By Oli Usher
The Guardian
The lights dim. The relaxing sounds of waves crashing on a beach give way to silence. Then the soft porn appears on the screen in front of me. This is not a re-enactment of the fantasies of a teenage boy. Rather, it is a demonstration of serious research into the telepathic transmission of emotions going on at what may well be Britain's oddest lab: the Koestler Parapsychology Unit (KPU) at the University of Edinburgh.
Parapsychology is about as far off mainstream science as it is possible to get in a reputable university. It is the study of paranormal phenomena, and the subjects of the Koestler lab's recent experiments range from extrasensory perception through psychokinesis and clairvoyance to hauntings and out-of-body experiences. It is easy to see why the scientific community might give them a wide berth. Yet parapsychologists use the rational language and rigorous methods of science. They have no time for charlatans and fantasists.
Striving for academic reputability, the researchers at the KPU are incredibly careful about their methodology and their language. In many respects they are a model of scientific good practice. "Parapsychologists make extraordinary claims," explains Caroline Watt, acting head of the unit, "so they must take extraordinary care in their experiments." She insists that their results are accurate. They need to be though: even the most ardent believers in "psi" (the Greek letter is used as a blanket term to cover psychic phenomena) accept that evidence in favour of it is made up of small anomalies that are often difficult to identify with any certainty.
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