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Dam Ouija Board
Hello all, seems I can't find the time to write anymore in my blogs so i can only hope to continue to write. Either way, last night, while having a poker night having a few drinks, Ouija Board came up, and someone swore up and down that it works. After I stated that there is no way that Ouija Board works we ended up a long night trying to convince each other of the plausibility of it. http://skepdic.com/ideomoto... The ideomotor effect refers to the influence of suggestion or expectation on involuntary and unconscious motor behavior. The term "ideomotor action" was coined by William B. Carpenter in 1852 in his explanation for the movements of rods and pendulums by dowsers, and some table turning or lifting by spirit mediums (the ones that weren't accomplished by cheating). Carpenter argued that muscular movement can be initiated by the mind independently of volition or emotions. We may not be aware of it, but suggestions can be made to the mind by others or by observations. Those suggestions can influence the mind and affect motor behavior. Scientific tests by American psychologist William James, French chemist Michel Chevreul, English scientist Michael Faraday (Zusne and Jones 1989: 111), and American psychologist Ray Hyman have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies," are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations" (Hyman 1999). They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977). The movement of pointers on Ouija boards, of a facilitator's hands in facilitated communication, of hands and arms in applied kinesiology, and of some behaviors attributed to hypnotic suggestion, are due to ideomotor action. Ray Hyman (1999) has demonstrated the seductive influence of ideomotor action on medical quackery, where it has produced such appliances as the "Toftness Radiation Detector" (used by chiropractors) and "black boxes" used in medical radiesthesia and radionics (popular with naturopaths to harness "energy" used in diagnosis and healing.) Hyman also argues that such things as Qi Gong and "pulse diagnosis," popular in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine as practiced by Deepak Chopra, are best explained in terms of ideomotor action and require no supposition of mysterious energies such as chi so either some spirit is controlling the planchette or, someone is unconsciously moving it, sincerely 15 comments from 11 users
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posted by
chastetastic
on Apr 8, 2008 at 12:09 PM
posted by
gube
on Apr 7, 2008 at 10:59 PM
jbs yes I have seen these sites and must say someone has a big resentment towards Bill and AA. I do know he wasn't no angel and though imperfect, after all he was a alcoholic and pretty much a con man he did help alot of people. I look for the good and there's alot of good in AA and the people of AA. posted by
johnburnssucks
on Apr 7, 2008 at 10:41 PM
It doesn't mean, of course, that the program is a fraud, Gube, but Bill's life wasn't anything like movies such as "My Name is Bill W." or books like "Pass It On!" portray it as being. I've known this for many years. "Bill Wilson cheated on his wife Lois with many different women, both before and after sobriety. He even cheated on her while she worked in Loesser's department store to support him. 'I'm going to a meeting' was often a double-entendre when Bill Wilson said it. Bill actually invented the old A.A. tradition of Thirteenth Stepping the pretty women who come to A.A. meetings seeking help for alcoholism. (First you teach them the Twelve Steps, and then you take them to the bedroom and teach them the Thirteenth Step....)" Tom Powers wrote about Bill's sexual obsession. When he would confront Bill about his infidelities, Bill would act remorseful, then would say, "But I can't give it up. When I would press him as to why the hell not, he would start rationalizing. What would really kill me is when he'd say, 'Well, you know, Lois has always been more like a mother to me.' Which somehow was supposed to make it all right for him to cheat on her." http://www.orange-papers.or... Bill also took part in LSD-25 sessions with Aldous Huxley under a doctor's supervision: "The drug rocked Wilson’s world. He thought of it as something of a miracle substance and continued taking it well into the ‘60s. As he approached his 70th birthday, he developed a plan to have LSD distributed at all AA meetings nationwide. The plan was eventually quashed by more rational voices, and a few years later the Federal government made the point moot by making the drug illegal. (That Wilson’s plan was shot down is probably fortunate. LSD is a beautiful thing, but nothing sounds more horrifying to me than a roomful of chain-smoking, frightened, needy drunks tripping their heads off in the basement of the local Y.)" Wilson was serially unfaithful to his wife Lois. Wilson's affairs with women caused controversy and concern within AA and it was common knowledge in New York AA circles. His interest in younger women increased with his age, and caused Barry Leach and other friends of Wilson to form a "Founders Watch". People were assigned to keep an eye on Wilson during the socializing that followed AA functions and to separate and steer away those young women who caught Wilson's interest. Wilson, like many in his generation, could be sexist, but he was also "capable of treating the women who worked with him with dignity and respect". In the mid 1950s he began an affair with Helen Wyn, a woman 22 years his junior, "in duration, intensity and scope" this was different from his other affairs. Wilson at one point discussed divorcing Lois to marry Helen. Wilson with determined perseverance was able to overcome the AA trustees objections, and renegotiated his royalty agreements with them in 1963, which allowed him to include Helen Wynn in his estate. He left 10% of his book royalties to Helen and the other 90% to his wife Lois. In 1968 with Wilson's illness making it harder for them to spend time together, Helen bought a house in Ireland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik....
posted by
gube
on Apr 7, 2008 at 09:58 PM
jbs where did you get your info that Bill Wilson left 10% of the book royalties to a mistress? I have never heard that before. posted by
TomW
on Apr 7, 2008 at 09:54 PM
posted by
johnburnssucks
on Apr 7, 2008 at 09:18 PM
Still, OUI does not look like WEE. French can't spell. Julio Rojas doesn't look like Hoo-lee-oh Row-hoss, either. Blame the guy who invented Latin. I think his name was Ernie. posted by
johnburnssucks
on Apr 7, 2008 at 09:09 PM
Bill Wilson of Alcoholics Anonymous fame believed in Ouija boards, using one on a regular basis. He also left ten percent of his very healthy book royalties to his mistress. posted by
catpaw
on Apr 7, 2008 at 05:04 PM
Thanks for the info. I'll file that tidbit away. Still, OUI does not look like WEE. French can't spell. posted by
GordonDelano
on Apr 7, 2008 at 03:59 PM
In the 1940"s in lived in Johnsondale, CA. There wasn't much to do for intertainment. Board games were very popular. One of the kids had a OUIJA BOARD. We played with it and discovered it responded in English, German and French. The language used, depended on one the kids with multiple language ability using it. My grandmother's first language was German and she also spoke French. My father was French, so I had some knowledge of both. Most of the kids anly spoke English. There was a family fron Switzerland and they spoke German. Needless to say, if one of us using the planchete spoke a foreign language, the answer wasn't English. Some outrageous answers appeared while playing the game. I shared with ny grandmother what happened. She disproved of the Ouija board. She said it was a tool of the Devil. As far as the name OUIJA. She said it was the first time a German and a French man agreed. Oui in French = YES. Ja in German = YES. Kennard was French. Bond was German. Together they patented the name OUIJA. She was right about the name being French and German. However I doubt she was really aware of it. Only emphasizing the hostility between the French and germans. posted by
catpaw
on Apr 7, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Way back when my sister dragged out a Ouija board (never could understand the phonetics of the spelling--French can't spell?). It was simply a parlor game, nothing else. The spirits never seem to want to give out lottery numbers, long shot horses, or which stocks to buy so, I don't have a whole lot of use for them. For all the skepticism, including mine, there are some mysterious things that defy explanation. Doesn't mean there isn't one, just means I don't have one. posted by
woofwoof
on Apr 7, 2008 at 12:17 PM
The only thing useful I found for my OUIJA board was slidding down the carpeted stairs of my house when I was a kid.
posted by
sagefever
on Apr 7, 2008 at 11:19 AM
posted by
randomfactor
on Apr 7, 2008 at 11:17 AM
posted by
thegrumpyskeptic
on Apr 7, 2008 at 11:13 AM
exactly, so based on what little evidence is there, i can say with a certain degree of comfort that there are no spirits posted by
samheath
on Apr 7, 2008 at 10:32 AM
My doctoral studies included examination of much that is called "paranormal" or "Psi." The biggest obstacle has always been replication under laboratory conditions. The "spirits" seem most unwilling to accommodate themselves to clinical observation, but the anecdotes seem endless.
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