Helena Blavatsky was one of the first self-promoting high-profile 19th century spiritualists. She claimed she could talk to the dead, among other things. Uri Geller is one of most high-profile 20th century psychics who claims he can bend spoons with his mind and detect mineral deposits through psychic geo-surveying. Uri's generation of psychics tosses the word quantum around to help lend a certain intellectual heft to the proceedings.
Rob would have been a gas at seances circa 1900. He could have had people holding his hands and pinning his feet, and he could have (in the dark) lifted tables with his schlong.