Dear Clarion,

I’d like to respond to the “Water crystals reflect our beliefs” editorial printed last week, claiming that our emotional feelings alone have an influence on the physical structure of water.

Firstly, it is important to review the implications of such a finding. Mr. Blom raised the question of what is happening to the water in our bodies if our minds are affecting outside water. If this study is valid in its findings, then the implications extend far beyond use for personal well-being. It would be evidence for extra-sensory abilities, open a whole new field of science to be used for the benefit of mankind, and even serve as evidence of a divine creator. These are extraordinary claims that Dr. Emoto makes; and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Unfortunately, not only do his claims lack extraordinary evidence, but they also lack any particularly compelling evidence. Dr. Emoto received his Ph.D. in alternative medicine from Open International University, a college in India that offers graduate-level degrees through correspondence programs. His experiments were never performed in double-blind procedures and his dubious results have never been replicated; in fact, his research has never been accepted into any reputable scientific journal, which is why his findings are published as a novel.

For those of you who support Dr. Emoto’s claims and think that his findings can help “heal the world,” I urge you to write to him. Encourage him to take the James Randi Educational Foundation’s $1 million test. This particular experiment would cost very little, and aside from winning $1 million to continue his research, Dr. Emoto would gain worldwide publicity and draw countless scientists into researching this new phenomenon for the benefit of mankind. With stakes like these, I’d be glad to be proven wrong.

William Farrell

Freshman, psych./ molecular bio. major