Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!rutgers!caip!clyde!cuae2!ihnp4!ihlpg!tan From: tan@ihlpg.UUCP (Bill Tanenbaum) Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Re: Mind Reading Message-ID: <2577@ihlpg.UUCP> Date: Thu, 16-Oct-86 14:33:37 EDT Article-I.D.: ihlpg.2577 Posted: Thu Oct 16 14:33:37 1986 Date-Received: Fri, 17-Oct-86 05:46:14 EDT References: <217@sri-arpa.ARPA> <3598@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL Lines: 39 > > [Greg] > >It's very easy to take all of the experiences in your life, select the > >coincidences, and then declare that they are more than coincidences. It's also > >easy to edit your own memory to have it fit your preconceived notions of the > >world. Recollections of dreams and feeling are especially easy to change. ---- > [Mitsu] > You are becoming rather offensive here, Greg. Stating the > obvious and then accusing me of overlooking it is a rather weak > counter-argument. Of course the above possibility has occurred to me, > however after three years of this kind of "coincidence" occurring > regularly (one particular series of events I calculated as having > approximately a 1 in 10^15 chance of occurring randomly. This > experience was SO strange that I will keep it to myself at the > risk of sounding like a lunatic. ------ How is Greg's stating the obvious offensive to you, Mitsu. Greg's example with the 1's and 0's in the random number generator is entirely appropriate to your case. Or did you not understand it. I can easily find coincidences in my life that I can estimate roughly at having individual probablities of the order of 1 in 10^3 through 1 in 10^6. String a few of these together and I can come up with an accurate probability of that string of coincidences of 10^whatever I want. The question you should ask yourself, Mitsu, is how many possible strings of coincidences could have possibly occurred in your life. Only a few minutes of thought should convince you that this number far excedes 10^15. If you feel that your particular string of coincidences is "strange", fine, but that has no scientific meaning. Your postings are so vague that they are not appropriate for net.physics. I don't feel this way simply because I believe that you are entirely wrong (although I do). Gathman's "channels" I also believe to be totally wrong, but Gathman's postings DO belong in this group, (if they belong anywhere) because, unlike yours, at least they are PHYSICS nonsense. He is at least attempting to define his ideas in scientific terms, so that they can be evaluated. Until you do so, your mind reading may or may not be real, but does not belong in net.physics. There MUST be another newsgroup more suited to your postings. Please find it. -- Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL ihnp4!ihlpg!tan