The Agents of F.L.A.S.K.

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

We have, of course, been monitoring Gunung Padang ever since the extraordinary claims were made that this pyramid in Indonesia is as old as 27,000 years. That would necessitate the rewriting of human history. Now a paper has finally been published.

Again, subjective opinion bereft hard factual data. And more importantly sophisticated stonework in area
doesn't seem in evidence. Near or atop a volcano leads to nature, not man.

While this file needen't be closed, it can be shelved or file cabinet placed until some particulars start coming
into the office. Like the UFO RETRIEVE file it's all a bit much but too thin.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Yes, scientists are beginning to admit that there is something worth investigating regarding claims of psychic ability, particularly Extrasensory Perception (ESP).

The Ganzfeld Experiment: First you put the ”recipient” in a sensory deprivation setting. Then you have the “sender” in another room try to mentally “transmit” one of four pictures to the recipient without there being any physical/verbal/visual contact. The four pictures are randomly chosen by a computer program. Afterwards, the recipient is asked to describe the picture that was mentally sent to him.. Since there were four pictures, over time you would expect a 25 percent hit rate if it was just a matter of random chance.

This experiment has been replicated dozens and dozens of times at universities and research institutions around the world. Furthermore, the experiment has been meticulously fine tuned to guard against results being due to other factors. A meta analysis of all these experiments reveals a hit rate well above 25%. Would you believe 38% and in some cases even higher? The chance that this is a meaningless fluke is vanishingly small. Scroll to “review of the ganzfeld meta analysis “ in the article below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883320/

So why doesn’t this receive more research, analysis, and press?
Because according to modern physics, the results are impossible.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Because according to modern physics, the results are impossible.

Now tell this to the Black Jack pit and floor bosses at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Now tell this to the Black Jack pit and floor bosses at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

They say that people who are naturally gifted with ESP, clairvoyance, etc, do not win in Vegas. They just lose more slowly.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

The house percentage is key and over time works against the player but at the Venetian the house dealers
are kids with dash flash style showing hole card to astute eyed players. Uncorrected by pit crew supervisory staff, such antics let this Brit some advantage but a winner is noticed. I've been engaged in slightly suspicious
tone but nevertheless always polite inquiry whenever too far ahead the house expectancy.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Just in time for Christmas! More weird stuff (that’s true.)

Okay, the Placebo Effect is strange enough. Materialists do not like the fact that placebos can sometimes alleviate certain real, physical ailments if only the placebo takers BELIEVE that they will work. That’s kind of trippy.

But it gets weirder:
1. There is apparently something called “Open Label Placebos” (meaning it says right on the label “this is only a placebo”.
2. In some cases, OLPs still do the trick.

Most peculiar!

https://mindmatters.ai/2023/12/the-placebo-effect-shows-that-the-mind-is-real/

Not only is the human mind a wacky place, but the physical world it lives in is also hard to explain.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Just in time for Christmas! More weird stuff...

Not only is the human mind a wacky place, but the physical world it lives in is also hard to explain.

Spitalfielder; Trinity College, Cambridge; Parachute Regiment, Aldershot; City denizen, London.
You're telling me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Of all the scary stuff that F.L.A.S.K. Has looked into, this is the scariest by far.

Just as psychologists have developed standardized tests to measure how intelligent a person is, a test has now been developed to pin down a person’s inherent propensity for anti-social behavior. Call it the Evil I.Q. Test.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-the-driving-force-behind-your-darkest-impulses

They say it’s a useful tool, but I don’t know about that. Perhaps it is better NOT to know some things about ourselves. Also, might this test be used to develop some ugly stereotypes?

But, all that aside, if you want to, you can take the test yourself. There is a link about 3/4 of the way through the article.

My inclination is not to take the test. I prefer blissful ignorance. I have always said “I’m sure I’m not as good as I sometimes think I am… but I’m also not as bad as I sometimes think I am.”

Am happy to leave it at that.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Science tends to get ahead of itself. There is good and evil in all but true evil is much rarer.

 

[GHT]

Of all the scary stuff that F.L.A.S.K. Has looked into, this is the scariest by far.

Just as psychologists have developed standardized tests to measure how intelligent a person is, a test has now been developed to pin down a person’s inherent propensity for anti-social behavior. Call it the Evil I.Q. Test.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-the-driving-force-behind-your-darkest-impulses

They say it’s a useful tool, but I don’t know about that. Perhaps it is better NOT to know some things about ourselves. Also, might this test be used to develop some ugly stereotypes?

But, all that aside, if you want to, you can take the test yourself. There is a link about 3/4 of the way through the article.

My inclination is not to take the test. I prefer blissful ignorance. I have always said “I’m sure I’m not as good as I sometimes think I am… but I’m also not as bad as I sometimes think I am.”

Am happy to leave it at that.

These kind of personality tests rely on a truthful answer. Someone bent on anti-social behaviour and answering questions honestly, makes you wonder. Maybe the test is done with electrodes on the skin, the way heart murmurs are monitored. If they do give a true assessment you can bet agencies like the police and probation officers will be interested.

 

[Tiki Tom]

More “mind over matter” evidence.
Wounds heal faster if you think more time has passed.
the first short paragraph says it all.
The power of the mind is very much a mystery.

https://neurosciencenews.com/time-perception-wound-healing-25405/#:~:text=Summary: Perceived time significantly impacts,psychological effects on physical health.

PLUS:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s poltergeist experience…

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ebber-haunted-by-poltergeist-of-eaton-square/

Happy new year!

 

[Tiki Tom]

Big spotted cat caught on camera in Arizona.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/endangered-jaguar-spotted-in-arizona-previously-unknown-to-us/

According to the article, they’ve been seen in Southern California Too.

What other unexpected beasties might be slinking about in the dark out there? I’m still fascinated by the many tales of big cats prowling about in England.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Strange bipedal creature sighting.
That’s got to be fake.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1741199725959729306

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Closed case file.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Grab your Fedora and whip!
Huge lost city found in the Amazon Jungle.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671

Certainly upends what I was taught when I was a kid.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Soon to become established recognition of civilization. Fabulous story for FLASK.

 

[Woodtroll]

Grab your Fedora and whip!
Huge lost city found in the Amazon Jungle.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671

Certainly upends what I was taught when I was a kid.

LIDAR is amazing technology and has been "finding" a lot of lost cities that can't been seen on aerial or satellite photos.

It's absolutely amazing to me to read about the buildings and infrastructure that existed thousands of years ago, often using massive blocks of stone that have been transported, placed, and fitted nearly perfectly with the tiniest seams. How the heck did they do all that all those years ago? Why did that technology, and those civilizations, completely (apparently?) disappear?

It makes me wonder if a thousand years from now, mankind won't have extincted itself as we expect, but will be back to running around with clothing and weapons from the most primitive handiwork, again. It's obvious that it's happened at least once, pretty much in all the inhabitable places on the earth.

Very interesting stuff.

 

[Tiki Tom]

I agree. Although I’m aware of the criticism of Graham Hancock (I.e. “He is not a real archaeologist, he’s not a scientist or a historian. He is only a journalist“) I am nonetheless sympathetic to his general argument that there was, possibly, a human civilization some twelve to fifteen thousand years ago —and possibly earlier. I am especially intrigued that, at the end of the last ice age, sea Levels rose about 400 feet. Supposedly a sunken city has been located off India, fairly deep, of unknown age. Recent finds in Turkey also indicate that humanity was building cities much earlier than once thought. I kind of suspect that there is much more waiting to be found.

 

[Tiki Tom]

High strangeness!
I am kind of inclined to take this one seriously.
I say this because I know a few people who claim that departed friends/relatives have come back to let them know that they are okay in the afterlife. The rather “random” nature of this guys story is in-line with other stories I’ve heard.
He even has photographic evidence that the hummingbird landed on his deceased wife’s picture.
I hope the fact that his wife was Suzanne Somers does not distract the reader too much.
What do you think? A visit from the deceased, or pure coincidence?

https://pagesix.com/2024/01/16/ente...s-spirit-is-in-her-palm-springs-home-widower/

In case you’d like to read another true story in the same vein:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...-that-can-shake-one-s-skepticism-to-the-core/

Far be it from me to doubt the above stories. Why would anyone make such things up about a departed loved one?

 

[Tiki Tom]

Coming soon…
A TRILLION cicadas will soon erupt in U.S. Midwest and Southeast. The U.S. has not seen such a swarm since Jefferson was President. Is it an omen for 2024? I hear they taste great dipped in chocolate.

https://dnyuz.com/2024/01/19/the-world-hasnt-seen-cicadas-like-this-since-1803/