Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is a hero.

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist and a well-known figure in the field of parapsychology, recently did an interview at Skeptiko.com.  The interview at first deals with the controversy surrounding Richard Wiseman's latest book and his attempts to misinform the public.  However, the truly interesting stuff is in the discussion that stems from talking about the controversy in which Dr. Sheldrake goes on to give a beautiful and poignant observation of a huge problem in modern science.  What is that problem?  Dogmatic materialism and how it has stifled progress.  Dr. Sheldrake says it so much better than I ever could so I'll just link you to the interview.

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake on the Persistence of Richard Wiseman’s Deception

You can read the transcript, you can listen to the interview, or you can even download the interview to listen to later.  Whichever way appeals to you, I highly recommend that you take a look at this if you love science as well as the paranormal.  It's like Dr. Sheldrake took everything I've had floating around in my head on the subject and laid it down neatly and plainly for all to see.  He is a hero for saying what few seem to be willing to say and he has my respect for that.  I only hope that by writing about this interview here that his views and work get the attention they deserve and we can all move on to finding real answers and truly exploring reality without the limits of a particular philosophical stance smothering us.

I think it's suiting that this will be my one hundredth blog post.  It's the fact that people from all over the world are reading what I write that has kept me going with this experiment for so long.  It's my love for all of the subject matter that I cover that inspired me to start this blog in the first place and I'm very happy that I've kept writing about it.  This blog is for everyone that wonders about the strange things out there and those that want to find answers for themselves instead of just buying a ready-made explanation.  Thanks to all of you that keep coming back to read my thoughts and opinions.

The ESP debate rages on.

ESP Report Sets Off Debate on Data Analysis

I think that this is just another example of finding any possible way to mitigate the impact of a study that suggests that ESP exists.  If the protocols can't be attacked then attack the data analysis.  When attacks on the data analysis fail, the critics will inevitably cry fraud.  This is not the first time this has happened and most likely won't be the last.  This said, it kind of makes you wonder about all the statistics thrown around in more accepted scientific fields.

In the constant effort to hunt down bias in results, critics might consider the obvious bias against ESP in the first place.  I don't think that ESP research has a fair shot under the best of circumstances, so it really won't surprise me when Daryl Bem's research is torn apart and kicked aside like so many papers before it.

Bem's results have allegedly failed replication so far which is, again, not surprising.  This happens whenever positive ESP results receive a lot of public attention.  There is usually very little discussion of these failed replications though.  One of the attempts to replicate this particular study wasn't even a true replication attempt as it did not follow Bem's protocol.  This, again, is common when it comes to ESP studies under scrutiny.

Keeping all of this in mind, if we ever hope to have any scientific recognition of psychic abilities then we need to stop relying on statistics that can be made to say whatever each particular side wants them to say.  All this gets us is endless battles over statistical analysis and proper interpretation of results.  If we really want recognition and acceptance then parapsychology needs to focus on more observable effects.  The best that I can think of would be macro-psychokinesis.  That is, the movement of objects by mental means.

Most, if not all, demonstrations of psychokinesis on a larger-than-statistical level have been decried as hoaxes with various conjurers stepping forward to demonstrate how they can do the same thing through parlor tricks.  Some performers, demonstrating what is ostensibly a psychokinetic effect, have been later exposed as frauds.  A small number, however, have not.  One such case would be that of D.D. Home, whom I have written about before.

The thing about psychokinesis is that most psychokinetic feats can indeed be duplicated by parlor tricks.  That is just the nature of the beast.  However, I think it would be foolish to proclaim that the PK feats are tricks when there's no evidence to support that claim in a particular case.  Just because something can be duplicated by trickery does not mean that it is impossible by less-deceptive means.  When one cries fraud the burden of proof is theirs.  All of this in mind, I still think that demonstrating psychokinesis will be the thing that silences the detractors.  It may take many years of laboratory study, but I think it's the best bet.

My message then is that anyone that wants psychic abilities to be taken seriously should set about developing their abilities to the highest level possible.  It is going to take direct observation of psychic functioning to get it viewed as a real phenomenon.  Even then you should expect fire from all sides.  There are people that won't be convinced no matter what.  Many psychics and researchers alike have been permanently disgraced because there was too much doubt cast on them, too much ambiguity in the results they produced.  Some just weren't vigilant enough in examining what they had to offer before offering it, or they tried to augment it with parlor tricks.  My advice, then, is try to prove it at your own risk.

Parapsychology going mainstream? - My previous post about this very topic.
Journal’s Paper on ESP Expected to Prompt Outrage - More on the debate and "outrage."

1982 Psychic Spying Research Program Proposal

Word that the US government has made attempts at developing Exceptional Human Functioning (EHF) such as psychic abilities is not really new.  What is new for me is getting to take a look at the declassified documents.  Reading through this stuff makes me wonder where it may have gone and where it could be at the present, as far as advancement of capabilities goes.  I've mentioned before that there's evidence that the NSA started its own psychic spying program after STAR GATE was shut down by the CIA.  This, along with other items of evidence, tells us that the government is still working with psychic abilities in some capacity.

Here is the research program proposal that I'm talking about.

Expect for me to link to and write about more documents like this in the future.

Poltergeists: Spirits of the Dead or Uncontrolled Psychokinesis?

Of all ghostly phenomena, poltergeists are the most startling.  Objects move, appear and disappear, and the poltergeist may even lash out at people violently.  The popular notion of the poltergeist is reflected in the meaning of its name:  "noisy spirit."  There are some that believe that poltergeist activity may actually come from a living human being.  How is that possible?  Spontaneous recurrent psychokinesis (RSPK).

The trend in parapsychology in recent years has been to lean toward the RSPK explanation for poltergeist activity.  This makes some sense as poltergeist activity is commonly focused on one person, the activity only present in their vicinity.  This explanation proposes that some individuals, when under emotional distress, will release that tension through psychokinesis.  These people are usually completely unaware that they are causing these strange events and many are terrified of what's happening.  This leads to the belief in a noisy spirit haunting the person or place.

This implies that people are capable of amazing feats of psychokinesis when under stress, but they are not in conscious control of what happens.  This explanation also requires no idea of an afterlife to explain poltergeist activity.  Poltergeist activity, however, is only one small part of the greater realm of ghosts and hauntings.

Then again, maybe both the spirits-of-the-dead and the RSPK theories are accurate.  If a deceased person is able to perform the seemingly impossible feats of a poltergeist then why wouldn't a living person be able to do the same?  I have no preference, myself.  I think that one is just as likely as the other and that they are not mutually exclusive.  I am convinced of the human capacity for psychokinesis and I also find it likely that we continue on in some form after death.  I hope that future research will shed light on both of these subjects.

If you would like to read more about ghosts, poltergeists, and the quest for answers then please see this article.

Stimulus Seekers Do Better on ESP Tests

I finally got around to reading Daryl Bem's paper that I mentioned in this post.  (You can find the whole paper in .pdf format here.)  I have to say that I'm impressed and I'm anxious to see if this paper will have a very large impact.  One thing that it does make more clear is that extroverts (specifically stimulus seekers) seem to do better on ESP tests.  This makes psychological sense based on what we know about cortical arousal and stimulus-seeking tendencies.

This is not the first study to discover this; it builds on earlier work that says essentially the same thing.  So, if you're the type of person that gets bored easily you may do better on ESP tests than an introvert.  I still think we're a while away from unlocking the secrets of psi, but at least this is a start.

Is there a concerted effort to suppress evidence of the paranormal?

In my studies of the paranormal I have noticed what seems to be an effort by some to obscure, hide, or debunk the most convincing evidence.  I'm not talking about Men in Black silencing people that have UFO encounters; I'm talking about supposed "skeptics" making attempts to debunk evidence for things that they are ideologically opposed to, whether it be UFOs or ESP.

One example might be the controversies surrounding the Mars Effect.  Another example might be the extensive debate surrounding the results of the ganzfeld and auto-ganzfeld ESP experiments.  Perhaps the best examples of this kind of bias against evidence for the paranormal would be "rational skeptics" and the endless attempt to debunk anything and everything that may lend validity to the field of the paranormal.  The James Randi Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge is a component of this effort (but not the extent of it) and it should be noted that not just anyone can participate in the Challenge.

Of the rules listed in the application for the Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge I find number twelve to be particularly suspicious.  The "media presence" aspect is what I find suspicious and Randi has a history of going after prominent paranormal performers.  Going after public figures and exposing their fraud is commendable, but not when that is taken as some kind of strike against the paranormal as a whole.  I think that Randi wishes to draw out challengers and then publicly humiliate them in an effort to support his anti-paranormal agenda.

But is there a concerted effort to suppress evidence of the paranormal?  I don't think that it's a "concerted" effort.  I don't think there's a huge conspiracy to keep people from knowing the truth.  I think that the reason why most people aren't aware of the significant evidence for the paranormal is because most people don't like to read academic papers and to a lot of people the paranormal is seen as taboo.  When it comes to academics, it seems that any suggestion that there may be truth to paranormal claims is met with harsh criticism.  When no evidence of fraud or methodological error is found, those that cannot accept that precognition may be a reality, or find the idea of psychokinesis to be absurd, will often resort to simply ignoring it or attempting to discredit the researcher(s).  Worse still is the halfhearted attempt at replication that doesn't use the original protocol but claims negative results that bear on the validity of the original experiment.

My opinion is that these people are just trying to preserve their worldview.  It's really no different than creationists doing everything they can to cling to their belief.  If one has a totally materialistic and secular view of reality then something like ESP can really shake things up.  They really can't be blamed in this sense as everyone participates in this kind of behavior whether we admit it or not.  Does this mean that I like this kind of pseudo-skepticism?  Not at all.  I do, however, accept that the reasons for it don't seem to be any more sinister than simple fear of what we don't understand.

Parapsychology going mainstream?

Can science prove we're psychic?

I haven't found time to read the paper that this article is about, but I hope to soon enough.  Judging from the article though, I'd say that this is going to encounter the same stumbling blocks that most parapsychology studies finding positive results encounter.

It seems that already people are trying to shrug the study off because it doesn't provide a working theory.  I'm not a science historian, but it seems to me that most often we discover the phenomenon first and then work out the theory afterward.  Expecting a theory before an objective phenomenon is taken seriously seems like a very backwards way of doing things to me.

Then we have the problem of replicability.  Not everyone agrees on what counts as replicability in the first place, but for now let's focus on the people that have attempted a replication and got negative results.  Going solely by the article, it doesn't seem that they really attempted a replication as they didn't follow the exact procedure of the original experiment.  How can this be called a failure to replicate when they weren't even copying the original experiment?

Lastly, I suspect that as soon as conventional explanations for the positive results run dry then the cries of fraud will go up.  Never mind that an accusation of fraud requires evidence to prove it; it was surely a trick all along!  Some people just don't want ESP or psychic abilities to be demonstrated as a reality.  It would topple their worldview.

I have a hard time understanding the ferocious opposition to the idea of ESP and psychic abilities in the age of quantum strangeness.  There are plenty of things that we can't explain; why ignore ESP when there is evidence that it is a real phenomenon?  This is by no means the first study to show results in favor of ESP, though it could turn out to be one of the best known.  It could even be the study that makes people stand up and take notice, if it's replicated.  Call me a pessimist, but I don't think it will be that simple or easy to get this taken seriously.

Scientists are finally doing the obvious thing when it comes to near-death experiences.

Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims

Placing pictures near the ceiling of critical care areas seems like a logical thing to do if you want to determine whether NDEs are objective phenomena or just the brain acting funny in the throes of death.  Hopefully this will provide some kind of answers about survival beyond death.

More on near-death experiences from The Body Odd.

The Power of Objects

Do objects have power or do we give them power?  In many forms of magic there is emphasis on using particular objects to focus or direct metaphysical energies.  Could these things be done without the tools?  Most likely, I think.  The tool merely serves as a kind of key to unlock what our minds can already do.  So do objects have innate power or is it all in our heads?

Does a candle's flame hold more power than a light bulb?  I'm inclined to say that it does.  I feel that a flame holds more connection to the Fire element and all of the archetypal powers that it represents.  But is that why it has power, because I think that it does?  Does it have power because of its associations and symbolism in my mind?  I think that there are a lot of deep subjects I could go into with this but I want to narrow the field a bit.

I feel that magic and parapsychology are just two different ways of looking at the same phenomenon.  In parapsychology the emphasis is on anomalous effects that are directly observable, ostensibly coming from the subject.  There is more freedom in the practice of magic as the force behind the magic often has more freedom to operate and is not bound by strict parameters, capable of taking whatever path is necessary to bring about the desired change.  Magic seems to be more impersonal whereas abilities like ESP and PK almost have to be personal by their very nature.  In both cases though, I think that the energy and force behind the feats comes from within the person

I think that in some instances of magic it is the person's own power being allowed to manifest rather than objects having power in and of themselves.  I think that the object acts like a key to unlock the safeguards on the subconscious mind.  The power of the subconscious mind is thought by some to be enormous (even limitless).  I can say from my own experience with ESP and PK that the subconscious mind seems to play some part in how these abilities work.  I think this also explains the sometimes erratic manifestation and accuracy of these abilities.

When it comes to magic there is little conscious effort to control the powers of the subconscious.  The magic is performed consciously and it is turned loose for the powers that be to manifest the desire in any way they see fit.  In my view, fewer limits on the subconscious means more paths for it to do what you want it to do.  The conscious act spurs the subconscious mind into action but in a less direct way than "Read his thoughts," or "Move that object."  Magic usually has a much less strict time frame as well.

I think that by turning over the power to something like an object or a deity, we remove ourselves from the equation enough to not stand in our own way when it comes to harnessing the power of our minds.  Perhaps this is for the best, this mental safeguard.  Imagine what the world would be like if every conscious whim were manifested?  It seems to me that it might be a very scary place.

Maybe it's not the carvings and the sigils or the symbolism and the ritual that is powerful but the person using these things that holds all the power.  Perhaps all these things do is allow the person to unleash their full potential?  What about psychometry then?  Psychometry is the ability to read the history of an object through psychic means because of the emotional and energetic imprints left on the object by people that are in close contact with it. 

So objects can hold energy and impressions, but can objects hold their own power?  If they do then perhaps it is power that has been imprinted by human beings that can be picked up by other human beings, similar to telepathy between individuals only with an object as the go-between.  Perhaps magical objects or enchanted objects can pass their powers on to others because of suggestions planted in the mind of the new owner or because of unconscious reading of the object through psychometry.  From this suggestion the new owner's mind would take over where the last owner left off.

These are just some thoughts I've had while comparing parapsychology with magic.  I would appreciate any thoughts from the more magically inclined on this subject.  Let me know if I'm out of line or on to something with a comment.  If nothing else, I find this interesting to think about and hopefully you do too.  See you next time.

Psychics and World Governments

It should come as no surprise to students of the paranormal that the governments of the world have an interest in utilizing psychic powers for their own ends.  This first seemed to take precedence during the Cold War.  While there was a space race and a nuclear arms race going on between the United States and the Soviet Union, there was also a kind of psychic arms race.  The story goes that a French hoax about the US using telepathy to communicate with submarines sparked the Soviets to delve into parapsychology in order to keep up.  The rise of Soviet psi research meant that the US had to do the same thing in order to keep up with Soviet advances.

There was an increase of interest in researching parapsychology by both countries going as far back as (at least) the 1970s.  The Soviets seemed to be just as advanced as the Americans when it came to the psi war, if not more so.  The telekinetic Nina Kulagina comes to mind when I think of Soviet psi research.  When I think of American psi research I think of Ingo Swann and the work done at Stanford Research Institute.  The work done at SRI led to the creation of a group of psychic spies that worked for the US military and intelligence services.

The story of how the US military developed remote viewing as an espionage tool is one that has been told over and over so I won't recount it here.  An Internet search of "remote viewing" or related terms is sure to yield a wealth of information and there are a lot of books on the market that detail the story.  For our purposes I am more interested in what the present state of psi is in connection with world governments.  This piece from the American Chronicle suggests that after the CIA remote viewing program was canceled in 1995 there was another post-9/11 NSA psychic program.  This leads one to wonder what else the government might be doing in the realm of the paranormal since publicly outing and discrediting the remote viewing program just 15 years ago.

For years I've heard rumors of the government using psychics for everything from security to assassinations as well as rumors of gifted individuals being picked up by the government and never heard from again.  To this day I still consider all of this to be rumor as I have never seen any corroborating evidence.  However, I can't help but to think that there could be something to it.  If there are individuals that are particularly gifted then I can see why the government might want to "recruit" them.  I can see how it would be useful to use psychic operatives to accomplish missions or acquire information because there is always the element of deniability.  Most people don't believe that these things are even possible and simply scoff at the notion.  What better weapon could there be than one that no one believes even exists?

If the reports out of China of individuals that can teleport objects with their minds are true (as mentioned in my previous blog post) and the US continues to use remote viewers then one can only imagine what abilities might have been developed after decades of research.  Until there is more disclosure it seems that all we can do is imagine.  What are our minds really capable of?  Should we be concerned about literal thought police?  Where can I sign up for the Psi Corps?

If you would like to read more about the remote viewing program of the United States Military then please see this paper by Commander L. R. Bremseth.  It really is a fascinating read and a good primer for someone new to the subject.  I hope that it tides you over until next time.  Take care until then.

If you believe in telekinesis raise my hand.

Telekinesis (or psychokinesis, as I prefer to call it) is, in my opinion, the holy grail of psychic ability.  There has been a lot more scientific research into extra-sensory perception (ESP) than there has been into psychokinesis (PK).  Most "How To" books on psychic abilities don't even provide a definition of psychokinesis, let alone instructions on how to make progress toward acquiring the ability.  There has been recent work in studying micro-PK, or psychokinesis acting on microscopic (even quantum) systems such as random number generators.  While interesting, these test results are not particularly convincing.  Certainly they are not as convincing as the feats of Russian psychic Nina Kulagina (shown in the video above).  The story of Nina Kulagina is a very interesting one and PK was not her only feat.  It was the one she is most famous for, however.

Accusations of trickery aside, I find cases like Kulagina's to be very convincing and not just because objects are moving.  Physical tests were allegedly done on Kulagina throughout her stint of performing PK and they revealed some very interesting things were occurring with her body.  These things included, but were not limited to, exhaustion, shallow pulse, weight loss during her PK sessions, irregular heart beat, high blood sugar, and a disturbed endocrine system.  It's believed by some that the strain of performing PK so often contributed to her death.  At this point I would like to note that Nina Kulagina is not the only well-known telekinetic.  I mention her here because of her popularity which is perhaps rivaled by only Uri Geller (who's surrounding controversy is an entirely different subject).

Personally, out of all psychic phenomena, I find PK to be the most interesting and ostensibly the easiest to verify.  It seems to me that it should be a lot easier to determine if someone is moving something with their mind or using tricks than if they are reading someone's mind or just making some lucky guesses.  I also find it interesting because it's just damn cool.  To me it seems like telepathy or precognition are relatively benign when compared to the ability to move things around with your mind, even if they are just matchsticks and compasses.

There are many theories about how PK might be possible or how a person may perform it but as you might expect there is no published experimental evidence to support these theories.  None that I'm aware of, anyway.  Any correlations between physical phenomena and psychic activity seem to apply to ESP alone, probably because that seems to be the area of psi research that has the most data.  The only relevant correlation that I'm aware of is produced by Wilkinson and Gauld in their observation that there is a small tendency for the days of onset of poltergeist and haunting cases to coincide with days of higher-than-usual geomagnetic activity.  While incredibly interesting, it is not very enlightening as to what allows for psychokinesis to take place.

So this is the challenge with psychokinesis.  There is no accepted theory and no experimental evidence to back up any one theory.  Most, if not all, demonstrations of psychokinesis are either proven to be frauds or are accused of being frauds because of the distaste for psi in the first place.  Combine this with the lack of funding available for parapsychology research and we have a very complex (and difficult) puzzle.

I happen to believe that many cases of "poltergeist" activity actually emanate from a living human being.  The contemporary term for "poltergeist" activity is "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" or RSPK.  I think this reflects the change in thinking toward poltergeist activity.  Many cases of alleged poltergeists seem to surround particular people and abate when the psychological issues of these people are resolved or the individuals reach the end of puberty.

Personally, I'm a believer in PK.  I've had enough personal experiences to be convinced of the reality of PK.  This doesn't mean that I'm any closer to solving the riddle of how it works or how to perform it though.  If you are interested in more information about Nina Kulagina or about learning psychic abilities then please see the links below.  Take care until next time, and if you happen to discover the secret to mastering telekinesis do be sure to share it with me in a comment.

More on Nina Kulagina.
A website with many articles related to learning psychic abilities.

It's that time of year.

It's getting to be close to Halloween and I find this as appropriate a time as any to kick off my new blog.  It's the time of year when all of the paranormal documentaries are on the various documentary channels and when the plethora of ghost hunting shows do either live shows or run marathons.  And let's not forget all of the vampire media that is out there either.  Witches seem to have taken a backseat in recent years as people claiming religious beliefs related to witchcraft traditions have made the idea less spooky and more normal.  Witch is no longer a classification of supernatural creature but a title taken by those that practice pagan faiths and work magic.

 Personally, I find ghosts and vampires to be the two most trite subjects when it comes to the paranormal.  This isn't to say that ghosts don't hold a very important place in the study of the paranormal.  Understanding the nature of ghosts and spirits could be one of the most important undertakings of mankind as it could give us some inkling of what to expect when we close our eyes for the final time.  I'll get to this later.

Then there are vampires who have come out of the darkness because of a recent novel and film series I won't mention.  What many people don't know is that there is a community of real-life "vampires" that are on the verge of bringing their community into a more respected public light.  The subject of real vampires, or Human Living Vampires (HLVs), is so broad that I could devote an entire blog to that subject alone.  You can probably expect posts specifically devoted to the vampire community on future dates.

Back to ghosts now.  I think that the area of parapsychology known as "survival studies" is very important and isn't necessarily given enough respect.  As little respect as ESP researchers get, survival researchers probably get even less.  This is odd considering that in the days of the founding of the Society for Psychical Research survival of the human being beyond death was a major topic of interest.  This said, it was a whole lot easier to investigate claims of spirits communicating secret information between parties then as there were no telephones or other rapid communications such as the Internet.  There were no fancy electronic gizmos or even electricity during the age of widespread mediumship and spiritualism.

I think that now serious survival researchers have to deal with all the noise surrounding television ghost hunters and paranormal investigators.  It's hard to be taken seriously when the public perception of ghosts, spirits, or survival after death is that of a group of young people, some looking less than professional, running around in abandoned buildings after dark filming themselves being scared.  An attempt to validate this vocation by the introduction of electronic devices such as EMF detectors may work for some people but this author doesn't really see the relevance.  I suppose my main problem with these types of shows is that the approach doesn't ever seem to gain any answers.  These "investigators" may be able to tell you whether your home is haunted in an hour or less, but they provide very few answers about what happens when we die, if ghosts are deceased people or something else, the mechanisms of how ghosts interact with our world, etc.  All of this without even going into the accusations of faking evidence for ratings.

I think that the real ground to be gained in this area is in the study of near death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and the similarities between these experiences as related by those experiencing them.  I think that the laboratory is where we'll find the answers and while there is value in field investigation of spontaneous occurrences...  I think the popularization and trappings that have been attached to field investigation by popular media is detrimental.  That's just the opinion of someone that's never done a field investigation of a haunted locale before though, so take it for what it's worth.

I think that the popularization of ghost hunting has also been detrimental to the younger people that have an interest in the paranormal.  I'm sure it's no mystery that kids like to watch TV more than they like to read and, when given a choice, I think most people would rather read fiction than nonfiction.  My point is that the younger generation is getting all of their information from television ghost hunters and haunted locations documentaries (or fictional teen romances).  This means that those of us that have been researching away from the TV have to deal with people taking every creak in their home or shadow in their peripheral vision as a ghost.  I'm not saying that it couldn't have been a ghost, but I think that some critical thinking should be used to temper seemingly inexplicable happenings.

I've experienced my fair share of inexplicable things (that's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about the paranormal).  However, I make it a point to try not to jump to conclusions about what happened.  I try to look at all of the mundane reasons before I cry "Ghost!" (Or whatever else my mind might immediately jump to.)   Sometimes there just isn't an obvious rational explanation though.  Just as often there isn't enough evidence to say that a deceased human being is hanging around in the attic.  I like to find a happy medium in most areas of my life and a little bit of critical thinking is how I do that with my paranormal interests.  That's all I ask when dealing with the paranormal if those of us that are serious about the subject ever expect to have the fields of parapsychology and paranormal research taken seriously.

If you've made it this far then thank you for reading my first entry.  If you have feedback then please leave a comment!