Dictionary
apparent communication from one mind to another without using sensory perceptions
|
Wikipedia
Telepathy, from the Greek τηλε, ''tele'', "distant", and !πάθει α,? ''patheia'', "feeling", is the claimed innate ability of humans and other creatures to communicate information from one mind to another, without the use of extra tools such as speech or body language. Considered a form of extra-sensory perception or anomalous cognition, telepathy is often connected to various paranormal phenomena such as precognition, clairvoyance and empathy. Because anecdotal claims of "strange currencies" and similar related explanations have deep resonance in history, fiction, and belief, telepathy carries perhaps greater interest than any of the other numerous subjects which referred to as "paranormal." Truth and fiction - Telepathy has traditionally been treated within the context of particular religion religious concepts, which both extol the ''truth'' of non-physical (psychic) connectivity between human beings, and go on assert guiding rituals and principles which govern that communication toward positive human bonding traits such as love, friendship, and community. Nearly all religions (by definition) embody aspects of "metaphysicality" within their doctrines. Since the beginnings of civilization, religious debates have often dealt with the apparent emerging disparity between a religious concept of "truth" and an emerging human rationality and empirical-based belief, which by dogmatic religious perception, appeared akin to ''disbelief.'' This schism between "skeptic" and "believer" continues to this day, typically in the form of greater debates between religion and science. Modern skeptics often claim that scientific "proof" equates to "reality", and that "reality" has exclusive title to any notion of "truth." Proponents have argued that the consistent threads between "witnessed" and claimed metaphysical experiences have reasonable and plausible (though not exactly ''scientific'') explanations in the idea of telepathic communication -- between individuals and even between larger collective groups and societysocieties. Because current science has no plausible explanation for claims of telepathic phenomena, there can be no "theory of telepathy," as all of the various explanations have certain unbridgeable gaps to current science. Proponents on the other hand argue that the difficulty in rationalizing or "proving" the concept does not diminish the fact that most people have some belief in metaphysical concepts. And given the benefit of the doubt, people maintain their beliefs not because they are ignorant of science, but because science (by definition) ignores unexplainable personal experience. Proponents point to concepts such as psychology and quantum mechanics, as areas of research that are considered to be deeply based in the scientific method, but have equally problematic and unexplainable links to the exclusively physical description of reality.Metaphysical and other non-standard religious concepts have prospered in the context of this modern debate, by asserting links between skepticism and belief, while avoiding the pitfalls of both exclusive religious dogma, and exclusive science-based rationality. Within this context of seeking a resolution to the science-religion debate, metaphysical explanations have abounded, which largely attempt to tie personal experience of psychic community to the philosophies of religion, and the empiricism of science. The rift between science and religion has been the center of popular focus for related non-standard beliefs, like paganism and the occult, which (despite their own inherent dogmas) are considered by their converts to provide an objectivity toward mainstream views of religion and science.Modern concepts of telepathy have attempted to draw both legitimacy and scientific curiosity, by making both general and specific analogies between the "unaccepted unknowns" of religion and parapsychology, and the "accepted unknowns" in the quantum sciences, where the classical and understood concepts of physics (time and space) don't generally apply. The relevant example is in quantum mechanics and its exclusively theoretical cousin, string theory. Both have radically changed modern concepts regarding the nature of time, space, energy, and matter, and the relationships between each. In seeking a "scientific explanation," telepathy proponents have gone on to claim a direct connection between scientific quantum theory as a basis for telepathy, the basic idea claiming that the mind is simply a naturally-formed physical scaffold for a matrix of electrical and quantum impulses. This system, in turn is claimed to have evolutionevolved capabilities for influencing and receiving "quantum fluctuations" from other minds.In essence, proponents claim that telepathy is not "extrasensory", rather that the brain ''is'' the telepathic organ, its connections to other brains are not physical, but psychic, and the very definition of the psychic medium is the localized inertial frame of reference which is affected by the mind. This new and !"scientifically-grounded& quot;? concept of telepathy provides the context for further speculations. However, physicists and skeptics state that quantum mechanics does not show classical effects until objects are at sub-nanometer scales, and since the physical components of the mind are all much larger, these quantum effects are considered negligible. Proponents counter that the scientific statements carry two flawed assumptions, namely that the experience of telepathy need be a classical effect, and that the mind is sensitive to only classical effects.
Telepathy in history - Very few anecdotal accounts of telepathy have been noted in many ancient cultures since historical records have been kept. In the Bible, some prophets appear to have the ability to see into the future (precognition). This seems to be a common claim from ancient and primitive people. But the sending and receiving of messages from individual to individual by mind alone is never mentioned at all. As with all psi phenomena, there is wide disagreement and controversy within the sciences, even within parapsychology, as to the existence of telepathy.
Historical background - Western cultureWestern scientific investigation of telepathy is generally recognized as having begun with the initial program or research of the Society for Psychical Research. The apex of their early investigations was the report published in 1886 as the two-volume work ''Phantasms of the Living''. It was with this work that the term "telepathy" was introduced, replacing the earlier term "thought transference". Although much of the initial investigations consisted largely of gathering anecdotal evidenceanecdotal accounts with follow-up investigations, they also conducted experimentexperiments with some of those who claimed telepathic abilities. However, their experimental protocols were not very strict by today's standards.In 1917, psychologist John E. Coover from Stanford University conducted a series of telepathy tests involving transmitting/guessing playing cards. His participants were able to guess the identity of cards with overall odds against chance of 160 to 1; however, Coover did not consider the results to be significant enough to report this as a positive result.Perhaps the most well-known telepathy experiments were those of Joseph Banks RhineJ. B. Rhine and his associates at Duke University, beginning in the 1927 using the distinctive ''ESP Cards'' of Karl Zener (see also Zener_CardZener Cards). These involved more rigorous and systematic experimental protocols than those from the 19th century, used what were assumed to be 'average' participants rather than those who claimed exceptional ability, and used new developments in the field of statistics to evaluate results. Results of these and other experiments were published by Rhine in his popular book ''Extra Sensory Perception'', which popularized the term "ESP".Another influential book about telepathy in its day was ''Mental Radio'', published in 1930 by the Pulitzer prize-winning author Upton Sinclair (with foreword by Albert Einstein). In it Sinclair describes the apparent ability of his wife at times to reproduce sketches made by himself and others, even when separated by several miles, in apparently informal experiments that are reminiscent of some of those to be used by remote viewing researchers in later times. They note in their book that the results could also be explained by more general clairvoyance, and they did some experiments whose results suggested that in fact no sender was necessary, and some drawings could be reproduced precognitionprecognitively.By the 1960s, many parapsychologists had become dissatisfied with the ''forced-choice'' experiments of J. B. Rhine, partly because of boredom on the part of test participants after many repetitions of monotonous card-guessing and refusing the suggestion by magicians of adding cards that were totally blank, partly because of the observed "decline effect" where the accuracy of card guessing would decrease over time for a given participant, which some parapsychologists attributed to this boredom.Some parapsychologists turned to ''free response'' experimental formats where the target was not limited to a small finite predetermined set of responses (e.g., Zener cards), but rather could be any sort of picture, drawing, photograph, movie clip, piece of music etc.As a result of surveys of spontaneous psi experiences which reported that more than half of these occurred in the dreaming state, researchers Montaque Ullman and Stanley Krippner at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, undertook a series of experiments to test for telepathy in the dream state. A "receiver" participant in a soundproof, electronically shielded room would be monitored while sleeping for EEG patterns and rapid eye movementrapid eye movements (REMs) indicating dream state. A "sender" in another room would then attempt to send an image, randomly selected from a pool of images, to the receiver by focusing on the image during the detected dream states. Near the end of each REM period, the receiver would be awakened and asked to describe their dream during that period. The data gathered suggested that sometimes the sent image was incorporated in some way into the content of the receiver's dreams.While the dream telepathy experiments results were interesting, to run such experiments required many resources (time, effort, personnel). Other researchers looked for more streamlined alternatives. Among them are the so-called ganzfeld experiments, which have been most closely followed in recent times and that some people believe have provided perhaps the strongest experimental evidence of telepathy to date.To date there has not yet been any satisfactory experimental protocol designed to distinguish telepathy from other forms of ESP such as clairvoyance. There have been rare claims of shared of visual hallucinations in folie a deux – shared psychotic disorder. These are beyond the scope of science at this time. The phenomena cannot be produced or reproduced on demand. There are also claims that a psychosis with auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) is a form of telepathy.
Telepathy and technology - Some, for example the science-fiction writer Spider Robinson in the book ''Deathkiller'', have envisioned neurological research leading to technologically-assisted telepathy, also called techlepathy. As of 2004, scientists have demonstrated that brain imaging can be successfully used to recognise distinct thought patterns, and tell, for example, whether experimental monkeys thought about juice or water, and whether a human participant thought about a rotating cube or moving his paralised arm. Both implanted electrodes recording neurons' activity and outside electrodes recording electromagnetic activity of the brain can be used. The technologically-assisted telepathy achieved so far is thus a very real phenomenon and is significantly more accurate in tests than "natural" telepathy.There are several schools of thought on how far technologically-assisted telepathy (Type II Telepathy, as opposed to Type I, where technology plays no part) has gotten with modern technology. There are some theories that the technology was mastered as far back as 1986, but its essential control elements were not known or perfected until the early 1990s. It is speculated that Type II is very selective in its effect, the technology being based upon neural engram interception and retransmission.
Telepathy and harmonics - Based heavily on theories by Maturana and Francisco Varela in the 1980s, a recent theory, focusing on the stable and powerful Delta and Gamma wavelength EEG emissions brains produce during states of intense emotion, has been suggested. The theory focuses the principle of neurokinetic harmonics into a rough framework called neurokinetic telepathy. It emphasises the practice of 'telepathy game', which is similar to ganzfeld type experiments, except that it is more energetically efficient, and treats the Sender/Receiver as a single unit. The theory posits that experts in this type of telepathy game could ''learn'' telepathy by co-adapting to their counterpart's specific neurosynaptic reflexes.
Telepathy, Quantum Physics, and Nonlocality - Some physicists, such as Nick Herbert twm.co.nz, have pondered whether or not quantum mechanics' "non-locality" (or "spooky action at a distance") principle would permit instantaneous communication such as telepathy. Experiments have been conducted (by scientists such as Gao Shen at the Institute of Quantum Physics in Beijing, China) to study whether or not quantum entanglements (connections allowing instantaneous information exchange) demonstrated at the level of electrons can also be verified between human minds. Such experiments usually include monitoring for synchronious EEG patterns between two hypothetically "entangled" minds. (See parapsych.org)
Telepathy in fiction - Comic books and role-playing games take greater liberties with telepaths, giving them the ability to not only control minds (through hypnosis-like capabilities, illusion etc.) but actually turning telepathy into an offensive weapon by overloading the mental communication channel with a "mind-blast" which causes great pain, unconsciousness, and sometimes even death. More broadly, telepathy has been the subject of much other science fiction and particularly soft science fiction.
External links - telepathy.nm.ru - Telepathy- software, that ''really'' looks like it can read in your mind. Actually this is just a trick, that many of "telepaths" use- it's very interesting. btinternet.com - GOING INSIDE – the featuresparanormalforums.net - Paranormal Forums – Paranormal Forums for discussion of all Paranormal related topics, including ? paranormalforums.net - Telepathy.skepdic.com - Skeptic's Dictionary on telepathybetterhumans.com - Evolving Towards Telepathy – an article on the potential for technologically endowed telepathy, or "techlepathy"pr.caltech.edu - California Institute of Technology study using implanted electrodes in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vPF), yielding findings on predicting the intentions of subjects to make movementsvis.caltech.edu - PDF article in Nature Neuroscience on "Spatial selectivity in human ventrolateral prefrontal cortex"Quantum Physicist Nick Herbert Ponders Instantaneous Communicationtwm.co.nz Primary Quantum Model of Telepathy parapsych.orgCategory:Paranormal !phenomenaCategory:Telepathy !Category:Pseudosciencede:Telep athiees:Telepatíaeo:Telepatio fi:Telepatiafr:Télépathieit: Telepatiahe:טלפתיהnl:Tel epathieja:テレパシーpl:Te lepatiapt:Telepatiasr:Теле патијаsv:Telepatizh:心 感应
|
|
|