For what's it worth, this is one of the PSI titbits that I found really captivating.
I've seen the parrot N'kisi, the owner Aimée Morgana and Sheldrake in a similar documentary on cable TV, which must have been before 2013 as I don't watch TV anymore.
(And part of why I first ditched the pay-TV cable channels and then unplugged the antenna cable, is all that "Ghost Hunter" and "Bigfoot" thrash that invaded the science channels!!
)
Unfortunately there's not too much newer information on Sheldrake's site except that "the research with N'kisi continues". Hey, I want to know more.
If convincingly debunked, you're welcome to share that too. I won't search for it. Broken heart, and all that. :wink2:
Sigh.
Well something of a "spoiler alert" might be necessary here.
In previous years, I spent an enormous amount of research time on claims of the paranormal. I probably had a bias going into it, but not what one might imagine. My bias leaned in favor of the idea that it was certainly possible (quite likely in fact) that legitimate psi abilities could be found and documented. Well, judging by CENTURIES of such paranormal claims worldwide (and my then-association with Scientology's representations about OT level "powers") I assumed quite innocently (or naively) that all this literature could not possibly result in NOTHING being found of substance in the miracle-worker department.
My research was not lab-specific with scientific protocols in place. It was aimed at finding at least one (1) person in the world who could (and would) perform a supernatural feat in front of the cameras. Seemed like quite an exciting project at all times!
Well, I didn't find any. Perhaps I gave up too soon. Years seemed enough to me, lol.
But as I passed the half-way mark my enthusiastic expectations began to slowly dwindle. But the project's end, I had the entirely OPPOSITE bias than I did at the beginning. It seemed apparent that virtually all of the sensational claims of living paranormally powered persons were evaporating as fast as I could find and research them. Much of that work was done by professional debunkers, a list of such authors, researchers, scientists which is readily available online.
After this project was "over" and my association with Scientology was also "over", I began to unravel any bias one way or another in such matters. Thus, when I saw the psychic parrot video, I quite loved it. I was excited with what it showed to (apparently) be true! But, simultaneously, I had a "zero-attitude" (agnostic) where I was just as happy to find out that it WASN'T true. That is the beauty of real research....it doesn't matter which way the wind blows, it's all exactly the same value.
Anyone who has done similar research knows how to use the internet and find debunking info on virtually anything one cares to learn about. In the good old days, I would camp out at libraries and dig though mountains of microfiche, enjoying the wondrous journey of discovery all the way. It was exciting too, because it always seemed that there might be a miracle just around the corner!
Back to June 3rd, 2017!
So in about 90 seconds of online research, I came up with two key debunking that (sadly or not) made it clear that this "scientific" experiment with the psychic parrot was quite poorly structured as well as the statistical conclusions. Here, take a look if you don't mind learning some hard truths about how Sheldrake's experiment was badly flawed.
SAMPLE LINK
The next thing I looked for was to see what FOLLOWUP experiments might have been done to further validate credible statistical support for the conclusion that the parrot was telepathically responding to the "sender's" thoughts (while looking at photos). None were found, but admittedly, I didn't dwell on it for any length of time.
What would have been expected, however, is that if the original Sheldrake parrot experiment had shown ANY REAL STATISTICAL SUPPORT for his conclusion, I can't imagine why he did not do followup experiments with refined protocols. He didn't. And the raw data (when evaluated under a magnifying glass) is far less than compelling.
Again, fair warning to those who would love to hold onto the belief that this lovely parrot had transcended the known capabilities of the order of Psittacioformes (parrots); you may be gravely disappointed by reading up on these link(s).
However, it bears saying again. Whatever the truth of the matter, one can be equally happy to learn that parrots CAN or CANNOT perform telepathy. Because the parrot and the scientific testers and the readers of this post are all, themselves, existing in this world by some miraculous magic and mojo! How is that not a thing to rejoice of whether a parrot read minds or not?