmallow and the disk on a common axis.
I start to go to the next screen, but then stop and add the word "bulge"
to the description. OK, bring up the photo. Arrrrrg! It's a closeup of a
sweat-covered weightlifter's arm with a huge bulging white bicep, holding
a small black barbell (one disk-shaped weight visible), against a black
background!
This is enough massive statistical fluctuation for one day, and I flee.
OK, I'm ready for my nightclub act, Mr. Carson! :)
PS
the test was at the (non-university, private) Cog. Sci. Laboratories site, http://csl.lfr.org/bi/gotpsi.htm Go see if you can scare yourself too!