How did Uri Geller (psychic) divine pictures people had written?

[ianzin]

Perhaps I can add a little clarification to some of the points that have been made.

@Exapno_Mapcase

He or an associate would get a glimpse of the picture, either by watching the person draw it or opening the envelope - maybe by switching it temporary for a lookalike. That’s right: he cheated. That’s how.

This is GQ in the Straight Dope. Do you have any evidence that this is what Uri Geller actually did, and which instance of this kind of demonstration are you referring to? Uri Geller has reproduced unseen drawings thousands of times over the past 40 years or more. Which instances are you referring to? What evidence do you have to support your contention?

@the_diego

Too bad his biggest trick bombed: he invited investors to fund a gold exploration company during the 1980s gold boom. Exploration method to be employed was, you guessed it, guessing. Few takers, I heard.

Is this factually incorrect? I’d be interested to learn more. I believe it is the case that on at least one occasion, a corporation invited Uri to try and dowse for valuable ores and minerals such as oil, but the invitation was to Uri, not from him.

@JWT_Kottekoe

Geller was the epitome of a charlatan. Apparently all his tricks were immediately recognizable to magicians as standard magic tricks

Incorrect. Metal-bending was unknown in magical literature before Uri Geller appeared on the scene. It did not form part of the performing repertoire of any magician or mentalist in the world prior to his arrival. Far from being ‘immediately recognizable’ to magicians, the vast majority were initially unsure whether it was a trick or not. Some are still unsure!

but he managed to find credulous people like Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ to help promote him as a psychic.

You may regard them as credulous if you wish, but this is simply your opinion. They are two well-qualified scientists who conducted some experiments into controversial fields (as good scientists have done since time began). Their only involvement with Geller was written up as a paper and submitted to Nature magazine, where it was peer-reviewed and published albeit with a note of reservation from the editor. Anyone can read the paper online for free. It’s not work of credulity. It’s a scientific paper that was published in the most pretigious scientific journal in the world. May I ask how many scientific papers have you had published in Nature magazine?

Johnny Carson, a former magician, saw right through him. He famously debunked him with the help of the Amazing Randi on the Tonight Show.

Incorrect. Carson, with whom I corresponded personally before his passing, never debunked anyone or wanted to. When Geller appeared on his show, nothing happened. This isn’t the same as ‘debunking’ anyone or anything.

@razncain

I haven’t keep up with Geller over the years, but I too, am not aware of Geller admitting to anything other than supposedly being genuine. // Randi doesn’t give away the secret, but only says if you watch very carefully, magicians should be able to pick up on it. GIGObuster gives the various ways in which it is often done.

I’ve been friends with Randi for years and I’ve performed with him at two or three different conventions. Randi has lectured on this piece of TV footage many times. In his lectures he openly explains how he did this drawing duplication effect. He has his own reasons for wanting to explain it in his lectures but not more publicly, and I will respect his wishes. However, it has nothing to do with anything Geller may or may not have done, as Randi would be the first to acknowledge.

@Czarcasm

Uri Gellar was, is, and always will be a con artist/fraud who uses 3rd rate magic tricks to convince the gullible that he has psychic abilities. James Randi has proven this time and time again, most famously on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.

First of all, since this is the Straight Dope, let’s at least try and get the name right, it’s ‘Geller’. The term 3rd rate magic tricks’ is meaningless and contributes nothing to the question, although perhaps it serves to convey your rather snarling tone. What Randi has done, as have several others, is demonstrate that the psychic hypothesis is not necessary in order to account for Geller’s feats and demonstrations. This is not the same as ‘proving’ Geller is any of the things you say he is. I hope you can see the difference.

@TriPolar

I’ve never heard of any professional magician calling Geller anything but a fraud. Maybe some don’t mind his ‘psychic’ gimmick, but most are disgusted by the use of a strategy employed by con artists whose business is stealing and not entertainment.

It may be the case that you have never heard of a professional magician calling Uri anything but a fraud, but how large is your data set? I am very confident I know more professional magicians than you do, and have known them for longer, and mix and mingle with them on a more regular basis. The number who have anything bad or unkind to say about Uri is very small They are in a tiny minority. Most are either neutral towards him or like him very much. I’ve been friends with Uri for years, and I think he’s a really nice guy.

Uri has been welcomed to several major magic conventions over the years, most recently the ‘Genii’ anniversary convention last year, where he was interviewed for two hours about his life and work and won a standing ovation. I wasn’t at that particular event, but I was at the Macmillian International convention in 2008 when he was given a prestigious award and spent hours afterwards with hundreds of magicians who wanted to shake his hand, have their photo taken with him and get his autograph. He was enormously popular, and it was rather like watching a rock star sign autographs for a couple of hours for enthusiastic fans!