Para Continued from Page 6 observations or events and an at tempt to obtain the best possible data and information about those events. “A long history of scientific in vestigation over the last 80 years has in general failed to substantiate these kinds of claims,’’Jensen said. “The pattern is that mysteries ordinarily evaporate with full sci entific investigation. A ghost in the attic turns out to be a raccopn or special powers the result of chican ery.” When claims of unexplained phenomena are made, Jensen points to a need for investigation by those with knowledge in the appropriate subject area, such as a physicist or an expert in visual perception, rather than those who are merely inter ested in the phenomena. “If there are real abilities we want to know about them, but only through careful scientific investiga tion, not accepting claims which arc investigated partially or unsys tematically,” said Jensen. Jensen himself has investigated claims of unexplained phenomena and supernatural abilities. He de scribed one such investigation concerning a student who believed he could control the weather. “We set up a randomized series of heatings and coolings for him to change the weather a few degrees above or below normal,” he said. “After a week without success, he decided he did not have time for the experiment.” Jensen said the problem with many claims of the paranormal is that there is no mechanism for them to occur. Most scientific phe nomena have mechanisms which are in principle understood, but that is not the case for many claimed paranormal phenomena, he said. “Skepticism is especially great for such events that appear to be impossible,” Jensen said. “I don’t -4 4 If there are real abilities, we want to know about them, but only through careful scientific investigation, not accepting claims which are investi gated partially or unsystematically. Jensen psychology professor ---f ♦ mean to offend people who be lieve, but it is terribly easy to mis perceive or misevaluate the evi dence of our senses.” Jensen said the skeptical ap proach has a long history of recog nizing characteristics of the “lay mind,” or an unsophisticated ap proach to knowledge, which en courages acceptance of the.se ideas. ‘ Some of these events involve abnormal physiological and psy chological phenomena - not super normal,” he said. “There are expe riences which can be misinterpreted as being ‘out there,’ which are really occurring inside the brain.” Jensen teaches a summer read ing course whose purpose is to “introduce students to the modern skeptical point-of-view described in such publications as paranor mal.” “Parapsychology: A Skeptical Perspective (Psychology 298x)” uses texts by James Randi, Terence Hines and Andrew Neher to explore modern psychological perspectives on the paranormal. Jensen also has recently contrib uted an article, “Pathologies of Science, Precognition and Modern Psychophysics,” to The Skeptical Inquirer, the official journal of The Committee for the Scientific Inves tigation of Claims of the Paranor mal. The committee is described by Jensen as “an organization made up of prominent scientists, writers, and philosophers dedicated to ra tional and scientific study of claims and reports of the sort,” which was found in last week’s Diversions. Such publications provide a balance to claims of paranormal phenomena found in the popular press, according to Jensen, who sees a need for “careful, scientific analysis of events and their rational explanation.” “There is not a single, simple explanation but there are multiple, natural explanations for the bulk of what is represented as fTl supernatural,’’Jensen said. 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