Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The flower pot physicists didn't see

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Expectations Cause Suffering | Ajahn Brahm | 24 June 2022

1 min read

Content note: reported experiment; source not given; unverified

The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

I've said before about the flower pot experiment that was done in uh in Imperial College in London. They got a flower pot to levitate. People who actually saw it, these were physicists. They said it didn't happen. It did happen. They refuse to admit it because it's impossible. But it did happen. It was it was a trick. There was like a a um electromag electromagnet under the bench, but they didn't realize that they it did actually levitate. But they said, "I didn't see it. It was on the table all the time." And that's a very good example of we see only what we want to see.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 50:33 (to 51:22)

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

Physicists watched a flower pot rise on a hidden magnet and swore it never left the table, because levitation is impossible. Even trained eyes see what they expect. Before you trust your certainty in an argument, remember how much wanting and fearing bend perception. A calmer mind sees more truly.

In brief (our summary)

At Imperial College, London, a flower pot is made to levitate with a hidden electromagnet under the bench. The physicists who watch it insist it didn't happen — it stayed on the table — because it's impossible.

Teaching point

Even trained perception is bent by expectation; we see what we want to see.

When this story may help

  • certainty
  • scientific thinking
  • denial

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Expectations Cause Suffering | Ajahn Brahm | 24 June 2022 · 2022-06-24 · ▶ watch from 50:33 to 51:22 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

3 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions (machine-punctuated); words left exactly as captioned.

The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version

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