Yeah, **Una Persson ** made a request
{quote] Please the two of you take any further Randi argument(s) to another forum.
[/quote]
which he chose to ignore, thus shitting up the thread.
Well, gosh, that put me in my place. Could you cite a case where someone earnestly claimed to have a paranormal ability, capable of being empirically tested, and JREF moved the goalposts. A paranormal ability, not a semantic quibble, mind.
What part of “take it to another forum” don’t you understand?
which he chose to ignore, thus shitting up the thread.
[/QUOTE]
I didn’t ignore this instruction. you’ll kindly note that post #35 doesn’t form part of an argument addressed to you.
But as you wish - here’s the thread:
Okay, here’s a related topic.
I sometimes have trouble tuning radios. The reception changes when I get near. Sometimes I tune to get a perfectly clear signal, it’s giving great reception. Then as soon as I remove my hand from the button, it gets fuzzy. Sometimes the opposite happens. It’s fuzzy when I’m touching it, but gets clear when I move away. Sometimes it happens when I’m actually touching the radio, other times it happens when I just get near it.
Why does this happen? A bit of Googling shows that plenty of other people have the same experience, though I can’t find a clear explanation for it.
It’s pretty simple, really. Sometimes, you’ll be reflecting RF towards the radio, which will have great reception, until you move away, taking the reflection with you. Other times, your body might block RF from reaching the radio, so it has poor reception until you move out of the way. Moving or re-orienting the radio can usually alleviate these symptoms.
Yes, Peter, and it’s such a common phenomenon that it has become a sitcom staple, in which the star can’t watch The Big Game because he can’t tune the station without standing next to the TV. Nothing bizarre about it because people can be antennas, and we can also reflect electromagnetic radiation. Radio waves are invisible electromagnetic radiation, just like light is visible electromagnetic radiation, and, depending on circumstances, the waves can be absorbed, exciting the atoms in the antenna (receiving a signal or heating a microwave burrito), or reflected (not receiving the signal but showing the world the burrito in all its visible glory).
A couple times when I was high I noticed what looked like my presence turning on the streetlights. On later reflection (heh-heh) I realized they were on a timer and it was coincidental that they turned on when I walked down the street. You can imagine what effect that had on me, one of the most self-centered people on this board, to realize I didn’t have that special power. It didn’t make me any less egotistical. I just learned not to claim special powers, beyond those I already had proven, until I had exhausted the explanations. Teaching yourself you’re not the center of the universe is much less painful than having others teach you.
okay, so why does the signal get clearer (sometimes) when I’m touching the radio? If I move my hand away just a little and it gets fuzzy again. If it’s me reflecting the signal, then I’d expect to reflect it whether I’m touching the radio, or merely close to it.
And why does it only happen sometimes? Does it change with the weather or something?