"Robert J. Bradbury" wrote:
>
> I've now reread the article, rather than just glancing at
> it as I did originally. I agree with Eliezer that it seems
> to be a well designed experiment (though it would be nice
> to have the actual published paper instead of the distilled
> version). My original comments regarding a possible placebo
> effect do not seem to apply. As Eliezer says, if the result
> is reproducible, and not a statistical fluke, it is one heck of
> a result and could significantly rock the foundations of science.
When quoting me on this subject, please try to note that I believe this
experiment to be well-designed because it is falsifiable and I expect it
to be falsified. In other words, I am praising the very easy
falsifiability of the experiment and its unambiguous claims, but my own
knowledge of the universe leads me to believe that the experiment will not
be reproduced.
> If the result turns out to be repeatable, I'd argue that
> the probability we are living in a simulation just got
> a lot higher.
If it's only prayer that works - i.e., atheists wishing very hard have no
effect - then that would seem to be the inevitable conclusion.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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