Perform the Expriment and Record the Data Experiments

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Perform the Expriment and Record the Data Experiments – Good Days and Bad Days

Perform the Expriment and Record the Data Experiments – Good Days and Bad Days • In pseudoscience, and in real science, experiments don’t work every time • It is therefore sometimes necessary to do some initial testing to make sure it is a “good day” • Typical science – we can’t get the oscilloscope to function today • Pseudoscience – I can’t seem to read minds today • This is okay – provided it is clear that this is testing if things are working, not part of the actual data gathering • It is not acceptable to accept data conditionally on things going well • Mind reading correct? See, I’m psychic • Mind reading incorrect? Today’s a bad day for me • Consider in basketball • Before the game starts, you can take practice/warm up shots • Once the game starts, all shots count • And the referee is watching more attentively during the actual game

Problems with Performing Experiments • Sometimes, problems occur when attempting to perform experiments –

Problems with Performing Experiments • Sometimes, problems occur when attempting to perform experiments – Interruptions, distractions, problems, etc. – Not everything can be anticipated • You can often solve this problem simply by throwing out a small amount of data – If a serious temporary problem occurs, just discount this data – Important that this be done in an impartial way – not influenced by success or failure • Sometimes, you have to throw out the whole data collection if it becomes clear that it is fraught with problems • You may have to redesign the experiment to get it to work – Better than coming up with misleading conclusions!

Recording the Data • Data needs to be recorded immediately when taken – In

Recording the Data • Data needs to be recorded immediately when taken – In conventional science, often careful lab books are kept keeping track of all experiments • Memory is not reliable – Even though you made records at the time, all of you made mistakes in describing the psychic demonstrations I did • In cases of demonstration of supernatural abilities, it would be very helpful to actually make a video recording – Did I move my hands when I used the psychoresonant vibrator? – With the precognition demonstration, when did I have the number of cards in each pile counted? • Such a video recording can be invaluable in investigating whether someone is “cheating” • For simple experiments you can record objective data by hand • For large experiments (typical physics), you should have a computer

Reliability of Memory How Reliable is Memory? • Consider the list of words at

Reliability of Memory How Reliable is Memory? • Consider the list of words at right – in a few minutes you will be asked to recall this list • Memory is far less reliable than people think • Example – consider the psychic demonstrations – Almost every account disagreed about particulars • For example, for the numerology demonstration, the final number the group got on demo 1 was – 784 – 679 – 681 • It is clear that just relying on memory is a mistake Candy Honey Sour Soda Sugar Chocolate Bitter Heart Good Cake Taste Eat Tooth Pie Nice

Popular Concept of Memory Most people think of memory as something like a poor-quality

Popular Concept of Memory Most people think of memory as something like a poor-quality videotape • At first (short term memory) it is highly reliable • Over time, the images fade • If this were true, then over time, the number of things that you can “see” in your memory will tend to diminish over time • But you won’t see things that aren’t there • Let’s see if this is true – can you remember what words were on the list? • If accurate, then you will remember some words that were there, forget some words that were there, and won’t remember any words that weren’t there • Which of the following words were on the list? • Check against the actual list Candy Honey Sour Soda Sugar Chocolate Bitter Heart Good Cake Taste Eat Tooth Pie Nice Taste Point Sweet

What This Demonstration Shows • Dr. Schacter claims that for audiences (who haven’t done

What This Demonstration Shows • Dr. Schacter claims that for audiences (who haven’t done the homework reading), 80 -90% of them remember the word sweet • Why do so many people remember the word sweet? • Obviously, it has connections with many of the words in the list • This tells us that memory is not a simple recording • It somehow relies on our brain storing partial information and connecting it • When we attempt to recall the memory, we use the partial information and try to reconstruct the full initial event • But when we perform the reconstruction, we may add details that were not part of the original Candy Honey Sour Soda Sugar Chocolate Bitter Heart Good Cake Taste Eat Tooth Pie Nice Taste Point Sweet

How Memory Works • Suppose we have an initial event that will produce a

How Memory Works • Suppose we have an initial event that will produce a memory • It gets recorded in the brain in a summarized or narrative way as an “engram” • The first time you recall the story, this engram is used to reconstruct the event in your mind – Probably adding details that weren’t there • The process of recalling it then gets recorded into a fresh engram – Possibly including false details that were added • The process gets repeated the next time you recall the same memory • After many cycles, you cannot distinguish the true from the false aspects of your memory Initial Event Engram Recall Engram

Remembering the Hits and Forgetting the Misses • When we reconstruct memories, we usually

Remembering the Hits and Forgetting the Misses • When we reconstruct memories, we usually fill in details that seem to agree with our view of the world • If we have a strong belief in positive (or negative) aspects of ourselves, we tend to fill in details that make us look better (or worse) than we actually are • If we have a strong desire to WANT to believe in someone’s abilities, we will tend to remember their hits and forget their misses • We all do this – even me – I tend to remember all the foibles of the politicians I loathe, and forget the ones of the politicians I like • For data gathering, it is critical that the data be recorded immediately – Sometimes with an audio or video recording

Source Confusion • What is the capital of France? • When/how did you learn

Source Confusion • What is the capital of France? • When/how did you learn this fact? • We can remember a lot of facts • Rarely can we remember how we first learned them • Source confusion is when we mistakenly attribute information to one source when it actually came from another • This can make us put unrealistic faith in unreliable information – Facebook and Russia meddling in 2016 elections

Childhood Memories • Have any early childhood memories? • It is very likely that

Childhood Memories • Have any early childhood memories? • It is very likely that your earliest memories, are actually based not on your own memories, but stories your parents (or siblings) told you • At some point, your parents recounted a story about you as a child • As you processed the information, you formed an engram of that memory – It could contain as much – or more – information from your parent’s recounting than it does from your personal memory • As they repeated it, or you repeated it, the engram got reinforced • It ultimately became a memory indistinguishable from your actual memories • In one experiment, children were told by their parent of an incident when they had overturned a punch bowl at a birthday party • Later, the children recounted the story as if it were real • Even including their sense of embarrassment at the time

Children as Eyewitnesses • Children are especially susceptible to suggestion from people whom they

Children as Eyewitnesses • Children are especially susceptible to suggestion from people whom they consider authorities – In a sense, all adults are authorities to them – Especially parents, teachers, police officers, detectives, etc. • For any eyewitnesses, it is critical that the child not be “led” to say anything that doesn’t come directly from them • Any suggestions that something “might” be true tends to become part of the child’s memories • Once planted, a memory and a fantasy may become indistinguishable to them • Stories of childhood abuse are particularly difficult to track down, because if their parents dismiss it, they may become incapable of accurately remembering it • Contrarily, if investigators are “looking for” abuse, they may easily implant false memories in the children, leading to witch hunts

Conflation of Memories • If two memories get connected in our minds, they often

Conflation of Memories • If two memories get connected in our minds, they often come together as one Donald Trump’s memories of 9/11/2001 – collision of planes with the Twin Towers • There was a picture circulated of five Israeli Jewish people clowning around in New Jersey as this was going on • There were also pictures of thousands of Muslims in the Middle East cheering as they fell • Trump claimed that there were TV reports showing “Thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the fall of the Twin Towers • This was reinforced by subsequent (false) reports confirming it (source confabulation) George W. Bush’s recollections of 9/11/2001 • He claimed to have seen the first collision on the news • But in fact, no news station televised it • He almost certainly was reconstructing memories based on reports of these collisions

Observations – Let’s See How Good an Observer You Are • I am about

Observations – Let’s See How Good an Observer You Are • I am about to show you a video of people passing basketballs • I want you to count how many times people in white shirts pass the basketball Basketball Passing Video

Observations – Let’s See How Good an Observer You Are • I am about

Observations – Let’s See How Good an Observer You Are • I am about to show you a video of people passing basketballs • I want you to count how many times people in white shirts pass the basketball Basketball Passing Video • • How many times was the basketball passed? Was there a gorilla in the video? Did the curtain change color in the video? Did anyone from either team leave during the course of the recording?

Imagination and Memories • Suppose I ask you to imagine something, or recall something

Imagination and Memories • Suppose I ask you to imagine something, or recall something that actually happened – “Imagine/Remember time at Disney World” • This creates an engram, much as a real event would create an engram • How do we distinguish imagination from real events? • Usually, you can remember not only the event, but many of the details associated with the event – We got inexpensive fares – Took our kids out of school to go – My daughter cried because she didn’t want to go/cried on the way back because she didn’t want to leave – She also got sick on the way back and threw up all over my shirt • Such connective details usually don’t exist for imagined events • In some cases, if we are confused about whether it was real or not, it can become as real as if it actually happened

Point of View and Memories • One way that helps use distinguish true from

Point of View and Memories • One way that helps use distinguish true from false memories is point of view • Exercise: Please get an image in your mind of what it will be/was like at the moment you get married • Question: which of the two is your picture in your mind? – I am seeing it from outside myself, i. e. , I am included in the picture – I am seeing it as if I am there, i. e. , I am viewing it through my own eyes • For an original memory, we tend to see things through our “own eyes” – we are not included in the picture • For imagined things, we tend to view ourselves from outside • However, in the long run, even true memories tend to turn into external views – Because we are reconstructing

Unreliability of Eyewitnesses • Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable • When two people give contradictory

Unreliability of Eyewitnesses • Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable • When two people give contradictory accounts of what happens it is common that neither one is lying – They just have contradictory inaccurate recollections • Writing down a contemporaneous account is better than relying on memory much later • The truth often lies somewhere in between • In the case of eyewitness identification, it is critical to give the eyewitness an unbiased list of options so they can identify the culprit – Hence the lineup • Accused criminals normally cover their faces when arrested – To try to prevent source confusion by their accusers • Nonetheless, there are numerous cases of false accusations, arrests, imprisonment, and (occasionally) executions of people who were innocent