Sinclair, Mary Craig, 1883-1961; Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968; Telepathy; Telepathy -- Case studies
For the comfort of the suspicious, let me add that the relaxing of the
conditions caused no change in the averages. In the first four series,
drawn by my secretary, and sealed by him in envelopes, there were only
five complete failures in thirty-eight tests, which is thirteen per
cent; whereas in the 252 drawings made by me there have been 65 outright
failures, which is nearly twice as large a percentage. Series number
six, which was carefully sealed up, produced four complete successes,
five partial successes, and no failures; whereas series twenty-one,
which was not put in envelopes at all, produced no complete successes,
three partial successes, and six failures. Perhaps I should explain that
by a “series” I mean simply a group of drawings which were done at one
time. It is my custom to make from six to a dozen and when Craig has
finished with them, they are put into an envelope and filed away.
I will add that Craig again and again begged me to sit and watch her
work, so that I might be able to add my testimony to hers; I did so,
watching tests both with envelopes and without, and assure you she left
no loophole for self-deception. There was plenty of light to see by, and
some of the most startling successes were produced under my eyes. I will
add that no one could take this matter with more seriousness than my
wife. She is the most honorable person I know, and she has worked on
these experiments with rigid conscientiousness.
_11_
I shall give a number of the successful drawings, and some of the
partial successes, but none of the failures, for these obviously are
merely waste. When I draw a cow, and my wife draws a star or a fish or a
horseshoe, all you want is the word “Failure” and then you want to know
the percentage of failures, so that you can figure the probabilities.
Failures prove nothing that you do not already believe; if your ideas
are to be changed, it is successes that will change them.
I begin with series three, because of the interesting circumstances
under which it was made. Late in the afternoon I phoned my secretary to
make a dozen drawings; and then, after dark, Craig and I decided to
drive to Pasadena, and on the way I stopped at the office and got the
twelve sealed envelopes which had been laid on my desk. I picked them up
in a hurry and slipped them into a pocket, and a minute or two later I
put them on the seat beside me in the car.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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