[35] in Dilbert Redistribution
Dilbert Newsletter 27.0
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Scott Adams)
Mon Nov 15 21:45:20 1999
To: dilbert-redist@MIT.EDU
From: Scott Adams <dilbertnewsletter@unitedmedia.com>
Errors-To: um1-errors@bounce.exactis.com
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 19:25:20 MST
To: Dogbert's New Ruling Class (DNRC)
From: Scott Adams (scottadams@aol.com)
Date: November 1999
******** Special Mental Powers Edition ********
This is a special edition of the Dilbert Newsletter.
If you're a typical member of Dogbert's New Ruling Class, you have
a gigantic brain that is being wasted on useless activities such as
your career or your schoolwork. It's time we harnessed that
brainpower to do something that will make the world a better place.
I can only think of three objectives worthy of our attention. We
could:
1. Concentrate our mental powers to form a telekinetic ray that can
detect and destroy incoming meteors before they reach our solar
system.
2. Invent cures for major illnesses.
3. Raise the ratings of the Dilbert TV show on UPN.
I think you'll agree that the first two ideas aren't challenging
enough. So let's get busy with the third one.
First, some background.
Many of you read my book The Dilbert Future, wherein I discussed a
seemingly absurd method of achieving nearly impossible goals. The
gist of the concept is that you can influence your environment by a
simple process of writing down an objective fifteen times, during
one sitting each day, until the goal is achieved.
Lots of people wrote to express their skepticism that the method
could work, noting that there is no credible theory as to how it
might work. Hundreds of other people wrote to tell me they tried
the method and achieved spectacular results that appeared to spring
from coincidences beyond their direct control. (A few wrote to say
it didn't work fast enough for them so they stopped trying.)
My own experiences with the technique, as described in the book,
indicate either that I'm the luckiest person ever born, or the
method works for some unknown reason that doesn't involve belief or
personal skill. Now technically, SOMEONE has to be the luckiest
person ever born, and maybe it's me, so nothing is proved by my
experience. And as long as we're considering all the
possibilities, I might be insane and imagining my entire life. I'd
be the last person to know.
What about the science behind it?
Scientists have performed scores of tightly controlled experiments
wherein people concentrated on random number generators and tried
to influence the results. Sometimes the tests indicated a
statistically valid effect, sometimes they didn't. Skeptics aren't
convinced, noting the possibility that the experiments were tainted
in non-detectable ways.
(For details, see the book "The Conscious Universe," by Dean Radin,
Ph.D.)
So how about a little test, just for fun? The Dilbert TV show has
been suffering in the ratings this season, despite the fact that
all three of the people who watched the new episodes agree the show
is much better than last season.
If you'd like to participate in this experiment, write down the
following sentence fifteen times, once a day.
"The Dilbert TV show will get a 7 share."
(That's Hollywood talk for the size of the audience. It's more
than double the current ratings share.)
Alternately, try repeating the sentence in your head several times
a day instead of writing it. And imagine seeing a story in the
news about the "inexplicable" rise in ratings for the Dilbert TV
show.
I'll post the results at www.dilbert.com on the day after each show
(the show airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m./7:30 p.m. Central). I figure
it will take a few episodes to see any impact.
Send me an e-mail message if you plan to participate, so I can get
a sense of how many people are in on it. Most important, DON'T
WATCH THE TV SHOW unless you were planning to watch it anyway. The
true test of the method is whether it influences other people in
some mysterious way.
Yes it's nutty, and yes it's irresponsibly unscientific. But
aren't you curious what will happen?
And I could use the help.
Thanks in advance.
Scott Adams
scottadams@aol.com
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