This post about a patent is one of the most interesting that I have found as it has been controversial for such a long time. It is, of course, the Ouija Board. This device has been around from very early Chinese history and has undergone many iterations. The drawing shown is from a 1921 patent, 1,400,791 by Bigalow. There is an earlier patent from 1890 which appears to be the first U.S. patent. The device has had more words written about it than any other toy, paranormal, or entertainment instrument that I am aware of and the commentary continues. There are still people who believe that the board has "special" qualities, and there are as many people debunking the board as a game.
My background in the sciences predisposes me to believe that it is the ideomotor effect that causes the planchette to spell out information. The answer is in the minds of the players and has no super-normal abilities. It is the same as suspending a ring on a string over the stomach of a pregnant woman. If the ring travels in a circle its a girl, and if the ring moves side to side its a boy, or whatever the current belief might be. My sense is that the person holding the string unconsciously has made a guess before the test has been accomplished. The act of dowsing has also been attributed to the ideomotor effect.
As in any controversy, there will be support for any number of explanations, so feel free to disagree. Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry.
My background in the sciences predisposes me to believe that it is the ideomotor effect that causes the planchette to spell out information. The answer is in the minds of the players and has no super-normal abilities. It is the same as suspending a ring on a string over the stomach of a pregnant woman. If the ring travels in a circle its a girl, and if the ring moves side to side its a boy, or whatever the current belief might be. My sense is that the person holding the string unconsciously has made a guess before the test has been accomplished. The act of dowsing has also been attributed to the ideomotor effect.
As in any controversy, there will be support for any number of explanations, so feel free to disagree. Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry.
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