Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-03

dIcu ny I1iIee physics prOieSSOI:
1t was checked for any possibi
by the rest of the physics depart
ment.
The dice were rolled in an
attempt to demonstrate. or dis
prove, a third element in psi
pSychokinoSiS, the control OF
mind over matter. gather,
having listened in on several
Army sessions, that this belief
is held firmly by most dice shoot
ers who have evolved a whole
lexicon of semi-magic phrases,
both cajoling and threatening, to
influence the bones" The first
experiments in this line were, in
fact. suggested DIR. Joseph B.
Rhine by a professional dice
shooter.
Can the fall of the dice he
Influenced by wishing" on the
part of a person with a lot of
psi? The phenomenon is appar-
emily the weakest Of all the
manifestations Of the mysterious
force en1anating from the mind
which seem to defy the known
laws Of physical nature.
Results Of the University Of
Pittsburgh'S colossal dice game
turned out to be quite indeter-
inmate. The result of the l70,-
600 rolls was only a trifle of one
per cent better than could have
been expected from pure chance
All sorts Of people. Of course.
were involved - some presum-
ably with lots Of psi and some
with none.
Contradicts Chance
Close mathematical analysis
of the result. however, revealed
certain peculiarities which
Sc e. d to contradict quite
strongly the pure chance hy-
pothesis and to show psyche
kinosis at work. At least they
are not in contradiction to the
psychokinsis hypothesis.
Long series of experiments
at Duke University that the
power Of influencing dice runs
out very notwithstanding, of
course. that it exists. DR.. G. L.
Mangan, who. is carrying out
the experiments at present, has
one bit of practical advice for
craps shooters who think they
have psi-bet the roll on the
first throw. You don't know how
soon the power will disappear.
or reverse itself.
Dr.. Mangan demonstrated his
own methods with a lot Of para
phernalia supposed to be fool
proof against conscious or sub
conscious subterfuge. No human
hand ever touches the dice. No
body interested in how they land
reads them. In his best expert
ment-throwing 80 dice at a
time 400 times-the final result
was one against which chance
was five million to one. DR.. Man.
gan, by the way, appears to be
one Of the most conscientious.
hard-headed. practical-minded
scientific investigators I have
ever met. His precautions would
do credit to any experimental
laboratory anywhere. Personally
he claims no psi.
Researchers Convinced
The Duke investigators are
thoroughly convinced that psy-
chokinosis is a real effect. Their
rigidly controlled statistics GER
tainly indicate this. There re-
main a lot of puzzling aspects
to the phenomenon. II some
body with lot of psi can cause
dice to stop rolling approximate
ly as he wishes why cannot he
make one which is standing still
roll over. This. so far as known.
never has been done. The bones
must be rolling.
Is the psi which appears to
operate in psychokinosis the
same power. with the same ex-
tra-physical quality. as that
which operates in telepathy and
pre-cognition? This question
cannot be answered now, DR..
Mangan says. II 1t is a force
which operates outside physical
laws. quite independent Of the
rules Of action and reaction, the
same force which causes dice
to roll Tooth Of an inch further.
bringing up six instead OF a
four, might very well be sufficient
to move Mt. Everest hundredth
Of an inch.
The whole field, DR.. Mangan
warns, is extremely tricky. With
any ordinary dice, the chances
are somewhat loaded In favor
of fours, fives and skies against
ones, twos and threes. This is
because the faces with the larger
numbers--and thus the more in
dentations lighter. All this
must be calculated before any
throws are accepted as evidence
for psychokinosis. Besides, the
Duke Investigators now have a
special type Of dice which over
come this bias, or rather reverse
it. to a considerable extent.
Appears Clearly
The phenomenon sometimes
appears quite clearly in the sta
tistical treatment Of a large
number Of rolls. Sometimes 1t
is hardly evident. But 1t may
have relationship to certain
other mysterious phenomena
which have been explained, at
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