telekinesis - The Skeptic's Dictionary

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<li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#H">h</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#I">i</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#J">j</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#K">k</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#L">l</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#M">m</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#N">n</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#O">o</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#P">p</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Q">q</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#R">r</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#S">s</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#T">t</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#U">u</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#V">v</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#W">w</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#X">x</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Y">y</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Z">z</a></li> </ul> <webContent><h1>telekinesis</h1> <p>Telekinesis (from Greek words meaning <em>distant movement</em>) is the movement of objects by the power of the mind alone without any physical intervention. Using only one's thoughts to move a pencil across a table would be an example of telekinesis. <a href="mentalist.html">Mentalists</a> fake telekinesis by blowing on the pencil to make it move. </p> <p>Telekinesis is considered a type of <a href="psychokinesis.html">psychokinesis</a>, which is the manipulation of objects using only the power of the mind without any physical interevention. Bending a spoon by willing it to happen would be an example of psychokinesis. Using only one's mental effort to make the spoon levitate would be be an example of telekinesis. Causing a thunderbolt to appear by mental effort alone would be an example of psychokinesis. Making a cloud move in the sky by the power of the mind alone would be an example of telekinesis.</p> <p>There have been many scientific experiments on psychokinesis, many of them involving attempts to affect the outcome of the roll of a die. There is no credible scientific evidence that anyone has either moved a pencil or caused a thunderbolt by mental effort alone, much less broken the bank at Monte Carlo by willing the dice to come up seven or any other number.</p> <p><b>See also</b> <b>See also</b> <a href="conjuring.html">conjuring</a>, <a href="pear.html">Princeton Engineering Anomalies Project</a>, <a href="projectalpha.html">Project Alpha</a>, <a href="geller.html">Uri Geller</a>, <a href="magicalthinking.html">magical thinking</a>, <a href="poltergeist.html"> poltergeist</a>, and <a href="psiassumption.html">psi assumption</a>.</p> <hr align="left" noshade width="25%"> <p><b><a href="comments/psicom.html">reader comments</a></b></p> <p><b>further reading</b> </p> <p><b>books</b></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0907845487/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Alcock, James E. 2003. Jean Burns and Anthony Freeman.  Editors. <i>Psi Wars: Getting to Grips with the Paranormal</i> Imprint Academic</a>.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0690268157/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Christopher, Milbourne. 1970.<i> ESP, Seers & Psychics </i>Thomas Y. Crowell Co. </a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0486203948/roberttoddcarrolA/">Gardner, Martin. 1957. <i>Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.</i> Dover Publications, Inc.</a></p> <p> <a HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879755334/roberttoddcarrolA/">Hansel, C.E.M. 1989.<i> The Search for Psychic Power: ESP and Parapsychology Revisited. </i> Prometheus Books.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1401000827/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Hansen, George P. 2001.<i> The Trickster and the Paranormal.</i> Xlibris Corporation.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1573929794/roberttoddcarrolA/">Hines, Terence. 2003.<i> Pseudoscience and the Paranormal</i> 2nd ed.  Prometheus Books.</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879755040/roberttoddcarrolA/">Hyman, Ray. 1989.<i> The Elusive Quarry: a Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research.</i> Prometheus Books.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1573927988/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Marks, David and Richard Kammann. 2000.<i> The Psychology of the Psychic.</i> Prometheus Books.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1571741836/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Mishlove, Jeffrey. 2000. <i>The PK Man: A True Story of Mind over Matter.</i> Hampton Roads Publishing Company.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0691133557/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Park, Robert L. (2008). <i>Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science</i>. Princeton University Press.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.cicap.org/new/articolo.php?id=101003"><font size="3">Polidoro, Massimo. 1997. "Secrets of a Russian psychic - truth behind Alla Vinogradova's psychokinetic ability." <i>Skeptical Inquirer</i>, July-August.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0062515020/roberttoddcarrolA/"> Radin, Dean. 1997. <i>The Conscious Universe - The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena.</i> HarperCollins.</a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879751983/roberttoddcarrolA/">Randi, James. 1982.<i> Flim-Flam! </i>Prometheus Books.</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879751991/roberttoddcarrolA/">Randi, James. 1982.</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879751991/roberttoddcarrolA/"> <i>The Truth About Uri Geller</i>. Prometheus Books.</a><p></webContent>Last updated 06-Jul-2015 </p> </div> </div> <div class="right"> <div class="right_it"> <div class="search"> <form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/custom" target="_top"> <input type="hidden" name="domains" value="skepdic.com" /> <input type="text" name="q" maxlength="255" value="" size="20" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> <br /> <div class="search_2"> <input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value="" /> Web     <input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value="skepdic.com" checked="checked" /> Skepdic.com <br /> <img src="_images/logo_google.gif" alt="Google" width="48" height="19" /> </div> <input type="hidden" name="client" value="pub-3542920166946725" /> <input type="hidden" name="forid" value="1" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="hidden" name="oe" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="GALT:#008000;GL:1;DIV:#336699;VLC:663399;AH:center;BGC:FFFFFF;LBGC:336699;ALC:0000FF;LC:0000FF;T:000000;GFNT:0000FF;GIMP:0000FF;FORID:1;" /> <input type="hidden" name="hl" value="en" /> </form> </div> <div class="center"> <p align="right"><a href="http://skepdic.com/authorpage.html"><strong>Books by R. 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