Rudism,
You really need to consider what the null hypothesis would say in these situations. If the parrot can't do telepathy (which I take to be the null hypothesis), then that should be equally apparent when you rule out the times when he does not say anything! It is valid to take any steps to increase the signal to noise ratio provided you don't bias the data - just as in any other area of science.
Alex,
I don't think Randi realises that antics like that are helping to bias the debate in the other direction - just as in the past, blatantly fraudulent psychics have encouraged people to become sceptics. Obviously nobody will get his million dollar prize, but perhaps one day someone will get the money by suing him for libel!
David
Last edited by David Bailey; 11-06-2007 at 03:15 PM..
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