Psychic Totally Explained

Everything about Psychics totally explained

In popular culture the word psychic (; from the Greek psychikos - "of the soul, mental") refers to the ability to perceive things hidden from the senses through means of extra-sensory perception. The term also refers to theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation and cold reading to produce the appearance of having such abilities. Parapsychologists attempt to study what some believe are psychic phenomena using a variety of methods such as random number generators to test for psychokinesis or the Ganzfeld experiment to test for extra-sensory perception.
The existence of extra sensory psychic abilities is disputed by skeptics who contend that there's no scientific evidence supporting such abilities and apparent psychic phenomena are nothing more than intentional trickery or self delusion. Some credit William Crookes, an English chemist and physicist, as having first used the term in describing medium and magician Daniel Dunglas Home.

Early seers and prophets

Elaborate systems of divination and fortune-telling date back to ancient times. Perhaps the most widely-known system of early civilization fortune-telling was astrology, where practitioners believed the relative positions of celestial bodies could lend insight into people's lives and even predict their future circumstances. Some fortune-tellers were said to be able to make predictions without the use of these elaborate systems (or in conjunction with them), through some sort of direct apprehension or vision of the future. These people were known as seers or prophets, and in later times as clairvoyants and psychics.
   Seers formed a functionary role in early civilization, often serving as advisors, priests, and judges. A number of examples are included in biblical accounts. The book of 1 Samuel (Chapter 9) illustrates one such functionary task when Samuel is asked to locate the donkeys of the future king Saul. The role of prophet appeared perennially in ancient cultures. In Egypt, the priests of Ra at Memphis acted as seers. In ancient Assyria seers were referred to as nabu, meaning "to call" or "announce". It is often said that the Pythia delivered oracles in a frenzied state induced by vapors rising from the ground, and that she spoke gibberish, believed to be the voice of Apollo, which priests reshaped into the enigmatic prophecies preserved in Greek literature. Other scholars believe records from the time indicate that the Pythia spoke intelligibly, and gave prophecies in her own voice. The Pythia was a position served by a succession of women probably selected from amongst a guild of priestesses of the temple. The last recorded response was given in 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I ordered pagan temples to cease operation. Recent geological investigations raise the possibility that ethylene gas caused the Pythia's state of inspiration.
    One of the most enduring historical references to what some consider to be psychic ability is the prophecies of Michel de Nostredame (1503 – 1566), often Latinized to Nostradamus, published during the French Renaissance period. Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and seer who wrote collections of prophecies that have since become famous world-wide and have rarely been out of print since his death. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Taken together, his written works are known to have contained at least 6,338 quatrains or prophecies, as well as at least eleven annual calendars. Most of the quatrains deal with disasters, such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, and battles — all undated.
   Nostradamus is a controversial figure. His many enthusiasts, as well as the popular press, credit him with predicting numerous major world events. Interest in his work is still considerable, especially in the media and in popular culture. By contrast, most academic scholars maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus' quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.
   In addition to the belief that some historical figures were endowed with a predisposition to psychic experiences, some psychic abilities were thought to be available to everyone on occasion. For example, the belief in prophetic dreams was common and persistent in many ancient cultures.

Modern psychics

In the mid-nineteenth century, Modern Spiritualism became prominent in the United States and the United Kingdom. The movement's distinguishing feature was the belief that the spirits of the dead could be contacted by mediums to lend insight to the living. The movement was fueled in part by anecdotes of psychic powers. One such person believed to have extraordinary abilities was Daniel Dunglas Home, who gained notoriety during the Victorian period for his reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights and speak to the dead.
As the Spiritualism movement grew, philosophical distinctions branched other groups, including the Theosophical Society, which was co-founded in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky (1831 - 1891). Blavatsky coupled Spiritualism with Eastern mysticism forming both Theosophy and the early roots of what would later become known as the New Age movement during the 1970s. Blavatsky herself claimed numerous psychic powers.

Popular culture

Belief in psychic abilities

A survey of the beliefs of the general United States population regarding paranormal topics was conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2005. The survey found that 41 percent of those polled believed in extrasensory perception and 26 percent believed in clairvoyance. Thirty-one percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe in telepathy or psychic communication.
A poll of 439 college students conducted in 2006 by researchers Bryan Farha of Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward of University of Central Oklahoma, suggested that college seniors and graduate students were more likely to believe in psychic phenomena than college freshmen. Twenty-three percent of college freshmen expressed a belief in paranormal ideas. The percentage was greater among college seniors (31%) and graduate students (34%).
Some people also believe that psychic abilities can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation, with a number of books and websites being dedicated to instruction in these methods. Another popular belief is that psychic ability is hereditary, with a psychic parent passing their abilities on to their children.

Psychic advice industry

Many people proclaim to have psychic abilities and some make a living as professional fortune tellers or earn celebrity hosting their own TV programs. Individuals such as John Edward and Sylvia Browne either have their own television shows or are frequently featured on talk shows. (see Paranormal television).
Some psychics are first known by the public as celebrities. Rock singer and actress Danielle Egnew, whose psychic work with law enforcement and claim to many predictions such as the 2001 New York 9/11 Twin Towers disaster and the Iraq War, have resulted in her frequent radio and television appearances as a psychic, rather than a singer.
Other celebrity psychics, like Tana Hoy, attempt to help people identify and fine tune their psychic abilities. They teach classes and liken the instruction to coaching a fine art like singing, painting or writing.

Science fiction

The use of psychic abilities as a plot device or super power is common in fiction. Psychic abilities in science fiction are frequently depicted as inborn and heritable, as in Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, A. E. van Vogt's Slan, and the television series Babylon 5. Another recurring trope is the conveyance of psychic power through psychoactive drugs, as in the Dune novels and indirectly in the Scanners films. Somewhat differently, in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wind in the Door and Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, psychic abilities may be achieved by any human who learns the proper mental discipline, known as kything in the former work and grokking in the latter. Psychic characters are also common in superhero comic books, for instance Jean Grey and Professor X from the Marvel comic X-Men.

Validity of psychic abilities

Psychical research

parapsychology. Parapsychological research uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in an attempt to find evidence for psychic ability. The experimental methods of parapsychologists include the use of random number generators to test for psychokinesis, mild sensory deprivation in the Ganzfeld experiment to test for extra-sensory perception, and research trials conducted under contract by the U.S. government to investigate remote viewing. The statistical methods of parapsychologists have generated a number of meta-analytical studies, which combine the data from several previous experiments into one large data set. Although all of the research methods of parapsychology have contributed to the field, the experimental and statistical methods have attracted much attention and debate.
Parapsychology is a fringe science because it involves research that doesn't fit within standard theoretical models accepted by mainstream science. Scientists such as psychologists Ray Hyman and James A. Alcock, among others, are critical of the methodology and results of parapsychology. Skeptical researchers suggest that methodological flaws best explain apparently successful experimental results, as opposed to the paranormal explanations offered by many parapsychologists. Some critical analysts argue that parapsychology crosses the line into pseudoscience.(External Link

) To date, no evidence has been accepted by the mainstream scientific community as irrefutably supporting paranormal phenomena.

Skepticism

The existence of psychic abilities and the validity of parapsychological experiments is disputed by skeptics. Skeptics assert that the evidence presented for psychic phenomena isn't sufficiently verified for scientific acceptance and contend that there are better non-paranormal alternative explanations available. Many parapsychologists who study psychic phenomena agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as mediumism and other psychic feats, can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as cold reading and hot reading, or even self-delusion. Magicians such as Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but they present psychological explanations opposed to paranormal ones. They have identified, described, and developed complex psychological techniques of cold reading and hot reading. Numerous organizations also exist to promote skepticism and critical thinking concerning psychic and other paranormal phenomena. Organizations such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry or the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) attempt to educate the public and encourage them to think critically about psychic phenomena.
Former stage magician and debunker James Randi has offered a $1 million prize to anyone who can actively demonstrate under controlled experimental circumstances that they possess a "psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability". In order to claim the prize, a challenger must first complete a preliminary evaluation - demonstrate a psychic ability in uncontrolled circumstances - and then demonstrate the same ability under mutually agreed upon, controlled, circumstances. To date none of the challengers have been able to pass the preliminary evaluation.

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