This seems so easy to detect, I’m not sure it even belongs in debates, but didn’t know where else to put it, and perhaps some will disagree.
Over one million of these Walkfit shoe inserts have been sold. At least one aspect of it, I’m sure is fraudulent. Generally, I can easily turn away from infomercials and whatever nonsense they are trying to sell. And actually, some may find comfort in this product by using it, and it possibly making it easier to walk and run. But the balance test has annoyed the hell out of me.
At the 1:30 minute mark to the 3:00 mark of the walkfit infomercial, isn’t it obvious to most people that Stuart Pankin initially pushes down, but then pulls everyone toward him when they don’t have the product in their shoe; but only pushes straight down when he has them use the product? Still not convinced?
I’m sure they would never agree to such a test, but suppose we got 10 or 20 people to line up, with some having the walkfit in their shoes, and some not having it, and Stuart not having any knowledge in advance of who was using them.
How well does anyone think Stuart Pankin will do with his balance test then?
It’s possible that the person doing the balance test may be falling under the ideomotor effect. This may or may not be the case with the person that did the balance test with you. I suspect, at least in Stuart Pankin’s tests, he is fully aware of himself pulling those toward him. He’s good at misdirection and patter; all traits of a good magician too. You’re not supposed to be able to detect any shenanigans going on.
the arch supports look like they shift the weight of your body from the balls of the feet to the heel, which naturally shifts the center of gravity, magnifying the torque, diminish the power of Pankin’s push, yadda yadda yadda. However, i don’t think shifting the weight to the heel helps in balance at all. if anything, it puts undue stress on a nerve hotspot, and also makes you less balanced. if pankan had changed the experiment from pulling down to pushing up, the arch supports will probably be the ones that take a step backwards.
to clarify, i’m hypothesizing that the pivot is actually a double pivot, one where the balls of the feet make contact with the ground, and one where the heels make contact. the forces at work are at the hands where pankan is pushing down and also the center of gravity where the body weight is pushing down. In moving the center of gravity back, it offsets pankan’s push. however if the downward force is changed to an upwards force and works in conjunction with the body mass, the person will topple over backwards.