K M Wehrstein - academic research

K M Wehrstein said:

What I will do on this post is discuss research principles and techniques generally, and continue my discussion with Missy on the comment thread where it is.

First, about the word "proof", pre-eminent parapsychologist Stanley Krippner once said, "Logic, yes. Math, yes. Whisky, yes. Science, no." What he meant was that science does not claim to prove anything. This is why we still call evolution a "theory", even though it is solid enough to provide strongly predictable outcomes in testing.

So in reincarnation research, if we don't prove anything, what do we do? Basically we search up evidence and offer it to the readers of our papers to choose whether they are convinced.

The way we do this is to try to establish with a given case that the only possible explanation for it is reincarnation. We find out from aspects of it that we can rule out other explanations, e.g. coincidence, fraud, fantasizing, cryptomnesia (having gained apparent PL information through having read, heard or viewed it and having forgotten doing so), gaining apparent PL information through psychic means, etc.

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K M Wehrstein said:

Notice I do not mention facial resemblance as something we look for. That is because we use it only as secondary evidence, if at all. Why? Three main reasons: 1) it is too easily coincidental; image-google "celebrity lookalikes" and you'll see this clearly; 2) people often do not look at all like their past incarnations and 3) judgment of resemblance is subjective;

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