You can do anything you set your mind to - Eminem
Greetings, fellow Bohron
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Psychokinesis is the ability to move objects by the power of your mind alone. The term is a combination of two Greek words psyche – meaning mind or soul and kinesis – meaning movement. This superpower is referred to in a number of sci-fi shows and comics by names like telekinesis, force grip, mind-over-matter, psychic manipulation and so on.
In Sci-fi and History
In Bruce Almighty (2003), TV reporter Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) holds God (Morgan Freeman) guilty for not doing his job correctly. In turn, God grants him divine powers to teach him how difficult it is to run the world, throwing the town in total chaos.
In a 1973 episode of Johny Carson Show, magician James Randi exposed psychic Uri Geller who claimed to possess psychokinetic powers by performing a spoon bending trick. Before the show, Randi told Johnny to supply his own spoons instead of the fake ones that Geller used to pull his trick. This surprised Geller and he failed miserably.
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Problems with “real” Psychokinesis
Psychokinesis doesn’t seem to fit well in the framework of known laws of physics. There are several serious difficulties we encounter while trying to realize a practical psychokinetic technology.
The four fundamental forces of nature don’t seem to provide any satisfactory solution:
Gravitational Force is weak and attractive. So it can’t be used to repel objects or lift them.
Electromagnetic Force acts only on charged bodies, so it’s futile against neutral objects.
Nuclear Forces (both strong and weak) are short-range forces that act only up to nuclear distances.
Another problem is the power supply. On average, a healthy human can generate only 0.2 horsepower. Even if we concentrate with full capacity, we can’t produce enough energy to lift and throw away any object.
Psychokinesis and Brain
Electronic sensors are devices that possess the ability to detect changes in light, heat, movements and even physical quantities like distance and acceleration. A way to harness the power of psychokinesis is to couple such electronic sensing devices with computers. EEG carries with it such a potential.
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We can train ourselves to control and manipulate at will, the way our body functions and physiological changes occurring in it, by learning from our EEG brain patterns, or in general any test results. This process is known as biofeedback.
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Gradually by training, an individual may be able to produce specific wave patterns which may be fed to a programmed computer. The program would then recognize these patterns and execute a specific command such as turning ON/OFF a switch, playing a sound, moving a wheelchair or typing.
Breakthroughs
American composer David Rosenboom uses such neurofeedback techniques to create music using EEG based devices like electroencephalophones. Niels Birbaumer of the University of Tübingen has been able to achieve “typing by thinking” by training partially paralyzed people to type simple sentences on a screen by the power of thought alone.
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In 2008, researchers led by Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania created a brain implant that allowed monkeys to grab pieces of marshmallows from different locations and eat them just by thinking.
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Roy Bakay and Phillip Kennedy of Emory University, Atlanta created a glass bead implant and used it to amplify the brain signals of a stroke patient. The patient was able to move a cursor across a screen and type simple messages like “hello” and “goodbye”.
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Starting in 2004, American neuroscientist John Donoghue along with other researchers developed a brain implant system called BrainGate that allows paralysed people to perform numerous physical activities simply by thinking about the movement of their own paralyzed limbs. The device uses an array of micro-electrodes implanted into the brain. Detected signals are then fed to software that recognizes brain patterns and converts them into mechanical motions. In May 2021, the BrainGate team achieved Brain-to-text decoding of handwriting.
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Future
A few years ago, Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan unveiled its brain-to-vehicle (B2V) technology. The device consists of a skullcap covered in electrodes and wires that analyzes brain activity and predicts the driver’s future actions in advance. This assists driver in attaining better control in steering, accelerating and braking. Given such enthralling applications of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), its no wonder that the research is on to realize a human’s every action just by the power of pure thought.
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Although psychokinesis may seem out of question today, the progress made till now suggests that a better understanding of the working of the brain and advancement in EEG, MRI and BCI technologies may make this power practical by the end of this century or next.
References:
Physics of the Impossible, Michio Kaku
Psychokinesis - Wikipedia
Telekinesis - Superpower Wiki
Biofeedback - Cleveland Clinic
Biofeedback - Wikipedia
Tiny implant in brain gives `voice' to a silenced man - Deseret News
This car will use your brain-waves to help you drive - World Economic Forum