Super-powered Eye

WASHINGTON: Making a startling discovery, a scientist has claimed in his new book that the evolution of vision has provided humans with four real superpowers: telepathy, X-ray vision, seeing the future, and speaking with the dead.

And, as it turns out, these superpowers have been instrumental in shaping the way people interact with one another and see the world.

Mark Changizi, a neurobiology expert and assistant professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has detailed the most basic scientific assumptions about human vision in his book, titled ‘The Vision Revolution: How the Latest Research Overturns Everything We Thought We Knew About Human Vision’.

Read complete article here.{via Times of India}

Telepathic Diagram (the Register)

Boffins in America say that their new “neural interface” brain-plug equipment, intended to let users control computers and machinery merely by thinking, is about to embark on its second stage of clinical trials. The tech is intended initially to help patients suffering from paralysing illness or massive injuries, but has implications beyond the medical field.

The kit in question is called BrainGate, and is under development by neuroscience, engineering and computing boffins at Brown University in Rhode Island. It uses a grid of electrodes implanted beneath a user’s skull into his or her motor cortex, linked to a “pedestal” assembly atop the cranium. At the moment, this is hooked up by a wired connection to the BrainGate computers which interpret the electrodes’ readings from the motor cortex and “turn thought into action” – for instance by moving a cursor on a screen, or operating a cybernetic limb, or directing a motorised wheelchair.

Initial trials have already been carried out, according to the researchers, during which a lot was learned. However the tech is far from fully developed yet, and the second phase of trials – now beginning – is under an “investigational device exemption”, meaning that the kit is still at the prototype stage and isn’t certified as medically safe. Volunteers using it are acting as guinea pigs, or test pilots, as it were.

Read complete article here. {via The Register}

So have you ever had someone tell you you’re crazy and that there’s zero proof of the paranormal? Especially those smarty-pants types who unless it slaps them in the face, it doesn’t exist (that’s one unexciting world to live in)? Well if you’re reading this I’m assuming you probably know some of these clowns. You know what, it is a bit harsh, but it’s time to turn the tables on these folks and expose them to what’s really going on in our mysterious world, and make them aware that there’s still some work to be done on the unknown and unexplained. Actually, the heck with these people, I want to know what’s really going on. But the only way to accomplish this is with the help of mainstream science, and that’s exactly what Dr. Lawrence LeShan tackles in his new book  A New Science of the Paranormal.

Dr. LeShan, a psychologist and parapsychologist (and originally a skeptic) with twenty books published and more years in the field than most, declares that the paradigm must shift if we plan on moving forward with the study and investigation into the paranormal. He argues that it’s time to stop wasting the time of trying to prove it’s existence and start studying the why and how. Now he’s not saying that we must drop everything and just believe in this new reality, but that we must develop theories that will work with both the old data and the new, and approach it scientifically. Ultimately this should bring the paranormal out from the shadows and into the mainstream, where scientists can study it free of ridicule.

Also, don’t let the title scare you. I know sometimes when you see science in a title that the read might be a bit rough on the old noggin, but this thing moves. LeShan uses actual case studies to help illustrate ideas from each chapter making this an engrossing, begging for more type of read.

And the next time you run into one of those smarty-pants who thinks you’re crazy, ask them about that pesky old fact that the earth is flat.

Unbelievable

Just a quick heads up for what sounds like a really good paranormal read. The book is Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory by Stacy Horn. It chronicles the experiments of parapsychology trailblazer J.B. Rhine and his team of scientists at Duke University. They ran experiments on clairvoyance, telepathy, ghosts, poltergeists, as well as some other wild stuff like mind-reading used during the Cold War. For those not familiar with Rhine, he  along with psychologist William McDougall would actually be credited with coining the term parapsychology. So this guy was like head honcho of the unexplained. I’ll definitely be on the look out for a copy and will review it as soon as possible. [amazon]

Not one to usually pull over for a yard sale, I spotted a sign on a stack of boxes and books reading, “cheap books,” and immediately swerved over for a closer look. After only a few seconds of digging I came across the hidden gem, Ghost Hunters: True Stories from the World’s Most Famous Demonologists (notice I give you the full title here, I couldn’t fit it in my blog title, sorry). I’d heard of this book being a fan of the Warrens but I think it’s been out of print for a while because I couldn’t ever find it, even Amazon. But for a quick five bucks now I owned my own hardcover copy. Yes, that’s right, hardcover folks!

I took it home that night and read it cover to cover in one sitting. It was an extremely fast read. The book’s format bounces back and forth from interviews to your standard narrative, which actually broke the book up nicely.

The book begins with a brief history on the Warrens in the introduction. At the time of publication in 1989, the Warrens had done over three thousand investigations. Ed’s interest in demonology began with witnessing objects fly around his house as well as apparitons as a child. Lorraine’s experiences bagan in childhood as well, seeing lights around peoples head,  which she later learned these lights to be auras.

Then you start getting into the good stuff. And let me tell you, there’s a ton of paranormal here. They dish on everything from automatic writing, a telepathic Bigfoot case, an exorcism involving the dreaded Quija board, demonic possession, demonic infestation, and psychic visions. Ghost Hunters also covers many of the famous cases the Warrens have investigated such as The Devil in Connecticut, The Smurl family, Dudleytown, the Lindley Street poltergeists and the really, really famous Amityville, which pushed them into the public eye.

The only flaw in this book to me anyway was not enough meat on the bones. They don’t really go into detail about the cases, more of just a quick overview. But enough scary stuff to keep me up most of the night. For instance talon marks all over your bathroom, necrophilia,  the smell of raw sewerage, or the one that really got to me was the rape by a succubus.

So if you can manage to find it, check it out. It’s para-classic. Just make sure you’ve got some company while reading or at least a crucifix.

[official website]