While making a long drive today, my mind began a-wandering to the subject of Uri Gellar. And I came up with some thoughts that probably are not unique or amazing, but I thought I’d share them anyway.
Mr. Gellar’s claim to fame is that he can bend spoons with his mind. Oh sure, he claims a lot of other kookery, but it’s the spoon-bending that most people know him for. He purports to be able to bend a spoon just my concentrating on it.
Let’s assume for the moment that he really can do this feat. Some observations about it:
His method is inefficient. It’s not like before Uri came along, we were wondering how on earth we’d get a spoon bent. If the need for a bent spoon arose, we’d grab it in our hands and bend it, simple as that. We didn’t have to concentrate very hard on the task.
His method is slow. The ‘grab hands and bend’ method of bending spoons is demonstrably faster than the ‘concentrate and rub’ method.
His method is unreliable. Believers in psychic ability call this the ‘sheep and goats effect’. For some reason, when a skeptic is in the room or scientific controls are in place that would eliminate cheating, the spoon will fail to bend through mind power alone. Sometimes the vibes aren’t right. However, the grab and bend method works independently of vibes, regardless of how many people in the room doubt it will work.
Most importantly, people don’t need spoons bent. In fact, the optimal configuration for a spoon is un-bent. The only purpose for bending a spoon I can think of is demonstrating one’s psychic abilities. Perhaps I’m wrong. I can’t think of a single time I’ve needed a bent spoon. Fortunately, although I’m not psychic, should the occasion arise, I’m pretty sure I could bend one with just my hands.
So in conclusion - this man enjoys fame and, I presume, wealth, because he has a slow, inefficient, and unreliable method for accomplishing a task no one needs done. He gets invited on TV shows to demonstrate this completely substandard method of performing this useless task.
I am almost certain I can find some job that no one needs done and find a really poor way to do it. I won’t claim psychic abilities, though, just my own inept skill set. Do you think I can get some fame and money? I really only want a little.
There is a Japanese restaurant in the town where I live where the chefs wear these scarves that are fastened with bent spoons. I guess ol’ Uri found a market for his product at last.
True, but even the gullible (with a few exceptions) need something besides someone’s say-so to give over their trust and their money. He’s not really bending spoons, he’s bending minds. The spoon is just a prop, like the old hypnotist’s pocket watch.
I had a friend whose father used to bend spoons. He would sit on the table in his tie-dyed underwear and rub the spoons for hours. Eventually he would come out with these pretty neat looking spoons. He wouldn’t just bend them, he would tie them in knots, and wrap them in spirals.
Yeah, his methods were a little on the crazy side, but he would come out with some truly neat looking products.
Ha ha ha!
Incidentally, has Gellar ever tried to bend other stuff? Like a ladle? Or a fork? How about bending a flat piece of metal into a spoon shape?
Incidentally, has Gellar ever tried to bend other stuff? Like a ladle? Or a fork? How about bending a flat piece of metal into a spoon shape? **
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My friends Dad did a few forks. He would bend the tines in neat patterns and stuff. Personally I have nevre heard of Geller.
My wife once attended a José Silva class. Each student was given a spoon. They were then told to concentrate on bending the spoons with their minds. After a while, they took a break. When they came back, all the spoons were bent!
I am afraid she still believes she bent that spoon.
