Telepathy (from the Greek τηλε, tele meaning "distant" and πάθη, pathe meaning "affliction, experience") is the supposed 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, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research,[2] and has remained more popular than the earlier expression thought-transference.
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.
Telepathy is a common theme in modern fiction and science fiction, with many superheroes and supervillains having telepathic abilities. In more recent times, neuroimaging has allowed researchers to perform simple forms of mind reading.(ohhhh scare)
ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPT
According to Roger Luckhurst, 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 historical 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, 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.
IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Main articles: Parapsychology and Ganzfeld experiment
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.[24] Various 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 cards marked with five distinctive symbols. When using them, one individual is designated the "sender" and another the "receiver". The sender must select a random card and visualize the symbol on it, while the receiver must attempt to determine that symbol using Psi. Statistically, the receiver has a 20% chance of randomly guessing the correct symbol, so in order to demonstrate telepathy, they must repeatedly score a success rate that is significantly higher than 20%. If not conducted properly, this method can be vulnerable to sensory leakage and card counting.
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 exact nature of the information may vary between experiments.
Some parapsychologists still 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. 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".
In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information. Gerald Feinberg also suggested that telepathy may exist due to as of yet undiscovered elementary particles which he called 'psychons' or 'mindons'.
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.
TYPES
Parapsychology describes several different forms of telepathy, including latent telepathy and precognitive telepathy.
Latent Telepathy, formerly known as "deferred telepathy", is described as being the transfer of information, through Psi, with an observable time-lag between transmission and receipt.
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.
kinesthetic sensations through altered states.
Superconscious Telepathy, involves tapping into the superconscious to access the collective wisdom of the human species for knowledge.
TECHNOLOGICALLY ENABLED TELEPATHY
Converging Technologies, a 2002 report exploring the potential for synergy among nano-, bio-, informational and cognitive technologies (NBIC) for enhancing human performance.
Recent BCI toys like those developed by NeuroSky have brought real life telepathy to the general public. The MindFlex made by Mattel in collaboration with NeuroSky was even ranked in Time Magazines top 100 toys of all time.
In 2011 a Guinness Book of World Records category was created for BCI based telepathy. The NeuroSky MindWave was awarded it for the, “Heaviest machine moved using a brain control interface”.
Futurists think that brain-computer interfaces may make telepathy possible. There has already been progress in connecting brains with machines, and a man-machine-man bridge is considered very possible.[citation needed] And if man-machine-man bridges can be made, then such a link can be achieved over great distances using the Internet.
Technologically enabled telepathy is also called "techlepathy," "synthetic telepathy," or "psychotronics."
Some people, occasionally referred to by themselves or others as "transhumanists", believe that technologically enabled telepathy is a technology that humans should pursue in order to improve themselves.
Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading, England is one of the leading proponents of this view and has based all of his recent cybernetics research around developing technology for directly connecting human nervous systems together with computers and with each other. He believes techno-enabled telepathy will in the future become the primary form of human communication.
thanks
Info By http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
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.
Telepathy is a common theme in modern fiction and science fiction, with many superheroes and supervillains having telepathic abilities. In more recent times, neuroimaging has allowed researchers to perform simple forms of mind reading.(ohhhh scare)
ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPT
According to Roger Luckhurst, 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 historical 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, 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.
IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Main articles: Parapsychology and Ganzfeld experiment
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.[24] Various 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 cards marked with five distinctive symbols. When using them, one individual is designated the "sender" and another the "receiver". The sender must select a random card and visualize the symbol on it, while the receiver must attempt to determine that symbol using Psi. Statistically, the receiver has a 20% chance of randomly guessing the correct symbol, so in order to demonstrate telepathy, they must repeatedly score a success rate that is significantly higher than 20%. If not conducted properly, this method can be vulnerable to sensory leakage and card counting.
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 exact nature of the information may vary between experiments.
Some parapsychologists still 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. 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".
In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information. Gerald Feinberg also suggested that telepathy may exist due to as of yet undiscovered elementary particles which he called 'psychons' or 'mindons'.
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.
TYPES
Parapsychology describes several different forms of telepathy, including latent telepathy and precognitive telepathy.
Latent Telepathy, formerly known as "deferred telepathy", is described as being the transfer of information, through Psi, with an observable time-lag between transmission and receipt.
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.
kinesthetic sensations through altered states.
Superconscious Telepathy, involves tapping into the superconscious to access the collective wisdom of the human species for knowledge.
TECHNOLOGICALLY ENABLED TELEPATHY
Converging Technologies, a 2002 report exploring the potential for synergy among nano-, bio-, informational and cognitive technologies (NBIC) for enhancing human performance.
Recent BCI toys like those developed by NeuroSky have brought real life telepathy to the general public. The MindFlex made by Mattel in collaboration with NeuroSky was even ranked in Time Magazines top 100 toys of all time.
In 2011 a Guinness Book of World Records category was created for BCI based telepathy. The NeuroSky MindWave was awarded it for the, “Heaviest machine moved using a brain control interface”.
Futurists think that brain-computer interfaces may make telepathy possible. There has already been progress in connecting brains with machines, and a man-machine-man bridge is considered very possible.[citation needed] And if man-machine-man bridges can be made, then such a link can be achieved over great distances using the Internet.
Technologically enabled telepathy is also called "techlepathy," "synthetic telepathy," or "psychotronics."
Some people, occasionally referred to by themselves or others as "transhumanists", believe that technologically enabled telepathy is a technology that humans should pursue in order to improve themselves.
Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading, England is one of the leading proponents of this view and has based all of his recent cybernetics research around developing technology for directly connecting human nervous systems together with computers and with each other. He believes techno-enabled telepathy will in the future become the primary form of human communication.
thanks
Info By http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy