Understood, cheers.
If I had the ability to turn off street lights by standing near them and getting angry, there’s no way I’d shrug it off as ‘just one of those things’ and go back to work. A talent like that - if genuine - is worth a fortune. The $1M from the Randi Challenge is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Not a bad hypothesis, but I’m not sure whether such switching schemes are actually widely implemented, if at all.
One thing that is true though, is that when sodium vapour lamps start to fail, they often start turning on and off repeatedly - the heat causes them to fail, but when they cool down, they’re sufficiently operational to start up again, then they heat up and fail again.
There are a number of lamps like this on the high street of the village where I live - the odd thing is that when I first noticed one, my initial thought was “I’ve seen that lamp turn off before - must be something wrong with it”. It seems rather hubristic to be thinking “That lamp turned off, and I’m here, so I must be magic!”.
My question for the folks who claim they have this ability is: What do you notice the lamps doing when you’re not there?
Good point. Before you claim that, because lights go off when you are near them, they are going off because you are near them, set up a camera and record how often the lights go out when you are not there.
Also, take note of how many lamps exhibit no change at all on your approach.
Obligitory “because Randi is a liar” post.
If you actually demonstrated such an ability, Randi would just say “it’s not paranormal” and refuse to pay. We all know that he has done so in the past. We’ve seen him issue a challenge, then refuse to honour it.
Seriously, has using the “Randi defense” ever worked? Have you ever changed anyone’s mind by citing Randi’s challenge? Even once? As far as I can see, the argument never works, and just makes *you *look lazy.
Followed by the obligatory “give it a rest” post.
Just fighting ignorance. What’s your objection to that?
Please the two of you take any further Randi argument(s) to another forum. This is for “Comments on Cecil’s Columns.” This can be verified by scrolling up to the top of the page. Failure to do so will result in me, not a Moderator, getting sort of pissed off.
For some time now I have noticed that
Birds suddenly appear
Every time
I am near
I believe it is due to bodily emanations, and expect to collect the $1 million shortly.
There’s nothing paranormal about that-they just want to be close to you.
Well, if you have bodily emanations that smell like suet, just sayin’.
For the answer to that question you would have to ask Hugh Means:
“Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today
I wish that man would go away.”
Cecil:
Notwithstanding the technical explanation from my esteemed colleague (I’m a GE product manager), I’m not totally convinced current data can disprove the suspicion that some people do have an effect upon light sources. My own presence seems to impact both street lights as well as indoor flourescent lighting. It happens frequently enough to be a running joke amongst family and friends. The new GE compact flourescents are an exception.
At a big product demo earlier this year my product line was unfortunately placed next to the lighting booth. I had to keep to the far end of the area during displays.
There’s no specific condition like mood, time of day, weather or any others that seem to have an impact. It does seem to be more prevalent in the winter months, though that might be chalked up to shorter daylight and more time spent under artificial light sources.
It’s all anecdotal of course, but it’s fun to learn that others see it too. As for the race to find the “cure” - my local works department might be interested. They come out and replace the streetlight in front of the house 3 or 4 times a year.
Andy, Illinois
Do others see this effect even if they’ve never met you and nobody’s mentioned your mystical power to them?
You believe you’re observing something unknown to modern science. For God’s sake, start documenting it, so you can bring us some precise data to compare with a control (e.g., similar lights with other people around, or with no human presence). I think you’re deluding yourself, but what if you’re not? Screw the Randi prize; if you’re right, you could take physics in a new direction.
Christ, it always baffles me when somebody honestly believes he has some sort of paranormal power, and he’s not interested in gaining scientific understanding of it.
Or go for the Randi thing after all - I don’t think there’s any evidence that he will redefine ‘supernatural’ to exclude something like this - if you read the details of the applications on the JREF forum, that’s not at all how they typically end.
For decades I thought I was the God of streetlights - that they would bow as I passed.
Thank you for enlightening me.
I now know that I am one among many Streetlight Gods.
Only in your mind.
:rolleyes:
Do you have an actual point to make?