Ouija

The Ouija [ wi: ʤə or wi: ʤi ], also called the Ouija board, consider followers of spiritualism as a tool to get in touch with spirits, similar to the glasses back. Other names are alphabet board, Witchboard, soul writers and talking board. The word Ouija was probably from the French word "oui " (which is " yes " means ) and the German word " yes " is formed.

Description and History

On a Ouija board characters are printed, mostly the alphabet, as well as the number and the words " yes" and "no." In addition, some boards are words like "thank you", "I'm waiting ", " end ", "I 'm leaving," or something similar. In addition, there is a pointer that can highlight a character. To use you have to put your hands on it and wait for some time before this pointer moves on the board. The selected characters then result in a message. Most of these messages are interpreted as signals of paranormal beings. The leader of the pointer is on the motion be aware of any influence over the board here. In 1891, the Ouija board of the American inventor Elijah Bond was patented. A year later, the patent of William Fuld was purchased that changed the Ouija board and a second patent filed for it. With him he made ​​a fortune. 1966 sold the Baltimore Talking Board Company, the firm founded by Fuld, the rights to the Ouija Board to the company Parker Brothers.

Usual explanation of the phenomenon

Motor centers are already activated by the idea or perception of a movement in the brain, with the result that the muscles perform the imagined movement to some extent. So if the parties touching the pointer of the Ouija board and expect a movement, then practice it unconsciously by the smallest muscle movements a print out and put him in motion. This can create the impression that he was moving all by itself an explanation here is that the "messages " arise in a complex group dynamic interplay between the expectations ( suggestion ) of each participant.

Dealers offer for the Ouija board to additional pointer with magnetic core, with which you can generate targeted supposedly paranormal messages.

Since the experiments on facilitated communication to communicate with people with autism or Down's syndrome, scientists have repeatedly drawn attention to the formal and thematic parallels this technique to Ouija. Representative of " Facilitated Communication " reject this criticism. Although they admit that a part of the resulting written results possibly due to a " Ouija " effect. However, this could be prevented by better training of supporters called helper.