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Educating Parapsychologists
Journal of Parapsychology, The, Sept, 1999 by Matthew D. Smith
Let us assume, however, that we have demonstrated such a level of reliability. Let us assume that even the most skeptical observer would be happy to concede that the evidence for an anomaly is so statistically overwhelming that to attribute the data to "chance" would be nothing less than intellectually dishonest. Let us also assume that the methodology of the studies that have provided this evidence is so rigorous that explanations such as sensory leakage, experimenter error, or experimenter fraud are effectively ruled out. If this was the position in which parapsychology found itself, would funding for more research posts suddenly become abundant? I doubt it. A demonstrated anomaly, in and of itself, does not tend to attract funding. Even if this anomaly is found to show a reliable relationship with various psychological and physical variables, few of the really big funders are still likely to be interested.
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The point at which potential funding organizations are most likely to give serious consideration to parapsychological research is when the applications of such research can be clearly demonstrated. If they can be shown that psi is not only a reliable effect but also that it can be applied to help solve real problems then investment in psi research is likely to be more forthcoming. So, the question now becomes "Can psi be applied?" The good news is that psi most definitely has the potential to be applied to a number of situations. For example, readers who are familiar with the parapsychological literature will be well aware of research on remote influencing and distant healing (see, e.g., Braud & Schlitz, 1991). From such research it would appear that, under certain conditions, conscious intention may interact with physiological processes at a distance and may even aid the healing process in a way that goes beyond what is commonly understood by currently accepted medical science. If it can be shown that osten sible applied-psi effects such as these can be demonstrated to a reliable level, then I believe funders of medical research will soon show an interest. Similarly, ESP research such as that using the ganzfeld procedure (see Bem & Honorton, 1994) or remote-viewing techniques (for reviews see Hyman, 1996 and Utts, 1996) clearly has the potential (again, once an acceptable level of reliability has been demonstrated) to attract financial interest from those keen to develop new forms of telecommunications. Finally, we should also not overlook the potential commercial applications of RNG-PK findings (e.g., Radin & Nelson, 1989) which suggest that human conscious intentions can interact with electronic equipment, and so may pave the way for some kind of "psychic switch." There are most likely other areas of parapsychological research which have the potential to be applied in similar ways, but these examples illustrate my point.
In my opinion, if parapsychologists wish to see their field of study prosper, then it is research that has the potential to be applied in ways such as these which should be encouraged. Not only would research in these areas have the potential to shed light on the process of psi (e.g., the limits of psi, mediating variables, and so on) but it would also be the kind of research that would be relatively easy to justify to colleagues in other disciplines and, more specifically, to the major sources of research funding.
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