Uri Geller - What do you think?

https://youtu.be/TNKmhv9uoiQ

I'm pretty sure this totally debunks Uri Geller, I know it was Randi's idea (and I know he isn't liked around here), but Uri is just a magician like Randi.

There's a video of the full segment here. I haven't watched it all, but I dipped into it and strangely Geller does appear to bend a spoon while someone else is holding it. I must admit I can't see how the trick is done, if it is a trick. It's at 15.30+:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqCJDpNnHNI

https://youtu.be/TNKmhv9uoiQ

I'm pretty sure this totally debunks Uri Geller, I know it was Randi's idea (and I know he isn't liked around here), but Uri is just a magician like Randi.

I don't see how a single video can cover the entire lifetime of Geller and explain every moment of it. Rather than making extravagant claims, it might be more informative to read through this entire thread from the start.

Dean Radin’s experience is probably worth reading.

https://www.mind-energy.net/archives/133...Radin.html

I don't see how a single video can cover the entire lifetime of Geller and explain every moment of it. Rather than making extravagant claims, it might be more informative to read through this entire thread from the start.

I'm sorry, but Uri failed in that situation just like Randi expected. He failed because Randi knew he was going to use conjuring tricks. He then started speaking about "not feeling strong enough" in that moment, how convenient for him!

I know most people arund here hates Randi but when he is right, he is right. He got blatantly exposed as a fraud in that case.

The lab testing was also unreliable, he had a fellow inside the lab the whole time and was allowed to get close to the equipment more than once. He could have tampered it with some sleight of hand.

Dean Radin’s experience is probably worth reading.

https://www.mind-energy.net/archives/133...Radin.html

From what I can understand, the spoon was provided and not brought by Radin himself to this spoon bending party. So, the experiment is invalid, as the spoon could have been easily altered in many different ways before the event.

From what I can understand, the spoon was provided and not brought by Radin himself to this spoon bending party. So, the experiment is invalid, as the spoon could have been easily latered in many different ways before the event.

Does that mean you are going to dismiss his experience altogether?

Mmm, do you know any way of temporarily making a metal spoon behave thus: “[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039)]the bowl momentary felt like putty, and I easily pinched the bowl over as shown. It immediately hardened up, and it felt cold throughout.”[/color]

I'm sorry, but Uri failed in that situation just like Randi expected.

Randi seems to have edited out the part where he bent the spoon, though. Editing the data after the fact is generally known as a "questionable research practice."

I don't say the spoon-bending was genuine, but I can't see how it was done. Can you?

Does that mean you are going to dismiss his experience altogether?

Mmm, do you know any way of temporarily making a metal spoon behave thus: “[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039)]the bowl momentary felt like putty, and I easily pinched the bowl over as shown. It immediately hardened up, and it felt cold throughout.”[/color]

Yes, I'm going to dismiss the experience totally. I know it sounds harsh, but science isn't conducted this way nor are serious experiments.

While I don't know how to make a metal behave like that (but i'm pretty sure you can forge or alter the structure in some ways), I know that para-researchers are often sloppy or prone to wishful thinking. Just take Ninel Kulagina, she was tested in hotel rooms where she was allowed hours of preparation. She could have rigged everything.

You wanna show me you have superpowers? Then everything, and I mean everything, you are gonna interact with needs to be handled only by the researchers. So the table, glass covers, objects to be moved should have all been provided by the research team. The claimant can tell "I can only move matches/light objects" and I'll provide him what he needs, but in no case is he/she allowed to bring his own tools in the lab or test setting, and in no way should he/she be left alone in the test area. Also, I need to have a magician in the team to look for tricks.

It seems in most, if not all, parapsychological experiments regarding major TK this wasn't done.

Randi seems to have edited out the part where he bent the spoon, though. Editing the data after the fact is generally known as a "questionable research practice."

I don't say the spoon-bending was genuine, but I can't see how it was done. Can you?

No, of course, but I can look at any episode of the "dynamo" magician show and have the exact same reaction. That doesn't mean Dynamo has some superpowers, he is just very good with his tricks.

It's really the same with Uri, he failed when a common magician would have failed, yet he insists that he is, in fact, no common magician.

EDIT: also, just look at 12:10 and 12:50 minutes, you can clearly see the objects on the table shaking or rattling because Uri started kicking it, hoping to make the empty canisters move. He was using tricks, just like he tricked the guy into slightly bending the spoon by making him apply pressure on it in the right way. There wasn't any kind of superpower there, just tricks and a very embarassed/desperate guy.

RE-EDIT: Also, just check minute 6:00. You can see that one of the spoons, the middle one, already has a slight bend in it. It's the spoon he chooses for later. At most, he made the other guy bend it a bit more, but mostly he just concealed the previous bendusing the other guy's finger. Again, no magic, simple and easy tricks.

Yes, I'm going to dismiss the experience totally. I know it sounds harsh, but science isn't conducted this way nor are serious experiments.

I think that science is eventually going to have to reconsider its opinion on ‘anecdotal’ evidence. In this instance, it wasn’t just anyone who thought he’d seen something out of the ordinary, but a guy who knows all about running experiments, I think a very important scientist.

Anecdotal evidence is dismissed in all types of situations that I think ought to be taken much more seriously.