prase comments on Parapsychology: the control group for science - Less Wrong

62 Post author: AllanCrossman 05 December 2009 10:50PM

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Comment author: brazil84 06 December 2009 11:14:10PM *  8 points [-]

"Parapsychologists make a poor control group of scientists because part of their job is collecting evidence that parapsychology works."

Why is that their job? In theory, they are just studying the question of psychic phenomena. If a parapsychologist found strong evidence against psychic phenonma, he would be doing his job.

Of course, your real point is that such a parapsychologist would be working himself out of a job. But the same danger is there for biologists and physicists. And of course climatologists.

Comment author: prase 09 December 2009 08:01:10PM 1 point [-]

In theory, they are just studying the question of psychic phenomena.

What they do in theory isn't much important. Parapsychologists have all their discipline at stake. They can't take one well established effect and gain experience and status by studying it, and then turn to investigation of a more controversial phenomenon. It's a serious difference from climatology.

Comment author: brazil84 13 December 2009 10:00:07PM 0 points [-]

I don't think the difference is all that big. If climatologists discover that global warming is not a serious threat after all, it will seriously damage their ability to get funding and prestige.