Masaru Emoto

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Masaru Emoto (江本勝 Emoto Masaru?, b. July 22, 1943, Yokohama, Japan) is an author known for his controversial claim that if human thoughts are directed at water before it is frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be beautiful or ugly depending upon whether the thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water.

Since 1999 Emoto has published several volumes of a work titled Messages from Water, which contains photographs of water crystals next to essays and "words of intent".

Contents

[edit] Biography

Emoto graduated from Yokohama Municipal University with courses in International Relations, and in 1992 he received certification as a Doctor of Alternative Medicine from The Open International University for Alternative Medicine in India, an unaccredited institute with minimal academic requirements. [1]

Emoto is President Emeritus of the International Water For Life Foundation.[2] He has three children and is married to Kazuko Emoto.

[edit] Water crystal work and criticism

Emoto's water crystal experiments consist of exposing water in glasses to different words, pictures, or music, and then freezing and examining the aesthetics of the resulting crystals with microscopic photography. [3]

Even with the best of intentions, cognitive biases can easily lead to the misinterpretation of such data. For example, selection bias or confirmation bias may occur if the person taking the photographs or the person judging the beauty of the photographs knows which water samples have been sent which messages. The photographer or judge’s attitudes towards Emoto’s claims - either sympathetic or skeptical - could distort their choice and ranking of photos. For example, photographers may hunt through the diversity of crystals in each sample to look for those that match their expectations.

Over time scientists have developed ways to reduce the risk of such biases occurring. Double blind experiments are a key method. In this case it would mean having the photographer and the judge carry out their work without prior knowledge of which sample had been sent which message. A proper experiment would also require comparing a sample with another sample that has been treated identically in all ways except one. If the samples turn out different, then it may be plausible to attribute the difference in results (such as the formation of more or less aesthetically pleasing water crystals) to the one difference in their treatment (such as praying towards one but not the other). But if there were multiple differences in the ways the samples were treated (such as the rate of cooling or other factors known to affect crystal formation), then it may not be possible to conclude from the experiment whether it was the treatment of interest (prayer in this example) or the uncontrolled experimental conditions that caused the samples to turn out differently.

Even sympathetic commentators have criticized Emoto for insufficient experimental controls,[4] and for not sharing enough details of his approach with the scientific community. [5] In addition, Emoto has been criticized for designing his experiments in ways that leave them open to human error influencing his findings. [6]

In the day-to-day work of his group, the creativity of the photographers rather than the rigor of the experiment is an explicit policy of Emoto.[7] Emoto freely acknowledges that he is not a scientist,[8] and that photographers are instructed to select the most pleasing photographs.[9] Emoto says that he selects the photos that he wishes for consistency[citation needed]. This is an explicit admission of observer bias.

James Randi, founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation, has publicly offered Emoto one million dollars if his results can be reproduced in a double-blind study.[10] Randi has also stated that he does not expect to ever have to pay the million dollars.

[edit] Selected books by Emoto

  • Messages from Water, Vol. 1 (June 1999), Hado Publishing, ISBN 4-939098-00-1
  • Messages from Water, Vol. 2 (November 2001), Sunmark Pub. ISBN 0-7881-2927-9
  • The Hidden Messages in Water (April 2004 Eng., 2001 Jap.), Beyond Words Publishing ISBN 1-58270-162-8
  • The Message from Water III: Love Thyself (January 2006), published by Hay House ISBN 1-4019-0899-3
  • Water Crystal Healing: Music & Images to Restore Your Well Being (17 October 2006), published by Atria Books ISBN 1-58270-156-3

Emoto claims to have sold 2 million copies of his books.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Degree requirements for the Open International University for Alternative Medicine. See also this letter to the editor by Gary Greenberg.
  2. ^ a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Oklahoma City, founded in 2005.
  3. ^ How to Make a Water Crystal Photograph, September 15, 2005 entry on Emoto's website
  4. ^ Dr. William A. Tiller, another researcher featured in the movie What tнe Bleep Do ωΣ (k)πow!?, has pointed out that Emoto’s experiments fall short of proof, since Emoto's experiments do not control for one of the three key factors in the supercooling of water. See Tiller, William, 2005, "What the Bleep do we Know!?: A Personal Narrative", in Vision in Action (VIA), Vol. 2, Issues 3-4, pages 16-20.
  5. ^ For example, see Ho, Mae-Wan. "Crystal Clear – Messages from Water", Part 4 of Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) miniseries "Water, Water, Everywhere".
  6. ^ For example, see Radin et al, 2006, page 408. See also Matthews, Robert, Water: The quantum elixir, New Scientist, April 8, 2006, Full text here.
  7. ^ See extract from a February 2005 interview of Emoto by The Maui News, available on Emoto's web site here
  8. ^ March 16, 2005 entry on Emoto's web diary, titled Twenty three- Vision 11 Casting Ourselves from the Principle of Yin and Yang, extracted from his 1994 book.
  9. ^ See 2005 interview of Emoto by Ray Hemachandra in New Age Retailer, here, page 4.
  10. ^ Talking to Water, Commentary, by James Randi, May 23, 2003
  11. ^ Barcelona seminar, September 14, 2006 entry on Emoto’s website

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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