“The Anima Project promises to finally end the debate of whether certain paranormal phenomena exist. The site, launched April 10, 2008, is currently gathering data from the internet community in preparation for a definitive mathematical analysis of clairvoyance and precognition, bringing such realms under the lens of rigorous science for the first time in history.
Though scientific in nature, the Anima Project is still accessible to the general public. All that is necessary is to enter the website, register, and play a simple card-guessing game. Once enough data is gathered in this way, various mathematical tools will be used to compare the overall user results to what is expected by chance and thereby determine the veracity of paranormal phenomena. The Anima Project is unique in that it “plies the scientific method to a field commonly derided as pseudo-science, establishing a protocol for legitimate and reproducible analysis of the occult”, says project administrator and creator Keith Comito. Unlike previous parapsychology studies, the Anima Project eliminates human error and bias during data acquisition and employs sophisticated statistical techniques such as goodness-of-fit testing and runs analysis to interpret that data in a meaningful and significant manner.
As word of the website spreads, the Anima Project is sure to draw the notice of believers and skeptics alike; the resolution to this hotly debated topic has been sought for ages by both sides. Welcoming this resolution, Comito is currently in negotiations with noted skeptic James Randi over the project’s entry into his famous “Million Dollar Challenge”.
May 20, 2008 at 8:59 pm
As I understand it we’ve been studying paranormal phenomenons scientifically for 130 years and the accumulated data over that period suggests that indeed they do exist, here is a nice video on that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw_O9Qiwqew
May 21, 2008 at 12:05 am
Studies have been going on a long time, but most of them fall far short of sound science for a variety of reasons. If there was some serious proof it would be recognized by the mainstream scientific community. Believe it or not most scientists have an open mind to strange phenomena if the proof is legit to back it.
May 21, 2008 at 1:26 am
?The Anima Project promises to finally end the debate of whether certain paranormal phenomena exist.” That’s quit a promise. I’ve got ten billion dollars that says religion and superstition will continue after this study is done, no matter what the findings are. Who’s in?
May 21, 2008 at 1:25 pm
You mean the “mainstream scientific community” that routinely cooks studies for corporate America?
Or the “mainstream scientific community” that too concerned with appearances to go out on a limb to endorse unpopular or dissident opinions for fear of looking foolish and being discredited.
Or perhaps it might be the “mainstream scientific community” that fears the repercussions of scientific acknowledgment of “paranormal” phenomena.
Or could it be the “mainstream scientific community” that medicates or locks up people who report paranormal phenomena as “crazy.”
May 26, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Firstly,
Paranormal phenomena are hardly “unpopular”. All one has to do is look up any typical belief poll to see that.
Secondly, as a “mainstream scientist” myself and one who works with many others on a daily basis, I can say that your claims of scientists fearing going out on a limb or fearing the repercussions of research results are entirely baseless. Consider the climate of science now, where “crazy” sounding ideas like string theory and quantum mechanics are the norm, and you will see that potential explanations for such “paranormal” abilities already fit right in with much of the concepts the scientific community deal with every day.
As far as your last point…are you still living in the inquisition? People aren’t “locked up” anymore for such beliefs; not only are they tolerable, they are trendy. Do you see irons on the wrists of John Edwards, Sylvia Brown, Uri Geller and the millions of small town psychics, palm readers, and fortune tellers? What you said is just not the way the world is any more at all.