Reply #3: A few years ago I read a book called

[TheDoorbellRang]

"The Emperor of Scent." It was the story of a man who had developed a new theory of how the olfactory sense works. The main thing I remember from it was the idea that because he was versed in multiple scientific disciplines, he was able to come up with the theory, which was still in dispute among the scientific community. The author spoke of the compartmentalization of scientific inquiry, and how this trend can limit what reseach can discover. What's your take on this?

Another question: do you think there may be problems with inherent bias in certain studies, especially social studies? I'm thinking in particular of seeing the "five races of man" in museums when I was a kid, then the undercurrent of discomfort when Leakey theorized that all of mankind evolved in Africa (eg, OMG, we're all black!1!1!), to the current genome project that pretty much confirms what Leakey thought. I've often thought that's the main objection to evolution, in the fundie's heart of hearts.

Third -- the "woo woo" question, regarding esp, ghosts, etc. Current scientific methodology has not been able to confirm the existence of these phenomena, but IMHO I don't think they should then be dismissed out of hand. Rather, I'd like to see some clever researcher come up with a viable method to measure these -- it just hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, I do think there's enough anecdotal evidence to suggest such phenomena should be studied, but don't expect to see it anytime soon.