The Problems of Psychical Research: Experiments and Theories in the Realm of the SupernormalCarrington, Hereward
Science
The Problems of Psychical Research: Experiments and Theories in the Realm of the Supernormal
Carrington, Hereward
Parapsychology
The light was sufficiently good to enable the observers to _see_ that no
threads or hairs were attached to the board or any part of the apparatus
or balance. They also ascertained this with their hands. It was also
seen that none of the subjects lifted the board by slipping their
fingers under the edges of the board and pulling it upwards. (It may be
remarked in this connection that even had they done so this would not
account for the results noted; since, in several instances, the downward
pressure recorded was more than the weight of the entire board.) As the
eyes of the observers were close to the board and to the fingers of the
subjects, it was clearly seen, however, that nothing of the sort took
place. Besides, as before said, the subjects who tried the board were
ladies, and not professional "psychics" in any sense of the word.
It was also ascertained that no sticky material was upon the fingers of
the subjects; they were carefully examined both before and after each
experiment. Further, to test this hypothesis fully, thin strips of wood
(shavings) were on several occasions introduced between the subjects'
fingers and the board, which was depressed. Had they lifted their
fingers, therefore, they could not possibly have lifted the board, which
would not have adhered to them under these circumstances.
_3rd Series._--Two "functionaries of state" attended this series, the
principal subject tried being the wife of one of these dignitaries. He
himself was extremely sceptical of his wife's ability to move the board,
and remained so until convinced by the facts! The board was lowered, and
the balance showed a pressure of from 70 to 100 grammes. The subject was
extremely fatigued after these tests, and went to sleep almost
immediately. Others who tried the board could obtain a registration of
only 2 or 3 grammes.
_4th Series._--Several very successful trials were made in this series
with two ladies as subjects. Both placed their hands on the board
together, and the depressions were of very long duration. In these
experiments sooted paper was placed under the hands of the
experimenters. It was noted that better results were obtained if one of
them cried "Now!" when the board was to be depressed. The desire to
sleep was strong after these trials, and in one instance the subject
really did fall asleep during the experiment! An odd fact which should
be noted in this connection is that no results were obtained unless the
subject _looked_ at the long end of the board while the "willing" was in
progress.
_5th Series._--This series of experiments was attended by a well-known
physician and a psychologist. The light was good as before. From 40 to
50 grammes were registered by the balance on several occasions, the
downward pressure lasting from 20 to 30 seconds. Clearly, therefore,
none of these depressions could be attributed to mere oscillations of
the board, but denoted a definite and persistent downward pressure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account