How not to test mediums : critiquing The Afterlife Experiments - 1

These are examples from this reading that Schwartz insists that the skeptics cannot explain away in terms of normal causes such as guessing and cold reading, fraud, or unwitting sensory leakage. However, the experiment is compromised by so many serious defects that it would be futile for a skeptic to accept this challenge. This would be another example of placing the burden of proof on the wrong shoulders. Although the experimenters try to make a plausible argument against collusion between Campbell and GD, as well as against the possibility that Campbell might somehow have gotten access to the manuscript of GD'S forthcoming book (a copy of which was in Schwartz's) possession, the actual controls against such sensory leakage were not very convincing. Indeed, the authors partially acknowledge this defect. "Since the exceptional nature of the data reported here was not anticipated ahead of time, the experiment did nor include additional desirable controls...." Although I see no reason to assume that fraud did o ccur in this instance, I believe that the experimenters have an obligation to their mediums and sitters, as well as to the scientific community, to take all reasonable steps to preclude fraud as a possibility. By taking such steps they protect their subjects from any suspicions that might arise in this area.

The results would have become more interesting if they had been collected under double-blind conditions--that is, under conditions where Campbell, GD, and the experimenter, Schwartz, were all in ignorance of one another at the time of the reading. Schwartz calls the experiment "single-blind" because at the time of the reading (at least the first portions of it), GD did not know who the medium was and Campbell did not know who the sitter was and was separated from him by a thousand miles. Unfortunately, the experimenter, who did know the identity of the sitter as well as quite a bit of his personal history, was with Campbell at the time she was giving much of the reading. Psychical researchers have a long history of dismissing data collected with this weakness as non-evidential.

Probably the most serious weakness of this experiment is that its outcome relies entirely upon the uncorroborated judgments of the sitter GD. Again, Schwartz relies on plausibility arguments for the reliability and validity of GD's ratings of the reading. This is a major defect for many reasons. One is simple rater bias. Individuals can differ widely as to what they will or will not accept as valid for their personal situation. When Campbell says that she is hearing a name that sounds like Talya, Tily, or Tilya, a sitter with a strict criterion might not accept this as referring to a friend whose name is Tallia. On the other hand, a sitter with a looser criterion and who is convinced that the medium is talking about his situation might accept Campbell's probe as referring to a friend with the name of Tanya, Tina, Tilda, Tony, Dalia, Natalie, or a variety of other possibilities. Schwartz may be right that it is unlikely that GD would misremember or misreport having a friend by the name of Tallia. However, if the outcome of this reading is so earthshaking and scientifically revolutionary as he claims it is, I would think that he should at least make the effort to independently check on some of these facts.