Horse & BMAC & much more

[Claude Setzer]

From: Koenraad Elst
.
>There is an aspect of the scientific temper and method which
> is little developed in the hard sciences, as opposed to the humanities.  I
> once wrote a report for the Belgian weekly Trends about the Natural Law
> Party, Maharishi's international party which promises world peace by means
> of 7000 levitating yogis centralized in each country's capital.  To my
> half-surprise, the party cadres in most countries were full of engineers,
> theoretical physicists and the like.  They are, by training and
temperament,
> not inclined to "sterile" *critical* thinking, >

Since you and Dominik seem so insistent that "Humanists" are superior in
their care about getting the facts straight, you should be rather ashamed of
yourself for doing so little research about something you publish.

1) The correct number is 0.1% of the population to be effected, as is
clearly stated in many research papers published by studies both within and
outside of the TM organizations. Several years ago, the number 7,000 was
0.1% of the world's population, so it was projected that locally proven 0.1%
effects could be scaled to include the entire world with one group of 7,000.
To be "safe" this was extended to several groups of 7,000. It was not said
(or perhaps was said by accident) that "each" (implying "every" ) country
needed 7,000. But even if someone did say this, a "good Humanist" would do
his research and get the correct data before publication.

2) You seem to make very light of this, but some of the most conservative
and skeptical professional journals have taken it very seriously. In the US,
for example, even the FBI (federal police) statistics have confirmed a
substantial decrease in crime during a TM project specifically designed to
do so in the nation's capitol, Washington DC. And the (very skeptical)
federal government of the US has put very substantial funding into TM
research because, in some areas of need, it has been clearly proven to be
more effective than anything else, sometimes even the only thing that is
proven to work.

Sincerely,

Claude Setzer