Determining sex through pendulum

[Stereolab]

I distinctly remember reading a book about magic when I was in elementary school. The book said that if someone holds a pendulum and thinks about a specific person, the pendulum will swing back in forth in a straight line if they are thinking about a male, and swing in circles if they are thinking about a female.

I was a latch-key kid that wore my housekey on a string around my neck, and I used to do the trick on people having them hold my key and then telling them whether they were thinking of a male or a female. I remember having really successful results. The people were not told up front what I was going to look for.

Assuming that God was not speaking to me through my house key, is there some explanation of why thoughts of a male or female would change a person's involuntary arm/hand movements? Or are the chances of success simply 50/50, and people just naturally think that's something special?

 

[Ashles]

It's called the ideomotor effect and it is very responsive to suggestion.

So if you know that thinking about a male is supposed to cause a straight line swing, this is what you will do.

If you showed someone else another book that said men would produce a figure eight then that's what they would get.

You don't think you're moving it, but you are.

With regards to your story I afraid to say that you are probably just remembering the hits and forgetting the misses.

Of course if you can really do it then you can win a million dollars...

 

[Lisa Simpson]

That's a favorite party trick for baby showers. Everyone told me I was going to have a girl with each pregnancy. The ring on the chain told them so. Except, I had boys. Three of them.

 

[Stereolab]

It's called the ideomotor effect and it is very responsive to suggestion.

So if you know that thinking about a male is supposed to cause a straight line swing, this is what you will do.

The people holding the key most definitely did not know that thinking about a male was supposed to cause a straight-line swing.

I don't deny that it's possible I'm remembering the hits and not the misses. However, if there is something to this, it certainly wouldn't win any million dollars. Thoughts can undoubtedly have a profound effect on the body's movements; my question was just if that is the case in this particular pendulum trick.

 

[Ashles]

I don't deny that it's possible I'm remembering the hits and not the misses. However, if there is something to this, it certainly wouldn't win any million dollars. Thoughts can undoubtedly have a profound effect on the body's movements; my question was just if that is the case in this particular pendulum trick.

No.

 

[The Don]

IF it did work, is the pendulum picking up the gender of the baby in-utero or is it perhaps SETTING the gender ?

If it's the latter, can you ensure a lucrative (at least if you are a carney) hermaphrodite by rotating the mother under a pendulum ?

 

[Psi Baba]

I distinctly remember reading a book about magic

What kind of magic?

The book said that if someone holds a pendulum and thinks about a specific person, the pendulum will swing back in forth in a straight line if they are thinking about a male, and swing in circles if they are thinking about a female.

I don't suppose it offered any support for that claim.

I was a latch-key kid that wore my housekey on a string around my neck, and I used to do the trick on people having them hold my key and then telling them whether they were thinking of a male or a female. I remember having really successful results. The people were not told up front what I was going to look for.

Are you saying that if the key moved in a straight line, you said to them, "You are thinking of a male."? How do you know they weren't just humoring you (you said you were kid when you did this)? How do you know that they weren't already aware of this trick (which would bring the ideomotor effect into play)?

Assuming that God was not speaking to me through my house key,

That's a good assumption.

is there some explanation of why thoughts of a male or female would change a person's involuntary arm/hand movements?

That will happen only if they want it to. Otherwise, it doesn't happen.

Or are the chances of success simply 50/50

This is more likely.

 

[LTC8K6]

Except, I had boys. Three of them.

Those powerful sceptic waves again.....

 

[mayday]

Boy, some of these people like to throw the term "ideomotor effect" around like it is the explanation for everything.
What they don't understand is that the ideomotor effect is there for a reason. Used correctly you *can* access your sixth sense through this ideomotor effect, and you can learn and realize some very valuable info. this way.

 

[Ipecac]

Boy, some of these people like to throw the term "cold reading" around like it is the explanation for everything. What they don't understand is that cold reading is there for a reason. Used correctly you *can* access your sixth sense through cold reading, and you can learn and realize some very valuable info. this way.

(Not sure it's a totally apt comparison, but I still enjoyed making it.)

 

[Bronze Dog]

Boy, some of these people like to throw the term "ideomotor effect" around like it is the explanation for everything.
What they don't understand is that the ideomotor effect is there for a reason. Used correctly you *can* access your sixth sense through this ideomotor effect, and you can learn and realize some very valuable info. this way.

Most of the time, it seems to reveal a person's bias and suspicions, but I digress.

If there is a sixth sense that can cause a person to correctly swing a pendulum to find out the sex of unborn children, it seems to me that it'd be simple to test.

 

[ReFLeX]

Boy, some of these people like to throw the term "ideomotor effect" around like it is the explanation for everything.
What they don't understand is that the ideomotor effect is there for a reason. Used correctly you *can* access your sixth sense through this ideomotor effect, and you can learn and realize some very valuable info. this way.

There for a reason? What reason? So we can access our imaginary powers? Does this mean God is a deceiver? How could that be... what does this mean... why am I here...?

 

[Ashles]

Boy, some of these people like to throw the term "ideomotor effect" around like it is the explanation for everything.

Nope. But it is the explanation for this. Or have you won the lottery recently?

What they don't understand is that the ideomotor effect is there for a reason. Used correctly you *can* access your sixth sense through this ideomotor effect, and you can learn and realize some very valuable info. this way.

And you *can* test this very easily and you *can* win a million dollars for demonstrating it.
Yet you for some reason *don't*.

What a mystery.

 

[mayday]

Nope. But it is the explanation for this. Or have you won the lottery recently?


And you *can* test this very easily and you *can* win a million dollars for demonstrating it.
Yet you for some reason *don't*.

What a mystery.

Hey, I also hear there is a foundation who will grant you a million dollars to prove the paranormal *doesn't* exist.

 

[Bronze Dog]

Hey, I also hear there is a foundation who will grant you a million dollars to prove the paranormal *doesn't* exist.

And, of course, it's logically impossible to prove a negative, at least last time I checked.

 

[Bronze Dog]

And, of course, it's logically impossible to prove a negative, at least last time I checked.

Strike that. I suppose you could prove that the paranormal doesn't happen if you can examine everything, everywhere, throughout all of eternity, but it should go without saying that this is an extremely impractical procedure and would probably cost far more than the million. I believe this procedure would, however, be unable to prove the paranormal is impossible: It would merely prove that it doesn't happen.

 

[mayday]

Strike that. I suppose you could prove that the paranormal doesn't happen if you can examine everything, everywhere, throughout all of eternity, but it should go without saying that this is an extremely impractical procedure and would probably cost far more than the million. I believe this procedure would, however, be unable to prove the paranormal is impossible: It would merely prove that it doesn't happen.

I have four, no five words for this statement:

Double standards
Lame
Lame
Lame

 

[Ladewig]

I have four, no five words for this statement:

Double standards
Lame
Lame
Lame

Even if it is a double standard, so what? If you have the power to determine the sex of unborn babies (or know someone who does), then you can win the JREF challenge. You can either accept the $1,000,000 or donate the money to charity or even refuse the money and simply enjoy the pleasure of proving all the skeptics wrong about this matter. You could say "I told you so" for the next 50 years and we would have no response other than "yes, you were right all along."

So are you interested?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As for your claim about winning a $1,000,000 for proving the paranormal doesn't exist, can you provide any details? I am aware of the $1,000,000 to prove that life after death doesn't exist but that is not the same as proving that the paranormal does not exist.

 

[Bronze Dog]

I have four, no five words for this statement:

Double standards
Lame
Lame
Lame

I fail to see the double standard. After all, I've never claimed the paranormal is impossible.

 

[postalrat]

Impossible?

And, of course, it's logically impossible to prove a negative, at least last time I checked.

And since that is itself a negative statement there should be no way for you to prove it. Yet somehow it follows logic. Care to explain?