Is Telekinesis real? Assessing the truth behind the existence of the mind power
Telekinesis or psychokinesis, the art of moving objects with our mind, is a much-coveted skill. But so far, it only exists in the domain of the fictional world with known characters such as Stephen King’s Carrie, Roald Dahl’s Matilda, and Star Wars’ Yoda possessing the skill.
While there are many anecdotes of self-proclaimed psychics showcasing telekinetic ability, one has yet to convincingly display it under natural circumstances. There is also the fact that telekinesis has not been scientifically proven and is usually dismissed as pseudoscience or superstition.
Key Takeaways
- There is no scientific proof that telekinesis exists.
- The instances of telekinetic ability displayed by self-proclaimed psychics are often achieved through fraudulent means.
- Few psychics have even admitted to lying about their telekinetic power.
- No one has come forward to claim the prize money offered by organizations for the display of telekinesis.
On top of lacking scientific evidence, the existence of telekinesis defies the established laws of physics
For quite a few centuries, magicians and psychics have been bending spoons and making objects fly across the room supposedly with the sheer power of their minds. But when it comes to how it is done, there is little to no scientific evidence to suggest that it even exists.
According to science journalist Emma Bryce, telekinesis has neither been replicated in studies conducted under the scientific method nor has it been found under lab conditions where the subjects (who claimed to possess the power) were not in control of the environment.
Additionally, physicists say that the existence of telekinesis would defy the established laws of physics such as the second law of thermodynamics and principles of momentum. Not to mention that controlling objects with brain waves is simply not plausible.
“One of the laws of physics states that brain waves cannot control objects because they are neither strong nor far-reaching enough to influence anything out of our skulls. According to the laws, only magnetic or gravitational forces can influence objects from afar,” Bryce explained.
Reputable scientists such as Richard Feynman and Carl Sagan maintained that telekinesis was nothing more than pseudoscience as it lacked solid scientific data and reliable lab experiments to induce the phenomenon.
Displays of telekinesis made by self-proclaimed psychics are commonly achieved through fraudulent means
Telekinetic prowess displayed by psychics is often achieved through deception and fraudulent means.
For instance, Uri Geller, one of the most popular psychics in the world, claims that he is blessed with real paranormal telekinetic power that allows him to bend spoons and stop watches.
Although he has performed his tricks countless times in front of the people, he has been called out by magicians and skeptics for being a fraud. Fellow magicians have said that Geller merely deceives the audience through stage magic techniques and misdirection.
Melbourne Christopher, the chairman of the Occult Investigations Committee of the Society of American Magicians, gave his opposing views on Geller’s telekinetic ability in an interview with The New York Times.
“Geller is a clever charlatan. A careful study of his career and observations of his act by magicians have turned up numerous instances of cheating,” Christopher said.
Another one of Geller’s staunch critics, the late magician James Randi, observed that Geller used his strength and muscle power to bend spoons on multiple occasions. He also asserted that Geller distracted the audience while performing his tricks.
Furthermore, in 1972, Randi teamed up with Johnny Carson of The Tonight Show to expose Geller’s deception in an episode. Geller was placed in a controlled environment where he could not tamper with the spoons and other props before the performance.
As a result, Geller was unable to manipulate the props beforehand and could not perform a single trick, proving that his telekinetic abilities did not actually exist.
Other telekinetic feats performed by psychics such as Felicia Parise and Boris Ermolaev were debunked as they were found to be moving objects using invisible threads and sleight of hand tricks.
Some of the psychics have admitted to lying about their telekinetic skills
In another case, James Hydrick was an American psychic known for his telekinetic abilities to move a pencil on the table or flip the pages of a book from afar.
However, while appearing in an episode of the show ‘That’s My Line’ hosted by Bob Barker, Hydrick was unable to turn the pages of the book that was surrounded by foam peanuts. He was then discredited by James Randi who replicated the trick by using a blowing technique, the one always employed by Hydrick, to flip the pages.
“It gave me confidence every time someone thought what I did was very good. But I would never tell them it was a trick. I would always tell them it was something else so that I continued to get recognition,” Hydrick confessed in the book ‘Powers: Testing the Psychic & Supernatural’.
He further admitted that he had been faking his skills the whole time to assess the gullibility of the public, saying:
“I just wanted to see how open-minded people were. I wanted to see if these people were really intelligent and I was really dumb. My whole idea behind this in the first place was to see how dumb America was, how dumb the world is.”
Similarly, a known French psychic Jean-Pierre Girard known for bending spoons admitted to cheating his onlookers while doing the trick. He claimed that he only cheated to avoid disappointing the onlookers.
“Girard was attracted by the idea of staging a joke which would take in the scientists, and of unmasking the whole thing afterward, thus proving how far they could be misled,” said Gerard Majax, a French magician.
Prize money for psychics who can produce telekinetic results under a controlled environment remains unclaimed
To confirm the existence of supposed mind powers in the world, organizations and individuals have offered lucrative prize money for psychics to demonstrate any paranormal power including telekinesis.
For example, the James Randi Educational Foundation offered $1 million to anyone who could prove their psychic ability under its ‘One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge’.
“This is easy money for thousands of people out there who claim to have special powers. Prove it. Take our money. Please. Operators are standing by,” James Randi told ABC News.
On the other hand, when asked why he did not accept the challenge and take on the prize money to prove his telekinetic skills, Uri Geller said that he had nothing to prove although he had “considered it”.
“[Randi] is all about negativity. I want to concentrate on the positive,” said Geller.
The Center for Inquiry Investigations Group currently offers $250,000 to anyone who can display paranormal or supernatural power under scientific testing conditions. However, no psychic has come forward to fully claim the prize, indicating that telekinesis may as well not exist in the real world.
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