The Orb Project

[SPQR]

My girlfriend recently gave me a book entitled "The Orb Project" as a gift (she meant it to be funny I assure you) and it is just too good for me not to share.

It was written by professor of systematic theology Miceal Ledwith and Dr. Klaus Heinemann, who has a Ph.D. in experimental physics. Both of these men are convinced the "orbs" (Heinemann calls them "spirit emanations") many a ghost hunter uses as evidence of paranormal are really beings that exist on a higher plane of existence. They freely admit that some orb pictures are really just light reflecting off dust or insects, but "genuine" orbs pictures do exist; and they claim to have to evidence to prove it.

Ledwith seeks to prove, through some incredibly tortured logic, that genuine orbs produce there own light, and therefore must be electromagnetic entities. He claims that most orbs produce light near the infrared part of the spectrum, and this is why digital cameras are the best for capturing photos of the orbs. Then, in perhaps the most laughable example of logic in the book, he suggests that since more expensive digital cameras have sophisticated filters to block out IR light and any glare it may produce, less-expensive cameras, with less sophisticated filters, are the best for capturing orbs. Obviously orbs aren't glares on the lenses of cameras that can be filtered out, they're entitities producing IR light that serious orb photographers don't want filtered out at all! :boggled: Incidently, Ledwith cites his first introduction to what orbs really are as being revealed to him by Ramtha, channeled by JZ Knight of "What The Bleep Do We Know?!" fame.

Ironically,the craziest stuff is found in the second half of the book written by the physicist. He claims "spirit emanations" have intelligence, can travel at light speed and can heal people. He even claims the "healing" John of God allegedly practices is really the work of these spirit emanations.

This book brought many an "are you kidding?!" moment to my mind as I was reading it, and I cannot thank my girlfriend enough for it. I plan to write a lengthy review of it for my blog.

The website for the book, where you can purchase it and a 86-minute-long video about the orb phenomenon, can be found here (http://www.orbprojectbook.com/).

[paximperium]

Is your avatar a dead dog?

Oh yeah...orbs...I eagerly await the comedy routine in your review of this astoundingly scientific and evidence heavy book.

[Empress]

There are some great reviews (http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1582701822/ref=cm_cr_pr_link_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending) on Amazon for this book:

First off, I no longer feel that orbs are evidence of deceased individuals. The may be beings living in an entirely different dimension, and through the technology embedded in our digital cameras we are able to see this energy crossing over.

And:
When Drs. Tiller, Heinemann, and Ledwith presented their findings in 2007 at The Orbs Conference in Sedona, Arizona, they were greeted by over 300 delegates from around the world who had been photographing the orbs with infrared, video, 35mm, as well as digital cameras. Many of the pictures showed orbs at special gatherings such a christenings, weddings, various celebrations, and around animals and children. The delegates by and large understood the orbs to be benevolent and conscious.

Sadly, this person wasn't so sure about the quality of the research, though:
I believe these people are sincere. I just think that somehow --- maybe in their auras -- they're producing energy that manifests as orbs.

And the piece de resistance:
Be warned, this is not a woo-woo New Age book.

(Happy sigh.) I adore fruitcakes.

[steve s]

They freely admit that some orb pictures are really just light reflecting off dust or insects, but "genuine" orbs pictures do exist; and they claim to have to evidence to prove it.

I always love it when the woo-woos admit that most of them are fake, but then say "They can't all be fake." The crop circle crowd does this all the time.


and this is why digital cameras are the best for capturing photos of the orbs.

Totally ignoring the fact that cheap film cameras are just as likely to produce orbs.



Then, in perhaps the most laughable example of logic in the book, he suggests that since more expensive digital cameras have sophisticated filters to block out IR light and any glare it may produce, less-expensive cameras, with less sophisticated filters, are the best for capturing orbs.

Of course it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that cheap point-and-shoot cameras tend to have the flash close to the lens, while more expensive cameras have pop-up flashes (or hot shoes) to reduce the problem.

Steve S

[MattusMaximus]

I photographed an "orb" at a graveyard last summer. It appeared and disappeared from one frame to the next... <sarc> how can it be?! </sarc> :rolleyes:

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/thum_77474888071572eb7.jpg (http://forums.randi.org/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=13163) http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/thum_77474888072dc115f.jpg (http://forums.randi.org/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=13164)

[SPQR]

I photographed an "orb" at a graveyard last summer. It appeared and disappeared from one frame to the next... <sarc> how can it be?! </sarc> :rolleyes:

You might want to post this photo on the orbs project forum. They're always looking for my "evidence." :D

As for my avatar, it's the "mystery beast" that made the rounds of this forum a year or two ago. I haven't posted on here in a while.

[Akhenaten]

Why is this thread full of Romans?

[ReverendLes]

That is awesome! I should send the author of the book all of the photos that have orbs in them from my old cheap digital camera.

[ScottXSI]

So these orbs they are getting excited about are just lens flares and other light artifacts I'm guessing.
Is there any mention of capturing them on film or measuring some sort of energy to give these guys the idea that these orbs might be something significant, or is it another case of "We know its true in our hearts so we will just slap any random crap together so it fits" science, that religious institutions use?

[ScottXSI]

Sorry Double post :D

[D'rok]

Just watched the DVD trailer. Check out the credits at the end. The "Featuring" list includes....J.Z. Knight. :boggled:

[SPQR]

So these orbs they are getting excited about are just lens flares and other light artifacts I'm guessing.
Is there any mention of capturing them on film or measuring some sort of energy to give these guys the idea that these orbs might be something significant, or is it another case of "We know its true in our hearts so we will just slap any random crap together so it fits" science, that religious institutions use?



The first guy, Ledwith, claims that since some orbs he's captured appear hexagonal, this must mean they're producing their own light. He comes to this conclusion by claiming the hexagonal shape can only arise from light produced by the orbs coming through the half-closed aperture of the camera a split second after the reflected light from the flash. He also claims that the flash itself is exciting the orbs to a higher energy level through ionization, causing them to produce infrared light.

[steve s]

The first guy, Ledwith, claims that since some orbs he's captured appear hexagonal, this must mean they're producing their own light. He comes to this conclusion by claiming the hexagonal shape can only arise from light produced by the orbs coming through the half-closed aperture of the camera a split second after the reflected light from the flash.

Of course the hexagonal shape just means that the lens diaphragm is made up of six blades.

Steve S.

[Shellback]

Just watched the DVD trailer. Check out the credits at the end. The "Featuring" list includes....J.Z. Knight. :boggled:


Yah; Joan Ocean and James Gilliland too.

[bruto]

I wonder how the author gets around the rather obvious fact that infrared film has been in existence, and in use, for a very long time, both before and since the invention of digital cameras. You can still get it. Well, what the bleep do you know about that?

I wonder, then, how many orbs have been captured by the many thousands of miles of infrared film that photographers have shot over the last century or so. Have I missed a great archive of pre-digital orbography? Show me Weegee's orb s.

[AgeGap]

Here is a picture of Kit Fisto taken by my wife at a Sci-Fi exhibition. link (http://forums.randi.org/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=12191)
Kit Fisto is surrounded by orbs. Kit Fisto is a Jedi who has a force power of his own, which he called “force water orb”.

[Shellback]

Semi-serious;

I wonder what the hell it's all about, are people really trying to make their otherwise hum-drum lives special by concocting this fantastic junk or have we as a society been conditioned to validate and re-validate whatever a person says to the point where it becomes un-PC to even say "those are just common photo artifacts, not alien beings etc."

[Tamazon]

There are some great reviews (http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1582701822/ref=cm_cr_pr_link_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending)on Amazon for this book:

When Drs. Tiller, Heinemann, and Ledwith presented their findings in 2007 at The Orbs Conference in Sedona, Arizona, they were greeted by over 300 delegates from around the world who had been photographing the orbs with infrared, video, 35mm, as well as digital cameras. Many of the pictures showed orbs at special gatherings such a christenings, weddings, various celebrations, and around animals and children. The delegates by and large understood the orbs to be benevolent and conscious.

Okay, I thought someone had to have posted this as a joke until I googled Orbs Conference (http://greatmystery.org/events/sedona07.html). Orbs conference?! Seriously. :covereyes

[Toke]

In my experience not all orbs give off such an even light.
I have seen several pictures of disharmoinus vibrating orbs. They give a picture with wavy lines.

A bit like a fingerprint.

[Wolrab]

"Many of the pictures showed orbs at special gatherings such a christenings, weddings, various celebrations, and around animals and children."

I wonder why there would be more orbs at functions where many people who seldom take pictures, take lots of pictures....hmmmm.

[Toke]

Sound likely

[SPQR]

In my experience not all orbs give off such an even light.
I have seen several pictures of disharmoinus vibrating orbs. They give a picture with wavy lines.

A bit like a fingerprint.

With all due respect, what would your experience be? Do you have pictures of these "disharmoinus [sic] vibrating orbs"?

[Toke]

Working with a flatbed scanner on photographs.
Some of them will, with the right setting, show wavyline blobs, often several.

Could it be anything else than disharmoinus vibrating orbs.

[godless dave]

Semi-serious;

I wonder what the hell it's all about, are people really trying to make their otherwise hum-drum lives special by concocting this fantastic junk or have we as a society been conditioned to validate and re-validate whatever a person says to the point where it becomes un-PC to even say "those are just common photo artifacts, not alien beings etc."

Yes to both.

[bruto]

Working with a flatbed scanner on photographs.
Some of them will, with the right setting, show wavyline blobs, often several.

Could it be anything else than disharmoinus vibrating orbs.I cannot imagine that you are serious here, but just in case you are, you should be aware that there are various possible flatbed scanner artifacts that can affect a copy. If you cannot find an orb on the original slide, negative, or digital image, it's not there. A flatbed scanner will not pull more information out of a print than the printing process put there.

[Toke]

I wonder why there would be more orbs at functions where many people who seldom take pictures, take lots of pictures....hmmmm.

And might not know where to put the fingers.

How many different odd effects can you get from bad optics and light.

[AbleSugar]

Working with a flatbed scanner on photographs. Some of them will, with the right setting, show wavyline blobs, Could it be anything else than disharmoinus vibrating orbs.
Toke: I once got attacked by some "disharmonious vibrating orbs" while using a scanner. They are very easily influenced by bad electrons and beer.

[MRC_Hans]

And might not know where to put the fingers.

How many different odd effects can you get from bad optics and light.Infinitely many, I'd say.

.... Now I know what you meant with your earlier remark about fingerprints .:p

Hans

[Toke]

It is amazing what you can get avay with if you speak with conviction.

It didn´t work yesterday through.

1´engineer wondered why there was so much water in the compressed air for the pheumatic wrench for topcovers.
I looked at min innocently and explained that the high humidity let the compressed air absorb water through the rubber hose by osmosis.

He concidered it for ½ a sek, laughed, and concluded (correctly) that i had not had time to fix the waterseperator on the work air compressor.

It would be cruel to say something like that to a brigde officer.

[sillyhead]

This reminds me of some "literature" I ran into in the mountains around Boone, NC when I was in college. These little magazines could be found in shops everywhere, and my bff and I collected a bunch of them. Very fascinating. I can't remember what they called them, though; lost them all in a fire a few years ago.

Anyway, the reason that it was so fascinating to us at the time is because we were serious acid heads and had had several "shared" hallucinations which were these exact same kinds of lights/orbs that this cult was talking about (no, it wasn't zendik or whatever, some other cult). Maybe due to those fun mushrooms found in the hills? :)

Lots of fun. :) The book sounds like fun, but a little too jargon-ridden for me to get into. I'd like to read your blog, though.

[sillyhead]

P.S. I never quite get the "We're not alone" thing. Of course we aren't, there are lots of us!