Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The difference between science and dogma

Kenneth G. Libbrecht read about Masaru Emoto's research and his book Messages from Water and decided it was a bunch of crap. Here's Libbrecht:


Have I tried to reproduce Mr. Emoto's experiments? No, and I don't intend to. While I try to keep an open mind to new ideas, this one is just too outrageous.


Dean Radin also read about Emoto's research and was skeptical, but open-minded:


Some people, when faced with claims like Dr. Emoto's "intention affects the formation of water cystals," immediately dismiss it as nonsense. Others uncritically accept the claim because it sounds nice. My first reaction is to try to replicate the claim to see it for myself.


In Radin's case, he in fact worked with Emoto and designed a triple-blind protocol that showed striking positive evidence in support of his ideas. Dogmatism decides beforehand what is possible and what is not. Open-minded science investigates claims carefully, and lets the results speak for themselves.

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