James Randi, Carl Charlson, WGBH (Television station - Boston, Mass.)
#nostalgia #tvcommercials #videogamecommercials #gamingcommercials #oldvideogamecommercials #90scommercials #90sads #1990scommercials #2000scommercials #2000sads #2001commercials #1991 #1992 #blockbuster #tacobell #nintendo #nintendocommercials #mcdonalds #dailymotion #youtube #facebook #twitter #twitch #motiongraphics #deezer #tv #dlive #instagram #stream #motion #twitchstreamer #fightingmentalillness #twitchclips #twitchretweet #twitchaffiliate #twitchshare #ant #scribaland #tiktok #greece #spotify #gelio #games #vimeo #google #motionmate #youtuber #greekquotes
#nostalgia #tvcommercials #videogamecommercials #gamingcommercials #oldvideogamecommercials #90scommercials #90sads #1990scommercials #2000scommercials #2000sads #2001commercials #1991 #1992 #blockbuster #tacobell #nintendo #nintendocommercials #mcdonalds #dailymotion #youtube #facebook #twitter #twitch #motiongraphics #deezer #tv #dlive #instagram #stream #motion #twitchstreamer #fightingmentalillness #twitchclips #twitchretweet #twitchaffiliate #twitchshare #ant #scribaland #tiktok #greece #spotify #gelio #games #vimeo #google #motionmate #youtuber #greekquotes
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Tonight on NOVA, James Randi, magician and investigator of psychic phenomena.
00:06Don't laugh, this is science.
00:08For 25 years, Randi has explored the world of the paranormal and tested claims of supernatural powers.
00:17Now, Randi journeys to Russia to challenge psychics never before seen in the West.
00:23After decades of research, can we finally discover the secrets of the psychics?
00:40NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
00:41Funding for NOVA's 20th anniversary season is made possible by Lockheed, America's aerospace company,
00:49supporting math, science and engineering education for national technology leadership.
00:54And Johnson & Johnson, the signature recognized around the world for commitment to quality health care products for the entire
01:03family.
01:05Major funding for NOVA is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by annual financial support from viewers like
01:14you.
01:19From the earliest days, man has believed that dreams and the supernatural are in some way real.
01:30All over the world, psychics demonstrate powers that their followers accept as modern-day miracles.
01:43Here, in Moscow, psychic healers treat the sick with chants and incantations.
01:56And in the Philippines, psychic surgeons perform operations without knives.
02:06A metal spoon turns liquid in the hands of a psychic performer in Britain.
02:12Yes, it's happening.
02:14It's happening.
02:15Nearly everywhere, fortune tellers find the future in cards, crystal balls and palms.
02:25Three out of four Americans say they've had a psychic experience.
02:30Today, you can even find a psychic at the mall.
02:36Purveyors of the supernatural have created a multi-million dollar industry.
02:42But are psychic phenomena what they appear to be?
02:50My name is James Randi, the amazing Randi.
02:55I'm a magician.
02:56Okay, I have here a pen.
02:58For the past 25 years, I've been investigating the claims of psychics.
03:03A psychokinetic demonstration of a supernatural nature.
03:06Watch this.
03:06Psychics often say that an object can be moved using only the power of the mind.
03:11And it moves in a miracle fashion like that.
03:15Isn't that amazing?
03:16Stop.
03:16Stop.
03:18Magicians can produce the same effect.
03:20Of course, I was just blowing on the pen.
03:23I don't know whether I can do it.
03:24But a little suggestion and a little distraction go a long way.
03:31As a magician, there's nothing I like more than a well-executed illusion.
03:38Just look at what my friend Jamie Ian Swiss can do.
03:44But there are those who use magic tricks for more than entertainment.
03:48They convince people that what they do is real.
03:50That they have special powers.
03:54Magical thinking, you know, is a slippery slope.
03:57Sometimes it's harmless enough, but other times it's quite dangerous.
04:00Personally, I'm opposed to that kind of fakery.
04:03So I have no reservations at all about exposing these people and their illusions for what they really are.
04:11I've investigated the claims of hundreds of psychics.
04:15People aren't always happy with my conclusions, but I do have my supporters.
04:20In 1986, I was honored with a MacArthur Award.
04:24Unfortunately, most of the prize money went into defending myself against a series of libel suits
04:29related to one of my earliest and most controversial investigations.
04:35The subject was Uri Geller, a young Israeli who claimed to have supernatural powers.
04:44His remarkable affinity for metal and his psychic abilities are well documented all over the world.
04:52In the early 1970s, Geller became a superstar, the most famous psychic in the world.
05:00Okay, just a second, look at me.
05:02Visualize everything that you drew once more.
05:05He claimed to read people's minds.
05:10I'm going to show what I got.
05:12And if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.
05:13But it really came very strongly.
05:17It could be two mountains with a round thing on or two people.
05:24I, I, I...
05:25Can I show?
05:26Yeah, I'd like to...
05:27Am I wrong?
05:28You're right.
05:29I'm right.
05:29Good.
05:30That's what I got.
05:34Oh, that's...
05:38He claimed to bend keys with his mind.
05:42I know you're going to think this is a setup, friends, and old Tom has never conned you on anything.
05:45This, this guy is bending this key by rubbing it.
05:49It was bent at about a, a, a one degree angle when you started out, and it's coming up on
05:5445 degrees now and still moving.
05:56You're thinking bend, is that what you're doing?
05:57Yes, I'm saying bend.
05:58You're saying bend, hard, soft?
05:59No, I'm saying bend, bend, bend, and sometimes I say bend, baby.
06:03But Geller was best known for his way with spoons.
06:07Hold the tip of the spoon very, very gently.
06:08Okay.
06:09What I'm doing is I'm trying to melt the metal down.
06:15Yes, you see, I feel it.
06:17It's going.
06:17It's getting loose.
06:18Yeah.
06:19And there's no force at all in my hands.
06:22Yes, look what's happening.
06:23There's no force at all.
06:24Look, the whole, you see, it's becoming like plastic.
06:27The whole thing's ready to fall off.
06:28It's, touch it here where I'm stroking it, there is absolutely no.
06:32That is eerie.
06:34I have a wisdom tooth.
06:36If you can see, the metal is beginning to crack here.
06:39It's breaking.
06:40Yeah, you see.
06:41And it's just doing this.
06:41Look, it's becoming, it's like potty wax.
06:44You see, look.
06:45And keep, keep stroking it here.
06:48You see, no, don't, don't, you see, the crack is becoming bigger.
06:51Yep.
06:53I melt the metal down, so.
06:55Wow.
06:55I want it to bend, I just say bend.
06:57Yeah, you melt it.
06:58You see?
06:59Now, wait a minute, wait a minute.
07:01Keep stroking your keys more.
07:03And people at home want your watches to start working.
07:06Or if there is a radio that is broken, want it to start working.
07:09Television broken, just wanted all those broken things.
07:12Now, what Geller was saying, effectively, was that wanting things could make them so.
07:17People who watch it, who started working.
07:19I felt that claim had to be challenged.
07:24The media, even some scientists, were taking the Geller phenomena seriously.
07:28So I decided to show, for starters, that I could at least duplicate these effects using trickery.
07:33Now, a key can be displayed in such a way that it looks like it's bending.
07:38For example, just by stroking it, you'd swear that it's bending right up before your eyes.
07:49Magicians call this process ratcheting.
07:52But to do this, the key has to be bent in advance.
07:57The hard part, of course, is how to go about bending the key without letting them catch you.
08:03Now, there are several ways.
08:05I could, for example, take it and press the tip against the top of the table.
08:09That would do it.
08:10Or, in shifting my chair backwards or forwards, as I just did,
08:14I could have taken it and dropped it below the level of the table
08:17and pressed the tip on the chair I'm sitting on.
08:19Which is exactly what I just did.
08:23Did I fool you?
08:28Mantelists have been duplicating hidden drawings for years.
08:32If Mr. Geller had chosen to use trickery, he could have used any of a number of techniques.
08:37One favorite involves turning your back and covering your eyes while the drawing is being made.
08:42Now, I've always wondered why you would cover your eyes while your back is turned.
08:54But melting metal is something else again.
08:58It's done something like this.
09:03And it gets soft.
09:05So I say to it, bend, bend, bend, bend, and it bends.
09:14Of course, it does take a little preparation.
09:17In fact, it takes a lot of preparation.
09:21Now, this isn't proof positive that other demonstrations aren't the result of supernatural power.
09:26But isn't this a more reasonable explanation?
09:30And then, of course, there was Mr. Geller's appearance on The Tonight Show.
09:36I got a call after they booked him to appear.
09:43Would you welcome, please, Uri Geller.
09:49Johnny had been a magician himself and was skeptical.
09:53I was asked to help prevent any trickery.
09:57Nice to see you.
09:58Thanks.
09:59We, um, we have only met...
10:01This scares me.
10:02This scares you?
10:02Well, this is...
10:03We just got some things together here.
10:05I told them to provide their own props and not to let Geller or his people anywhere near them.
10:10So one of our staff members did some drawings which have been sealed in an envelope.
10:16And I'd like you to take your own pace when you feel like you want to try anything.
10:19Do you want to try that particular experiment first?
10:22When I'll feel first.
10:23When you...
10:24Sure.
10:27We'll start eliminating the ones that do not have the water.
10:30No, without touching them.
10:32He is really suspicious, you know.
10:35I'm having a hard time with you.
10:37I don't mean to be, Uri.
10:38I really don't...
10:39No, no, just keep looking.
10:44Okay, let me rest a little, all right?
10:46All right.
10:50You know, I'm surprised because before this program, your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you're
10:55going to ask me.
10:56Well, I can ask you all kinds of questions if you'd like me to ask you questions.
10:59I have to have time.
11:00And, uh...
11:10Dark, we are back.
11:11Uri was telling me you don't feel, what, strong tonight?
11:15I don't feel strong.
11:16It's not all tonight.
11:18Right now I'm feeling being pressed and then I can't...
11:22Well, I'm not trying to press you.
11:23I really not.
11:24No, you're only telling me, well, will you try that or that?
11:26Well, I thought that was the idea of, uh...
11:30Of, uh...
11:31No, I'm not trying to put you down.
11:36Much to my surprise, the Tonight Show episode didn't have much effect on Uri Geller's career.
11:43Neither did the book that I wrote about him.
11:47But eventually, his star faded.
11:50Why people are so drawn to the irrational is something that has always puzzled me.
11:55I want to be, if I can, as sure of the world, the real world around me, as is possible.
12:02Now, you can only attain that to a certain degree, but I want the greatest degree of control.
12:07I don't...
12:07I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind.
12:10I don't smoke.
12:11I don't drink.
12:12Because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers.
12:20And I want to be as aware as I possibly can.
12:23That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways.
12:28But I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I
12:33can get to it.
12:34Take this message to the world.
12:38It's the season of harvest.
12:41During the 1980s, I entered a world that I found filled with fantasy and rife with abuse.
12:47The world of faith healing.
12:50I developed a special interest in a television evangelist named Peter Popoff.
12:56And God told me, he said, you smite that cancer with your fist.
13:02At the time, Popoff was pulling in nearly four million dollars a year, healing people on his miracle crusades.
13:10You've got cancer of the stomach?
13:13Are you ready for God to burn that cancer out?
13:17But here it goes in the mighty devil, back off.
13:25Back off, devil!
13:28Hallelujah!
13:30Hallelujah!
13:32Do you really believe you're healed?
13:33Yes.
13:35Do you think your cancers are gone now?
13:37Yes, I believe that, because God never lies in withstanding his word.
13:43Praise the Lord.
13:44I'll tell you, from now on, you're going to have a song of victory in your heart.
13:49Amen!
13:50To his followers, Popoff seemed to have divine powers.
13:55Alice, is it Gould? Alice Gould?
13:59He knew their names.
14:00Stand up, Alice.
14:01As well as the afflictions they'd come to cure.
14:04God is touching that thyroid condition right now.
14:08God is touching your nerves right now.
14:10God is touching your eyes.
14:12Just lift up your hands, get ready.
14:13Here it comes.
14:14He also knew the personal details of their lives.
14:18You're going to hear good news from Charles before everything is over.
14:20I'll tell you, he's going to be completely delivered because of your prayers, because of your faith.
14:25Here it comes, complete healing in Jesus.
14:29Mighty name, right now, right now, right now.
14:32Amen!
14:33If it's all right to praise the Lord.
14:34I suspected that Popoff's revelations were other than divine.
14:40The radio scanner we brought to the hall picked up a decidedly worldly source.
14:48Hello, Petey. Can you hear me?
14:50If you can't, you're in trouble.
14:54Popoff was being prompted by his wife through a wireless earpiece.
15:04She'd gotten her information from prayer cards filled out by the faithful before the show began.
15:12She's about to get rid of the walker.
15:15You want to get rid of this walker, sister?
15:21Oh, glory.
15:22How long have you been walking on that walker?
15:24About three years.
15:26Three years?
15:27She lives at 1627 10th Street.
15:311627 10th Street?
15:33Is that right?
15:34That's right.
15:34She has arthritis all over.
15:38Burning this arthritis right out of your body.
15:43Take a few steps just to make the devil mad.
15:46Hallelujah.
15:47That's it.
15:47Just move around a little bit.
15:48There she goes.
15:49Just walk with me.
15:51Oh, glory to God.
15:52She's not going to need that walker anymore.
15:55God's just putting new strength, new health.
15:57Burning that arthritis out of her body.
16:00Just keep going.
16:01Hallelujah.
16:02Hallelujah.
16:02I was able to arrange for another broadcast of the Miracle Crusade on The Tonight Show.
16:08But this time, the wireless prompting was included.
16:13In 1987, Peter Popoff declared bankruptcy.
16:19Greater is he!
16:21Greater is he!
16:25The laying on of hands takes on new meaning in the Philippines,
16:29where psychic surgeons perform miraculous operations without knives.
16:36I investigated this phenomenon,
16:38then went on The Tonight Show to demonstrate what I'd learned.
16:43Believe me, what you're seeing is strictly special effects.
16:47It's sleight of hand and nothing more.
16:49And this is the way it looks.
17:05A little animal blood and a few chicken parts complete the illusion.
17:11A bonus.
17:21That's a bit better.
17:22Just a second.
17:23Just one second now.
17:24It may be better for you.
17:27You don't feel any better?
17:37Oh, no, that doesn't come out.
17:39Oh, no, that doesn't come out.
17:55Honestly, I'm going to go to the Light.
17:56From here, I run my investigations, write my books, and go about lecturing.
18:05Recently, I was asked to give a class of college freshmen a chance to evaluate one of
18:10the oldest systems of fortune telling, astrology.
18:13You know, I started out life as a magician.
18:15I still am a magician, I guess.
18:17I think it's in the DNA.
18:18I'm not too sure.
18:20But I'm an actor playing the part of a wizard.
18:22I know how people are deceived.
18:24I know how they deceive themselves.
18:25And many magicians, most magicians, really allow people to deceive themselves.
18:31Would you like to see me fool you?
18:33Who's wearing a wristwatch here, a regular, ordinary wristwatch?
18:38You've been a good girl, haven't you?
18:39Yes.
18:41Let's just say, oh, I thought it was a Rolex for a minute.
18:42Oh, well.
18:43Now, what time does it say on your watch?
18:45It says nine minutes before three, and it says it's the second of October, right?
18:49Very good.
18:50Open up your hand for me flat like that.
18:52The clean one.
18:53She almost changed, you know that?
18:54Almost changed.
18:55Now, I'm going to put the watch face down your head.
18:57Put your finger of your other hand on the back of the watch, okay?
18:59Very good.
19:01Now, my watch says nine minutes to three, so we disagree slightly, but not enough for any
19:06never mind.
19:07Okay.
19:07Watch what happens now.
19:09I'm really concentrating on it.
19:13Oh, I think I hurt myself.
19:15Don't laugh.
19:16This is science.
19:18Let me see now.
19:18Holding it only by this.
19:20Oh, would you tell the folks what time it says on your watch now, please?
19:25It says 3.40.
19:273.40.
19:27How time flies when you're having fun.
19:30Isn't that wonderful?
19:31No.
19:31Now, let me show you something.
19:32This is such a little tiny, itty-bitty watch.
19:34Here, hold it tightly in your hand.
19:36Don't lose...
19:36Oh, my goodness.
19:39What happened?
19:40Oh, the gentleman was carrying it over here behind his waist, and he didn't even know
19:43it.
19:43There you go.
19:44Do it again.
19:44Do it again.
19:45Do it again.
19:46Do it again.
19:48The trickster never works alone.
19:50It did happen.
19:51His audience assists him.
19:53If he does his job well, they want to be fooled.
19:58Uh, Shrola?
19:59Could you pass that back?
20:01Wendy?
20:02For the astrology test, each student was given a detailed horoscope.
20:07Robin?
20:08Could you pass it over to Robin?
20:10They were told it was drawn up by a professional based on information they had supplied about
20:14when and where they were born.
20:23Actually, these horoscopes were not quite what they appeared to be.
20:27I'd like you to share something with me, if you'd be so kind, just with a show of hands.
20:30I asked the students to grade them for accuracy on a scale of one to five, five being the most
20:36accurate.
20:37Uh, how many gave it a one?
20:38Let's see a show of hands.
20:41Two.
20:43Three.
20:45Three.
20:46Four.
20:47And five.
20:49Okay.
20:50So we scored pretty highly with this then.
20:53Let's do a little experiment.
20:54You've got your horoscopes right in front of you.
20:56Take them in your hand like this and hand them over your shoulder to the person behind
21:00you.
21:01Okay, everybody.
21:02And the guy at the end down there, you'll have to come up to the front because these
21:05people in the front don't have one now.
21:07Okay.
21:09Everybody change them around.
21:10Everybody's got a horoscope.
21:11Open up somebody else's horoscope and read it carefully, please.
21:27They had all received the same horoscope.
21:35The personality descriptions were generally true of everyone, like, recently you have
21:41had to recover from a disappointment.
21:43Some of them seem specific because they were so personal.
21:47Your sexual adjustment has presented some problems for you.
21:52And there were others that anyone might hope would be true.
21:56You have a great deal of unused capacity.
22:00People like to believe certain things are true.
22:04And they like to fall for very specific, absolutely, enormously accurate horoscopes, right?
22:11Right.
22:12Of course they are.
22:13Did you have a question?
22:14Yes, I have a question.
22:15So why do people persist in ascribing to these systems?
22:20That's the big question, of course.
22:22And psychologically, that is the most interesting question.
22:25I think that people are trying to get some control over their lives.
22:29By knowing more about themselves, of course, they get control over their lives.
22:32But that's what we're doing, all of us, each and every day of our lives.
22:37Whether it's financial, whether it's emotional, whether it's a love interest, whether it's health.
22:42We're trying to get control over our lives.
22:44We're looking for power.
22:45And astrology offers you, apparently, a very old and a very easy formula whereby you can do that sort of
22:52thing.
22:52What you've presented me today is evidence that this can be misused or abused.
23:00But you have not convinced me that there is nothing to this.
23:02Oh, no, no.
23:03I didn't intend to do that.
23:04Okay.
23:04And I feel that your exercise today was kind of cynical and one-sided.
23:09And somehow it is wise to be unbelieving on this.
23:13Well, I can't prove it doesn't work.
23:14I can never prove it doesn't work.
23:15And I've seen it a lot of times where intellectuals have wanted to disprove mystical things because since it didn't
23:21fit into their framework of beliefs, they wouldn't allow it.
23:24But I can't prove to you that Santa Claus doesn't exist.
23:27I really can't.
23:29I can't disprove anything.
23:31I can't prove a negative.
23:32But I can show you that it's not very likely to be true.
23:36That's the best I can do.
23:44Needless to say, my message isn't always popular.
23:48My friend Ray Hyman is a psychologist, and he has an idea why.
23:53We seem to be taken as we're taking something away and not giving something in return.
23:57And these people want something.
23:59They're looking for something.
24:00And I think we have to understand what is it they're searching for and what they're seeking.
24:04Ray has an insider's perspective on these questions.
24:07He once worked as a professional palm reader.
24:10On a recent visit to Florida, he allowed me to observe while he gave readings to two volunteers.
24:18Now, I want to look at a few other things before we go very far.
24:21Look at your thumb, which is the most important.
24:23Ray started reading palms to help put himself through college.
24:26There's a little narrowing of the second joint here.
24:29That's tact.
24:30That's just tactfulness.
24:32At the time, he was convinced there was nothing to it.
24:35This is the spiritual, mental.
24:37I had no belief that it would work.
24:39But to be convincing, I did read the books, and I did study the lines, and told it as it's
24:45supposed to be told.
24:46And to my surprise, it worked.
24:49And then I became a very rabid believer in palm reading.
24:53There's a break in your lifeline.
24:55This is your lifeline right here.
24:56So you've had some physical problems.
24:59You still may have some problems here, some medical problems of some sort.
25:03He was right about that, that I had some health problems.
25:07Is there anything there about my mother?
25:08About your mother.
25:12The one thing, the thing that's clear is that right from the beginning, you didn't want to be dominated by
25:18her.
25:19You wanted to make up your own mind about what your life is going to be like and so on.
25:23I have been very headstrong when it comes to my mother.
25:26She has kind of tried to dominate me sometimes, and I've rebelled against it.
25:30At the same time, you wanted to be on your own terms and stuff like that.
25:35He was pretty right on the money with a lot of things.
25:38Maybe he's got some part to himself that others are not in touch with, and he knows these things.
25:43Turned about the relationship between your mother and yourself.
25:46As a palm reader, Ray was quite successful.
25:49Then a college friend bet him that he would do just as well if he told his subjects the opposite
25:54of what he read in their palms.
25:57He decided to give it a try.
26:00I did this on my first client, and she didn't say a word.
26:04She had no reaction at all, which was very spooky to me because I'm used to feedback.
26:09I thought it was because I bombed, but it turned out because she was so stunned, I was so accurate.
26:15This was really a shock to me because I had done everything wrong.
26:19I did it the next client wrong, and then I realized it doesn't make any difference what you tell them.
26:23It's more what you convince them how good you are and what you get them to believe.
26:30As a professional psychologist, Ray is very much aware of the role that careful observation can play in her reading.
26:37You're living in a strange world.
26:39You'd be better if you were living maybe 50, 40 years ago in some ways.
26:45I've always said that.
26:46I should have been born a long time ago.
26:48This present world presents problems for you, and you're not too happy with it.
26:54And from the way she was dressed and so on, I could say that she'd rather be living in an
26:59earlier time than today.
27:00In fact, she was dressed for an earlier time anyway.
27:03There's a change.
27:04There's been, for a while it looked like you had two jobs or two careers, I'm not sure.
27:09And very recently you have switched.
27:11In fact, there's been a major career change.
27:14I've been in the same career for six years.
27:17Next year I'm thinking about changing careers, but I haven't done it yet.
27:21So he could just be a little off in his timing.
27:25If you set people up right, you can tell them most of anything.
27:29If they've really got a creative and intelligent mind, they can make sense out of it no matter how crazy
27:33it seems to be.
27:33They can find a way of reinterpreting it so that it really fits them like a glove.
27:40This person wants me to succeed.
27:42I should work out some accommodation.
27:47Now you certainly don't need someone to deliberately fool you to have what seems to be a psychic experience.
27:52Your mind can create one all by itself.
27:55Let's say you don't like to fly and you're worried about a trip you're going to take.
27:59Then suddenly during the flight, the plane suddenly, whoa, drops a few thousand feet because of a downdraft.
28:04You might very well choose to think that you had some kind of psychic intuition about this.
28:08But what you forget is that you've had that same queasy feeling every time you've gotten on an airplane.
28:14And if it doesn't fulfill itself, you forget about it.
28:17You see, the brain is constantly searching for relationships.
28:20It's trying to work out cause and effect so we can know what to expect in our lives.
28:25That's natural.
28:26The brain is very good at this, but it does make mistakes.
28:29And one way to explain these mistakes is by some kind of psychic explanation.
28:39My investigations have taken me to dozens of countries, but until recently, one of the most interesting wasn't open to
28:46scrutiny.
28:51It's long been rumored that Russia harbors psychic talent like nowhere else in the world.
28:57The country has an ancient, mystical tradition.
29:01Good morning.
29:02Good morning, sir.
29:02And the government has encouraged psychic research.
29:05To Moscow?
29:06That's right.
29:07Any luggage to check in, sir?
29:08Two pieces.
29:13Now that the country is open to visitors, I wanted to check things out for myself.
29:22I'd seen the films that came out during the Cold War.
29:28Juna was a famous healer who had Brezhnev as a client.
29:40Carl Nikolaev could apparently turn on lights with the force of his will.
29:49The most famous Russian psychic is no longer living.
29:53Her name was Nina Kulagina.
29:56During a long career, she appeared to move all sorts of things through the power of her mind.
30:09Now that the media are no longer strictly controlled, there's a vast new audience for the paranormal on Russian television.
30:17Every night, a program called The Stars Speak precedes the news with an astrological forecast.
30:28The psychic Kashparovsky has even used television to demonstrate his claimed ability to control pain.
30:37In this case, during a live operation.
30:46There are even commercials that extol the miraculous.
31:02During the Cold War, both the Soviets and the Americans carried out research on psychic warfare.
31:10At one time, there was fear in the Pentagon about a psychic or psi gap.
31:20The Russians claim some success with psychic mind control
31:24but their evidence was sketchy.
31:32So, I was interested to find that scientists at the prestigious
31:36Institute of the Brain in Moscow
31:38had reported measuring psychic effects
31:40under test conditions.
31:43I arranged to observe the experiment.
31:49The data they'd collected in their tests
31:51seemed promising.
31:58It appeared that the psychic had been able to change the brainwaves
32:02as well as the blood pressure
32:04of the test subject.
32:07If these results could be confirmed,
32:10it would be a real breakthrough for parapsychology.
32:16To make sure that the scientists would not know what the psychic was doing,
32:20it was agreed that he would be isolated
32:22in a remote wing of the complex.
32:25Since it was founded in 1926,
32:28the Institute has been a national center
32:30for the study of the brain.
32:32But much of the work done here
32:34had until recently been kept secret.
32:40The psychic's name was Ednichenko.
32:45According to parapsychologists in Moscow,
32:48he was the real thing.
32:49All right, we now have a little over one minute
32:53before we will start the selection process.
32:56Accompanying him was Zoya, his assistant.
33:06The experiment would last an hour,
33:08broken down into four 15-minute tests.
33:11During each test, Ednichenko would attempt
33:13to change either the subject's brainwaves
33:16or his blood pressure.
33:20Or he might be asked to do nothing at all.
33:24Now he reaches inside and he takes one of these at random.
33:28At the beginning of each test,
33:30Ednichenko randomly determined what he would do.
33:32What do we have?
33:35No.
33:36Okay, so we do nothing for 15 minutes.
33:40For the first segment,
33:41Ednichenko would not attempt any kind of influence.
33:44This will be like a control.
33:53The scientists began their measurements,
33:57unaware of the psychic selection.
34:14For phase two,
34:15Ednichenko chose a heart symbol.
34:17He would try to change the subject's blood pressure.
34:27We are raising the blood pressure,
34:30beginning from the pelvis
34:32and working along the backbone.
34:37Until there's burning in the backbone.
34:39That's enough.
34:40There's no need to go any further.
34:42The spreading has already started.
34:58Phase three,
34:59the brain.
35:00The brain.
35:01Ednichenko would try to change brainwaves.
35:09Stimulation.
35:11Stimulation.
35:13Gipophys.
35:15The pituitary.
35:19Stimulation of the pituitary.
35:24Stimulation of the pituitary.
35:25Stimulation of the pituitary.
35:26Like that.
35:27Good.
35:28Like that.
35:31Good.
35:32Like that.
35:48The fourth and last test would again focus on changing brainwaves.
35:53He will now be very smart.
35:55We have stimulated both the right and left brain.
36:07When the experiment was complete, the scientists examined their measurements for changes in
36:12the subject's brainwaves and blood pressure.
36:15Any variation from normal would indicate a psychic influence.
36:19All right, now let's handle them one at a time.
36:22What is our conclusion in test number one?
36:26If you remember, during the first test, Ignachenko had done nothing.
36:36It could be the blood pressure.
36:41The scientists saw a change in the subject's blood pressure.
36:45Then, number two.
36:49In test two, Ignachenko had tried to change blood pressure.
36:54In test two, the effect was on the brain.
36:58I think so.
36:59Sergei may disagree.
37:01This time, they detected a change in his brain needs.
37:04Now, what do we think on three?
37:09With some disagreement, they called the next test correctly for the brain.
37:13Maybe we're brain, in third case.
37:15Maybe.
37:16Maybe.
37:18Maybe.
37:18Okay.
37:20That's brain.
37:21What about number four?
37:22The last test had been another attempt to change brainwaves.
37:26None.
37:27None.
37:28Okay.
37:29But the scientists found no change at all.
37:33All right, shall we announce the results then?
37:38The experiment had produced one positive result out of four.
37:44Just what would be expected by chance alone.
37:49Not very convincing evidence.
37:53So what about their previous claims?
37:55I had an idea what might be at work here.
38:00I suspected that in the past, when they examined their data, they had known what effect they
38:06were looking for.
38:06In scientific lingo, that the test had not been blinded.
38:11They confirmed this, raising the possibility that their previous work had not been objective.
38:18But one of the group believed that the problem lay elsewhere.
38:22I feel strongly that it is impossible to accurately measure these extrasensory phenomena by observing
38:31electrophysiological indicators, because the methods are too crude.
38:37But remember that modern methods, no matter how complicated, technical, and technically perfect
38:42and advanced, are of no use whatsoever unless it is conducted in a double-blind fashion.
38:49Of course, the results of a single test are in no way conclusive.
38:53But one thing I've learned over the years is that scientists, like the rest of us, have
38:58an uncanny ability to find what they're looking for, whether it's there or not.
39:03It could see only influence in respect of visual stimulation.
39:12Communism, from its very start, was considered a scientific system.
39:18With its failure, many Russians have become suspicious of science altogether.
39:25At the same time, private enterprise has begun to develop and operates largely unchecked.
39:35A good example is healthcare.
39:38It used to be provided exclusively by the state.
39:42Modern Western medicine was the model.
39:46Now, some clinics charge for service and practice pretty much as they wish.
39:54The traditional People's Medical Center in Moscow opened in 1990.
40:01Some 30,000 people pass through here every year.
40:07The treatments here consist of an eclectic mix of folk remedies and psychic healing.
40:14The average charge is 50 rubles, about half a day's wage for many.
40:24There are therapies for nearly every ailment, from cancer to impotence.
40:34This healer claims to be able to alter the body's chemistry through the power of his will.
40:49Down the hall, a team of healers uses a somewhat different approach.
40:56We were told that these patients were having their biofields adjusted.
41:09Psychics say that biofields, or auras, are a visible form of energy that radiates from the human body.
41:17Sick people's biofields need work.
41:32Bottles of water are found throughout the clinic.
41:36They're here to be charged by the healer's energy.
41:41Later, the water will be consumed for its curative powers.
41:48Healing claims are difficult to test.
41:52Suggestion alone is psychologically powerful, and the body's immune system can cure most disease without any help whatsoever.
42:03All right, I am pouring some tap water into this glass here.
42:08But the clinic claimed that its healing waters have qualities that are detectable, so I decided to test them.
42:16Now, first of all, we're testing to show that there is no charge.
42:20No charge on this water at the moment.
42:23They used a dowsing rod to measure the charge.
42:26It's a simple device that, beyond whatever other powers are claimed for it, responds to the slightest movement of the
42:33hand.
42:33No charge, no charge.
42:35Very well.
42:36I am going to ask the gentleman now to put the charge on the water.
43:01he's showing the field the field of apparently the field of charge goes out for several meters
43:08I wanted to find out whether they could tell the difference between this charged water and plain
43:14water if there were no visual cues now if we were to place a shield like this around the glass
43:21can
43:21he still detect the field they said the shield wasn't a problem but that such a test just couldn't
43:28be made it seems that the charge would be picked up by all other water nearby making differentiation
43:38impossible we tried to find another approach you'll check it by this they claim that charged
43:45water would reduce blood pressure I would simply have my blood pressure measured before and after
43:50drinking some of it but here blood pressure was measured rather uniquely said 17 millimeters low
44:00are we going to use this machine eventually I requested that a standard blood pressure cuff
44:05be used I will prove that he will say how was how is your prior blood pressure and then you'll
44:10check it
44:11by this okay who will check it this gentleman or somebody else but once again we were stymied no
44:20one in the entire facility knew how to use the cuff there's no one any any doctors here just all
44:27not traditional our host the director of the clinic interrupted to remind us of the importance of what
44:33we were dealing with he said the water had other even greater virtues it aided weight loss increased
44:40energy even bolstered the immune system imagine this water appearing all over America in different
44:48bottles green rose red and people could drink it quietly and improve their health water is so powerful and so
44:56important and has such very special qualities it must be possible to tell whether or not it's ordinary
45:02water or charged water regardless of all these other influences we've been told yes that can be done now
45:08we're being told no it can't be done because there are two before he came into the room we mix
45:13these up
45:14like that finally it was concluded that if a charged glass of water was kept at a certain distance from
45:19other glasses of normal water there would be minimal contamination three glasses would be placed around
45:26the room one of them would contain charged water and we wish him to tell us which one you know
45:36I'll take a seat over here the amounts are the same there would be three attempts to identify the glass
45:48of
45:48charged water the law of averages would give one accidental success three hits by chance alone would be improbable
46:10he said that this is charged this is a charge yes okay if they leave the room now we'll do
46:15it a second time with
46:16randomizing okay if you can repeat it ah but there was once again a problem all the glasses of water
46:24are
46:25becoming charged when he comes in here the other glasses start ticking on a charge because he starts
46:32thinking he just said the charging is driven by this mental energy the energy of thought you may
46:41you do it apparently the very act of measuring a charge created a new charge okay so and it's in
46:50fact
46:50getting charged each of them it seems that the water had yet another special quality and inability to be tested
47:00at all
47:17before I left Moscow there was one more psychic specialty that I wanted to investigate two women in a nearby
47:26suburb had developed a reputation for an unusual ability
47:33Inga Pachenko and Svetlana Chernevskaya claimed to be able to describe a person's life and character in detail
47:40using only a picture of them for inspiration they even said the Moscow police had called on them to help
47:47solve difficult cases
47:50Because it's easy to inadvertently pass on information particularly with such congenial people I
47:56determined that I would work diligently to eliminate any feedback from a group of pictures that we supplied they
48:05selected a quite remarkable one to work on Ted Bundy is best known as a serial killer and is believed
48:13to
48:13have brutally murdered more than 30 women he was executed nearly four years before this session I'd read
48:22about him and found that ironically he was a psychology major in college he was also married and had a
48:28child
48:39He's good at meditation he's athletic and it seems to me that to some degree was involved in wrestling tennis
48:51to some degree
48:55He has a pleasant wife
48:57He has a pleasant wife
48:59He has a very pleasant wife
49:00It started like most readings do a laundry list of possibilities
49:04She's cute attractive blonde reddish hair
49:09They were looking for me to respond in some way
49:13Inga maybe you can say something
49:17He looks like Gloria Geller doesn't he?
49:21He graduated from college
49:23He has some kind of military training
49:26I think he's a psychologist by education
49:29psychology
49:30history
49:33It seems to me he's been to Switzerland
49:37There was one overwhelmingly important fact about this person
49:43If these women had any psychic ability they should have been able to pick up on Bundy's horrendous crimes
49:49You know the pretty wife and everything is not maybe the most outstanding thing about this
49:53I don't feel this is a man with one moral direction
50:04He has a wife
50:08One child
50:10A boy
50:16Three years ago something happened that was critically important to his fate
50:21I feel it so clearly
50:26If you would ask questions we could continue our talk in a particular direction
50:32It was hard to deny these women but it seemed to me that any questions I asked would give them
50:38information
50:44He is original
50:46In that he can behave in many different ways
50:50Many variations to his behavior
51:01Strong willed
51:04Though it's hard to say this about a person in a negative direction
51:09I'm uncomfortable saying that
51:11A leader
51:13Who is patient
51:21Manages a group well
51:22Has an excellent memory
51:27Outstanding
51:38If we had feedback
51:39If we had feedback it would be a completely different emotional search
51:43I think it's time maybe I told them the whole story
51:46Now he will tell them about the first person
51:52This is a photograph of a man named Ted Bundy
51:56He was executed by the government because he is a mass murderer
52:02How well did they do?
52:06Well Bundy did have more than one moral direction
52:08But then again so do a great many other people
52:12Nothing important happened to him three years ago
52:15Because he was already dead
52:17He was executed four years ago
52:18And I'm not inclined to give them that kind of latitude
52:22In all, two-thirds of the statements the women made were wrong
52:26And the rest weren't very specific
52:28His wife was brunette, not blonde
52:30His child a girl, not a boy
52:33He was neither a wrestler nor a tennis player
52:36And he had never been in the military or to Switzerland
52:41It's true that he did study psychology
52:44Interesting
52:47Well, I was saying that he had a sad
52:52Yes, the eyes of a sadist
52:54Negative
52:55Had a negative psyche
52:57The morality of a negative character
53:00I said that categorically almost
53:02Not quite
53:04Before there can be results we need to be unfettered
53:07And we aren't unfettered with him
53:09The information doesn't come
53:11He doesn't inspire us
53:16He makes a stopper
53:17A cork
53:20The woman is complaining, Jim
53:22The woman is complaining
53:23But we don't do it
53:24We are ready to use these circumstances
53:27We need time
53:31A lot of people hate my skepticism
53:34And I think I understand why
53:38The psychics offer wonder and endless possibilities
53:42In a world that often seems difficult and mundane
53:47They promise health, wealth, wisdom, eternal life
53:55But if you examine the record
53:57It's not the psychics, but the hard-nosed scientists
54:00Who have actually delivered the things that improve human life
54:05And to me
54:07Science describes a world far more interesting than any psychic fantasies
54:13It's a good world
54:14Not perfect, but it's ours
54:17So we better learn to live with it
54:19The way it is
54:24Now I'm just doing it very gently
54:27Very gently
54:28Remember, plead innocence through this whole thing
54:31I know nothing
54:31I know nothing
54:34It's just at the right point now
54:35But, see?
54:37You can handle that
54:38You can handle it quite freely
54:39And we're lucky
54:40It really doesn't show very much
54:41Just the tiniest little bit of a crack there
54:43Now, you see how flexible it's getting?
54:45You say
54:46Okay, now it's broken
54:47You see, and they don't know it
54:49Watch
54:49Now let go of it
54:50And you tell them to let go
54:52And then you hold it up like this
54:53You see?
54:54So you do this kind of thing
54:55And you say
54:55Look, it's getting flexible
54:57And you let the top part droop over very slowly
55:00I'm pinching it pretty tightly
55:01The control is not all that easy
55:03And then
55:04Turn it sideways like this
55:06And it starts to go over to one side
55:07And it gets to this point
55:08And you say
55:08Hold your hands beneath it
55:09Hold your hands beneath it
55:10Go ahead
55:11Like this
55:12And
55:12And it drops in two pieces
55:14A miracle
55:15And then you look at them straight in the eye
55:17And you say
55:17And you know I don't know how that happens
55:19It's just such a mystery
55:26Funding for NOVA is provided by
55:28Johnson & Johnson
55:29The signature recognized around the world
55:32For commitment to quality health care products
55:34For the entire family
55:37And
55:38Lockheed
55:39America's aerospace company
55:41Supporting math, science, and engineering education
55:44For national technology leadership
55:47Major funding for NOVA is provided by
55:50The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
55:52And by annual financial support from viewers like you
55:56Teachers, educational institutions, and organizations
55:59Can now purchase this program
56:01And many other NOVA programs
56:02From the NOVA 20th anniversary season
56:04For $19.95 plus shipping and handling
56:07To order a videocassette call
56:091-800-255-9424
56:12NOVA is a production of WGBH Boston
56:18This is PBS
56:23Next time on NOVA
56:24For some people their next breath could be their last
56:27Their only hope is a lung transplant
56:30Doctors are powerless waiting
56:32While patients are dying to breathe
56:34That's next time on NOVA
56:42For a transcript of this program
56:45Send $5 to this address
56:47Or call 1-303-831-9000
Comments