Psychokinesis facts for kids

Uri Geller was famous for his spoon bending demonstrations.

Psychokinesis (say: sy-koh-kih-NEE-sis) or telekinesis (say: teh-leh-kih-NEE-sis) is the idea that someone can move or change things using only their mind. This could mean changing matter (like objects), energy, space, or even time. You often see psychokinesis in science fiction movies, TV shows, and video games, where characters have amazing mental powers.

What Can Psychokinesis Do?

Psychokinesis is a big word that covers many different kinds of supposed mental abilities. Here are some of them:

• Moving objects: This is the most common idea, often called telekinesis. It means being able to move, lift, shake, or even break things without touching them.
• Changing shapes: This ability would let someone bend metal, like spoons, or even melt objects just by thinking about it.
• Influencing events: This means having a mental effect on what happens, like making a coin land on a certain side.
• Healing: Some people believe psychokinesis could be used to help heal injuries or sickness with the power of the mind.
• Teleportation: This is the idea of disappearing from one place and instantly appearing in another.
• Passing through objects: Imagine walking straight through a wall! This ability would let someone move through solid things.
• Changing objects: This could mean turning one object into something completely different.
• Changing oneself: This is the idea of a person changing their own body into something else.
• Energy shields: Creating a protective field of energy around oneself using only the mind.
• Controlling magnetism: Being able to control magnetic forces.
• Controlling light: This would mean having power over photons, which are tiny particles of light.

Moving Objects with Your Mind

The most well-known type of psychokinesis is telekinesis. This is all about moving objects without touching them.

• People with this supposed ability could move, lift, shake, spin, bend, or break both small and large objects.
• It could even mean lifting oneself off the ground, which is often called flying.

Images for kids

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  An artist's idea of psychokinesis from a French magazine in 1911.

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  Eusapia Palladino "levitates" a table while a researcher watches in 1892.

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  Édouard Isidore Buguet fakes telekinesis in this 1875 photograph.

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  Magician William Marriott shows how a medium's "levitation" trick was done in 1910.

See also

In Spanish: Telequinesis para niños