Telekinesis: Pseudoscience Or Psychic?

Telekinesis, or psychokinesis, refers to the ability to influence, change, or move physical objects with the mind. Is it pure science fiction? Pseudoscience and superstition, as the popular Carl Sagan said? The answer is probably yes.

When you think of telekinesis, you probably think of scenes of Jedi from Star Wars , Carrie White from the Stephen King novel, or Eleven from Stranger Things. Again, pure fiction. However, there is new information that can change your perception about this.

With the development of so-called “neurotechnologies” such as Neuralink, innovators such as Elon Musk are claiming that humans are on the verge of communicating with electronic devices through the mind…and an interface. As Arthur C. Clark once said, “magic is just science we don’t understand yet.”

Telekinesis – what do we know so far?

The word telekinesis was coined in 1914, but it wasn’t until 1934 that parapsychologist JB Rhine began conducting experimental research on the phenomenon. However, so far no one has been able to demonstrate that humans are able to mentally influence external events or objects without exerting physical force.

Despite the lack of evidence, there is still a lot of interest in the phenomenon. The pinnacle of research on this topic occurred during the Cold War.

In the 1980s, the U.S. Army Research Institute asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to conduct one of the most prominent studies on telekinesis. The results of the study are in line with what experts are saying on the subject today. Let’s analyze them.

Why is this phenomenon impossible?

British physicist John G. Taylor is probably the foremost researcher on telekinesis. According to Taylor, no physical mechanism would allow psychokinesis. Below we explain why.

The curious case of Nina Kulagina

Nina Kulagina was the subject of much interest and intrigue for scientists studying telekinesis. She was born in Russia in 1926 and joined the Red Army at the age of 14.

During the Second World War she was part of the tank regiment. However, it was not until after the war that she began to display skills beyond the normal reach of a housewife.

Kulagina could move objects without touching them. Once this became known, a group of Soviet experts subjected her to a barrage of tests and experiments.

One of the most famous cases from the Cold War era comes from here. For example, you can still see black and white footage of Kulagina separating egg yolks from egg whites and moving matches with her mind.

According to Kulagina, her powers were more intense when she was angry. After these showings, she also complained of exhaustion, back pain, and eye pain. In the end, Kulagina claimed that she had lost her skills due to a thunderstorm. She said that the electrical phenomena of the weather influence this apparently extraordinary ability.

So, did Nina Kulagina actually have telekinetic powers? Today, most experts believe the story was just Soviet propaganda.

Could telekinesis still be possible in the future?

Those who argue that telekinesis is just starting to come into play have many detractors. This makes sense, given that researchers have spent decades demonstrating that the concept challenges everything we know about physics and that it seems impossible.

As we mentioned earlier, Elon Musk recently unveiled Neuralink, a company developing technology that would build bridges between the brain and machines. But what is the goal? The first is to treat diseases such as blindness, movement problems and neurogenerative diseases.

The second goal is to push the boundaries of what we take for granted. Maybe they’ll design a car that you can drive with your brain. That kind of telepathy is made possible by tiny interfaces that allow communication between you and the car’s computer.

It seems that technology is the missing link to bring previously impossible things within reach. We’ll see what the next few years will bring.