An Experiment, Updated

[ecosophia]

Earlier this month I posted a few words here about a curious effect I'd discovered -- that sharp points of iron or steel seem to have the same power to dispel addiction to television, the internet, and cell phones that they traditionally had on faery glamour.  I wasn't expecting anything like the passionate response I got -- that entry got more comments than anything else I've posted here, including the very lengthy debate over the inept attempt at anti-Trump sorcery I critiqued a month ago, and a great many people agreed to give it a try. 

At this point some of the results are in, and I've been able to draw some tentative conclusions and draft a hypothesis on which further experimentation can be based: 

1) The effect seems to be real, and not just a matter of the placebo effect. Quite a few readers have reported immediate effects, not only on themselves, but on people who had no idea that the experiment was being tried, and who suddenly lost interest in television. 

2) The effect isn't guaranteed. Not everyone noted effects. In particular, when someone else in the household was using television, the internet, or their phone as a drug to avoid dealing with personal problems, that person's addiction was pretty reliably not affected by the presence of sharp iron. 

3) The effect can generate opposition. In a significant minority of cases, people who weren't in on the experiment found the sharp iron objects and removed them, even when there was no obvious reason to do so. 

My hypothesis is as follows: we're dealing with a genuine effect here, but the glamour it appears to counter is only one of the factors in the phenomenon of television addiction. Some people watch television or use other electronic media obsessively for personal reasons unrelated to the glamour. There may also be other variables that influence whether a sharp iron point will decrease the hold electronic media has on people.

At this point, I'm going to propose a few changes to the experimental protocol. First, if you have housemates who aren't in on the experiment, use an X-acto knife blade or a steel pin taped to the underside of the television, internet router, or other object, rather than a knife -- the knives are too visible, and can get noticed and removed. Second, try to assess whether your housemates' addiction to electronic media may be a way they use to avoid major issues, and keep that in mind when assessing your options. Other than that, if you feel inspired to join the experiment, give it a shot and see what results you get. 

Comments

[fluiddruid]

The real question - why is there faery glamour in television and the internet in the first place. Is it coming from nature spirits? Is there a cabal of dark wizards controlling the media?

I'm living alone at the moment, but when I do get to visit my relatives, I will try this experiment.

P.S. That's beside the point, but you say sharp iron and steel objects will cause pain and damage to etheric body, if not protected by flesh, but I am fairly certain that being poked by sharp metal objects does not feel good even if you are in flesh. :-)

[ecosophia]

That's a fascinating question to which I have nothing like enough information to offer a definite answer. My guess -- and it's no more than that -- is that there's some degree of overlap between the electromagnetic and the etheric, and something in TV technology is accidentally replicating the effect that appears in tradition as faery glamour. But I could certainly be wrong...

As for sharp points, sure, but in that case they disrupt the material level rather than the etheric level!

[(Anonymous)]

It sounds more like what we call the electromagnetic spectrum is just simply part of the etheric itself maybe a more dense part of it rather than two separate things overlapping. I read a while back that in recent decades there have been far fewer sightings of both ghosts and UFOs and the speculation was that the generation of electromagnetic fields by televisions, radios, wireless internet and cell phones are disrupting their ability to manifest (unfortunately I cant recall where I read this).
A number of your readers have already remarked on their inability to tolerate the presence of these devices so its not surprising etheric beings would be put off by them.

Metal is a conductor and can absorb electricity. This link

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-does-metal-affect-a-wireless-signal

discusses how metal can affect a wireless signal but might offer some insights as to why metal knives can affect people who are 'plugged in' to their tvs and why some sensitive to electonic devices find relief when they employ your suggestion. Obviously there's more to this than just the physical disruption since some have already reported its effect seems to be temporary. Definitely room for study here!

Just a thought. I find myself wondering if fewer people use electronics will we start hearing again about ghost sightings?

JLfromNH

[ecosophia]

Interestingly, not all metals have the same effect on etheric substance. Iron seems to be unique in its disruptive power; I don't know whether anybody's done experiments with nonferrous rare-earth alloys that are easily magnetized, and that would be worth doing.

The possibility that eletromagnetic fields are disrupting things like ghost sightings is extremely interesting; if you find that source again, please let me know! The possibility of etheric pollution has not been given as much attention as it deserves...

[(Anonymous)]

It was years ago and may have been either a book or article I came across rather than something online. The closest I came with a Google search is this old article by the Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1238030,00.html

As a side note, iron is the end point for giant stars burning through their fuel. It takes more energy to fuse iron than it releases and so a supernova blast is triggered (at least according to current stellar theory) when the star collapses in on itself. So Cold Iron is what finally does it in.

JLfromNH

[packshaud]

This is incorrect. Because iron doesn't provide energy, the star collapses into a white dwarf--unless it is bigger than 1.4 solar masses, then the collapse provides enough temperature for the star to go supernova.

rules

[syfen]

You know, at some point it may be worth our time to chart out Chi's patterns of behavior on the material plane.

Re: rules

[ecosophia]

It would indeed. Are you interested in pursuing such a project?

Re: rules

[syfen]

Very interested, but where would I start?

Re: rules

[ecosophia]

That's a challenge! One way would be to start researching the effects of material substances in magic and folklore, looking for common ground between widely separated cultural traditions -- for example, if you find that vinegar (let's say) is credited with similar magical properties in Chinese and Italian folklore, you may have an effect that's etheric in nature. There may be other angles as well, but that's the one that comes to mind.

How does it work?

[(Anonymous)]

I've been under the impression that it's semi-intentional. Most of what goes on television is deliberately crafted to suck people in and turn them into mindless viewers, perfectly open to advertising. That's almost the textbook definition of a glamour.

The reason I say semi- is that I don't think there's a cabal of dark wizards intoning formulae from the Necronomicon or anything similar; but there is a huge weight of intention behind it, going back to the invention of propaganda as an art in WW I (or earlier.)

A lot of what's available on the internet is similar - different technology, same intention.

John Roth

Re: How does it work?

[ecosophia]

That's certainly plausible.