As the field of science continues to evolve, more people are willing to taste and share its successes. Thousands of pseudo scientists have emerged in response to the growing popularity of scientific discoveries and the financial merits they offer. Design creationists, parapsychologists, UFOlogists and other –ists create a new community of manipulators and obvious liars, who seek recognition and monetary rewards (Shermer, 2011). In the meantime, true scientists seek to explore the reality of paranormal human abilities and their potential implications for human progress. The problem with pseudoscience is that its boundaries are increasingly blurred. As Shermer (2011) claims, making a distinction between pseudoscience and real empirical science is a task close to impossible. Nevertheless, the use of the scientific method promises to create a more objective, evidence-based picture of human abilities. Paranormal skills can also become a unique and useful object of scientific analysis.
In this sense, mediums and their ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead raise numerous scientific questions. On the one hand, people around the globe use mediums’ services to restore and sustain a close spiritual link with their dead relatives, friends, and beloved ones. On the other hand, no one has ever proved that mediums can serve as liaison between the worlds of the dead and the living. Questions emerge as to whether at all the discussed paranormal abilities could be tested experimentally. The scientific method promises to clarify the controversy surrounding mediums and their claimed ability to talk to the dead.
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It should be noted that numerous attempts have been made to bring the paranormal abilities of mediums to the surface. For more than twenty people, the James Randi Educational Foundation promised to provide $1,000,000 to anyone, who would prove he or she possessed paranormal abilities (Skeptic’s Dictionary, 2015). Needless to say, no one ever received the prize. This is not the first time in the history that psychics are promised monetary prizes for their unique abilities and skills (Skeptic’s Dictionary, 2015). Those mediums who agreed to test their talents eventually failed the experiment (Skeptic’s Dictionary, 2015). Today, the relevance of scientific experiments is justified by the growing number of spirit lovers, who want to hear their relatives and their death message. The scientific method is a suitable framework for analyzing mediums’ ability to talk to the world of the dead.
The scientific method involves several important stages. First, it is observation (McLelland, n.d.). Thus, the process by which mediums call the spirits and engage them in a dialogue will have to be observed. It is essential to consider the setting, in which mediums work, the strategies and instrumentation they use to carry out their mission, as well as the results to which their actions usually lead. For instance, the extent of client satisfaction with the quality of the conservation with the spirits should be considered. After observation comes a research question (McLelland, n.d.). In the given situation, the question to be answered will be “Do mediums possess a paranormal ability to talk to spirits?” On the basis of the proposed question, the following hypothesis will be tested: “Mediums do not possess any paranormal abilities to talk to spirits.” A related hypothesis to be tested may be “Mediums use their knowledge of psychology to mislead their clients into believing that they can contact the world of the dead.”
Once the hypothesis is proposed, it is time to design an experiment. Obviously, testing mediums’ ability to channel spirits and ghosts under controlled conditions will be a serious scientific, experimental, and methodological challenge. Earlier attempts to test mediums displayed considerable experimental design fallacies. For example, in the Scole experiment, all mediums were required to use luminous wristbands that will help control their movements (Dunning, 2009). However, many mediums are known for being trained to get in and out of such wristbands without moving them (Dunning, 2009). In the present case, the design will be borrowed from the experiment conducted by the Goldsmiths University scientists (Gayle, 2012). The mediums invited to participate in the study will have to provide detailed characteristics of the people sitting behind a dark screen (Gayle, 2012). Yet, unlike the original experiment, the new one will be conducted in a dark room. Mediums will not be tied to their seats. They will be free to stand up, walk, and listen to music, while working. The time they will have to produce a complete description will be limited to 10 minutes. They will have to write a minimum of 10 complete sentences about the person sitting behind the veil. The results will be evaluated, based on the accuracy of their writings.
Unlike the a priori method, the scientific method requires that knowledge and assumptions be based on the posteriori findings resulting from observation and experimentation. A hypothesis is developed to set the direction for experimentation and evaluate the extent, to which actual results meet the researcher’s expectations. The a priori method relies on reasoning, whereas the scientific method is grounded in observations and empirical testing. The mediums who pass the test will have to undergo additional tests to confirm their paranormal abilities.
To conclude, mediums make up one of the most controversial paranormal communities. Despite millions of dollars offered to people with paranormal skills, not a single person in history has managed to win the prize. The scientific method offers an insight into the nature of mediums’ interactions with the world of the dead. A scientific experiment will be designed to test how well mediums can cope with the most complicated tasks and use their paranormal abilities to achieve the desired result. The outcomes of the proposed experiment can be used to evaluate the level of professionalism and the risks of frauds among mediums.
- Dunning, B. (2009). The Scole experiment. Skeptoid. Retrieved from http://skeptoid.com
- Gayle, D. (2012). Two professional mediums fail test to demonstrate their psychic powers under laboratory conditions. Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
- McLelland, C.V. (n.d.). The nature of science and the scientific method. The Geological Society of America. Retrieved from http://www.geosociety.org
- Shermer, M. (2011). What is pseudoscience? The Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com
- Skeptic’s Dictionary. (2015). Randi $1,000,000 paranormal challenge. Retrieved from http://skepdic.com/randi.html
