William Benjamin Carpenter debunked psychics and spiritualists,
claiming they were responsible
for any paranormal manifestations they claimed
even if they were not conscious of their role.
James Braid related this to hypnosis,
in which instruction may be given to muscles
without conscious awareness or agreement.
Michael Faraday showed that subconscious pressures
exerted by the people who were touching the table,
not paranormal phenomena, caused table-turning.
Michel Eugène Chevreul explained
involuntary and subconscious muscular reactions
are responsible for the movements
of magic pendulums, divining rods, and table-turning.
Ouija
Who is it?
I . . . T . . . S
O . . . N . . . L . . . Y
U . . . S
Knee-jerk reactions
I know evidence of past performance
doesn’t support my hopes
for the team, political candidate, negotiator;
however, I’m willing to give them a chance.
I personally saw a man find water for a well
using a forked wand of willow.
It doesn’t matter to me
if scientists say there’s nothing to it.
I agree it’s not probable
anyone can channel an entity living out of time,
but she believes she’s not just making it up,
so I listen to what she says.
When we asked, the Ouija board
pointed to the right answers.
Yes, it rained yesterday;
yes, there’s an afterworld.
OK, let’s accept for now
you don’t believe in UFOs,
but just you wait until you see one,
then you’ll believe.
Anyone may unconsciously influence, without a willful purpose,
tables, pendulums, rods, and planchettes on ouija boards.
This ability does not presume any special connection to a spiritual world.
The unconscious might be worth listening to, but there’s no way
to predict its relationship with shared reality.
Anyone may unconsciously influence, without a willful purpose, tables, pendulums, rods, and planchettes on ouija boards. This ability does not presume any special connection to a spiritual world. The unconscious might be worth listening to, but there’s no way to predict its relationship with shared reality.
See also in The book of science:
Readings on wikipedia: