Peculiarities of Psychical Research

Abstract

MR. DIXON asks in his first letter: Could an abnormal distribution of the cards affect the result, if certain precautions were taken? In his second letter he says there was nothing in his first letter to indicate that he under-estimated the importance of “abnormal distributions.” Well and good, if the S.P.R. have not under-estimated the importance of examining the actual distribution of cards cut and of cards guessed, they will have kept a record of each card cut and each card guessed, card for card. If they have not done so, then their experiment is scientifically of no value; if they have done so, then the analysis of the distributions of the cards cut and the cards guessed ought to have accompanied any publication of these experiments. It is an obvious, but by no means sufficient, condition for a proper experiment. If the Secretary of the S.P.R. will place in my hands the actual analyses of the cards cut and the cards guessed made by a competent mathematician, before the publication in their Proceedings of the card guesses, and proving that they did at that time fully consider the point, and take this obvious precaution against deception, my estimation of the “scientific acumen” of the S.P.R. will at any rate on this point be modified.