"Superpowers"

apocalypse__meow wrote:

That's good to know. And I'm not doubting your committment at all, just so you know.
There are alot of little trolls on this forum that lash out in hostility because they lack the maturity to process reasoning or participate in an actual discussion. People here may not agree on all points, but at least we can explain why we say what we say. If anything, a different view is food for thought. On matters of opinion, no one should be twisting your arm and demanding that you believe them, although it can get pretty heated around here.

The trolls are everywhere. The internet is infested with them.

Many people have abilities that are developed to a degree far beyond that of other humans, but that doesn't make it a superpower. The man who trains his body by lifting weights has gained a strength advantage over other men, but this is a natural consequence of his training, he didn't get bitten by a radioactive spider. Likewise, many people have natural talents having to do with the 5 senses. They are not magic, just tuned in to what's going on around them. Personally, I have trained my senses to be extremely acute. This helps me on patrol by being very observant and I have increased reaction speed as a NATURAL consequence of my training. I am not claiming any supernatural power, and anybody can train their body to do anything within the realm of human capability. There is no such thing as supernatural. If it exists in the world, then it is natural.

Gauge wrote:

Many people have abilities that are developed to a degree far beyond that of other humans, but that doesn't make it a superpower. The man who trains his body by lifting weights has gained a strength advantage over other men, but this is a natural consequence of his training, he didn't get bitten by a radioactive spider. Likewise, many people have natural talents having to do with the 5 senses. They are not magic, just tuned in to what's going on around them. Personally, I have trained my senses to be extremely acute. This helps me on patrol by being very observant and I have increased reaction speed as a NATURAL consequence of my training. I am not claiming any supernatural power, and anybody can train their body to do anything within the realm of human capability. There is no such thing as supernatural. If it exists in the world, then it is natural.

Awareness is the root of all power. The more things you see in your environment, the more factors you can control in the situation. If the other person in the situation doesn't see what you see it looks like magic.

I think many valid points have been brought up in this discussion, but I Agree with apocalypse Meow. I know some people who can do extraordinary things, but would they go around telling people? Hell No. That is the #1 way for people to start thinking your crazy. Trust me, the more outlandish the story (no matter how real it was) people will simply refuse to believe it unless they see it with their own eyes. Case in point: One Nina Kulagina, a woman whom lived in Soviet Russia, during the cold war era. Russian scientists documented her abilities to move objects without physical contact, and even recorded videos of it too:


there is actual scientific documentation, and yet people are still skeptical. If Nina Kulagina did not convince anybody that it's possible, then What difference would any of our personal accounts matter?

more than likely another step in human evoloution

The thing is, "real magic" isn't what most people think it is. It doesn't mean you're psychic or anything, and it isn't all that extraordinary. Real magic is most easily likened to prayer. Just instead of praying to God or a specific religous god, it's to the gods that govern either what you believe in or what you're trying to accomplish. The idea is that people with magic send out "energy" to accomplish things. You can do a ritual for good luck, for finding a job, romance, but it isn't about MAKING something happen. Rather, it's about willing it to happen and expressing your willingness to make it happen. Anyone who knows anything about how it really works will tell you that performing any kind of ritual is only a catalyst for making things happen, the biggest factor is YOU and what you choose to do afterward and how you make things happen. There really isn't a whole lot mystical about it, it just a lot like prayer. Just... For people who believe in something else. Not a bad thing, not a good thing, definately not a BETTER thing. Just is what it is.

I have a few friends who are into it, they don't necissarily consider themselves wicca (I forget what they call themself), but if they want to light a few candles and burn incense and will good things into being, I'm pretty much ok with that. They don't get all preachy anyway. Really if you know someone who practices, you should talk to them about it. It's very interesteing to learn about it from someone who actually knows. Although I just like learning about weird stuff... Did you know the largest giant squid recorded measured roughly 43 feet long?

On a MUCH lighter note, me and my friends all do joke about me having a super power. We say I have the power over probability, because I tend to have exceptionally good luck. That's all it is though, it's a joke. I bring it up a lot and it would be easy to believe in. Whenever ANYTHING happens that I could remotely attribute to "probability", I could say "oh I did that with my powers". I know better though, it's easy when you believe in something to justify it with anything that could be remotely connected. Do I have good luck? Sure, maybe I do. Who doesn't believe in good luck? Do I have powers? No, definately not, but it's fun to joke about.

I think the power people should be most interested in developing and using is the power they have to make a difference in this world in their own unique way. To unify people towards a better tomorow and worthwhile causes. If there is such a thing as any super powers, THAT is by far the most powerful one.

Vires, you are correct in magic. I am actually a practicing traditional witch (TW), not Wiccan, I hate that term. What you describe is a very good description and I could not describe much better without really going into a much deeper and spiritual explanation. Will has a lot to do with Magic along with intent. Without both and the discipline to do this, you will not accomplish anything. Plus if there is any doubt at all that what you want to accomplish won't work or you deep down inside don't believe in what your doing it won't work either. The same as other's negative thoughts and emotions can also affect magic and the outcome, that is why most witches and magic users don't talk about the spells they cast, even after the fact. To keep out any and all negative influences out of their work.

Deathstalker wrote:

Andandcarl wrote:

Superpowers don't exist. Only guns and knives do.

And a lot of other weapons for that matter.

I agree tho, superpowers do not exist.
However the human body and brain can produce several chemicals which greatly enhances the awareness and physical capabilities of that individual.
These chemicals are only produced in seriously life treatening situations.
And ofcourse we posses the best weapon of all; the brain. Only few people use that weapon correctly tho.
Martial arts+parkour+life treatening situation= is the closest thing we can get to being 'superhuman'.

As for everyone who believes him -herself to have a mental gift; the human brain isn't even close to be fully understood and researched.

That is all.

watch the video posted earlier in this thread. there is more scientific documentation of it than you would assume.

Superpowers... Superpowers... I don't know if it's counted, but I'm diagnosed with MDL- Multi-Directional Laxity. It runs in the family. Causes my joints to be loose and could dislocate more easily. Affects my shoulder joints mainly. The trade off is that I'm weakened in strength- even after mandatory military training, I could only do but one pull up/chin up. However, in the event that I dislocate I won't feel much pain and I need only to push the joint back together. Also, I'm slightly more flexible though I'm starting to regress a bit as I've stopped martial arts training a long time ago.

A fine example of this is my cousin, who is way more flexible than me even without any training- He's as rubbery as a contortionist and is now a dancer. I guess I'm only deriving the ability to withstand dislocations from it...

Shinobi wrote:

watch the video posted earlier in this thread. there is more scientific documentation of it than you would assume.

I bellieve things like telekinesis can exist. although I'd like to see it happening before my eyes once.
But in order to do that you'd need a lot of concentration and time.
I fail to believe you're able to use telekinesis very quickly in a dangerous situation.
Therefore I do not take it into acount while fighting 'crime'.

@dark raven:
That is not a power, that is a physical disorder.
I have something else myself what allows me to be quick and strong for short bursts. but I tire quickly(although I'm working on that).
And then again I recover quickly aswell.

I also know someone who breaks his bones easily, but they're healed again in two-three weeks instead of six-seven weeks.

Oh absolutely Deathstalker. Telekinesis takes far too much time and focus, and in reality has little application to what we do. Even if you were telekinetic, how is lifting small objects without your hands going to help homeless people, or catch criminals? Hollywood always makes it look nice with movies like "PUSH", but again such is Hollywood. In reality it would have very little usage. However, I point out telekinesis because it's another gray area. Some people are so adamant on the limitations of human ability, that they are never able to move past where we are at the current. What we know is only relative to the time we live in, and what we have discovered... But that's by no means an excuse for people to think that they are bulletproof like superman, just to learn that lesson the hard way... Or worse, they may never learn it at all.

I completely agree, shinobi, Human limitations are being greatly underestimated most of the time(and overestimated which only result in unnecisary injuries or even deaths). In fact no one really knows the exact limit of the human mind and body. for example if you know how you can walk away from a 25 ft drop uninjured or just slightly wounded. More people should learn about telekinesis and other awesome abilities of the mind. Sadly this is misused by scammers who made money out of it while using simple tricks to fool people who have no clue themselves.
I also find people who can completely block off pain interesting.

Hollywood is the worst example and if people think they get a james bond, or batman like life if they become an RLSH they are wrong.

Most people don't even understand what heroism is to be honest.

Wait! I found a modern video of a guy that can do TK even better!

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I'm a hardcore skeptic. I believe that if there's even one logical explanation for something besides "magic" or "secret powers", you have a duty to explore it, especially you're trying to claim "proof" of a belief. And if you can't disprove other logical explanations, in person, for yourself, you should suspend judgment until you can. Anything less is willful self-blinding for the sake of ease or emotional comfort. There's nothing wrong with living in a state of "continuous pre-enlightenment", vulgarly referred to as "ignorance", as long as you strive to move from pre to post (which is really just a new pre). Dare to be ignorant!

(Please note that I'm offering this in lieu of a just-deleted 20-paragraph polite logical opposition of magic and magic's majority-popular twin brother, religion.)

Rook, the explanation that guy gave in your video is actually the basis of a magic trick I learned at Universal Studios. It looks like you can psychically control the movement of a playing card in mid air when in fact it was a strand of a thin string between your ear and the card. That trick cost me $30.

I spent $30 on a piece of string and a playing card.

Yes, but like most skeptics he does not stop and think. Yes, the video could have been a hoax, if it were say done by amateurs. But this is not the case. Nina Kulagina was documented in a controlled scientific environment, and no self respecting scientist would try to "Prove" telekinesis. Ask yourself, what would they have gained by lying for Nina? There is no Financial motive, or any reasonable one at all. Nina did not even profit from the studies either. So why would Scientists risk loosing all credibility just to help out some country bumpkin claiming telekinesis? The would not, and did not.

If you stop your video at ~4:30 the air-tight case has no glass bottom, and magnets could easily be used underneath the table. Note that both shots of her performing her act provide a wide viewing angle, only close-ups, allowing anyone to sneak under the table to control said magnet. Also note that the small objects move at sporadic speeds in a /general/ direction, which can easily be done by someone underneath the table with some general guidance of where the object is and where it needs to go.

Also, this was taken during the Cold War, an era where the US and Soviet Russia were basically little kids with big toys. The Soviets tried to one-up the Americans by any means possible, and vise versa. In fact, the movie The Men Who Stare At Goats is based off a book that talks about such New Age programs that was being researched by the US military, in which their projects leaned more towards the paranormal such as ESP so that they can try to one-up the Russians. It can be said that the Russians were basically doing the same by showing that their civilians have the power of mind control.

Shinobi, what you're saying is that you're taking stuff you read/saw on the internet, and maybe in books, and you're offering it as proof. On top of that, you're accepting it based on reports that came from the Cold War Soviet Union, from the comfort of a modern viewpoint that doesn't understand just how much we used to be in competition with those guys. And even if she really wasn't paid off, you don't think fame would be a motivating factor? She was a Russian housewife in the 1960's...why wouldn't she want to improve her life through fraud?

If you saw a guy in a tuxedo and top hat doing the same trick in person, the first thing you'd do is check under the table yourself. But because you read unproven secondhand information about it, you're perfectly willing to believe. Why?

I could fake a video more convincing than hers, and post reports all over the net how unimpeachable scientists were there with me, how they verified that I didn't use any tricks. I could then post opposing reports confessing that I'd lied, and showing how I did the tricks. I could also post further reports, declaring the confessions to be false.

Fifty years later, people would still be arguing that I was really psychic.

Quote :

I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one all-powerful force controlling everything.

Ah Rook, you make excellent points. I would not back this video if I had not seen things more baffling than this in real life. As Tom Clancy said: "The difference between fiction and truth, is that fiction has to make sense." I don't care to say what I have been through, as it is irrelevant without the firsthand experience. Honestly I wouldn't even believe myself.

On the point of Nina Though, you offer points that show how it could have been a hoax. However, I find your post very Biased against the Russian people of the Cold War Era. Yes, while I do not agree with their politicians, the Russian people are like we are. They still had scientists of world renown within their country. For you to discredit them because of a One sided viewpoint, does not mean they were not every bit as skeptical and logical as we are.

Human evolution is an interesting thing. Sure, we cannot comprehend the vast mysteries of the human mind and it's limitless cosmic power. Yes, we can be open to the paranormal and super-powered. But it does not mean we should flock to it first.

The experiment with ESP and telekinesis has a scientific basis in the arts of showmanship and magic. Ask those people to perform on the spot and they'll make excuses about the time not being right or being too weak or not being able to focus properly. I'd buy this, if I had not heard it every time I asked.

You see, this sort of hocus-pocus requires you to always meet it on its own terms. It's never about taking these people into a random lab to test them properly, always about timing and showmanship and preparation. This sort of thing always asks you to suspend belief and what you know to be true in order to fool you. Now, from fiction we can learn truth, and who knows, these things may be true, but I have yet to ever have seen anything from magical or super-powered people to make me think otherwise.

When something like this can be spontaneously and consistently proven to me on any given day, then I will consider it as a truth. That's how you learn what truth is, after all. Otherwise, it's bogus.

Mr. Jack, It's hard to disagree with anything you said. There is definitely something wrong with the picture when people need to set up, and I agree with you. When it's clearly a fake, its a fake. The best thing is to always remain objective in what your seeing, and simply analyze what happens.

If anyone is interested in reading up on the Russian side of this debate, a great read is "psychic discoveries behind the iron curtain."

Before you buy into the idea of someone (even yourself) having supernatural powers, I would recommend going to your local library and checking out one of these books:

"Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer.
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"Don't Believe Everything You Think" by Thomas E. Kida.
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There are no such thing as mental powers. These are lies told to you by malcontents that do not trust the government. Everything the government tells you is true.

We are only concerned with your well being.

We are only concerned with your safety.

Trust your government officials.

Obedience brings prosperity.