30 tips in 30 days: #12.

Testing for doubt is the basis of the scientific method. The process involves forming a hypothesis and then devising a test that accounts for all variables but the one being tested. I can meditate and then test if I can remotely read the symbols on Zenner cards, like the tests at Duke University. The tests will indicate if my theory is valid.

The scientific method requires that anyone can repeat the same experiment and get the same result. We start with a theory, narrow that to a specific hypotheses to test through observations, measuring facts against the hypothesis, which offers confirmation or denial of the theory. All theories are tentative in lieu of further evidence. A theory is never accepted as the absolute truth. I can accept that meditation helps my psychic development until it’s proven otherwise.

While deductive reasoning is useful for testing a theory, inductive reasoning is useful for developing the theories to test. Starting with specific observations of regular patterns, we make generalizations that lead us to formulate theories, which we can test deductively.

For instance, I observe that when I pause to ground myself before making a difficult decision, my decision-making tends to be reliable. I can test this theory over time to see if it holds true for me.

Further, we need to be wary of logical fallacies. Hasty and sweeping generalizations can mislead us, like saying “Everyone I’ve met today is wearing a hat, so everybody must be wearing hats today.” Watch for fallacies in propaganda, such as the “Big Lie” told loud enough and often enough that it is believed, like the Big Lie that global warming is unproven. Please see GlobalSense.com for a list of logical fallacies and propaganda tricks, so you won’t get fooled again.

If you wish to help create a quantum shift into global consciousness on our planet, please share with others this excerpt from my book: GLOBAL SENSE: The 2012 Edition: A spiritual handbook on the nature of society and how to change the world by changing ourselves

If you wish to read Global Sense, please visit Amazon.