What is Digg?274 Comments
- r00t3r, on 10/12/2007, -7/+154Yeah I know if you watch real close you can see the midget with the lighter run away.
- rockforever, on 10/12/2007, -3/+40yea we've lit fire to newspapers... but not with our freakin CHI!?! Maybe red fire is whats supposed to come out
/sarcasm for 2
BTW I hope this is fake, because if its not, im DEVOTING my entire life to burning newspapers with MY chi. - Roger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Thats nothing new. All asian people can do that.
- prockcore, on 10/12/2007, -7/+33and david blaine can float! You have to see it to believe it!
I wonder if this doctor's underwear catches fire every time he gets excited. - barbobot, on 10/12/2007, -9/+34no skeptics simply want evidence, saying that your mind can do something and its unexplainable why is not evidence.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26what the hell?
first of all, the journalist owned the newspaper, so it wasn't treated beforehand. and second, a flash will occur before the camera can adjust to the sudden brightness. it's a digital artifact. also can be a light defraction in the lens.
third, how would tesla coils have anything to do with this? that was completely random and doesn't even make any sense.
i'm not saying it's real (because i have no idea, as no one here does), but your argument is just... stoopid. - paintist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23I've got to be the guy that has to say it? Alright... HADUKEN!!!
- TopherT, on 10/12/2007, -4/+25I'd rather have a physics professor or biology professor get an ohm meter on him or something. If he can make the needle dance around with only concentration then I'll believe it. But all this Yin Yang stuff is ridiculous, it'll simply mean that the human body is capable of generating an electric field. As for catching a newspaper on fire... I'm pretty sure that newspapers are non conductive, if you put a newspaper on a 10,00 volt wire, unless that wire is sparking, nothing will happen. Right?
- paiguy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+25I used to be a skeptic about Chi. Then I actually tried doing Qigong. My first session, the master used exposed wires from the wall socket. He held one wire in his hand, and the other was on my foot. He then placed his free hand on my back. He was then able to control the movement of my arms, just by moving his hand around my back. I couldn't even resist when I wanted to. When you do the Qigong meditation exercises, you can actually feel the Chi, which feels similar to certain electric shock.
It seems like an awful lot of hocus pocus, but this is something that Chinese people have studied for ages. Only recently, Western medicine is finding uses for it, and beginning to give it some merit. For example, an acupuncturist can be used instead of an anesthesiologist to block out pain during a surgery.
Just because we can't understand it doesn't mean it's not real. I believe there is a link between Chi and electricity, and it's only a matter of time before science can come up with an explanation. - theuber1337, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22Potassium is 'K' not 'P'.
'P' is Phosphorus.
Yay for SCIENCE!
I think you people are bit to skeptical, what he's doing is not impossible. We just can't explain it in any simple logical western manner so we get all OMG HAX!
I don't necessarily believe this is the real deal, but I'm not one to judge. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+25The paper burns bright red at first ... obviously a chemical fire
The electric shocks can come from a device anywhere on his body and electricity would be transmitted over his skin.
He says anyone can do it, show me one other person. - Nostril585129, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
--Carl Sagan
I see that as an extraordinary claim, but no real extraordinary evidence. I believe he is probably using an electric device somewhere on the body that simple transmits the current through his body. That may not be the case, but I would need a lot more to be convinced otherwise. - Ebeniz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15didn't I see Cris Angel do the same thing on his show?
if he could actualy do it, he'd win the Million dollars from the Amazing Randi chanlenge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Randi - mr_mechanics, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Ok, I took the crayon out of my nose. What was the next step?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15> Skeptics, the very reason that you havent heard anything else related to this is because you do not believe it when you do, the capacity to simply give something a chance to be true is unfortunately far beyond the wits of many people.
Skeptics are simply people who refuse to beleive things on sight alone. Get someone to give him a body cavity search and cat scan, then make him shock me and I'll beleive it. I see that K-Rose keeps digging these anti-skeptic comments. I know you love Dr. Weil and all that ***** Kevin but this is simply bogus. Has anyone else noticed that this video looks about 30 years old? - zaknirahc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Was it just me or was he smoking a cigarette just before he started the newspaper on fire?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15I love how some guy comes around claiming some mystical "chi" force helps him light newspapers on fire and all sorts of people buy into the mysticism. Yet when Christ claims to have the power to forgive sins, and raises Himself from the dead to prove it, He's laughed at and crucified over and over again.
How does this guy do it? Magic trick? Gimmick? Demonic powers? Simply channeling energy from the body into the object via some method that could be studied scientifically? Who knows. But unless you think it's real, you shouldn't be digging it. If you think it's real, it's either demonic (supernatural, whatever you want to call it) or simply some scientific process occuring in the man's body. Either way, why is this news to anyone?
Upon observation, though, the newspaper does not ignite from the area nearest the man's hand. Also, his banter and presentation (ripping the paper, pose) testify to a gimmicked performance, and his desire to have the paper crumbled in such a specific manner also indicate trickery. Besides that, if this were real, I'm sure it would be all over the news and people would be learning to do this sort of thing all the time. - TopherT, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9You're comparing this to... evolution? Cuz I'm pretty sure there was a discovery last week of a fish creature that bridges the gap between land and sea locomotion. I don't see a single respectable scientist singing of on this. I'm surprised that you don't buy into it, most anti evolutionists already believe in magic (aka water into wine)
- spyres, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Dumb. Embarrassing that this crap even made the front page.
- vonskippy, on 10/12/2007, -16/+23Be deal, I could do street magic better then that when I was 14.
People that believe crap like that should take the crayon out of their nose and actually rub a few brain cells together. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9if you can't explain it, why should we believe that you know what you're talking about? (not you specifically, but anyone who claims that this hocus pocus really does something) acupunture is *****. you know, pill made of water also work quite well in certain circumstances. it's called the placebo effect.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10I am open to new ideas but when I saw that RED fire I was like "Hmmm, I guess those reporters didn't do many high school chemistry labs".
- revenant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I see he mastered 'strike on any surface' chi. ;)
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8moron, science and holy texts are obviously very different
- thbt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@lowbot
I'm Chinese, but I was raised in a Western environment.
For me, it's science all the way. But I still can't deny the effectiveness of Chinese medicine. Maybe not for curing cancer, but certainly for colds, fevers, and your general well-being. Thanks to thousands of years of trial and error, they've figured out which herbs will help certain ailments. There's no doubt in my mind that a lot of it is effective. If you've got a tumour or the AIDS, it's time to seek Western treatment... but to dismiss all of Eastern medicine as "magic and waving hands" is simply ignorant.
By the way, Tai Chi is a martial art form. It's healthy insofar as it's exercise. Get your facts straight. - DaPope, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I like when the one reporter asks if the acupuncturist can channel the energy through his hands only or "through other things as well"... what exactly is he thinking? I'm not going to say it isn't true, I'd love to believe it's real, but the fire he starts looks a lot like a chemical fire.
- mikochu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Hehe, I think the guy was Filipino...He sounded like it. I'm Filipino, and from what I hear...we're not to be trusted. :P Didn't you guys see Man on the Moon (Andy Kaufman)???
- Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Yes, that close-mindedness is what landed men on the moon while most Indonesians live like medieval peasants. If only we'd open our minds we could be squatting in mud shanties instead of having iPods.
- digitalArtform, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6If this is real, he should go get his MILLION DOLLARS
http://www.randi.org/research/index.html - Insolence, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I can't believe people believe this for a second.
Ever heard of Uri Geller? He was a famous (much more famous than this fella) 'psychic' who did tricks just like this back in the early-mid 70's until he was debunked by James Randi on the Tonight Show.
James Randi's organization offers $1,000,000 (I believe) to anyone who demonstrates psychic powers like this mans, why isn't he going after that? - ComputerGuru, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@Topher:
There is a "level" of conductivity, beyond which a nonconductor becomes a conductor. Hight enough current can make a plastic tupperware conduct electricity....
But then do we beleive this fruit actually generated 10M ohms? - wyrder42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Various people on this comment list seem to have a "science vs. Eastern Mysticism" line or a "hey don't be so closed minded" line.
Here's the deal. Science is not just some theoretical, elaborate frame-work that has produced a lot of technologies. Science is not just rampant reductionism.
The beginning of science was/is grounded in the natural world. You don't even need to be a scientist to practice and understand the general attitude. Here is an example:
Can sheep fly? Well, so far as I can tell, all of the creatures that can fly have wings... sheep do not appear to have wings, so they probably cannot fly.
Gee, that was easy.
Now: is this guy in the video really setting the paper on fire with Chi energy? Well, so far as I can tell, all of the people I've known of in the past that made such a claim were later revealed to be charlatans or fakers, or at the very least, they were massively overexagerating their claim. So, it is likely that this guy is doing that as well.
It might be a little presumptive for us to say, "oh yes, it's certainly a fake." But if it is not fake, then what is it? What does "chi" actually mean? Please don't respond by saying, "it's energy" or "you just have to *feel* it." I've been there, and I've done that. I've been hoodwinked and bamboozled. What I learned is that "magic" is what happens in your mind when you do not know what is actually going on. What I learned is that *feeling* something often bears little resemblance to external reality.
If you really think Eastern Mysticism holds important answers, then please--get off your butt and start exploring it in depth *now*! The sooner you do, the sooner you'll likely find that it just don't pay the bills. And if you have a serious illness, I rather doubt that any quantity of "feel good" energy will fix it. ("feel good" energy can help your mood, but that's about it.)
(Ask yourself this question: "Can I troubleshoot a computer problem mystically?") (Answer: "No." -- or, if "Yes," please consider a career *outside* of IT or comptuer programming.)
If, on the other hand, you think the video is just *kinda* neat and you like to *pretend* about the possibility of Eastern Mysticism without really committing to anything one way or the other, then you're just kidding yourself. Please grow up faster. Thanks.
After you give up on the Mystical stuff, and you actually want answers again, all us skeptics will still be here. - philpot, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9and we find "your faith" disturbing
- SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The assumption that everything can be explained rationally is a metaphysical assumption. We have no proof that everything in the universe can be explained by reason and logic alone. As my own logic professor told me on numerous occassions, logic is only true in limited circumstances. There are points at which logic breaks down and we just have to accept that things are most likely true, probably true or could be true. The concept of infinity is one such assumed truth. Reason and logic themselves are built on axioms, which are things that we can't prove to be true, but that we assume are true. It's all an assumption and one for which we have no proof and can't prove. The foundations of math, science and logic are assumed to be true. It's no more provable than any other metaphysical claim.
- jeffburg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6someone has a wife who would never file for divorce.
- philpot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7i love how our DOCTOR, who MEDITATES, also SMOKES:)
- shness, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6For something like this to make it ot the front page, I would have to think it was posted by Kevin Rose.
- quokkapox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6If it's real, then let's see a video of him doing it repeatedly, while stripped half naked, nothing up his sleeves, no tricks, each time with a different arbitrarily chosen sheet of newspaper. This, of course, was not shown in the video because he cannot do it without some kind of trick.
- Azertyqsdf, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8It's easy to pack a small chunk of phosphorus (which burns when it's exposed to oxygen) in the newspaper, they are usually kept in oil, when they are removed it takes seconds before the oil film disappears, exposing the P to the O2.
Maybe it was meant to impress 12yo, but adults, please, this is just extreme credulity ! - SlappyMc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6He had plenty of time to fiddle with the news paper off camera.
This is neat though. - dafunkcruz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@ theuber1337
I fail to see how so-called "Eastern" thinking better explains this. Are you trying to suggest that "Eastern" people have some sort of magical powers that are unknowable to us "Westerners"? - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13science.
- elmerfudd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I saw this done a long time ago in Indonesia. While it stunned the hell out of me when I saw it, the performer was reluctant to do it a second time with another piece of paper, even with a substantial financial incentive that would not have been turned down in that part of the world. I believe the reason he didn't do it is because the first time was a set up, so a second time on the spot was impossible.
I've been told that modern magic (the abracadabera stuff, not real magic like the internet) has its roots in shamanism. More to the point, Criss "Mindfreak" Angel says that his magical art is all illusion and deception. He's really good and I really enjoy watching him, and I'm sure a lot of people would believe him if he said he possessed supernatural powers, but he has never claimed to. He said on his 1st season video that he gets the deepest satisfaction at that moment of shock and wonder when his subject/volunteer realizes they can't explain what they just saw, and question their perception of what is real and not real. That is truly a shamanic moment, and being able to elicit that feeling is a gift and in its own way very magical.
Sorry, but I suspect now as then that the fire was only a Jedi mind trick. No digg. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"It's so typical for people to come up with some sort of justification to fit their close-mindedness towards the phenomena."
Maybe so, but most of those kinds of people live on Earth. - gavan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4>well, they are different. Science cant touch life after death.
and religion can offer only widely varying, unconfirmed ideas on life after death :p - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6what the hell would you people think that it would look like supposing someone actually could pull off some hoodoo voodoo. don't get me wrong, i think this thing is *****, but all this stuff about, "oh, it's chemicals because there is a flash". what the hell? have you ever seen someone actually light something on fire with their supposed chi energy to compare? maybe it looks axactly the same. i'm not trying to give this street performer more credit than he deserves, but use your brain.
- beejay, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8A Tesla Coil was my first thought as well. There are "table-top" Tesla coils that can be used to create high voltages in a very small, battery powered package. I've seen one up close that was the size of one of those "mini mag" flashlights. If you put it in contact with your skin you could have "electrical powers" too. It's too bad people buried that comment and dugg the ignorant one.
- pheonix2og, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Let's see some proof of your uncle's magic chi. Otherwise, you're a liar. There are too many people on this comments section that would desperately love to believe in crap but have absolutely no proof to back up their stories. This is how rumors spread...you think you're cool if you say you've seen it before. You're not cool, you're a moron spreading false information to the weak-minded. AND IF YOU DO believe you saw your Uncle perform this trick (or similar ones as you claim), either provide evidence or you've proven that you are weak-minded. You call us close-minded because we don't choose to believe something that we've seen (more or less) once in a poor quality video, demonstrated by someone who refuses to give up their secrets? Right...In this case, I'm glad I'm not as open-minded (read gullible) as yourself.
- radu79, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12Jesus H. Christ people, saying that the red fire is sign of a chemical reaction is simply stupid. The fire in itself is a chemical reaction (duh), and the newspapers tend to have something on them called ink. That ink, depending on it's composition can give the flame different colors.
Insinuating that he somehow 'rigged' the newspaper with some chemicals to make it burn is also stupid, because he only touched the newspaper with his hands, so if he had some chemical that can start fires on his hands, wouldn't his hands burn as well?
Another thing to consider, this is not a magician type of guy, he is a doctor, and if he wasn't famous for his skills those reporters woudn't have come to him. Which means that he does have some special abilities, no?
I bet that if you lived 200 year ago, you would have never thought there is such thing as an electricity, and would have called anyone showing you an electric device a charlatan or heretic. - syuusuke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5if you could set a fire with your hands only, that would be cool.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 273 discussions
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is