I receive numerous letters and emails, most of them by believers in paranormal phenomena, and with varying degrees of irrationality. As soon as I have time for this (when I retire?) , I will try to keep this page up to date.
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March 2006: Mrs. Alice ten Hope, Rotterdam, writes that "absurd phenomena ask for an absurd explanation", and characterizes my attempts to apply logic as "quackery".
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Dr. Hooft, 
physics are incredible at simply bring arguments of paranormal into reality. 
Paradigms set up the main frame of reality and hence physics. It is a slow process to thinking outside the box. I am not saying paranormal is real. I'm saying don't be limited by what you believe is real or as not real. 
As you stated, I approach this problem by logically excluding alternatives:
How about option #6: There are things within this world that are beyond our knowledge.
That being said You may offer an opinion but until there is a complete understanding we just don't know. Even though every thing seems to point in one direction. This could be an illusion, also. To allow yourself to follow meekly would be unjust. Serve the science community well but never forget to be humble.
just an opinion,
Emerie Slattery
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Dear Professor Thooft

Enjoyed your essays on the paranormal. It has long appeared that these events are  (simply?) illusions in the mind, with no external existence.

As an indication of this, there appears to be a case for supposing that apparitions, ghosts etc. are mainly seen by people with some eyesight affliction. This was brought home to me after recent cataract operations. Objects appeared and disappeared, were blurred and duplicated and took on altered shapes with  alarming and entertaining frequency. I didn�t report them!!

 However, an often reported phenomenon is a sudden cooling of the atmosphere when a ghostly presence manifests itself.  This has a logic;  as the �presence� must have energy to enable it to become �physical� and would take this energy from the atmosphere. Unless, of course, the �shivvers� are also in the mind!! Surely not :-)

Regards and thank for an entertaining interlude.

Will explore your site further but fear that at 70 years old my maths/physics creativity phase is far behind me

Ron harris
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Dear physicists and brane researchers of the planet!

 

       Read my article �Torsion field: pyramids, ghosts, TELEPATHY�, where a simple method of the making  telepathycal digital communication real and public is suggested. Spread this article BROAD.

 

             March, 2005                                             B.Sh.Nimbouev

Dr. 't Hooft

I wanted to tell you that I did an independent studies on precognition in college...put a LOT of time into it and did "experiments" on it with students. I repeated J.B.Rhine's experiments, but instead of cards with circles etc., used cards with things that were EMOTIONALLY IMPORTANT, OR HANG-UPS with these people. After reading tons of books, it seemed that this was the common thread. In fact, there was a Dutch man who was employed by the police to investigate fires, as I mentioned above. His name was Peter Hurkos. he was in a fire at a young age.

I won't go into details, except to say I believed in it then.

Later, after grad school and a lot of physics, I stopped believing it.

THANKS for a good explanation of these precognitive events, and why they happen with hang-ups and hot issues with people.

Tom Bishop
Placentia, CA
33 53.01'N, 117 50.14'W
bish@home.com
(714) 993-1980
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Well, to most of these people, if they really think that there is any kind of reality in the purported paranormal effects, why not risk a bet with me?
Gerard 't Hooft
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G. 't Hooft.