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Originally Posted by Open Mind  I am against changing Sheldrakes basic experiment as randomized return times simply rule it out. For even demonstrating dogs can accurately know time, this ability still falls short of explaining Sheldrake's reported results.
Chris, if the 'dogs that know' team must do this to appease debunkers.... I suggest one could buy 4 automated dog food dispensers to automatically dispense a titbit treats. Make dispensers look different. Set times so a box opens between 90-360 minutes of previous box, keep pattern and see if the dogs eventually learns to visit the correct box in correct order at the correct time accurately. If not, it is not worth testing further. If successful now move times forward to later part of day and see what pattern dog follows now.
Even this would still not fully explain Sheldrake results IMHO, although it would strengthen the skeptics theory. Irregular or randomized returns times is so much easier than such a detour. That is why we cannot be critical of Sheldrake's experiment, he did all he could be reasonably expected to do. |
It is not about appeasing debunkers. You should be interested in whether dogs can accurately judge the passage of time. My experiences with animals such as dogs and cows is that they are very good at judging the time of day.
You should also be interested in whether dogs can pick up on subtle cues from their owners and other humans. Again my experience is that they can.
Sheldrake's experiments were not designed to find an explanation for the phenomena. They were designed to default to "morphic resonance".