|
|
|
|
Spoon bending
|
| |
|
| |
Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary. It is a common form of stage magic, and a variety of methods are used to produce the illusion.
Spoon bending attracted considerable media attention in the 1970s when some people claimed to have the ability to cause such events by paranormal psychic means.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Spoon bending' Start a new discussion about 'Spoon bending' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary. It is a common form of stage magic, and a variety of methods are used to produce the illusion.
Spoon bending attracted considerable media attention in the 1970s when some people claimed to have the ability to cause such events by paranormal psychic means. The most notable was Uri Geller, who performed by bending metal spoons as well as metal keys and several other objects and materials. Geller's performances were attributed to stage magic by critics such as James Randi and Martin Gardner .
Stage magic
Causing spoons, keys, and other items to appear to bend without any physical force is a common stage magic trick that has many variants. An article in the New York Times profiled the neuroscience connections of stage magic and perception. In the article, science reporter Benedict Carey explained what experts who authored a paper in Nature Reviews Neuroscience on the neuroscience of magic tricks had to say about spoon bending:
When the result is a single bend or break, it's usually at the point where the object would be easiest to bend by hand. In many cases, the trick uses misdirection, a basic tool of the stage magician. The performer draws the audience's attention away from the spoon during the brief moment while the spoon is being physically bent. The typical bend, where the bowl meets the handle, requires relatively little force. The magician then gradually reveals the bend.
Other methods use a metal spoon that has been prepared so that a simple flick will cause it to bend or break. This can be done, for instance, by repeatedly bending the spoon at the desired spot, until the metal cracks and weakens. If the spoon breaks, the magician holds together the two halves of the spoon as if it were unbroken, then slowly relaxes the grip, making the spoon appear to bend before splitting in two.
If a magician has control over the viewing angle, the trick can be done by using a spoon that is already bent at the start of the trick. The spoon is initially held with the bend along the viewing angle, making it invisible. The magician then turns the spoon slowly to reveal the bend.
Spoon bending and the paranormal
Due partly to the publicity surrounding Uri Geller in the 1970s, bent spoons have become a common visual symbol of the paranormal. It is shown, for example, in The Matrix, when a young boy bends a spoon to demonstrate the unreality of a computer simulation.
While many individuals have claimed the paranormal or psychokinetic ability to bend spoons or manipulate other objects, spoon bending by mental powers alone has not been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community. Magician and skeptic James Randi has offered a prize of one million dollars to people who are able to demonstrate paranormal abilities such as spoon bending.
Technique
According to Maureen Caudill, a trainer associated with the Monroe Institute, anomalous bending of cutlery is significantly easier to achieve when performed in groups rather than alone. After several minutes of visualising energy circulating up through the body, out through the crown and back in under the feet in conjunction with deep nasal inhales into the diaphragm, would-be cutlery benders are directed to divert the flow at shoulder level down the arm, organically continuing through the cutlery and into the lightly touching index finger of the opposite hand before rising back up through the other arm to resume the circuit. After several minutes, shouting instructions to the cutlery as a rough and ready means of focusing the intent is also employed. Caudill claims a large majority of participants achieve success in this way.
Notable claimants of spoon bending events
Best-selling author Michael Crichton, who received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, described his successful experience with spoon bending in his 1988 book Travels:
Parapsychologist and author Dean Radin has reported that he, too, was able to bend the bowl of a spoon over with unexplained ease of force with witnesses present at an informal PK experiment gathering. Radin has a Ph.D in psychology from the University of Illinois and a Masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.
See also
External links
- Includes a description of the event.
- : Crichton comments on the controversy over spoon bending
- Inside a Spoon Bending Party. Michael Shermer bends back the bowl of his spoon. Shermer believes he was able to do this because of excitement and adrenaline.
- : Video from Sydney Skeptics in the Pub where everyone is bending spoons.
|
| |
|
|
