Amazing Powers Of The Mind

What happens when scientists study psychic abilities?

- By Kathryn Hulick

A tall young man with striking features and thick black hair hunches over a piece of paper, pen in hand, eyes closed. He’s about to demonstrate remarkable and mysterious powers of the mind.

The year is 1973, and the young man is Uri Geller. He’s appearing on a live television talk show that was very popular in Britain at the time. Before his appearance, a production assistant for the show retreated into a closed room, made a picture of some unknown object, and hid it in an envelope. Geller says he can use the powers of his mind to see it. He doesn’t know how he does it. Maybe he reads the thoughts of the production assistant, a power called telepathy. Or maybe his mind probes inside the envelope to see the drawing hidden within, an ability called clairvoyance.

“OK, I’m getting something,” Geller says, resting one hand on the sealed envelope sitting on the table in front of him. He begins to draw, a large triangle over a long, thin horizontal shape. “It could be a boat or a ship,” he says. The talk show host opens the envelope. Out comes a drawing of a sailboat, almost identical to the one Geller just made. The audience cheers.

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