1
00:00:07,250 --> 00:00:09,202
When the infamous fictional character,

2
00:00:09,202 --> 00:00:13,315
Carrie White, left her high school
Prom hall ablaze,

3
00:00:13,315 --> 00:00:15,498
and brought terror upon her town,

4
00:00:15,498 --> 00:00:18,635
she relied on her powers of telekinesis,

5
00:00:18,635 --> 00:00:24,868
the ability to manipulate physical
objects using the power of the mind alone.

6
00:00:24,868 --> 00:00:28,857
But while Carrie is just a fictional film
based upon a fictional book,

7
00:00:28,857 --> 00:00:32,858
belief in telekinesis
isn't fictional at all.

8
00:00:32,858 --> 00:00:36,529
For centuries, humans have claimed
they really do have the power

9
00:00:36,529 --> 00:00:40,712
to control the motion of objects
using only their minds.

10
00:00:40,712 --> 00:00:44,744
Levitation, opening doors at will
and spoon bending

11
00:00:44,744 --> 00:00:47,237
are all intriguing examples.

12
00:00:47,237 --> 00:00:51,097
It happens in the Matrix when Neo
freezes bullets midair,

13
00:00:51,097 --> 00:00:54,463
and its a skilled that 
Yoda has honed to a tee.

14
00:00:54,463 --> 00:00:56,125
But is telekinesis real,

15
00:00:56,125 --> 00:01:00,904
or just as fictional as 
Carrie, Yoda and Neo combined?

16
00:01:00,904 --> 00:01:04,304
To investigate, we need to evaluate
telekinetic claims

17
00:01:04,304 --> 00:01:08,477
through a scientific lens
using the scientific method.

18
00:01:08,477 --> 00:01:12,286
Telekinesis is part of the discipline
called parapsychology,

19
00:01:12,286 --> 00:01:15,370
in which researchers study 
psychic phenomena.

20
00:01:15,370 --> 00:01:18,514
Parapsychologists regard what they 
do as a science,

21
00:01:18,514 --> 00:01:20,974
but other scientists disagree.

22
00:01:20,974 --> 00:01:23,461
Let's start with a few basic observations.

23
00:01:23,461 --> 00:01:25,282
Observation #1:

24
00:01:25,282 --> 00:01:28,620
While there are loads of anecdotes out
there about telekinesis,

25
00:01:28,620 --> 00:01:31,569
there's no scientific proof 
that it exists.

26
00:01:31,569 --> 00:01:34,425
No studies conducted according to
the scientific method,

27
00:01:34,425 --> 00:01:38,903
and repeated under lab conditions,
can show that its real.

28
00:01:38,903 --> 00:01:43,871
In the 1930s, the so called father
of parapsychology, Joseph Banks Rhine,

29
00:01:43,871 --> 00:01:47,169
tested in the lab whether people
could use telekinesis

30
00:01:47,169 --> 00:01:50,474
to make a dice roll the way 
they wanted it to.

31
00:01:50,474 --> 00:01:53,708
But afterwards, scientists couldn't
repliate his results,

32
00:01:53,708 --> 00:01:56,386
and scince replication is key
to proving an idea,

33
00:01:56,386 --> 00:01:58,237
that was a problem.

34
00:01:58,237 --> 00:01:59,688
Aside from scientists,

35
00:01:59,688 --> 00:02:02,970
there are also countless
self-proclaimed telekinetics,

36
00:02:02,970 --> 00:02:06,347
but all have been exposed as tricksters,

37
00:02:06,347 --> 00:02:10,492
or can't perform under conditions
where they're not totally in control,

38
00:02:10,492 --> 00:02:15,256
suggesting that they manipulate the
situation to get the results they want.

39
00:02:15,256 --> 00:02:20,681
Today, there's even a huge stash of prize
money available from lots of organizations

40
00:02:20,681 --> 00:02:26,093
for anyone who can prove that psychic
abilities, like telekinesis, are real.

41
00:02:26,093 --> 00:02:29,024
But these riches remain unclaimed.

42
00:02:29,024 --> 00:02:30,659
Observation #2:

43
00:02:30,659 --> 00:02:32,401
When we investigate telekinesis,

44
00:02:32,401 --> 00:02:36,541
there's no consensus about
what exactly is being measured.

45
00:02:36,541 --> 00:02:40,026
Are powerful, Yoda-like brainwaves
at work, perhaps?

46
00:02:40,026 --> 00:02:43,996
Since nobody agrees, its difficult
to apply a research standard,

47
00:02:43,996 --> 00:02:46,759
something required in all 
other types of science

48
00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:49,401
to test the validity of ideas.

49
00:02:49,401 --> 00:02:50,921
Observation #3:

50
00:02:50,921 --> 00:02:54,025
The point of science is to
discover the unknown,

51
00:02:54,025 --> 00:02:56,392
and in the history of 
scientific investigation,

52
00:02:56,392 --> 00:02:57,806
its definitely happened

53
00:02:57,806 --> 00:03:01,391
that new discoveries have 
gone against established science,

54
00:03:01,391 --> 00:03:04,414
and even overturned 
whole branches of science.

55
00:03:04,414 --> 00:03:07,668
Such discoveries must be 
proven extra carefully

56
00:03:07,668 --> 00:03:10,135
to withstand skepticism.

57
00:03:10,135 --> 00:03:11,717
In the case of telekinesis,

58
00:03:11,717 --> 00:03:14,270
the idea goes against established science,

59
00:03:14,270 --> 00:03:17,493
but lacks the powerful
evidence in favor of it.

60
00:03:17,493 --> 00:03:21,130
Our Universe is controlled
and explained by the laws of physics,

61
00:03:21,130 --> 00:03:25,305
and one of these laws tells us
that brain waves can't control objects

62
00:03:25,305 --> 00:03:28,271
because they're neither strong,
nor far reaching enough,

63
00:03:28,271 --> 00:03:31,795
to influence anything 
outside of our skulls.

64
00:03:31,795 --> 00:03:35,974
Physics also tells us that the only forces
that can influence objects from afar

65
00:03:35,974 --> 00:03:39,356
are magnetic and gravitational.

66
00:03:39,356 --> 00:03:43,280
Probably the closest thing to 
telekinesis that science can explain

67
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:47,405
is the use of thoughts
to control a robotic arm.

68
00:03:47,405 --> 00:03:50,085
In the brains of stroke 
patients who can't move,

69
00:03:50,085 --> 00:03:54,414
researchers can implant tiny wires
into the region that controls movement,

70
00:03:54,414 --> 00:03:58,396
and then train the patient to 
concentrate on moving a robotic arm,

71
00:03:58,396 --> 00:04:01,800
which acts like an extension
of their minds, and it works.

72
00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,480
It's amazing, but it isn't telekinesis.

73
00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,783
The patients thoughts aren't just vague,
undetectable things.

74
00:04:07,783 --> 00:04:09,607
They're measurable brain signals,


75
00:04:09,607 --> 00:04:12,972
translated through wires into a robot.

76
00:04:12,972 --> 00:04:16,123
Science can measure, test
and explain the motion,

77
00:04:16,123 --> 00:04:19,566
and that's how we've shown that 
this kind of mind control is real.

78
00:04:19,566 --> 00:04:22,942
Science is a slow process of accumulating


79
00:04:22,942 --> 00:04:27,120
the evidence that either stands 
for or against an idea.

80
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:28,836
When we stack up evidence,

81
00:04:28,836 --> 00:04:31,035
we can see which tower grows tallest,

82
00:04:31,035 --> 00:04:35,730
and in the case of telekinesis,
its not the tower showing that it exists.

83
00:04:35,730 --> 00:04:39,858
Some say this mystical phenomenon
can't fit within the confines of science,

84
00:04:39,858 --> 00:04:41,277
and that's okay.

85
00:04:41,277 --> 00:04:45,467
But then telekinesis becomes purely
a matter of personal conviction.

86
00:04:45,467 --> 00:04:47,758
If something can be 
assessed scientifically,

87
00:04:47,758 --> 00:04:50,584
then it can't be described
as scientific, either.

88
00:04:50,584 --> 00:04:52,560
So the results of our investigation

89
00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,713
reveal that however much 
we may want to believe

90
00:04:55,713 --> 00:04:57,943
that the force really is within us,

91
00:04:57,943 --> 00:05:00,922
the case for telekinesis
remains weak.

92
00:05:00,922 --> 00:05:03,021
Sorry Neo, Carrie and Yoda.

93
00:05:03,021 --> 00:05:07,158
Your skills are mind-blowing,
but for now, they belong in the movies.