bmillsap
22nd November 2004, 08:14 AM
On 'Discoveries This Week' on Science Channel, one story was about a supposed experiment that found evidence of a 'collective consciousness'. The nature of the experiment seemed to be:
- Several random voltage generators have been set up in various locations. These devices appeared to be small devices that would attach to a computer, and were supposed to randomly generate either a 'high' voltage or a 'low' voltage with equal frequency at some interval. It was implied (maybe stated? I can't remember for sure) that these exist at numerous locations around the world.
- Data is collected and charted as a 'random walk'
- The assertion was that at times of globally important events (9/11, for example), the random voltage generators strongly tended to be biased in one direction. Several examples were given where this was supposed to be true. This was then claimed to be evidence of some type of 'global consciousness'. No apparent further 'woo' factor or any claim of anything explicitly paranormal.
There was some more discussion given, but this was the gist of it.
Is anyone familiar with this experiment? I don't recall the name of the guy that was interviewed that conducted it. From the story, it was not clear if this was a case of gathering the data first and backfitting results later, but I imagine it was at least to some extent. If these results were true, any possible mechanism that could cause such a result?
- Several random voltage generators have been set up in various locations. These devices appeared to be small devices that would attach to a computer, and were supposed to randomly generate either a 'high' voltage or a 'low' voltage with equal frequency at some interval. It was implied (maybe stated? I can't remember for sure) that these exist at numerous locations around the world.
- Data is collected and charted as a 'random walk'
- The assertion was that at times of globally important events (9/11, for example), the random voltage generators strongly tended to be biased in one direction. Several examples were given where this was supposed to be true. This was then claimed to be evidence of some type of 'global consciousness'. No apparent further 'woo' factor or any claim of anything explicitly paranormal.
There was some more discussion given, but this was the gist of it.
Is anyone familiar with this experiment? I don't recall the name of the guy that was interviewed that conducted it. From the story, it was not clear if this was a case of gathering the data first and backfitting results later, but I imagine it was at least to some extent. If these results were true, any possible mechanism that could cause such a result?