Effects of Consciousness on the Fall of Dice: A Meta-Analysis
⚡ Contested ↗📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Can you move a rolling die with your mind? This meta-analysis (a study pooling results from many studies) examined over 50 years of dice-throwing experiments. With 148 studies, 2,569 participants, and over 2.5 million tosses, initial numbers looked stunning — 19 standard deviations from chance. But here's the catch: regular dice are slightly heavier on certain sides, naturally biasing which face lands up. Once researchers filtered for experiments controlling this physical quirk, the effect shrank dramatically. The remaining 59 careful studies still showed statistical significance, but the authors honestly called it only "weak cumulative evidence" for mind-over-matter. Older studies also showed signs of selective reporting, where failed experiments may never have been published. A refreshingly candid conclusion for a provocative topic.
Actual Paper Abstract
This article presents a meta-analysis of experiments testing the hypothesis that consciousness (in particular, mental intention) can cause tossed dice to land with specified targets face up. Seventy-three English language reports, published from 1935 to 1987, were retrieved. This literature describes 148 studies reported by a total of 52 investigators, involving more than 2 million dice throws contributed by 2,569 subjects. The full database indicates the presence of a physical bias that artifactually inflated hit rates when higher dice faces (e.g., the "6" face) were used as targets. Analysis of a subset of 59 homogeneous studies employing experimental protocols that controlled for these biases suggests that the experimental effect size is independently replicable, significantly positive, and not explainable as an artifact of selective reporting or differences in methodological quality. The estimated effect size for the full database lies more than 19 standard deviations from chance while the effect size for the subset of balanced, homogeneous studies lies 2.6 standard deviations from chance. We conclude that this database provides weak cumulative evidence for a genuine relationship between mental intention and the fall of dice.
Research Notes
The definitive meta-analysis of the classic dice-throwing PK literature spanning 50+ years. Notable for careful treatment of physical dice bias artifacts that dramatically reduced the apparent effect from 19 SE to 2.6 SE. The honest "weak cumulative evidence" conclusion contrasts with the initially dramatic statistics. Central to Controversy #8 and the broader PK debate.
Meta-analysis of 148 dice-throwing PK experiments (1935–1987) by 52 investigators, involving 2,569 subjects and over 2.59 million dice tosses. The full database showed an effect 19 SE from chance (ē = 0.01220), but a physical dice bias artifact was identified: higher die faces show inflated hit rates due to mass asymmetry. A subset of 59 homogeneous studies using balanced protocols (controlling for dice bias) yielded a smaller but still significant effect (ē = 0.00315, z = 3.188, p = .001), with no significant relationship between effect size and methodological quality. The pre-1975 database showed evidence of selective reporting bias. Concludes with "weak cumulative evidence" for a genuine mental intention effect on dice.
Related Papers
Cites
Companion
Cited By
- Assessing the Evidence for Mind-Matter Interaction Effects — Radin, Dean (2006)
- Quantum Aspects of the Brain-Mind Relationship: A Hypothesis with Supporting Evidence — Kauffman, Stuart A (2023)
- Searching for the Impossible: Parapsychology's Elusive Quest — Reber, Arthur S (2019)
- Testing Nonlocal Observation as a Source of Intuitive Knowledge — Radin, Dean (2008)
Also by these authors
Effects of Intentionally-Treated Water on Cell Migration of Human Glioblastoma Cells
Sentiment and Presentiment in Twitter: Do Trends in Collective Mood "Feel the Future"?
Electrocortical Activity Prior to Unpredictable Stimuli in Meditators and Non-Meditators
More in Psychokinesis
Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory
New Year's Eve as a Case Study in Experimental Metaphysics: Exploring Global Consciousness in Random Physical Systems
Anomalous Entropic Effects in Physical Systems Associated with Collective Consciousness
Psychophysical Interactions with Electrical Plasma: Three Exploratory Experiments
Psychophysical Effects on an Interference Pattern in a Double-Slit Optical System: An Exploratory Analysis of Variance
📋 Cite this paper
Radin, Dean I, Ferrari, Diane C (1991). Effects of Consciousness on the Fall of Dice: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Scientific Exploration.
@article{radin_1991_effects,
title = {Effects of Consciousness on the Fall of Dice: A Meta-Analysis},
author = {Radin, Dean I and Ferrari, Diane C},
year = {1991},
journal = {Journal of Scientific Exploration},
}