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Rupert Sheldrake
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===Public debates and lectures=== Sheldrake debated with biologist [[Lewis Wolpert]] on the existence of telepathy in 2004 at the [[Royal Society of Arts]] in London.<ref name=new-scientist-wolpert/> Sheldrake argued for telepathy while Wolpert argued that telepathy fits [[Irving Langmuir]]'s definition of [[pathological science]] and that the evidence for telepathy has not been persuasive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sheldrake.org/D&C/controversies/RSA_text.html |title=The RSA Telepathy Debate β Text |publisher=sheldrake.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101173044/http://www.sheldrake.org/D%26C/controversies/RSA_text.html |archive-date=1 November 2013 }}</ref> Reporting on the event, ''New Scientist'' said "it was clear the audience saw Wolpert as no more than a killjoy. (...) There are sound reasons for doubting Sheldrake's data. One is that some parapsychology experimenters have an uncanny knack of finding the effect they are looking for. There is no suggestion of fraud, but something is going on, and science demands that it must be understood before conclusions can be drawn about the results."<ref name=new-scientist-wolpert/> In 2006, Sheldrake spoke at a meeting of the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]] about experimental results on telepathy replicated by "a 1980s girl band," drawing criticism from [[Peter Atkins]], [[Lord Winston]], and [[Richard Wiseman]]. The Royal Society also reacted to the event, saying, "Modern science is based on a rigorous evidence-based process involving experiment and observation. The results and interpretations should always be exposed to robust peer review."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528150/Festival-attacked-over-paranormal-nonsense.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528150/Festival-attacked-over-paranormal-nonsense.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Festival attacked over paranormal 'nonsense' |date=6 September 2006 |work=The Telegraph |last1=Highfield|first1=Roger|last2=Fleming|first2=Nic}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In April 2008, Sheldrake was stabbed by a man during a lecture in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]. The man told a reporter that he thought Sheldrake had been using him as a "guinea pig" in telepathic mind control experiments for over five years.<ref name=SFNM/> Sheldrake suffered a wound to the leg and has recovered,<ref name=SFNM/><ref>{{cite news |last=Sharpe|first=Tom|date=5 December 2008 |title=Judge orders mental-health help for man who insists his mind is being controlled |work=Santa Fe New Mexican}}</ref> while his assailant was found "guilty but mentally ill."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.albuquerquejournal.com/news/state/apguilty11-08-08.htm |title=Jury Finds Japanese Attacker Guilty, Mentally Ill |work=[[Albuquerque Journal]] |date=8 November 2008 |access-date=6 November 2013 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112052039/http://www.albuquerquejournal.com/news/state/apguilty11-08-08.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 2013, Sheldrake gave a [[TEDx]] lecture at TEDxWhitechapel in [[East London]] roughly summarising ideas from his book, ''The Science Delusion''. In his talk, he said that modern science rests on ten dogmas that "fall apart" upon examination and promoted his hypothesis of morphic resonance. According to a statement by TED staff, TED's scientific advisors "questioned whether his list is a fair description of scientific assumptions" and believed that "there is little evidence for some of Sheldrake's more radical claims, such as his theory of morphic resonance." The advisors recommended that the talk "not be distributed without being framed with caution." The video of the talk was moved from the TEDx YouTube channel to the TED blog accompanied by the framing language called for by the advisors. The move and framing prompted accusations of censorship, to which TED responded by saying the accusations were "simply not true" and that Sheldrake's talk was "up on our website."<ref name=tedblog/><ref name=independent>{{cite news |last=Bignell|first=Paul |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/ted-conference-censorship-row-8563105.html |title=TED conference censorship row |publisher=Independent Print Limited |date=7 April 2013}}</ref> In November 2013, Sheldrake gave a lecture at the [[Oxford Union]] outlining his claims, made in ''The Science Delusion'', that modern science has become constrained by dogma, particularly in physics.<ref name=OxStu>Gillett, George, [http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/11/28/the-science-delusion-has-science-become-dogmatic/ ''The Science Delusion: has science become dogmatic?''], 28 November 2013, ''[[The Oxford Student]]''. Retrieved 25 December 2013.</ref>
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