Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
// she created an experiment on the efficacy of prayer by dividing her exams in two groups, praying for success only on one, the other one being a control group. She achieved the higher marks in the latter group<p>In at least Judaism - and I would expect in other religions, prayer is necessarily partnered with intention[1] - ie what is in your heart matters, not just the words you're repeating. Presumably someone creating such an experiment does not engage in the prayer with sincere faith and thus can conclude nothing from the outcome.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavanah" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavanah</a>