When Nina Kulagina died...?

Question

..... was she disected to try and discover the source of her incredible powers? To determine if there was any apparent physcial or chemical difference between her and a person not possessed of these unbelievable abilities?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Kulagina

Answer 1

I doubt it.  None of the 'experiments' were ever done under controlled conditions (that mean when they made sure she couldn't be cheating).  Nor did they ever consult a magician who could tell them how she might be doing it so they could discount the possibility.  There's very little chance she was what she claimed to be.

Answer 2

She was autopsied by psychic healers.They were able to verify her awesomely,incredible powers.No muss and no fuss.

Edit.Congratulations

Answer 3

No, I think the Russians were in on the joke.

Answer 4

If this is how you become when you are a top contributor, I never want to be one.  Life is about discovering what possibilities are out there.  And again, I say, what proof do you honestly have that she was not what she claimed to be?  You can only assume that she was a fake.  And in science there is no room for assumption.  You look until you find the answer.  I doubt it, pretty sure not, kind of or I think so just doesn't cut it in my book.  I would say we are all lucky you guys are not the ones we have to depend on to find the cure for cancer.  You probably would assume there is none since it does not yet exist.

Answer 5

Awesome. I am fighting my violation as well.

Answer 6

I kind of always thought she was a scam artist,  but she may have been the real thing.  If she was dissected it was probably by the KGB looking for something to use as a weapon.  Being a psychic is hard work.  Sometimes it takes days to recover your energy.  If you have ever been really sick then you know how a psychic feels after hard work.  If she was the real thing then I can't even guess how hard it is to move stuff with your mind.  I know that I can not do psychic work when I am sick and I have to watch my energy level so the I don't make myself sick from over work and stress.  Most people think that psychic stuff just happens liked watching TV.  It's hard work to hold your concentration for a long time and what you see can stress you out big time.  You see a lot of things that are disturbing, that you don't want to see,  but you have to learn to deal with it.  I hear people say that "I wish I could do what you do", but if you became a psychic instantly your brain would snap.  It takes a lifetime to get good and handle the power and stress that goes along with it.

Answer 7

I'm pretty sure not. I doubt that even Russian scientists actually believed she had powers, off the record. She performed standard magic tricks and as far as we know she never was observed "up close". Videos of Kulagina usually show her in a hotel room or similar setting and with nobody else in frame. Stories of being body searched before doing her tricks are probably apocryphal, but even if they were true it would be easy to hide thread and magnets in areas where they would not be discovered. She always took hours by herself to prepare for a show, which in itself is suspicious. Finally, videos of her tricks show some key indicators of fraud -- the objects can only move in one direction (towards her), and not back and forth. Strings and magnets would be expected to produce this movement.

In comparison, up-close magicians perform their sleight-of-hand tricks in more demanding conditions, usually with multiple audience members literally a foot or two away at the same table, and with much more impressive feats than what Kulagina could do. In fact, up-close magicians have had a good laugh at Kulagina's tricks (see video).

So while proving that someone is not telekinetic is an impossible task, the burden of evidence is on those who cite her as evidence of telekinesis, and there is no reason to think she was anything but a hack magician. Even the Russians realized that, I suspect.

EDIT: Great news about the restored question. The poo-flinging report monkeys didn't win this one.

Answer 8

Most one-trick ponies don't last very long.  Well, except Uri Geller.