psychokinesis

Psychokinesis is the claimed ability to influence physical systems, objects, or events through mental processes alone, without any physical interaction. It is typically divided into macro-PK, which purportedly moves or alters macroscopic objects, and micro-PK, which is said to affect probabilistic systems such as random number generators or dice. In common usage, telekinesis is a form of psychokinesis associated with moving objects with the mind.

The term psychokinesis was introduced in the early 20th century to describe mental influence on matter. In the mid-20th century, researchers associated with parapsychology, notably at Duke University, conducted laboratory tests of PK, but results were controversial and difficult to replicate. The phenomenon gained prominence in popular culture through figures such as Uri Geller, who claimed abilities including PK.

Scientific evaluation has found no robust, reproducible evidence for psychokinesis. Many studies suffer from methodological flaws, small sample sizes, or statistical biases. Meta-analyses typically find effects no larger than would be expected by chance and often attribute results to experimenter expectations, selection bias, or flawed procedures. No physical mechanism consistent with established physics supports PK as real.

Today psychokinesis remains a topic within parapsychology and popular discourse but is not recognized as established science. Researchers continue to perform tightly controlled experiments with randomization and blinding, particularly in micro-PK contexts, yet no findings have achieved reliable replication. Public interest endures, balanced by substantial skepticism in the wider scientific community.