Page 55 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper March/April 2018 Edition

Facts About Mind Over Matter 55

Psychokinesis:

Facts About Mind Over

Matter

"Who here is psychic? Raise my hand!"
That's an old joke, but there are several
claimed types of psychic powers, including
precognition (knowing the future) and telepathy
(describing things at a remote location). But for
sheer impressiveness it's hard to beat
psychokinesis, the ability to move objects
through mind power. The word is derived from
the Greek words for "mind" and "motion" and is
also called PK or telekinesis.
Fictional psychokinetics are easy to
find: The popular X-Men comic and film
franchise includes the character Jean Grey,
whose powers include extrasensory perception
and psychokinesis. The 2009 movie "Push" is
about a group of young Americans with various
psychic abilities who team up and use their
paranormal powers against a shadowy U.S.
government agency.
Though many Americans believe in
psychic ability (about 15 percent of us,
according to a 2005 Baylor Religion Survey), mysteriously move, float, or fly by themselves the lightweight pieces would clearly be
scientific evidence for its existence remains across the darkened room, seemingly untouched disturbed if the pages were moving because of
elusive. Some people even link psychokinesis to by human hands. Though many people were Hydrick's breath instead of his mind. After many
the spiritual world, suggesting for example that convinced — including, ironically, Sir Arthur awkward minutes in front of Barker, Randi, a
some reports of ghosts — such as poltergeists Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes — panel of judges, and the live studio audience, a
— are not manifestations of the undead at all, it was all a hoax. Fraudulent psychics resorted to flustered Hydrick finally said that his powers
but instead the unconscious releases of a trickery, using everything from hidden wires to weren't cooperating. Hydrick later admitted that
person's psychic anger or angst. black-clad accomplices to make objects appear his psychokinetic powers had been faked, and
If people could move everyday objects to move untouched. marveled at how easy it had been to fool the
with nothing more than their thoughts, this As the public slowly grew wise to the public.
should be quite easy to demonstrate: Who faked psychokinesis, the phenomenon faded
wouldn't like their latte delivered by a psychic from view. It was revived again in the 1930s and Frauds and fakery
barista from across the counter, floating it right 1940s, when a researcher at Duke University
to your hand with a mere gesture? named J.B. Rhine became interested in the idea The history of psychokinesisis a history of
This doesn't happen, of course. Instead that people could affect the outcome of random frauds and fakery, both proven and suspected.
researchers have focused on what they term events using their minds. Rhine began with tests Even many researchers admit that the
"micro-PK," or the manipulation of very small of dice rolls, asking subjects to influence the data fall far short of scientific standards of
objects. The idea is that if the ability exists, its outcome through the power of their minds. proof; researcher Russell Targ, in his book "The
force is obviously very weak. Therefore, the Though his results were mixed and the effects Reality of ESP" (2012, Quest Books)
less physical energy that would have to be were small, they were enough to convince him acknowledges that "the evidence for laboratory
exerted on an object to physically move it, the that there was something mysterious going on. psychokinesis is quite weak."
more obvious the effect should be. For this Unfortunately for Rhine, other researchers failed Recent advances in virtual reality
reason, laboratory experiments often focus on to duplicate his findings, and many errors were technology may, however, be the next best thing.
rather mundane feats such as trying to make found in his methods. In 2017, a company called Neurable announced
dice land on a certain number at an above- In the 1970s, Uri Geller became the plans to develop psychokinesis — or at least a
chance rate, or influencing a computerized world's best-known psychic and made millions virtual reality form of it — for a game called
random number generator. traveling the world demonstrating his claimed Awakening. Using a combination of eye
Because of this change in psychokinetic abilities, including starting movement tracking technology and
methodologies, psychokinesis experiments rely broken watches and bending spoons. Though he electroencephalogram (EEG) sensors in a
more heavily on complex statistical analyses; denied using magic tricks, many skeptical headset, the game allows a player to move and
the issue was not whether a person could bend a researchers observed that all of Geller's amazing manipulate objects in a virtual world merely by
spoon or knock a glass over with their minds, feats could be — and have been — duplicated looking and thinking. After an initial calibration
for example, but whether they could make a by magicians. process that takes several minutes, the players
coin come up heads significantly above 50 Public interest in psychokinesis returned can select and move computer-generated
percent of the time over the course of 1,000 in the 1980s. One person nationally known for images.
trials. claimed psychokinetic ability, James Hydrick, Perhaps one day technology will allow
tried to demonstrate his powers on the television us to actually move objects with our thoughts,
Spiritualism and mediums show "That's My Line" in 1981, following but until then we must be satisfied with the
several successful television appearances. He power depicted in fiction and fantasy. []
The idea of people being able to move objects claimed to move small objects, such as a pencil
through mind power alone has intrigued people or the pages of a telephone book, with his mind.
for centuries, though only in the late 1800s was Host Bob Barker consulted with skeptic James
it seen as an ability that might be scientifically Randi, who suspected that Hydrick was merely
demonstrated. This occurred during the heyday discreetly blowing on the pages to make them
of the early religion Spiritualism, when psychic move.
mediums claimed to contact the dead during To prevent this method of trickery Randi
séances, and objects would suddenly and placed styrofoam bits around the open book, as