Psychokinesis:
Mind Over Matter -- in miniature by Mario Varvoglis, Ph.D.
Say you've got a friend who claims he's psychic. Telepathy, premonitions,
past-life recall, you name it, he's done it. And not only does he always know
who's on the phone before it rings, he modestly confesses -- he can psychically
influence the world, too. Mind-over-matter, you see... or, to use the technical term, PK
(from Psycho-Kinesis: Greek for ‘movement based on the psyche’).
The term "telekinesis" refers to the same phenomenon.
Now, you're an open-minded person, no doubt. You’re even willing to believe that
psychokinesis is true -- provided it can be scientifically proven and demonstrated. So,
how do you go about testing this guy?
Not easy. Sure, you can try something obvious -- like putting your favorite beer-mug on a
table, and challenge your friend to set it floating across the room, without touching it.
Trouble is, if he succeeds, there’s a very good chance he’s found a way to cheat
(better check into his past as a magician or illusionist). And if he fails, he’ll
protest -- quite rightly -- that that was much too difficult a test (plus, it takes hours
to build up the necessary concentration, the psychological conditions weren’t right,
PK never works when Mars is retrograde... whatever).
Anyway, unless you have stumbled upon someone VERY gifted, chances are you won’t get
very far this way. But there are alternative ways to test for PK. Parapsychologists’
preferred approach is to measure much subtler manifestations of mind-over-matter,
detectable only through refined measurement techniques. So, before going for the big
stuff, try determining whether your friend is capable of a microscopic influence upon
objects or events. |
