Professor Yaffle
Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs
I found this posted recently on a woo site.
Anyone tell me what the truth is regarding this?
Anyone tell me what the truth is regarding this?
Hypnosis in MDC?
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MelBrooksfan
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Given that Randi spoke negatively of hypnosis in Swift as late as February of this year (in the February 8th edition of Swift, to be more precise. I would link it but I lack the sufficient amount of posts to post URLs at this time) I would doubt the claim. Also, a quick read of the million dollar challenge application shows no mention of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is absent from the list of off-limits claims.
Hypnosis is absent from the list of off-limits claims.
Given that hypnosis is supposed to involve a changed mental state, I think it would be pretty difficult to design a mutually-agreeable protocol to test it.
Challenge Applicant: "Behold! She's flapping her arms and quacking like a duck! That proves she thinks she's a duck because of hypnosis!"
Tester: "No, that proves simply that she can flap her arms and quack like a duck."
There's really only one proper way to test the above:
Sorry. Carry on.
Challenge Applicant: "Behold! She's flapping her arms and quacking like a duck! That proves she thinks she's a duck because of hypnosis!"
Tester: "No, that proves simply that she can flap her arms and quack like a duck."
There's really only one proper way to test the above:
Oh, wait, that's to see if she's a witch, not a duck.
Sorry. Carry on.
Professor Yaffle
Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs
personally I think that all along randi would include certain claims of hypnosis and exclude others. Probably some people applied with some claims for hypnosis and they were deemed non paranormal, and this is where this person got the idea that Randi had changed his mind.
walthrup48
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Oualawouzou
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Depending on who you ask, hypnosis is supposed to have various sorts of power. As a stupid example, illusionists often put their assistant in "hypnotic transe" before making them levitate or otherwise defy natural laws.
So if someone claims that hypnosis can, say, allow people to go through an out of body experience that would allow them to retrieve information from an otherwise unaccessible source (a piece of paper locked inside a safe, as an example), then it would most definitely qualify for the challenge (disclaimer: based on what I know of the challenge. I have no ties whatsoever to the JREF). If it allowed them to regress to a "past life", then it is impossible to verify, both because lots of information would be downright impossible to check and because the rest of the information gained from this "regression" could have been acquired through other, perfectly normal means.
So to my understanding, let's agree first on what kind of things hypnosis make possible that is paranormal, then we'll see if it qualifies for the challenge.
So if someone claims that hypnosis can, say, allow people to go through an out of body experience that would allow them to retrieve information from an otherwise unaccessible source (a piece of paper locked inside a safe, as an example), then it would most definitely qualify for the challenge (disclaimer: based on what I know of the challenge. I have no ties whatsoever to the JREF). If it allowed them to regress to a "past life", then it is impossible to verify, both because lots of information would be downright impossible to check and because the rest of the information gained from this "regression" could have been acquired through other, perfectly normal means.
So to my understanding, let's agree first on what kind of things hypnosis make possible that is paranormal, then we'll see if it qualifies for the challenge.
JoeTheJuggler
Penultimate Amazing
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What Oualawouzou said.
It depends on what the claimant is claiming. Some of them are paranormal claims and can be tested.
Most of the other claims (non paranormal) usually dissolve into the very trivial (or false) upon examination.
It depends on what the claimant is claiming. Some of them are paranormal claims and can be tested.
Most of the other claims (non paranormal) usually dissolve into the very trivial (or false) upon examination.
JFrankA
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I have put people in a hypnotic trance. Or, more accurately, have helped people allow themselves to go into a trance.
Let me explain my viewpoint:
There is NOTHING magical about hypnosis. It's all focus, imagination and positive reinforcement. I explain it to others like this:
If you've ever been to a movie, or have read a book and have gotten so into the movie or book you almost forget you are in a theater, or have forgotten the time, or people say "Hey!!" several times before you respond. Or if you've been driving a familiar route and it's a long drive. Suddenly, you look around and say to yourself "Wow! I'm here already???"
All of those are exactly the same kind of a "trance" as a hypnotic one. Just concentration and focus.
People do what is suggested to them in this concentration simply because a) they want to. b) they are focused on the task given to them.
There's no magic, you can't make any appendage bigger, can't make you remember your past lives, etc. However, if the subject really wants larger appendages or wants to believe they're abducted by aliens, then the hypnosis will convince them that their "memories" are true. But then again, any cold-reading "psychic" can do the same thing.
As to helping people lose weight or stop smoking, the trick to make that work is to keep reinforcing the hypnosis and giving positive reinforcement whenever the subject does the desired behavior. If the subject doesn't do the desired behavior or does something wrong, then you still do a hypnotic session but there is no reinforcement. This is called conditioning. We, as individuals, do it all the time.
Now there are many different ways to achieve this focus. None of them are magical, all of them are easily explained away if you've studied your basic college psychology, and all of them are ways we do it to ourselves naturally.
I'm basically saying that there is a state of mind reached, but it's simple intense focus. Nothing magical or paranormal. Nothing to try to prove the million dollar challenge, because, quite frankly, it's all easily explained away and nothing really special happens.
In fact, by reading this post, technically you were in a hypnotic trance. See how easy that was?
Let me explain my viewpoint:
There is NOTHING magical about hypnosis. It's all focus, imagination and positive reinforcement. I explain it to others like this:
If you've ever been to a movie, or have read a book and have gotten so into the movie or book you almost forget you are in a theater, or have forgotten the time, or people say "Hey!!" several times before you respond. Or if you've been driving a familiar route and it's a long drive. Suddenly, you look around and say to yourself "Wow! I'm here already???"
All of those are exactly the same kind of a "trance" as a hypnotic one. Just concentration and focus.
People do what is suggested to them in this concentration simply because a) they want to. b) they are focused on the task given to them.
There's no magic, you can't make any appendage bigger, can't make you remember your past lives, etc. However, if the subject really wants larger appendages or wants to believe they're abducted by aliens, then the hypnosis will convince them that their "memories" are true. But then again, any cold-reading "psychic" can do the same thing.
As to helping people lose weight or stop smoking, the trick to make that work is to keep reinforcing the hypnosis and giving positive reinforcement whenever the subject does the desired behavior. If the subject doesn't do the desired behavior or does something wrong, then you still do a hypnotic session but there is no reinforcement. This is called conditioning. We, as individuals, do it all the time.
Now there are many different ways to achieve this focus. None of them are magical, all of them are easily explained away if you've studied your basic college psychology, and all of them are ways we do it to ourselves naturally.
I'm basically saying that there is a state of mind reached, but it's simple intense focus. Nothing magical or paranormal. Nothing to try to prove the million dollar challenge, because, quite frankly, it's all easily explained away and nothing really special happens.
In fact, by reading this post, technically you were in a hypnotic trance.
See how easy that was?