Monday, December 04, 2006

Spooky Paradigm in Academia Part II: University Based Parapsychology Centers

While I posted on this a bit earlier, this excellent post from the blog Public Parapsychology merits its own entry.

A listing of university-based parapsychology (though some are more skeptical than others) research centers.

Schools include University of London, University of Giessen, University of Arizona, Temple University (famous in ufgology as one of the few universities offering a regular course on UFOs, by David Jacobs), University of Virginia, and many more. Duke University no longer conducts such research, though the Rhine Research Center (not affiliated with Duke) claims the heritage of the most famous academic psi lab, and is listed as well on the page.

Parapsychology is the oldest of the academic fields of study in the Spooky Paradigm, and has been the most respected through time. While having roots in ghost hunting, it took on the task of laboratory testing (either of alleged psychics or in those not professing any psychic abilities) in a bid for acceptance in the scientific community. The success of this effort is debatable. As listed on the Public Parapsychology post, there are many academic centers for psi research, private or affiliated with universities. Psi research has also been undertaken by governments and corporations. The US government has conducted several programs in the field, most famously Project Stargate, cancelled and revealed to the public in 1995. The full extent of US intelligence and military research on the topic is murky. Private corporations have also funded research, most famously the Sony corporation. It should be noted that Sony is not behind a recent Japanese psychic gadget and obvious sales ploy, a USB flash drive based on the teachings of psychic Masako Mitaki.

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