Paul, this is so weird - I was just going to add this PS to my last post (as follows). I clicked back on the thread, here you already are!   :-D

...Is Daylia sentient? Of course, beautifully. Could a fusion reaction many light years away have anything to do with a bit of dust burning up in the atmosphere just where Daylia happened to be looking? No

I wanted to thank you for your kind words (and you too, Peace *sniff sniff*) and tell you that, for me anyway, yours is the most convincing "argument against" I've read here yet.

Just want to clarify that I DO (and did) know that shooting stars are not stars but meteors. I was still more than a bit blown away by what just happened when I started this thread, not thinking in specifics but generalities.

BTW this kind of thing HAS happened to me before, too - for one example, see the incident re my son Eric posted above (13 Nov 12:05 pm) But this is the first time I've ever told anyone about it ....

Re the experiment, my initial idea was posted Nov 13 too as follows ...

here's an idea ... how about getting a representative sample of Catters together - say, 4 logical, feet-on-the-ground scientific souls like Wolfgang, 4 philosophical-quasi-spiritual types like Amos, 4 blustery nay-sayers like eric, and 4 star-struck, open-minded wonderers like myself.

We all agree to spend a few minutes outside each night for 4 nights, gazing at the stars until we feel totally mesmerized by the mysterious beauty over our heads. Then, when those feelings are at a peak, we call out to the skies "Oh Stars, thank you for your beauty ... I LOVE YOU!!"   (or something to that effect, although I suspect the "I love you" part might be essential).   And keep accurate records of any observed "results".

Then we tally up how many, if any, shooting stars or other celestial phenomena "answered" us back. The results just may indicate whether the ancient wise ones all over the globe have been correct in their beliefs about the stars once and for all!

Any takers? Just sign up here. And rest assured that I, for one, promise not to ridicule anybody!

So far, the only "controls" I've come up with are to be sure we have equal representation from each group, that we DON'T pick nights when there's a "peak" meteor shower expected (don't want stars falling out of the sky everytime we say BOO), and that we all follow the same "method".

I have an undergraduate degree in psych, but the key word here is UNDERgraduate. I'm a music teacher, NOT a scientist, don't know all the logistics of setting up an experiment properly.

And that's why we need Wolfgang ... or someone like Wolfgang. How bout you, Metchosin? MUst have put together lots of successfull experiments during all that worm-gazing! (I LOVE Your story, btw ... thank you so much for sharing it!)

daylia