Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!ariel!hou5f!hou5e!hou5d!hogpc!houxm!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!parsec!ctvax!uokvax!emjej From: emjej@uokvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.tv Subject: Re: NOVA: The Case for ESP - (nf) Message-ID: <5297@uiucdcs.UUCP> Date: Tue, 31-Jan-84 23:25:25 EST Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.5297 Posted: Tue Jan 31 23:25:25 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 3-Feb-84 02:36:06 EST Lines: 34 #R:ihuxb:-46800:uokvax:6000009:000:1659 uokvax!emjej Jan 30 10:25:00 1984 /***** uokvax:net.tv / heurikon!jeff / 8:07 pm Jan 24, 1984 */ What are some of the *tricks* used by those claiming to have PSI or ESP? /* ---------- */ They're the classical tricks of the magician: misdirection, "pencil reading" (inferring what one is drawing/writing by watching the movements of the top of the pen or pencil), taking advantage of the canonical behavior of humans (example (thanks to Randi's *The Magic of Uri Geller* for this): instruct someone as follows--"Draw two geometrical figures, one inside the other (not a square; that's too easy!)." The result will almost always be a circle and a triangle, so you can guess what they did about half the time (who is going to draw a decagon, for example?)), and the like. Also noteworthy is that people reporting on events exclude significant details (evaluating things that way comes with intelligence and experience, which is why magicians have a harder time fooling children and less intelligent people)--ask any lawyer about the problems of eyewitness testimony. Bad vision and hearing are always useful (in witnesses): the Welsh boys that fooled Soal used a hypersonic dog whistle to do so, and one of Puthoff and Targ (I forget which) is extremely nearsighted. People will also interpret often remember things or interpret them in favor of the alleged psychic (see *The Magic of Uri Geller* for several examples)--in the remote viewing example on the *Nova* episode which had the Superdome as its target, the subject reported a "round object," which could be any stadium, traffic circle, and was *interpreted* as being the Superdome by people who wanted to believe. James Jones