Because Psience?
I’ve been watching Kyle Hill s, Because Science, show a lot lately; a show which tries to explain the real science behind much science fiction— like how much energy a real Death Star would need to blow up a planet, how much energy would a light saber produce, how does adamantium work, etc. But Kyle Hill tends to...
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answers:
daniel g say: I actually debunked a paranormal event, in this case a store closed at night and packages of pillows 'jumped' off shelves setting off alarms. Video showed no physical entity's, more than several events.
Noted stats; always happened before thunderstorms.
The synopsis: the pillows and other items were sealed in airtight bags, as the air pressure dropped before storms, the bags expanded pushing the front off the shelves.
Solution: Pin holes in the bags, and the end of these events.
The point here: there is a very real and logical reason behind your books jumping off the shelving, just takes an open minded diagnosis to solve the mystery.
Telekinesis; possible, but consider the energy of neurons in the body, one with control would be hard pressed to deflect a compass needle. This energy is just detectable with EEG.
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Kyle say: It s not a refusal to recognize some paranormal event, it s that the burden of proof is on that event. Because there isn t any rigorous evidence that TK force exists (compare it to something like the proof for electromagnetism), almost any other explanation becomes more likely. For example, right now -- as far as we know about the laws of the universe -- it is literally more likely that I, Kyle Hill, knocked those books off the shelf when you were 15 for no reason from behind the next row. It s mathematically more likely that I did that than it is a force no one has ever seen, measured, proven did. -- kH
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PhotonX say: I haven't come across them, but I'll keep an eye open for him. I have been listening to Isaac Arthur's podcasts lately, which are pretty good.
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So a scientist looks askance at claims with utterly no persuasive evidence supporting them? Stop the presses!
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Then somebody behind the shelf knocked them off.
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All of which undoubtedly have perfectly banal everyday explanations, if you only had looked for them. The thing is, I think you *want* to believe in paranormal events, and so you look for things you feel support that belief. That's confirmation bias at work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmati...
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say: < don’t the usual physics formulas apply? >

They should.

There are a couple of ways of estimating it.

How fast did you think the books were moving when they left the shelf? That can be estimated based on how far from the shelf they landed (standard physics question though not assuming TK is the cause).

the horizontal speed represents kinetic energy so 1/2 * mass of the book * (speed of the book)^2 = KE in Joules.

Or you can estimate the friction coefficient between the book and the shelf. Force needed to move the book = coefficient of friction * mass of the book * g (there's also a static and kinetic coefficient of friction but I'll ignore that for now). Work = force * distance so you can estimate how far the book would have to move before gravity took over and caused it to fall.
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