It may very well be that these things being tested are slippery phenomena. But it is more likely, in my mind, that their lack of reliability in these circumstances means that they don't exist. At least they don't exist in the way we like to describe them.
I like to act as if they do exist. Who knows? Maybe they do? But when push comes to shove, I'd have to say, well, probably not, but their analogues certainly do exist. That is, there are phenomena out there that tend to convince us that we have psychic powers and what-not.
It's no coincidence that in the area of self-help you find a lot of people wanting to believe. They are in pain and looking for answers. They want an attractive answer. And once someone gives them what they want, they'll hang on for dear life.
To me, that isn't self-help. That is looking for a guru or belief system in which you can lose yourself. To paraphrase Stephen Gilligan, self-help can often be an insidious form of self-hatred.
