PSVCH0H1NESIS 93
chic power. The National Research Council's report studied creating a
hypothetical "First Earth battalion" made up of "warrior monks" who
would master almost all the techniques under consideration by the
committee, including the use of ESP, leaving their bodies at will, levitating, psychic healing, and walking through walls. In investigating the
claims of PEAR, the National Research Council found that fully half"of
all successful trials originated from a single individual. Some critics
believe that this person was the one who ran the experiments or wrote
the computer program for PEAR. "For me it's problematic if the one
who runs the lab is the only one producing the results," says Dr. Ray
Hyman of the University of Oregon. The report concluded that there
was "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period
of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomenon.")
The problem with studying psychokinesis, even its advocates admit, is that it does not easily conform to the known laws of physics.
Gravity, the weakest force in the universe, is only attractive and cannot
be used to levitate or repel objects. The electromagnetic force obeys
Maxwell's equations, and it does not admit the possibility of pushing
electrically neutral objects across a room. The nuclear forces work
only at short ranges, such as the distance between nuclear particles.
Another problem with psychokinesis is the energy supply. The human body can produce only about one-fifth of a horsepower, yet when
Yoda in Star Wars levitated an entire starship by the power of his mind,
or when Cyclops unleashed bolts of laser power from his eyes, these
exploits violated the conservation of energy-a tiny being like Yoda
cannot amass the amount of energy necessary to lift a starship. No
matter how hard we concentrate, we cannot amass enough energy to
perform the feats and miracles ascribed to psychokinesis. Given all
these problems, how might psychokinesis be consistent with the laws
of physics?
chic power. The National Research Council's report studied creating a
hypothetical "First Earth battalion" made up of "warrior monks" who
would master almost all the techniques under consideration by the
committee, including the use of ESP, leaving their bodies at will, levitating, psychic healing, and walking through walls. In investigating the
claims of PEAR, the National Research Council found that fully half"of
all successful trials originated from a single individual. Some critics
believe that this person was the one who ran the experiments or wrote
the computer program for PEAR. "For me it's problematic if the one
who runs the lab is the only one producing the results," says Dr. Ray
Hyman of the University of Oregon. The report concluded that there
was "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period
of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomenon.")
The problem with studying psychokinesis, even its advocates admit, is that it does not easily conform to the known laws of physics.
Gravity, the weakest force in the universe, is only attractive and cannot
be used to levitate or repel objects. The electromagnetic force obeys
Maxwell's equations, and it does not admit the possibility of pushing
electrically neutral objects across a room. The nuclear forces work
only at short ranges, such as the distance between nuclear particles.
Another problem with psychokinesis is the energy supply. The human body can produce only about one-fifth of a horsepower, yet when
Yoda in Star Wars levitated an entire starship by the power of his mind,
or when Cyclops unleashed bolts of laser power from his eyes, these
exploits violated the conservation of energy-a tiny being like Yoda
cannot amass the amount of energy necessary to lift a starship. No
matter how hard we concentrate, we cannot amass enough energy to
perform the feats and miracles ascribed to psychokinesis. Given all
these problems, how might psychokinesis be consistent with the laws
of physics?