The blurry line between Landlord and Supreme Power

I wrote a bit in Berkeley's master of bad marketing plans about a former landlord, Reza Valiee. There's more to his story, and I'm here to tell it to you today.

My former landlord is certain that he is a very, very smart man. In his own estimation, Reza's greatest achievements, about which he has spoken publicly for years, are his "anti-gravity" invention and, more recently, his "perpetual motion" machine. (In actual fact there may not be a difference between these two chimeral devices. We may be looking at a re-branding strategy, but I haven't followed closely enough to be sure.)

You can read all about Reza's inventions in the article from the Berkeley Daily Planet that I cited a few weeks ago, Reza Valiyee, a Man of Perpetual Motion. Or you can watch a video posted to YouTube, embedded below, in which some clever videographer -- perhaps a tenant insulted by his landlord's high rents and shoddy maintenance? -- coaxed Reza to "prove" his perpetual motion machine's principles using a soup pot with a hole cut in the bottom, an inclined board, and two magnets.

I kid you not. Watch the video, I couldn't make this up:



Here's my favorite quote from the video (fast forward to 2'12" to hear it for yourself). Says Reza Valiyee, about the significance of his demonstration:

"This is going to change the world as of the time that the university faculty and professors see this and they believe their eyes which up to now they have been saying a perpetual motion machine is impossible. [...] And as far as the meaning of the word impossible is considered, that is even the Supreme Power cannot change it. So, according to the scientific community, I have surpassed the Supreme Power, because I have changed the impossible into possible. There we go."

If you're interested in digging deeper, check out Reza's website, http://perpetualunlimitedcleanairselfpoweredinventedmachines.com ... but don't try to say the domain name three times fast, you'll sprain your tongue.

Here's a Rezaism taken from that tongue-twister of a site, excerpted on 31 May 2011. Emphasis is as-published:

"At the age of fifteen, my knowledge of physics was more developed and cultivated than any of the minds of the world's six billion person population combined. This is because I am the only one who has successfully invented dozens of fully functional perpetual motion machines. This monumental achievement will not only provide the world with a perpetual, unlimited, clean air, self powered, invented machine (see my website at WWW.PUCASPIM.COM), but it will also bring upon the solution to 90% of the world's problems, permanently. Through utilizing my invention, the wealth of the world (meaning the wealth of its people) will increase by many folds, and will reduce the amount of time the world needs to work, in order to survive, by many folds, leaving plenty of time for recreation and leisure. In other words, I will transform this world into paradise."

There you go.

The wit and wisdom of one of my fair city's wealthier businessmen. In case you were wondering why people call it Berserkeley.



Related posts on One Finger Typing:
Berkeley's master of bad marketing plans
Advice to a new student at Cal