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Telekinesis - mind over matter?
Last Updated on Thursday, 30 July 2009 01:01 Monday, 15 June 2009 00:39
I was hoping that after studying telekinesis for a while I would be able to mentally dictate the contents of this article to my computer. Not so I'm afraid. I didn't even manage to move matchstick.
For those unenlightened amongst us telekinesis (or Psychokinesis) is the process of moving objects with your mind. Think star-wars and the force. Or the Matrix and Neo's encounter with the young child - 'There is no spoon'.
Lets cut to the chase here. Is it possible to move objects with your mind? I failed utterly. Others swear they can. Its really a matter of personal belief. Those of the physical persuasion will tell you its due to magnetism, static and currents. Those of the spiritual persuasion will tell you that it is possible, but like everything else you want to accomplish, you need to train.
There are plenty of websites and videos in existence showing people carrying out telekinesis. But there is no scientifically proven example of telekineses in existence today. Even the offer of $1,000,000 from the l James Randi Educational Foundation hasn't been enough to find someone to prove they can do telekinesis under scientific conditions. Indeed no respected scientist, scientific institution or scientific journal has ever reported that telekinesis exists.
Stanislawa Tomczyk is one of the most quoted examples of telekinesis. In 1910 under strict test conditions she produced physical phenomena that surprised scientists. Julien Ochorowicz, one of those observing at close quarters wrote that there were fine threads emanating from her palms and fingers - but they were not there before the experiment began and it did not seems to be a trick.
Ninel Kulagina (AKA Nelya Mikhailova) is another oft quoted example of telekinesis. Hailing from Russia, critics have pointed out that experiments often took place in hotel rooms with no scientific conditions or sleigh of hand experts monitoring the events. In March 1970, in a macabre experiment, Kulagina attempted to stop the heart of a frog - focusing intently on the frog she made the heart beat faster and slower, and then stopped it according to Russian scientists.
Uri Geller is one of the more modern physics who has publicly demonstrated psychokinesis. Having become synonymous with key and spoon bending he stunned even himself when, on a radio show in 1973, he invited listeners to participate. Within minutes, the radio station was flooded with calls reporting bent knives, forks, spoons bending and clocks and watches that had not worked in years ticking again.
Watch video footage of Ninel Kulagina
So how would you go about testing your own abilities? Two of the most common tests for telekinesis are spinning a straw on top of a bottle and moving a psi wheel.
Firstly spinning a straw on a bottle.
Simple to test - just place a straw on top of a bottle and attempt to move it with you mind! This test has more or less been discredited, as static can move the straw, along with the slightest air current. A better test would be placing a length of timber on the bottle.
The second test involving moving a PSI wheel(WikiHow - making a PSI wheel) has also been discredited - even the faintest air current can move the wheel. Even if you leave the wheel alone, it will more than likely move! A real test (the holy grail of telekinesis) is to place the PSI wheel inside a glass jar with the lid sealed. This prevents air currents and static from moving the wheel. To date, nobody has successfully moved the wheel in such a jar.
So the odds seem to be stacked in favour of telekinesis being nothing more than misunderstood physics. But then again, all magical craft always have been misunderstood phenomena.
