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General: “Normal” Explanation of the Soal–Goldney Experiments in Extrasensory Perception

Abstract

THE Soal–Goldney card-guessing experiments with the subject Shackleton consisted of forty sittings conducted between 1941 and 43 under the direction of S. G. Soal, then a lecturer in mathematics at the University of London1. Elaborate precautions were taken against error and fraud. Many independent witnesses were called in. Copies of the records were made at each sitting and later independently checked. Above-chance scoring was achieved, in general, on the card one ahead of that being looked at, suggesting precognition. When the rate of guessing was speeded up, success shifted to the card two ahead. The statistical significance of the results was overwhelming. The series has long been quoted as a model of meticulous technique in experimental parapsychology and, for some people at least, has stood as a mainstay of the evidence for extrasensory perception.

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References

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SCOTT, C., HASKELL, P. General: “Normal” Explanation of the Soal–Goldney Experiments in Extrasensory Perception. Nature 245, 52–54 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/245052a0

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