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A famous experiment in telepathy was recorded by the American author [[Upton Sinclair]] in his book ''[[Mental Radio]]'' which documents Sinclair's test of psychic abilities of Mary Craig Kimbrough, his second wife. She attempted to duplicate 290 pictures which were drawn by her husband. Sinclair claimed Mary successfully duplicated 65 of them, with 155 "partial successes" and 70 failures. However, these experiments were not conducted in a controlled scientific laboratory environment.<ref>[[Martin Gardner]], ''[[Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science]]'' (Courier Dover Publications, 1957) Chapter 25: ''ESP and PK'', [http://books.google.com/books?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC& available online]; accessed July 25, 2010</ref>
A famous experiment in telepathy was recorded by the American author [[Upton Sinclair]] in his book ''[[Mental Radio]]'' which documents Sinclair's test of psychic abilities of Mary Craig Kimbrough, his second wife. She attempted to duplicate 290 pictures which were drawn by her husband. Sinclair claimed Mary successfully duplicated 65 of them, with 155 "partial successes" and 70 failures. However, these experiments were not conducted in a controlled scientific laboratory environment.<ref>[[Martin Gardner]], ''[[Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science]]'' (Courier Dover Publications, 1957) Chapter 25: ''ESP and PK'', [http://books.google.com/books?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC& available online]; accessed July 25, 2010</ref>

The Turner-Owenby long distance telepathy experiment was discovered to contain flaws. Frances May Turner positioned herself in the [[Rhine Research Center|Duke Parapsychology Laboratory]] whilst Sarah Owenby claimed to receive transmissions 250 miles away. For the experiment Turner would think of a symbol and write it down whilst Owenby would write her guesses.<ref name="Sladek 1974">[[John Thomas Sladek|John Sladek]]. (1974). ''The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Sciences and Occult Beliefs''. Panther. pp. 172-174</ref> The scores were highly successful and both records were supposed to be sent to J. B. Rhine, however, Owenby sent them to Turner. Critics pointed out this invalidated the results as she could have simply written her own record to agree with the other. When the experiment was repeated and the records were sent to Rhine the scores dropped to average.<ref name="Sladek 1974"/>


Another example is the experiment carried out by the author [[Harold Sherman]] with the explorer [[Hubert Wilkins]] who carried out their own experiment in telepathy for five and a half months starting in October 1937. This took place when Sherman was in [[New York]] and Wilkins was in the [[Arctic]]. The experiment consisted of Sherman and Wilkins at the end of each day to relax and visualise a mental image or "thought impression" of the events or thoughts they had experienced in the day and then to record those images and thoughts on paper in a diary. The results at the end when comparing Sherman's diary to Wilkins was claimed to be more than 60 per cent.<ref>Simon Nasht. (2006). ''The Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins, Hero of the Great Age of Polar Exploration''. Arcade Publishing. pp. 267-268</ref>
Another example is the experiment carried out by the author [[Harold Sherman]] with the explorer [[Hubert Wilkins]] who carried out their own experiment in telepathy for five and a half months starting in October 1937. This took place when Sherman was in [[New York]] and Wilkins was in the [[Arctic]]. The experiment consisted of Sherman and Wilkins at the end of each day to relax and visualise a mental image or "thought impression" of the events or thoughts they had experienced in the day and then to record those images and thoughts on paper in a diary. The results at the end when comparing Sherman's diary to Wilkins was claimed to be more than 60 per cent.<ref>Simon Nasht. (2006). ''The Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins, Hero of the Great Age of Polar Exploration''. Arcade Publishing. pp. 267-268</ref>

Revision as of 19:37, 9 February 2014

Template:Infobox paranormal term

Telepathy (from the Ancient Greek τῆλε, tele meaning "distant" and πάθος, pathos or -patheia meaning "feeling, perception, passion, affliction, experience")[1][2] is the transmission of information from one person to another without using any of our known sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers,[3] a founder of the Society for Psychical Research,[4] and has remained more popular than the earlier expression thought-transference.[4][5]

Scientific consensus does not view telepathy as a real phenomenon. Many studies seeking to detect, understand, and utilize telepathy have been done, but according to the prevailing view among scientists, telepathy lacks replicable results from well-controlled experiments.[6][7]

Telepathy is a common theme in modern fiction and science fiction, with many extraterrestrials, superheroes and supervillains having the telepathic ability.

Origins of the concept

According to Roger Luckhurst,[8] the origin of the concept of telepathy (not telepathy itself) in the Western civilization can be tracked to the late 19th century. In his view, science did not frequently concern itself with "the mind" prior to this. As the physical sciences made significant advances, scientific concepts were applied to mental phenomena (e.g., animal magnetism), with the hope that this would help understand paranormal phenomena. The modern concept of telepathy emerged in this context.

The notion of telepathy is not dissimilar to two psychological concepts: delusions of thought insertion/removal and psychological symbiosis. This similarity might explain how some people have come up with the idea of telepathy. Thought insertion/removal is a symptom of psychosis, particularly of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Psychiatric patients who experience this symptom falsely believe that some of their thoughts are not their own and that others (e.g., other people, aliens, demons or fallen angels, or conspiring intelligence agencies) are putting thoughts into their minds (thought insertion). Some patients feel as if thoughts are being taken out of their minds or deleted (thought removal). Along with other symptoms of psychosis, delusions of thought insertion may be reduced by antipsychotic medication.

Psychological symbiosis, on the other hand, is a less well established concept. It is an idea found in the writings of early psychoanalysts, such as Melanie Klein. It entails the belief that in the early psychological experience of the child (during earliest infancy), the child is unable to tell the difference between his or her own mind, on one hand, and his or her experience of the mother/parent, on the other hand. This state of mind is called psychological symbiosis; with development, it ends, but, purportedly, aspects of it can still be detected in the psychological functioning of the adult. Putatively, the experience of either thought insertion/removal or unconscious memories of psychological symbiosis may have led to the invention of "telepathy" as a notion and the belief that telepathy exists. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists believe and empirical findings support the idea that people with schizotypal personality disorder are particularly likely to believe in telepathy.[9]

Case studies

In the late 19th century the Creery Sisters (Mary, Alice, Maud, Kathleen, and Emily) were tested by the Society for Psychical Research and believed them to have genuine psychic ability however, during a later experiment they were caught utilizing signal codes and they confessed to fraud.[10][11] George Albert Smith and Douglas Blackburn were claimed to be genuine psychics by the Society for Psychical Research but Blackburn confessed to fraud:

For nearly thirty years the telepathic experiments conducted by Mr. G. A. Smith and myself have been accepted and cited as the basic evidence of the truth of thought transference... ...the whole of those alleged experiments were bogus, and originated in the honest desire of two youths to show how easily men of scientific mind and training could be deceived when seeking for evidence in support of a theory they were wishful to establish.[12]

A famous experiment in telepathy was recorded by the American author Upton Sinclair in his book Mental Radio which documents Sinclair's test of psychic abilities of Mary Craig Kimbrough, his second wife. She attempted to duplicate 290 pictures which were drawn by her husband. Sinclair claimed Mary successfully duplicated 65 of them, with 155 "partial successes" and 70 failures. However, these experiments were not conducted in a controlled scientific laboratory environment.[13]

The Turner-Owenby long distance telepathy experiment was discovered to contain flaws. Frances May Turner positioned herself in the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory whilst Sarah Owenby claimed to receive transmissions 250 miles away. For the experiment Turner would think of a symbol and write it down whilst Owenby would write her guesses.[14] The scores were highly successful and both records were supposed to be sent to J. B. Rhine, however, Owenby sent them to Turner. Critics pointed out this invalidated the results as she could have simply written her own record to agree with the other. When the experiment was repeated and the records were sent to Rhine the scores dropped to average.[14]

Another example is the experiment carried out by the author Harold Sherman with the explorer Hubert Wilkins who carried out their own experiment in telepathy for five and a half months starting in October 1937. This took place when Sherman was in New York and Wilkins was in the Arctic. The experiment consisted of Sherman and Wilkins at the end of each day to relax and visualise a mental image or "thought impression" of the events or thoughts they had experienced in the day and then to record those images and thoughts on paper in a diary. The results at the end when comparing Sherman's diary to Wilkins was claimed to be more than 60 per cent.[15]

The full results of the experiments were published in 1942 in a book by Sherman and Wilkins titled Thoughts Through Space. In the book both Sherman and Wilkins had written that they believed they had demonstrated that it was possible to send and receive thought impressions from the mind of one person to another.[16] The magician John Booth wrote that the experiment was not an example of telepathy as a high percentage of misses had occurred. Booth wrote it was more likely that the "hits" were the result of "coincidence, law of averages, subconscious expectancy, logical inference or a plain lucky guess."[17]

In parapsychology

Within the field of parapsychology, telepathy is considered to be a form of extra-sensory perception (ESP) or anomalous cognition in which information is transferred through Psi. It is often categorized similarly to precognition and clairvoyance.[18] Experiments have been used to test for telepathic abilities. Among the most well known are the use of Zener cards and the Ganzfeld experiment.

Zener cards

Zener cards are marked with five distinctive symbols. When using them, one individual is designated the "sender" and another the "receiver". The sender selects a random card and visualize the symbol on it, while the receiver attempts to determine that symbol using Psi. Statistically, the receiver has a 20% chance of randomly guessing the correct symbol, so to demonstrate telepathy, they must repeatedly score a success rate that is significantly higher than 20%.[19] If not conducted properly, this method can be vulnerable to sensory leakage and card counting.[19]

When using the Ganzfeld experiment to test for telepathy, one individual is designated the receiver and is placed inside a controlled environment where they are deprived of sensory input, and another is designated the sender and is placed in a separate location. The receiver is then required to receive information from the sender. The nature of the information may vary between experiments.[20]

A physical model of telepathy, whether described as radiational or in other terms, assumes that transference is effected by means of a vibratory current linking one brain to another.[21] William Crookes proposed a "brain wave" theory in which he claimed telepathy might occur due to high frequency vibrations of the ether. Crookes had stated that there may be parts of the human brain that may be capable of sending and receiving electrical rays of wavelengths.[22] William Fletcher Barrett and Frederic William Henry Myers, however, pointed out problems in a physical theory for telepathy and instead advocated psychical theories.[23]

In the early 20th century, there were two other prominent concepts of telepathy: the spiritualist position which claimed telepathy was the result of external spirits and a view claiming interactions between two or more subconscious minds.[24] The subconscious mind view was advocated by psychical researcher Thomson Jay Hudson who wrote that the mind is a duality that consists of two minds: the objective (conscious) and the subjective (subconscious).[25]

The psychical researcher John Arthur Hill wrote regarding telepathy "No physical theory of telepathy has been worked out — there are no 'brain-waves' known, and no receiving stations yet discovered inside our skulls."[26] George N. M. Tyrrell also claimed that a physical basis for telepathy was untenable as ideas can not be transmitted from one mind to another by any physical means without being first translated into a code.[27] H. H. Price suggested that telepathy was incompatible with any material explanation, as a physical theory of telepathy would reveal radiations detectable on physical instruments but none have ever been detected.[28]

Some parapsychologists proposed that telepathy may have a physical explanation. The Italian neurologist Ferdinando Cazzamali in the 1920s had claimed that telepathic communication occurred due to a type of electromagnetic radiation.[29] However, the neurophysiologist William Grey Walter in his book The Living Brain (1953) wrote that electrical 'brain-waves' are too weak to explain telepathy. Hans Berger also held this view but extended the theory by proposing that telepathy occurs when "electrical energy in the agent's brain is transformed into 'psychic energy' which can be diffused to any distance, passing through obstacles without attenuation".[30]

In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information.[31] Johnjoe McFadden has written "the em field outside the head is far too weak and it is highly unlikely that any other brain could detect it, and still more unlikely that the other brain could decode the em field information that was encoded by your brain".[32]

In recent years the parapsychologist Charles Tart has accepted the existence of telepathy but claims that it is nonphysical in nature and can not be fitted into any physical theory.[33]

Types

Parapsychology describes several forms of telepathy:[5]

  • Latent telepathy, formerly known as "deferred telepathy",[34] is described as the transfer of information, through Psi, with an observable time-lag between transmission and reception.[5]
  • Retrocognitive, precognitive, and intuitive telepathy is described as being the transfer of information, through Psi, about the past, future or present state of an individual's mind to another individual.[5]
  • Emotive telepathy, also known as remote influence[35] or emotional transfer, is the process of transferring kinesthetic sensations through altered states.
  • Superconscious telepathy involves tapping into the superconscious[36] to access the collective wisdom of the human species for knowledge.

Testing and controversy

In 1979 the physicists John Taylor and Eduardo Balanovski wrote that the only scientifically feasible explanation for telepathy could be electromagnetism (EM) involving EM fields. In a series of experiments the EM levels were many orders of magnitude lower than calculated and no paranormal effects were observed. Both Taylor and Balanovski wrote their results were a strong argument against the validity of the paranormal.[37]

Although not a recognized scientific discipline, people who study certain types of paranormal phenomena such as telepathy refer to the field as parapsychology. Parapsychologists claim that some instances of telepathy are real.[38][39]

Outside of parapsychology, telepathy is generally explained as the result of fraud, self-delusion and/or self-deception and not as a paranormal power.[40] Virtually all of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena, such as mediumship, can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as cold reading.[41][42][43] Magicians such as Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, without paranormal means. They have identified, described, and developed psychological techniques of cold reading and hot reading.

A variety of tests have been performed to demonstrate telepathy, but there exists no scientific evidence that the power exists.[44] The scientific community considers parapsychology a pseudoscience.[45][46]

Research in anomalistic psychology has discovered that in some cases telepathy can be explained by a covariation bias. In an experiment (Schienle et al. 1996) 22 believers and 20 skeptics were asked to judge the covariation between transmitted symbols and the corresponding feedback given by a receiver. According to the results the believers overestimated the number of successful transmissions whilst the skeptics made accurate hit judgments.[47] The results from another telepathy experiment involving 48 undergraduate college students (Rudski, 2002) were explained by hindsight and confirmation biases.[48]

Telepathy is commonly used in fiction, with a number of superheroes and supervillains, as well as figures in many science fiction novels, etc., use telepathy. The mechanics of telepathy in fiction vary widely. Some fictional telepaths are limited to receiving only thoughts that are deliberately sent by other telepaths, or even to receiving thoughts from a specific other person. For example, in Robert A. Heinlein's 1956 novel Time for the Stars, certain pairs of twins are able to send telepathic messages to each other. In A. E. van Vogt's science fiction novel Slan, the mutant hero Jommy Cross can read the minds of ordinary humans.

Some telepaths can read the thoughts only of those they touch, such as Vulcans in the Star Trek media franchise. Star Trek science consultant and writer André Bormanis has revealed that telepathy within the Star Trek universe works via the "psionic field". According to Bormanis, a psionic field is the "medium" through which unspoken thoughts and feelings are communicated through space.[49] Some humanoids can tap into this field through a kind of sense organ located in the brain; in the same manner that human eyes can sense portions of the electromagnetic field, telepaths can sense portions of the psionic field.

In the book Eragon, Eragon can communicate mentally with his dragon Saphira, and it is possible to block people from one's mind with a barrier. In the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, telepathy is a magical skill known as Legilimency. In the John Wyndham novel The Chrysalids, the main character and narrator David Strorm is one of a group of nine telepaths. In Anthony Horowitz's Power of Five series twins Jamie and Scott Tyler were born with telepathic powers that enable them to read people's minds and, ultimately, control them. They always know each other's thoughts, which earns them money doing tricks at a circus in Reno, Nevada, USA.

Some writers view telepathy as the evolutionary destiny of humanity. In Tony Vigorito's novel, Just a Couple of Days, telepathy emerges across the entire human species as a result of the Pied Piper Virus, which inadvertently eliminates humanity's symbolic capacity. In this instance, telepathy is seen as a latent ability that emerges only when the distractions of language are bypassed.

Some fictional telepaths possess mind control abilities, which can include "pushing" thoughts, feelings, or hallucinatory visions into the mind of another person, causing pain, paralysis, or unconsciousness, altering or erasing memories, or completely taking over another person's mind and body (similar to spiritual possession). Examples of this type of telepath include Professor Xavier, Psylocke, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, and numerous other characters in the Marvel Universe, along with Matt Parkman from the television series Heroes.

The radio crimefighter The Shadow had "the power to cloud men's minds," which he used to mask his presence from others.

The film Scanners concerns people born with telepathy and those with telekinetic abilities.

The Urdu novel Devta is based on the character of Farhad Ali Taimur, a telepath involved in the fight of good and evil.

Television show The Listener centers around a telepathic paramedic.

Telepaths play a huge role in the science-fiction show Babylon 5, with several of the main characters being telepaths as well as a drug known as "Dust" that can artificially induce telepathic abilities in someone.

See also a composite list of fictional characters with telepathy.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ telepathy. CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved December 06, 2012.
  2. ^ Following the model of sympathy and empathy.
  3. ^ Hamilton, Trevor (2009). Immortal Longings: F.W.H. Myers and the Victorian search for life after death. Imprint Academic. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-84540-248-8.
  4. ^ a b Carroll, Robert Todd (2005). "The Skeptic's Dictionary; Telepathy". SkepDic.com. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Glossary of Parapsychological terms - TelepathyParapsychological Association. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
  6. ^ Jan Dalkvist (1994). Telepathic group communication of emotions as a function of belief in telepathy. Dept. of Psychology, Stockholm University. Retrieved 5 October 2011. Within the scientific community however, the claim that psi anomalies exist or may exist is in general regarded with skepticism. One reason for this difference between the scientist and the non scientist is that the former relies on on his own experiences and anecdotal reports of psi phenomena, whereas the scientist at least officially requires replicable results from well controlled experiments to believe in such phenomena - results which according to the prevailing view among scientists, do not exist.
  7. ^ Willem B. Drees (28 November 1998). Religion, Science and Naturalism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 242–. ISBN 978-0-521-64562-1. Retrieved 5 October 2011. Let me take the example of claims in parapsychology regarding telepathy across spatial or temporal distances, apparently without a mediating physical process. Such claims are at odds with the scientific consensus.
  8. ^ Luckhurst, R. (2002). The Invention of Telepathy, 1870-1901. Oxford University Press.
  9. ^ Pickup, G. (2006). Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Volume 11, Number 2, Number 2/March 2006 , pp. 117-192
  10. ^ Ray Hyman. (1989). The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research. Prometheus Books. pp. 99-106
  11. ^ Gordon Stein. (1996). The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 688
  12. ^ Andrew Neher. (2011). Paranormal and Transcendental Experience: A Psychological Examination. Dover Publications. p. 220
  13. ^ Martin Gardner, Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science (Courier Dover Publications, 1957) Chapter 25: ESP and PK, available online; accessed July 25, 2010
  14. ^ a b John Sladek. (1974). The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Sciences and Occult Beliefs. Panther. pp. 172-174
  15. ^ Simon Nasht. (2006). The Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins, Hero of the Great Age of Polar Exploration. Arcade Publishing. pp. 267-268
  16. ^ Hubert Wilkins, Harold Sherman. (2004). Thoughts through Space: A Remarkable Adventure in the Realm of Mind. Hampton Roads Publishing. ISBN 1-57174-314-6
  17. ^ John Booth. (1986). Psychic Paradoxes. Prometheus Books. p. 69
  18. ^ Glossary of Parapsychological terms - ESP, Parapsychological Association. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
  19. ^ a b Carroll, Robert (2006-02-17). "Zener ESP Cards". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  20. ^ The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena by Dean I. Radin Harper Edge, ISBN 0-06-251502-0
  21. ^ The Hibbert journal: a quarterly review of religion, theology, and philosophy, Volume 43, George Allen & Unwin, 1944, p. 249
  22. ^ Jill Nicole Galva n, The sympathetic medium 2010, p. 10
  23. ^ Joseph Banks Rhine, Extra-sensory perception pp. 36-37
  24. ^ W. W. Baggally Telepathy Genuine and Fraudulent 2003 Kessinger Reprint Edition, p. 9
  25. ^ Thomson Jay Hudson The Law of Psychic Phenomena 1892
  26. ^ John Arthur Hill Spiritualism, its history phenomena and doctrine 1919, p. 296
  27. ^ George Nugent Merle Tyrrell Science and psychical phenomena 1938, p. 119
  28. ^ David Lorimer Survival?: body, mind, and death in the light of psychic experience 1984, p. 149
  29. ^ Radio Waves from the Brain? Popular Science Nov 1925
  30. ^ John Raymond Smythies Science and E.S.P. Routledge & K. Paul, 1967, p. 201
  31. ^ Pamela Rae Heath Mind-Matter Interaction: A Review of Historical Reports, Theory and Research 2011, p. 156
  32. ^ The conscious electromagnetic field theory by Johnjoe McFadden
  33. ^ Charles T. Tart The end of materialism 2009, p. 111
  34. ^ Rennie, John (1845), "Test for Telepathy", Scientific American, V3#1 (1847-09-25)
  35. ^ Plazo, Dr. Joseph R., (2002) "Psychic Seduction." pp.112-114 ISBN 0-9785922-3-9
  36. ^ St. Claire, David., (1989) "Instant ESP." pp.40-50
  37. ^ Taylor, J.G. and Balanovski, E. (1979). Is There Any Scientific Explanation of the Paranormal? Nature, 279: 631-3
  38. ^ "What is parapsychology?" From the FAQ of the website of the Parapsychological Association. Retrieved February 3, 2007.
  39. ^ "What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi?" From the FAQ of the website of the Parapsychological Association. Retrieved February 3, 2007.
  40. ^ Skepdic.com on ESP. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
  41. ^ Bauer, Eberhard (1984). "Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview" (PDF). European Journal of Parapsychology. 5: 141–166. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-06-13. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  42. ^ O',Keeffe, Ciarán and Wiseman Richard: Testing alleged mediumship: Methods and results. British Journal of Psychology (2005), 96, 165–17.
  43. ^ Rowland, Ian: The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading
  44. ^ http://lucite.org/lucite/archive/atheism_-_dawkins_articles/what%E2%80%99s%20wrong%20with%20the%20paranormal.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  45. ^ http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00488452. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  46. ^ See for examples, Randi, James. Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions. Prometheus Books (June 1982) ISBN 0-87975-198-3 or
    Charpak, Georges and Henri Broch. Translated by Bart K. Holland. Debunked!: ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience. The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 25, 2004), ISBN 0-8018-7867-5
  47. ^ Schienle, A., Vaitl, D., and Stark, R. (1996). Covariation bias and paranormal belief. Psychological Reports, 78, 291-305.
  48. ^ Rudski, J. M. (2002). Hindsight and confirmation biases in an exercise in telepathy. Psychological Reports, 91, 899–906.
  49. ^ André Bormanis discusses telepathy in Star Trek