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Albert Einstein supporting the psychic Gene Dennis?

PainKiller

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PainKiller
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In 1932, Albert Einstein publicly endorsed an alleged psychic girl known as Gene Dennis.

I am looking for information on this person because I wanted to write an article on Gene Dennis for a skeptic newsletter I contribute to.

A favourite magician of mine was David P. Abbott he debunked many fraudulent mediums but according to this website he also endorsed Dennis as genuine and became her manager:

The following year magician David P. Abbott invited her to his home so that her psychic powers could be tested. Abbott had built a reputation on debunking psychics. Behind the Scenes with the Mediums (1907) was his magnum opus on the fakery of Spiritualist mediums. But, weirdly, instead of debunking Gene Dennis he became her manager. He wouldn’t be the last magician to swap sides either to share a psychic’s limelight, affections or profits.

Abbott explained his actions by telling the story of how Gene Dennis passed a stringent test of her powers in his booklet The Wonder Girl, a name claimed to have been bestowed on her by Arthur Conan Doyle. But Abbott’s manuscript didn’t see the light of day until Walter Graham published it in 1992. Todd Karr casts more light on the arrangement the magician and psychic came to in his book (written with Teller) House of Mystery (2005) which is I think the most complete account of Gene Dennis’ career and contains many wonderful photos and ephemera.
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References for the above information

http://cardopolis.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-girl-who-amazed-einstein.html

https://newrepublic.com/article/119...ns-endorsement-psychic-upton-sinclair-defends

Online I also found a skeptical paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in 1932, the abstract reads:

When given an opportunity to demonstrate mind-reading ability and "psychic powers" this examinee failed to give evidence of either.
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I will probably download this paper. Just asking here for any information on Gene Dennis and her involvement with Einstein.
 
Sorry, I've no knowledge of this, but wanted to thank you for posting about it.

I would point out the obvious though; that the quote attributed to Einstein comes from a newspaper, and may therefore be a misquote in part or in whole. Though the photo is somewhat damning! Not that Einstein being hoodwinked proves anything of course, it's just a bit disappointing if true.

Edited - looks like there's at least some doubt as to how much of an endorsement he really gave;

https://newrepublic.com/article/119...ns-endorsement-psychic-upton-sinclair-defends
 
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PainKiller said:
In 1932, Albert Einstein publicly endorsed an alleged psychic girl known as Gene Dennis.

I am looking for information on this person because I wanted to write an article on Gene Dennis for a skeptic newsletter I contribute to.

A favourite magician of mine was David P. Abbott he debunked many fraudulent mediums but according to this website he also endorsed Dennis as genuine and became her manager:



References for the above information

http://cardopolis.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-girl-who-amazed-einstein.html

https://newrepublic.com/article/119...ns-endorsement-psychic-upton-sinclair-defends

Online I also found a skeptical paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in 1932, the abstract reads:



I will probably download this paper. Just asking here for any information on Gene Dennis and her involvement with Einstein.
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For anyone who is interested: according to the article in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Dennis asked the psychology department at Washington University in St. Louis* to test her when she was in town for a series of performances. The author, Steuart H. Britt, administered the tests. She was given an IQ test: she was slightly below average. She was given a problem-solving test: she hadn't progressed very far when the test was halted to allow time for the third test ("she was considerably less efficient than the average college student").

The third test was the mind-reading test. There were 42 envelopes. Half contained a question and an answer. Each of these was clipped to an envelope containing a blank sheet of paper. Britt and Dennis were seated with a barrier in between them so they could not see each other. A third person could see both of them. No one in the room had previously seen the questions or answers. Britt was handed an envelope with a question and answer. He read them and concentrated on them. Dennis was supposed to write down the question and answer he was thinking about. They were supposed to go through 21 questions and answers, but, after five, "Miss Dennis suddenly remembered an appointment, which unfortunately prevented the answering of the other sixteen." The first question and answer were "Q. Is free copper ever found in bird feathers? A. Yes." Dennis wrote, "Who invented electric lights? Edison--I see a pond of water in the distance--Very blue--" I'm not making that up. That was the most coherent of the answers.

*In the 1980s, Washington University parapsychology researchers were duped by Steve Shaw (Banachek) and Michael Edwards in the Project Alpha hoax.
 
I can only imagine what it must have been like to have been Einstein later in his career- all the people seeking to have you, crowned the "smartest man alive" by the newspapers and magazines, endorse their theories, especially those having nothing to do with physics. This together with the ability of the popular press, casual acquaintances. or even random passer-bys to mis-quote or take out of context any phrase that you might have uttered over lunch, in an elevator, or spoken in jest. Mis-quoting probably wasn't (isn't) even the least of it: I am certain that many of these "quotes" were simply made up from whole cloth!

Can one imagine how daunting and unpleasant this must have been?
 
Giordano said:
I can only imagine what it must have been like to have been Einstein later in his career- all the people seeking to have you, crowned the "smartest man alive" by the newspapers and magazines, endorse their theories, especially those having nothing to do with physics. This together with the ability of the popular press, casual acquaintances. or even random passer-bys to mis-quote or take out of context any phrase that you might have uttered over lunch, in an elevator, or spoken in jest. Mis-quoting probably wasn't (isn't) even the least of it: I am certain that many of these "quotes" were simply made up from whole cloth!

Can one imagine how daunting and unpleasant this must have been?
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Indeed, lots of people with their own agendas probably attributed all kinds of things to Einstein which he had nothing to do with, just to take advantage of his reputation.
 
Giordano said:
I can only imagine what it must have been like to have been Einstein later in his career- all the people seeking to have you, crowned the "smartest man alive" by the newspapers and magazines, endorse their theories, especially those having nothing to do with physics. This together with the ability of the popular press, casual acquaintances. or even random passer-bys to mis-quote or take out of context any phrase that you might have uttered over lunch, in an elevator, or spoken in jest. Mis-quoting probably wasn't (isn't) even the least of it: I am certain that many of these "quotes" were simply made up from whole cloth!

Can one imagine how daunting and unpleasant this must have been?
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As Einstein once said "Giordano is incredibly insightful about the human mind and I stand in awe of his deductions about the human ego"



















or possibly didn't....

😀
 
Dabop said:
As Einstein once said "Giordano is incredibly insightful about the human mind and I stand in awe of his deductions about the human ego"














or possibly didn't....

😀
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He did say it according to a taxi driver who once drove a third cousin of his around New York City! Except that I think that Einstein also noted that I am extremely gullible when it comes to praise.
 
Giordano said:
Mis-quoting probably wasn't (isn't) even the least of it: I am certain that many of these "quotes" were simply made up from whole cloth!

Can one imagine how daunting and unpleasant this must have been?
Click to expand...
There's a supposed quote from Einstein I've seen on a few blogs and forums claiming that he was a believer in astrology. Turns out the quote was invented after his death by some author but still popped up regularly on astrology websites.
 
If Einstein were to have said everything attributed to him, he's still be talking.
 
"If Einstein were to have said everything attributed to him, he's still be talking." - Albert Einstein
 
JesseCuster said:
There's a supposed quote from Einstein I've seen on a few blogs and forums claiming that he was a believer in astrology. Turns out the quote was invented after his death by some author but still popped up regularly on astrology websites.
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Or Einstein was a believer in both astrology and reincarnation...

I mentioned this a long time ago in this forum, but one of my favorite mystery short stories has a narrator who is describing an absolutely inexplicable event that could only have occurred by supernatural means. Every suggestion of a rational explanation advanced by his audience is shot down by the narrator responding with convincing additional evidence that rules out the rational explanation. The solution ultimately provided at the end of the story? The narrator is lying- he is pulling the leg of the audience and just making it up as he goes along.

As Randi (and others) have pointed out- logical, rational, thoughtful people are often the least likely to consider on of the most probable explanations: the person telling you the story is lying!
 
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