Making a psi-ball; a thread about the supernatural

[deadsuperhero]

In my opinion, keep your mind open (no pun intended).
There are people who say "Oh, yeah, it works great!"
And then there'll be people telling you not to waste your time.
Point is, just keep trying. Try things for yourself, and if it gets stupid to you, then do something else.
In other news, self-hypnosis works great. Doubled my productivity in school, made me have a better memory, etc.
It's probably only because I THINK it worked. If you believe something enough about yourself, it'll become very much real.
Anywho, try things out for yourself. Don't let people think for you.

[space boy]

There's more than one way to bisect a lady.

That sounds like the title of Hannibal Lecters biography.

Anywho, try things out for yourself. Don't let people think for you.

I couldn't agree more. If he wants to try it himself, that's completely fine. I just pointed out that if psychic powers were real scientists would discover that years ago so his time would be better spent elsewhere. But yeah, Arthur, don't take my word for it! Do your own research, but do it PROPERLY.

[arthur.com]

thera are things that you can an can not be completley shure like im not completley shure if its possible to jump off a roof and survive and i'm very shure that you cant see a pikachu
in your front loan.

[MrColossal]

But when every single scientific test of paranormal activity has failed, you can begin to draw a pretty solid conclusion that telekinesis does not exist farther than science fiction. There's being skeptical and there's ignoring evidence.

Alliance says keep an open mind and I add but not open so much that your brain falls out.

[space boy]

Of course you can't be 100% sure about anything and a real scientist will never claim that. Science is all about probability. Even stuff like the theory of evolution or newtonian physics isn't said to be 100% true. But after all of the tests that have been done you get a pretty high probability that these theories describe actual reality - something around 99,9999(and a lot more nines here)%. That's how science works. You do a bunch of tests, look at the results and then come up with a percentage. You don't just pull it out of your ass, you look at the evidence. Like MrColossal said, paranormal things in general have been tested since about the 18th century and a ridiculously low number of those tests actually supports the existence of these things. If you wanna put it in numbers, it's less than 0,00001% FOR paranormal activities.

[evenwolf]

I'm not completley shure if its possible to jump off a roof and survive

You can jump off a roof and survive but you must meet certain conditions.  The urban jumpers can jump down from amazing heights but they position their bodies as shock absorbers.   So from a scientific point of view, our control model would have to take these "survivors" into account.   It wouldn't be a proper control to simply drop an egg or a dummy off the same roof.  If you hit the ground "legs-first" you will absorb shock even if its your knees shattering.

[Tuomas]

Here's a cute thing to prove that:

In a tv-show a man will win a price that is behind one of three doors. So he must guess the right one. the host tells him to think of the one first and then he'll remove one that's certainly empty. So the man believes the price is in the left one. Now the host removes the middle one showing it's empty. So according to probablity, should the man now change his assumption from his door to the door on right?

Yes, he should, because it's more probable that the price is in the other door. Think about that. I'll give a candy to the one who can tell me why the man should change between two doors.

[Andail]

Tuomas, that's pretty old.
He should change the door, because the only scenario where he shouldn't, would be if he picked the right one from the start, which is only 1/3 probability. Hence, changing doors would be right 2 times of 3.

Still don't see what this riddle would prove, though?

[Tuomas]

* Tuomas pours a sack of jawbreakers on Andail

It proves that things are not always how they seem, and err... well... I mean... Well basically if you start from the very situation where you have two doors and not three, it makes no sense to change. So basically it's a matter of perception, most people I know would go for the analytic way you did since it was a bloody maths school we come from, but the rest, say my brother wouldn't realise it. So I kind of combined it with the thought of considering something to... err, well we were talking probabaility, right? And yet in the end you still have just two doors. So does that make science false in such cases? Could it be that he's right? I don't think so. Now I'm confused...

Eat your candy

[evenwolf]

Eh?   Didn't you just prove that there's a rational way to approach most things?   I missed something in your counter-argument.  I mean the guy perceives he's thinking rationally by staying with door number #1  but picking the door on the right has a better probability.  No matter what he perceives.  So rational thinking wins (most times out of a hundred!)

But here is a funny thought.   Jesus returns to earth and makes the announcement, "I've lined up a couple of miracles to prove I'm Jesus.  Afterward I shall give you a message from God."

Jesus gets on stage and performs his miracle.   "Excuse me," someone from offstage calls out.  "My name is James Randi.  I'm prepared to give you a million dollars and all you have to do...."

[space boy]

But here is a funny thought.   Jesus returns to earth and makes the announcement, "I've lined up a couple of miracles to prove I'm Jesus.  Afterward I shall give you a message from God."

Jesus gets on stage and performs his miracle.   "Excuse me," someone from offstage calls out.  "My name is James Randi.  I'm prepared to give you a million dollars and all you have to do...."

What's a million dollars for the Son of Man? He gets far more from his followers... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEFNBqarSMQ

[arthur.com]

I'm not completley shure if its possible to jump off a roof and survive

You can jump off a roof and survive but you must meet certain conditions.  The urban jumpers can jump down from amazing heights but they position their bodies as shock absorbers.   So from a scientific point of view, our control model would have to take these "survivors" into account.   It wouldn't be a proper control to simply drop an egg or a dummy off the same roof.  If you hit the ground "legs-first" you will absorb shock even if its your knees shattering.

I meant those tall city buildings...or a church.

[Helm]

Jesus gets on stage and performs his miracle.   "Excuse me," someone from offstage calls out.  "My name is James Randi.  I'm prepared to give you a million dollars and all you have to do...."

I'm sure Jesus would enjoy that (and the test) and he'd roll with Randi hardcore, spending the money on whores.

[evenwolf]

I'm not completley shure if its possible to jump off a roof and survive

I meant those tall city buildings...or a church.

Arthur, I'm not so sure its even rational to wonder about that.

[sedriss]

Colossal, thank you!
I saw that clip at a friends house a few months ago, and i've been looking for it ever since.
Possibly the funniest thing ever!

[arthur.com]

i diddnt mage a psi ball yet but i think i moved a paper plane a little bit(i have tons of 'em)
But then again it could be a coincedence (did i spell it right?) that i was yawning at that moment

[Da_Elf]

i remember going to a demonstration and someone tried to psi-punch me was halarious. when it didnt work he asked if my toes were crossed, so i took me shoes off, then he said it was because with my shoes off i was grounded psycicly or something, then i put on my friends sandals and he noticed i had my arms crossed behind my back, when they interviewed me after i commented that a barefoot cross toed old man could kick that guys ass with both hands tied behind his back. hehe

[Babar]

I moved a conical flask in chemistry class once. Actually I think it moved by itself. But I was looking at it. It wasn't even sloping! I checked. It was very weird.

[arthur.com]

i found a video in youtube where a guy moves a cola can and a toohpick thingie.
Looks realistic.

[space boy]

link please