Chris, is Dr Steven Novella a 'Psi Denier'?
It is seems to me a double standard that followers of scientism (i.e. defending a faith in the most popular scientific viewpoint) call themselves 'skeptics' when casting media doubt upon scientists who have done psi research, yet call others 'deniers' who cast media doubt upon scientists who have done HIV/AIDS research.
Compare these two statements .....
Quote:
By Dr Steven Novella
But it is misleading for the HIV denial movement to suggest that there is any real doubt about the cause of AIDS.
Pushing Back the Goalpost
Of all the characteristics of deniers, repeatedly nudging back the goalpost—or the threshold of evidence required for acceptance of a theory—is often the most telling. The strategy behind goalpost-moving is simple: always demand more evidence than can currently be provided. If the evidence is then provided at a later date, simply change the demand to require even more evidence, or refuse to accept the kind of evidence that is being offered. |
So a sign of 'denial' is moving the goalposts? I agree it is.
Quote:
By Professor Marcello Truzzi
' .... As proponents of anomalies produce stronger evidence, critics have sometimes moved the goal posts further away. This is especially clear in the case of parapsychology. To convince scientists of what had been merely been supported by widespread but weak anecdotal evidence, parapsychologists moved psychical research into the laboratory. When experimental results were presented, designs were criticized. When protocols were improved, a "fraud proof" or "critical experiment" was demanded. When those were put forward, replications were demanded. When those were produced, critics argued that new forms of error might be the cause (such as the "file drawer" error that could result from unpublished negative studies). When meta-analyses were presented to counter that issue, these were discounted as controversial, and ESP was reduced to being some present but unspecified "error some place" in the form of what Ray Hyman called the "dirty test tube argument" (claiming dirt was in the tube making the seeming psi result a mere artifact). And in one instance, when the scoffer found no counter-explanations, he described the result as a "mere anomaly" not to be taken seriously so just belonging on a puzzle page. The goal posts have now been moved into a zone where some critics hold unfalsifiable positions..... ' |
Oh my goodness, Dr Steven Novella has the symptoms of a Psi Denier!
Chris, incidentally I know very little about HIV causes AIDS debate (I'm not too interested ploughing through the debate either, although I have sympathy for anyone ill with any disease) Sp perhaps you can tell me, why do opponents call it 'HIV denial'? I had the impression most were not denying HIV exists or the symptoms of AIDS kills people, I think they were disputing whether HIV is the cause (or sole cause) or AIDS like death? Correct me if I am wrong.