After reading more about Rupert Sheldrake’s experiments with dogs, I would not want to put myself in the position of saying that I endorse his findings. I am not prepared to say that he is a crackpot. I simply do not feel confidant that his findings should be considered reliable or that his claims are at all comparable to the kind of experience I reported at Nathaniel Branden’s intensives in the 1970’s.
I count myself as an admirer of the work of James Randi. I think that he does a wonderful job of debunking fraudulent claims about paranormal “science.”
Here is Sheldrake’s comment about Randi, which you can access here:
I emailed James Randi to ask for details of this JREF research (proving that attempts to replicate Sheldrake’s experiments failed). He did not reply. He ignored a second request for information too.
I then asked members of the JREF Scientific Advisory Board to help me find out more about this claim. They did indeed help by advising Randi to reply. In an email sent on Februaury 6, 2000 he told me that the tests he referred to were not done at the JREF, but took place "years ago" and were "informal". They involved two dogs belonging to a friend of his that he observed over a two-week period. All records had been lost. He wrote: "I overstated my case for doubting the reality of dog ESP based on the small amount of data I obtained. It was rash and improper of me to do so."
And here is one of Randi’s many comments about Sheldrake, which you can access here:
Rupert Sheldrake is at it again! After informing me that the owners of a gifted telepathic dog in the UK had forbidden me access to test the canine for the JREF million-dollar prize, he has now revealed yet another "staggering" animal to the world.
The details of the dog experiments reported by Sheldrake on his website do not strike me as plausible. At this point, I would support Randi’s skepticism of Sheldrake’s claims.
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