JSE 25:1 Editorial

Abstract

The Journal of Scientific Exploration is devoted to the open-minded examination of scientific anomalies and other topics on the scientific frontier. Its articles and reviews, written by authorities in their respective fields, cover both data and theory in areas of science that are too often ignored or treated superficially by other scientific publications. This issue of the Journal features papers on a variety of subjects. The lead article is a sophisticated analysis of whether there are stable mean values, and relationships between them, in quantitative parapsychological experiments. The next paper is a study of ten Tibetan Buddhist monks, in order to evaluate the hypothesis that meditation enhances performance in a precognition task. The third paper examines an oft-cited meta-analysis of PK studies purporting to show that positive results are attributable to publication bias. The author claims that this analysis is itself undermined by a large number of serious errors. The fourth paper investigates GPS network ionospheric total electron content (TEC) anomalies associated with Taiwan's Chi-Chi earthquake of September 21, 1999. The author considers whether the technique employed in this study can be used to identify earthquake-related TEC anomalies earlier than those typically observed. The fifth paper examines an autobiographical essay written by the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino. The author considers the historical context in which the essay was written, and explores discrepancies between Eusapia's account and statements of other authors who wrote about her. The final paper discusses the mental state of mediums and examines the claim that mediumistic experiences are symptoms of mental disorders. This issue of the JSE is then filled out, as usual, with a large selection of substantive book reviews.