My research in a nutshell
The early years
After graduating from the School of Physics and Mathematics (presently the School of Science) of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), I began my academic career by researching the physicochemical properties of polymer solutions. From 1979 to 1983, I participated in research at the Physics Department (Schuster Lab) of the Victoria University of Manchester in the UK. Initially, I studied Polymer Dynamics in the Glass-Rubber Region Using Laser Photon Correlation Spectroscopy, which earned me a Master's Degree (MSc) in Physics in 1980. My postgraduate studies at the Schuster Lab continued in Low-Frequency Laser Raman Scattering from Amorphous Polymers, which led to my Doctorate Degree (Ph.D.) in Physics in 1983. I maintained research collaboration with the Physics and Chemistry Departments of Victoria University for an additional twenty-five years.
As part of my forty-year academic career at NKUA, I also investigated how the molecular vibrations of amorphous polymers influence their bulk properties. I observed that matter in a noncrystalline state behaves similarly in bulk, whether on a smaller scale (a piece of polymer) or a larger scale (solid earth's motion during an earthquake). I applied a mathematical model to describe this universal behavior of amorphous solids. However, other researchers did not use my findings as much as I expected. On the other hand, my developing a non-destructive tool to assess the purity of plastic has been well-received and applied extensively by other researchers. I did not anticipate such an outcome!
I also expanded my scope to include the study of the molecular behavior and properties of crystalline polymers, sol-gels, and semiconductors within the field of material science.
Studying aspects of the mind
While exploring the behavior of matter, I became curious about the role of the mind in physical reality. Can our minds directly affect the world around us? This inquiry is related to the measurement problem in quantum theory. Starting from 1991, I conducted experiments using random number generators (RNG) to explore this question. In the process of these tests, I applied mathematical tools in fractal data analysis to investigate possible long-range correlations in the RNG data time series. These methods were expanded and introduced in my graduate students' research in Condensed Matter Physics. By publishing the mathematical steps to perform a fractal Rescaled Range (Hurst) Analysis of time series, I have been able to assist the work of other interested readers and researchers.
The experiments related to the quantum measurement problem were in the controversial area of mind-matter interaction testing if the focussed thoughts on the outcome of an RNG could shift the statistics of the numbers it generates in the direction of wish and intention. It is like flipping a fair coin multiple times and getting more heads than tails because someone wished for it. After conducting a small series of such experiments, I analyzed an independently assembled database of 380 psychokinesis tests performed by 62 principal experimenters over 35 years with mathematical tools I had already employed in my research while introducing novel methods of analyzing nonrandom data. In the same line of 'mind-over-matter' research, I produced a review of the experimental setup and associated graphs reported in a series of experiments claiming evidence for the collapse of photon wavefunction by thought and intention. I created a series of YouTube videos to explain in detail the results of my research on Mind-Matter Interaction and my review of photon-wave-function collapse tests, using animations and diagrams.
My investigation of the Mind-Matter Interaction hypothesis in both the extensive database and through reviewing the experimental part of that single publication identified the typical human biases and data reporting shortcomings behind the claimed yet unsubstantiated experimental evidence:
Experimental data from psychokinesis (PK) tests contained (predominantly unintentional) small-scale errors triggered by human biases. These errors collectively led to false statistical evidence that our minds had directly influenced physical processes from a distance.
As demonstrated by PK tests performed over 35 years, the mind, including consciousness, intention, attention, wishes, and thoughts, does not possess a direct magical influence capable of remotely affecting objects, events, or physical processes and their statistical behavior.
If one wonders how an experimenter could intentionally or unintentionally introduce inaccurate data during experiments, there are documented cases in psi research. My comments #1, 4, 12, and 14, in response to my anonymous reviewers also demonstrate the tendency of parapsychology investigators to manipulate data. My videos illustrate a similar case concerning a double-slit diffraction experiment. There are records, too, of how it occurred in sciences outside psi research.
A novel statistical approach and a historical investigation
My extensive journey researching Mind-Matter Interaction confirmed that no such effect exists, a widely accepted understanding among academics based on logical arguments rather than direct experimental investigation and data analysis. Despite the negative findings, my journey was far from a waste of time; it allowed me to discover and introduce useful mathematical data analysis tools. Specifically, I focused on producing the statistical equations for confidence interval curves in a meta-analysis of nonrandom, biased data records. This mathematical tool applied to the meta-analysis funnel plots, provides deeper insights into the studied phenomenon. Until now, meta-analyses of heavily biased and correlated experimental records primarily relied on statistics designed for random data. This was particularly true for the database of psychokinesis tests.
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I have also delved into historical matters regarding the History of the Greek Society for Psychical Research, which Dr. Angelos Tanagras founded.
Gaining an understanding of human nature
Most of my publications are available online, with the ones in psychokinesis and telekinesis (discussed in connection to The History of Greek Psychical Research) receiving more reads and downloads, which is unsurprising. I could observe how people, including scientists and academics, are often drawn to or supportive of reassuring yet unscientific ideas.
The following quote summarizes such behavior quite well:
There's the world of the mind, defined by intention and conscious experience, and the world of outside reality, defined by matter and deterministic forces. We instinctively treat the mind as though it had physical properties, and the physical world as though it had mental properties.
It makes no difference how clever you are, or how reasonable you try to be
This behavior is the result of
magical thinking... offering a sense of control, and meaning, making life richer, more understandable, and less scary.
It all makes sense, considering the human brain is far from perfect.
Throughout our evolution, our nonverbal and intuitive interpretation of the environment has been present longer than communication by speech and analytical thinking. The magical mythological interpretation of the world around us occupies most of our history (99.8%) as opposed to our understanding of it by analytical thinking. Our non-rational thinking dominates our brains.
Shifting our thinking away from primitive factory settings requires substantial effort and energy. It is often easier to believe in the paranormal than to use logic to understand our experiences.
