Science, philosophy and anomaly: some thoughts and evidence

摘要

After discussion of the philosophical basis of science/engineering and the resulting normal realism model of the physical universe, evidence is given indicating the model's limiting properties and inadequacies. Statistical experiments show that the mind alone can, for example, alter the rate of count of a random stream of electrical pulses; also it can acquire information, without sensory mediation, about distant places selected at random, even when such sites are selected after the information has been acquired. These data are of fundamental importance to science and engineering yet natural psychological defences often act to prevent their careful examination.