Nexus - 0109 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Sheldrake proposes dividing a batch of a newly syn- thesised chemical into three and separating them and compar- prol ing crystal forms under controlled conditions when growing that larger batches from them. If the batch which has the largest care number of crystals exerts the strongest influence on the form usei of subsequent crystals, this will be evidence to support thar Sheldrake’s hypothesis. repx A similar experiment using hybrid seeds is also proposed q (pp 133-134). Three batches are grown under controlled con- ing ditions to determine contributions of morphic resonance to the inst characteristics of the plants. Testing for environmental and nan morphic effects on plants could be done using anew variety of repx self-pollinated crop, by growing plants in two very different whi environments. Comparing their effects on an original batch of seeds could show relative effects on the morphology of subse- hop quent plants. Any sort of transmitted environmental influence pro’ of this sort is inexplicable in terms of a mechanistic theory. cau It’s this willingness to propose experiments and have his nun theorise tested by other scientists which distinguishes spei Sheldrake from many other theorists. He is an excellent sim scientist and an imaginative plant physiologist and what he proposes is scientifically acceptable. The scientific method is Tats to test theories and hypotheses in order to gather evidence for this their proof (verification or falsification). befc Biological science has many unsolved problems despite lear Sheldrake proposes dividing a batch of a newly syn- thesised chemical into three and separating them and compar- ing crystal forms under controlled conditions when growing larger batches from them. If the batch which has the largest number of crystals exerts the strongest influence on the form of subsequent crystals, this will be evidence to support Sheldrake’s hypothesis. A similar experiment using hybrid seeds is also proposed (pp 133-134). Three batches are grown under controlled con- ditions to determine contributions of morphic resonance to the characteristics of the plants. Testing for environmental and morphic effects on plants could be done using anew variety of self-pollinated crop, by growing plants in two very different environments. Comparing their effects on an original batch of seeds could show relative effects on the morphology of subse- quent plants. Any sort of transmitted environmental influence of this sort is inexplicable in terms of a mechanistic theory. It’s this willingness to propose experiments and have his theorise tested by other scientists which distinguishes Sheldrake from many other theorists. He is an excellent scientist and an imaginative plant physiologist and what he proposes is scientifically acceptable. The scientific method is to test theories and hypotheses in order to gather evidence for their proof (verification or falsification). Biological science has many unsolved problems despite the cracking of the genetic code. The conventional approach argues that a little bit more research will be able to explain these anomalies in physical and chemical terms, This makes the evidence gathered ina large-scale experiment using televi- sion virtually inexplicable. In Sheldrake’s television test, a picture containing a hidden image was shown to about 2 million viewers in Britain. A picture hidden within a design was found to be easily recog- nisable after it had been shown, The pictures were shown for one minute each, always with the overall picture first. Differ- ent groups of people were shown the pictures a few days before the TV transmission and tested for their recognition of the hidden picture; this was repeated a few days later. The propor- tion recognising the hidden picture increased by 76 % after e transmission. << 7 PA Z “fl Yk hy This increase is statistically significant at the 1% level of probability - that is, there’s.a probability of less than 1 in 100 that this result was obtained by chance. Parameters were carefully checked, cheating was ruled out and controls were used. These positive results may be explicable by factors other than morphic resonance, but the outcome would seem to make repeating the experiment a good idea. Sheldrake sees morphogenetic fields as capable of explain- ing aspects of quantum theory, evolution (not just genetic), instinct and habit - both of which depend on morphic reso- nance as well as just the physical forms of matter and life. The repetition of behaviour builds up its own morphic resonances which become our instincts and daily habits. An experiment with rats which was begun in 1920 in the hope of testing Lamark’s theories of inherited characteristics provided results which support the hypothesis of formative causation. One prediction of the theory is that the larger the number of animals that have been trained to complete a specific task in the past, the easier it should be for subsequent, similar animals to learn the same thing. An increased rate of learning in both trained and untrained rats in successive generations would supportthe hypothesis. In: this experiment (p. 189), the number of errors made by a rat before it learned to leave a tank gave a measure of its rate of learning. The experiment continued for 32 generations and took 15 years to complete; there was a marked tendency forrats in successive gencrations to learn the task more quickly. The average number of errors made by rats in the first eight generations was 56, but by the last generationonly20 mistakes was the average. A critic of this experiment repeated it in Edinburgh over 18 generations and included a parallel line of untrained rats, which were tested for their rate of learning as a control. For some reason, all the rats found it much easier to learn the task in this second experiment than in the first! A considerable number of rats in both trained and untrained lines actually knew how to do the task immediately. The average score of the - Edinburgh rats at the beginning of the experiment was similar to the result of rats tested in the previous Harvard experiment after 30 generations. The experiment was carried out again in Melbourne where the rates of learning of trained and untrained lines were measured for 50 successive generations over 20 years. A marked tendency for rats of the trained line to learn more quickly in subsequent generations was found - but exactly the same tendency was also found in the untrained line. The results of these experiments - which began 70 years ago - are completely inexplicable using any orthodox scientific idea but are seem differently in the light of the hypothesis of formative causations. Perhaps the now-debunked New Age “‘Hundredth Mon- key” story propounded by Ken Keyes was the right idea on the wrong track - or another example of morphic resonance. Available from Adyar andT.S. Bookshops, A New Science of Life - The Hypothesis of Formative Causation by Rupert Sheldrake (Paladin). Gerard Available from Adyar and T.S. Bookshops, A New Science of Life - The Hypothesis of Formative Causation by Rupert Sheidrake (Paladin). ee Gerard Conventionally Inexplicable