Michael Crichton: Travels

by seattleniceguy 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  peacefulpete

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  Spoon-bending How Uri Geller really does it! by Claus Larsen The one thing Uri Geller is known for is his spoon-bending trick. Even though he has given it up, it still is his tour-de-force. No cutlery is safe, when Uri's in town! The following images is from a short video clip, where Uri Geller shows his skills to a small group of people. I have not been able to establish when and where the video is taped. Geller starts off by gripping the spoon firmly and stroking it rather gently. Note that the spoon will not bend where he strokes it - it bends exactly where he holds it. Geller strokes the spoon with one or two fingers - giving the impression that he is really not touching it. Here we see where Geller strokes the spoon. As we shall later see, it is not where the spoon bends. Geller now tips the spoon, while he claims it is bending. "I'm doing it with my mind", he claims. If he really is, why is he touching it with both hands? Geller prepares to show how "much" the spoon has bent.... The spoon is not particularly bent.... But look what happens! Geller lets the woman sitting across grab the spoon... ...exactly where the spoon will be bent.... ...does she bend it, just a little? The woman holds it tight, while Geller also holds the spoon tight.... It's a peculiar way of holding the spoon. At any rate, it isn't necessary for the woman to "help" Geller, because it's time for the kill. Right now, the spoon is not particularly bent, is it? Notice how Geller moves his other hand... ...to grip the spoon... One can ask why he suddenly holds the spoon with both hands... His hands are gripping the spoon in a perfect way to bend it... Compare the tendons in Geller's hands.... ...with this. He is bending the spoon right here! Everyone is in awe, and they should be, because Geller is bending the spoon right before their eyes. In the process of standing up, it is very difficult to see just what happens to the spoon. We don't notice it, because it goes so fast, and Geller has ample time to bend it. It takes less a second...

  
  
  
  

  The spoon is now bent. Geller lets a member of the audience check the spoon...

  Showing the spoon, to ooohs and ahhhs!

  When Geller got up from the chair, the spoon was not bent. Now it is.

  The full clip is available here: (3.4Mb)

  Postlude

  When the video is analyzed, it is obvious what happens. There is nothing paranormal happening. Uri Geller is good at fooling people, but he isn't doing things you can't do.
  

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  © Skeptic Report, 2002-2003 - All Rights Reserved
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  peacefulpete

  Add a little group hypnotism that conceals from the audience the amount of force they the audience have applied to the flimsy spoons and bamm, everyone (or at least some in every room) is a spoon bender.
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  Euphemism

  I'm certainly open to the possibility of such phenomena, although I'm skeptical.

  But I'm not sure that I trust Crichton, after reading his non-fictional prologue to Timeline. He tried very hard to make it sound like time travel was a genuine scientific possibility, but his argument was (in this layman's judgment) hogwash.

  So while Crichton is undoubtedly a rationalist, he seems to have a bit of a weakness for unconventional theories, and a knack for making them sound plausible, especially if they'll sell books.

  That said, I'm still curious enough to read the book.
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  Satanus

  Interesting video of geller. It's not bent at all. Then, as he gets up, the spoon dissappears between his hands, and poof, it's bent. A scam, i would say.

  SS
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  MegaDude

  Crichton's "Travels" is one of my favorite books. Particularly I found it honest because there are stories in the book that don't paint the author in the kindest light. I was surprised Crichton would reveal so much about himself. I thought his chapter called "They" dealing with men and women and the so-called differences between them (or not) was dead on right. As to spoon bending, Crichton claimed not only that he saw others doing it, including children, but did it himself. Is it true? The way the book was written makes me suspect that it is, but I've never been able to do it.

  He certainly has led an interesting life, and is currently planning a sequel to "Travels.". Of all of his books, he claims it is his favorite.

  As to Uri Geller, Johnny Carson busted him and exposed him as a fraud right on his TV show.
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  seattleniceguy

  Hi MegaDude,

  The point you made about the honesty in the book is also what struck me. I am a staunch rationalist, and I had severe problems with all that magic shtuff. And I have read debunkings of Uri Geller.

  The only reason I became open to the possibility is that I have no reason to believe that Crichton would lie. Everything in the book leads you to trust that this is a very genuine man, if very human at times (as you mention). Since he himself claims to have bent the spoons and describes in detail how it happened, I find it hard to believe that any deception could have been practiced, unless he is lying bold-facedly.
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  MegaDude

  On his website, Crichton makes the following comment regarding his book Travels and spoon bending.

  Of all the things I wrote about, spoon bending seems to stick in the rationalist throat. It just bugs people. I don't know why it occurs. I have no explanation. I can't describe it any better than I did in the book. But I have no doubt that it occurs. More than seeing adults bend spoons (they might be using brute force to do it, although if you believe that I suggest you try, with your bare hands, to bend a decent-weight spoon from the tip of the bowl back to the handle. I think you'd need a vise.) But to see a little kid of 8 or 10 running around with a thick bar of aluminum that he has bent--not a lot, but enough so that if you roll it on a table, it doesn't roll flat--is to realize that whatever is going on, it's not brute force. I think that spoon bending is not "psychic" or bugga-bugga. It's something pretty normal, but we don't understand it. So we deny its existence.

  You might enjoy this article by a man who went to a spoon bending party hosted by the same man Crichton went to.

  http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.27.03/spoonbending-0348.html