Evening star., 1938-01-02
SC|ENT|STSASSA|L
ANDDEFEND RHINE
His Conclusion Some Can
Read Future Creates Stir
at Sessions.
B, . sta1 Correspondent Of The Star.

at Sessions.
By staff Correspondent Of The Star.
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 1.-Th e
mathematical procedures of Prof. j. B.
Rhine OF Duke University, on which
he has based his sensational conclu-
sion that certain individuals have an
unknown sense which enables them
to read the future. see" through stone
walls and for 1000 miles, and do other
equally marvellous things. received the
somewhat angry support Of some Of
the country's most eminent mathema-
ticians meeting here this week.
They were resentful Of q number
Of allegedly mathematical exposures
of DR.. Rhine which have appeared in
scientific magazines since the E. s. p.
movement has swept the country
These papers were by psychologists,
many of whom have taken an antag-
onistic attitude toward the Duke ex-
periments, and attempted to discredit
the statistical methods.
Mathematician meeting here told
the psychologists rather bluntly to
tend to their psychology and leave
mathematics to men competent to
have opinions on the subject. They
made plain that they are passing no
judgment on the technique Of DR..
Rhine, the possibilities of phychologi-
cal deception, or any question which
Is legitimately In the realm Of ply
chology itself. But taking the actual
results obtained at Duke for granted
the mathematical conclusions are in
escapable.
DR.. Huntington Leader.
Leader Of the movement here was
the veteran Edward v. Huntington
Harvard University professor OF
mathematics.
mo mathematician and no stats
tician has seriously complained" DR.
Huntington said. "One or two ply
biologists have published what they
hoped would be devasting refutations
I hate to see the prestige OF mathe-
matics and physics called into ques-
ton. I hope that those equally re-
sentful with me over these attack.
will join with me in regard to making
some statement which will be Of use
to DR.. Rhine There have been some
very bitter remarks made, such a.
those in recent article of H. L
Meneken in which he scores the Duke
experiments on the basis of a single
article by a psychologist which he
seems to regard as the law and the
gospel. We should speak before any
more discredit is brought on us"
Curiously enough. 1t was brough,
out, the mathematicians do not regarc
DR.. Rhines technique as perfect, bul
as perfectly adequate for the problem
at hand" And. stirred by the re-
peated attacks, they have worked out
a more adequate system which they
consider unassailable, the results OF
which coincide almost exactly with
the results obtained by the Older
method used at Duke and on which
DR.. Rhine based the probability table.
now in use all over the country. Ir
this respect. DR.. Huntington said ir
an interview. the clairvoyance expert.
ments have resulted in carrying the
mathematics OF probability itself tc
new frontiers. The results don't dif.
fer materially from those obtainec
before. but they rest on a firmer the
oretical basis.
Started Six Months Axo.
The work was started, DR.. Hunting.
ton said, about six months ago by q
Harvard astronomer familiar with ad.
vanced statistical procedures used ir
calculating numbers Of stars. Thi!
astronomer. DR.. T. E. Sterne. pub.
lished his results last month, but ap.
parently few psychologists have noticed
them. A series Of papers was reac
here extending DR.. Sterne's work. ont
OF them by DR.. Huntington. They
represent about the most refined linn.
its to which the science of statistic!
ever has been carried, and It is little
wonder that psychologists who are
not graduate mathematicians have
been little at sea.
But, DR.. Huntington pointed out
the results can be stated clearly
enough to satisfy anybody in the form
of table of probabilities. Under the
new methods 1t varies slightly from
that published by DR.. Rhine, of which
thousands of copies have been dis.
tributed in Washington alone, espe.
cially since the "extrasensory percep.
tion" has become the subject Of {
popular radio program and folks ar,
trying to read each others minds al
over the city.
The new table follows: