Misplaced Pages

#375624

107-527: Slans are evolved humans, named after their alleged creator, Samuel Lann. They have the psychic abilities to read minds and are super-intelligent. They possess near limitless stamina, "nerves of steel," and superior strength and speed. When Slans are ill or seriously injured, they retreat into a healing trance. However, the human dictator Kier Gray leads a campaign to exterminate the Slans. There are two kinds of Slans. One type has tendrils on their heads and can read

214-411: A pseudoscience , the majority of mainstream scientists reject it. Parapsychology has also been criticized by mainstream critics for claims by many of its practitioners that their studies are plausible despite a lack of convincing evidence after more than a century of research for the existence of any psychic phenomena. Parapsychology research rarely appears in mainstream scientific journals ;

321-493: A special deck of cards designed for this purpose. A percentage of correct guesses (or hits) significantly above 20% was perceived as higher than chance and indicative of psychic ability. Rhine stated in his first book, Extrasensory Perception (1934), that after 90,000 trials, he felt ESP is "an actual and demonstrable occurrence". Irish medium and parapsychologist Eileen J. Garrett was tested by Rhine at Duke University in 1933 with Zener cards. Rhine placed certain symbols on

428-751: A 1942 article published in the British Journal of Psychology . The Parapsychological Association divides psi into two main categories: psi-gamma for extrasensory perception and psi-kappa for psychokinesis. In popular culture, "psi" has become more and more synonymous with extraordinary psychic , mental , and " psionic " abilities and powers. In 1853, chemist Robert Hare conducted experiments with mediums and reported positive results. Other researchers such as Frank Podmore highlighted flaws in his experiments, such as lack of controls to prevent trickery. Agenor de Gasparin conducted early experiments into table-tipping . For five months in 1853, he declared

535-418: A 1951 edition, described Slan as "a little overblown, considerably melodramatic, but still [a] really gripping adventure story." P. Schuyler Miller called Slan "van Vogt's first and most famous novel, perhaps his best." In a back-cover blurb in the 1998 Orb edition, Charles de Lint says this: "Over fifty years on from when it first saw print, van Vogt's Slan is still one of the quintessential classics in

642-441: A belief in paranormal ideas. The percentage was greater among college seniors (31%) and graduate students (34%). The poll showed lower belief in psychic phenomena among science students than social science and education students. Some people also believe that anyone can have psychic abilities which can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation and divination, with

749-663: A certain way. Not only can dice be drilled, shaved, falsely numbered and manipulated, but even straight dice often show bias in the long run. Casinos for this reason retire dice often, but at Duke, subjects continued to try for the same effect on the same dice over long experimental runs. Not surprisingly, PK appeared at Duke and nowhere else. Parapsychologists and skeptics criticized the Ownbey-Zirkle ESP experiment at Duke. Ownbey would attempt to send ESP symbols to Zirkle, who would guess what they were. The pair were placed in adjacent rooms, unable to see each other, and an electric fan

856-634: A controversial figure. His many enthusiasts, as well as the popular press, credit him with predicting many 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. Englishwoman Mother Shipton demonstrated psychic abilities from her youth and foresaw historical events in

963-474: A dozen ways a subject who wished to cheat under the conditions Rhine described could deceive the investigator". When Rhine took precautions in response to criticisms of his methods, he failed to find any high-scoring subjects. Another criticism, made by chemist Irving Langmuir , among others, was one of selective reporting . Langmuir stated that Rhine did not report scores of subjects that he suspected were intentionally guessing wrong and that this, he felt, biased

1070-449: A famous ESP experiment at Duke University. Warner and Raible locked a subject in a room with a switch controlling a signal light elsewhere, which she could signal to guess the card. Ten runs with ESP packs of cards were used, and she achieved 93 hits (43 more than chance). Weaknesses with the experiment were later discovered. The duration of the light signal could be varied so that the subject could call for specific symbols. Certain symbols in

1177-581: A few niche journals publish most papers about parapsychology. The term parapsychology was coined in 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir as the German parapsychologie . It was adopted by J. B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research to indicate a significant shift toward experimental methodology and academic discipline. The term originates from the Greek : παρά para meaning "alongside", and psychology . In parapsychology, psi

SECTION 10

#1732858864376

1284-543: A group of scientists in Cambridge. J. M. Peirce and E. C. Pickering reported a similar experiment in which they tested 36 subjects over 23,384 trials, which did not obtain above-chance scores. In 1881, Eleanor Sidgwick revealed the fraudulent methods that spirit photographers such as Édouard Isidore Buguet , Frederic Hudson , and William H. Mumler had utilized. During the late nineteenth century, many fraudulent mediums were exposed by SPR investigators. Largely due to

1391-467: A memory test to ascertain if post-test information would affect it, "failed to produce significant effects" and thus "do not support the existence of psychic ability" of this kind. Psychics are sometimes featured in science fiction and fantasy fiction . Examples of fiction featuring characters with psychic powers include the Star Wars franchise, which features " Force -sensitive" beings who can see into

1498-538: 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 abilities are common in science fiction , often under the term " psionics ". They may be depicted as innate and heritable, as in Alfred Bester 's The Demolished Man , A. E. van Vogt 's Slan , Anne McCaffrey 's Talents universe series or setting, and

1605-747: A private investigator who specializes in psychic fraud cases. Palmer had previously written articles about Nygaard and the work he was doing. It's apparently difficult to get cases of psychic fraud prosecuted as a crime. Palmer states "when someone reports to law enforcement that they are a victim of this type of fraud, they are often turned away and told it is a civil matter." Palmer goes on to discuss Thomas John and other famous "psychics" who were proven to be frauds. Investigator Ben Radford states that "scammers use various psychological principles to ensnare their prey". Their state of mind, belief in psychic abilities, unhappiness with something happening in their lives and looking for answers. The psychic will instruct

1712-462: A psychic who went by the name of Maha Dev. Marie Jean reported that Dev claimed she was surrounded by "evil spirits" and that "(her) life could be in danger and (her) sons could lose their lives." The initial payment requested was $ 10,000 to remove the spirits, but in subsequent visits Dev indicated that the spirits were "too strong" and more money was needed. In total, the woman paid $ 46,000 before deciding she had been "duped." After Marie Jean reported

1819-654: A successor to the Duke laboratory. In 1995, the centenary of Rhine's birth, the FRNM was renamed the Rhine Research Center . Today, the Rhine Research Center is a parapsychology research unit, stating that it "aims to improve the human condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space and time". The Parapsychological Association (PA)

1926-465: A symbol and write it down, while Ownbey would write her guesses. The scores were highly successful and both records were supposed to be sent to J. B. Rhine, however, Ownbey 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. Lucien Warner and Mildred Raible performed

2033-451: A trick, so they could not supply evidence for ESP. In 1957, Rhine and Joseph Gaither Pratt wrote Parapsychology: Frontier Science of the Mind . Because of the methodological problems, parapsychologists no longer utilize card-guessing studies. Rhine's experiments into psychokinesis (PK) were also criticized. John Sladek wrote: His research used dice, with subjects 'willing' them to fall

2140-680: A victim realizes they have been scammed, often they are too embarrassed to come forward. Skeptical activist Susan Gerbic has summarized a number of techniques, which she says are used by psychics to create their effects. [REDACTED] Media related to Psychics at Wikimedia Commons Parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena ( extrasensory perception , telepathy , precognition , clairvoyance , psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry ) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near-death experiences , synchronicity , apparitional experiences , etc. Criticized as being

2247-410: Is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology , such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses , particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance ; or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation . Although many people believe in psychic abilities , the scientific consensus

SECTION 20

#1732858864376

2354-400: Is a technique used to test individuals for telepathy. The technique—a form of moderate sensory deprivation —was developed to quickly quiet mental "noise" by providing mild, unpatterned stimuli to the visual and auditory senses. The visual sense is usually isolated by creating a soft red glow which is diffused through half ping-pong balls placed over the recipient's eyes. The auditory sense

2461-399: Is asked to find the donkeys of the future king Saul . The role of prophet appeared perennially in ancient cultures. In Egypt , the priests of the sun deity Ra at Memphis acted as seers. In ancient Assyria seers were referred to as nabu , meaning "to call" or "announce". The Delphic Oracle is one of the earliest stories in classical antiquity of prophetic abilities. The Pythia ,

2568-400: 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

2675-431: Is due either to uncontrollable factors in experimental procedure or to the difference in the subjects." Four other psychological departments failed to replicate Rhine's results. After thousands of card runs, James Charles Crumbaugh failed to duplicate the results of Rhine. In 1938, the psychologist Joseph Jastrow wrote that much of the evidence for extrasensory perception collected by Rhine and other parapsychologists

2782-543: Is not predicted, and most of what is predicted does not happen.” The Project confirmed that even when considering the margin of error, it is difficult to come to any other conclusion except that people who claim to see into the future cannot do so with a rate of success better than that of educated guesswork, chance, or luck. In an article reported by Pat Foran in CTV News-Toronto , an Ontario woman, known as Marie Jean, depressed after having to sell her home, began seeing

2889-456: Is now known that each experiment contained serious flaws that escaped notice in the examination made by the authors of Extra-Sensory Perception After Sixty Years ". Joseph Gaither Pratt was the co-experimenter in the Pearce-Pratt and Pratt-Woodruff experiments at the Duke campus. Hansel visited the campus where the experiments took place and discovered the results could have originated through

2996-864: Is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience . Psychics encompass people in a variety of roles. Some are theatrical performers, such as stage magicians , who use various techniques, e.g. prestidigitation , cold reading , and hot reading , to produce the appearance of such abilities for entertainment purposes. A large industry and network exist whereby people advertised as psychics provide advice and counsel to clients . Some famous psychics include Edgar Cayce , Ingo Swann , Peter Hurkos , Janet Lee , Miss Cleo , John Edward , Sylvia Browne , and Tyler Henry . Psychic powers are asserted by psychic detectives and in practices such as psychic archaeology and even psychic surgery . Critics attribute psychic powers to intentional trickery or to self- delusion . In 1988

3103-449: Is the unknown factor in extrasensory perception and psychokinesis experiences that is not explained by known physical or biological mechanisms. The term is derived from ψ psi, the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet and the initial letter of the Greek: ψυχή psyche , "mind, soul". The term was coined by biologist Bertold Wiesner , and first used by psychologist Robert Thouless in

3210-714: Is thought that this approach could account for the relative strength of parapsychology in Britain. As of 2007, parapsychology was researched in some 30 countries, and some universities worldwide continue academic parapsychology programs. Among these are the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh ; the Parapsychology Research Group at Liverpool Hope University (this closed in April 2011);

3317-469: Is usually blocked by playing white noise , static, or similar sounds to the recipient. The subject is also seated in a reclined, comfortable position to minimize the sense of touch. In the typical Ganzfeld experiment, a "sender" and a "receiver" are isolated. The receiver is put into the Ganzfeld state, or Ganzfeld effect and the sender is shown a video clip or still picture and asked to send that image to

Slan - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-718: The Institute of Noetic Sciences (1973), the International Kirlian Research Association (1975), and the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (1979). Parapsychological work was also conducted at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) during this time. The scope of parapsychology expanded during these years. Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson conducted much of his research into reincarnation during

3531-649: The International Journal of Parapsychology (between 1959 and 1968 and 2000–2001) and the Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research, publisher of the Australian Journal of Parapsychology . The European Journal of Parapsychology ceased publishing in 2010. Parapsychological research has also included other sub-disciplines of psychology. These related fields include transpersonal psychology , which studies transcendent or spiritual aspects of

3638-812: The Society for Psychical Research , publisher of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research and Psi Encyclopedia ; the American Society for Psychical Research , publisher of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research (last published in 2004); the Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology, publisher of the Journal of Parapsychology ; the Parapsychology Foundation, which published

3745-421: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences gave a report on the subject and concluded there is "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena ". A study attempted to repeat recently reported parapsychological experiments that appeared to support the existence of precognition . Attempts to repeat the results, which involved performance on

3852-459: The 16th century. 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. In the mid-nineteenth century, Modern Spiritualism became prominent in the United States and

3959-527: The 1880s, the Society investigated apparitional experiences and hallucinations in the sane . Among the first important works was the two-volume publication in 1886, Phantasms of the Living , which was largely criticized by scholars. In 1894, the Census of Hallucinations was published which sampled 17,000 people. Out of these, 1,684 persons admitted to having experienced a hallucination of an apparition. The SPR became

4066-517: The 1970s, and the second edition of his Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation was published in 1974. Psychologist Thelma Moss studied Kirlian photography at UCLA 's parapsychology laboratory. The influx of spiritual teachers from Asia and their claims of abilities produced by meditation led to research on altered states of consciousness . American Society for Psychical Research Director of Research, Karlis Osis , conducted experiments in out of body experiences. Physicist Russell Targ coined

4173-479: The 1980s, contemporary parapsychological research has waned considerably in the United States. Early research was considered inconclusive, and parapsychologists faced strong skepticism from their academic colleagues. Some effects thought to be paranormal, for example, the effects of Kirlian photography (thought by some to represent a human aura ), disappeared under more stringent controls, leaving those avenues of research at dead-ends. Most parapsychology research in

4280-411: The 42 Ganzfeld experiments, and to assess each experiment, he devised a set of 12 categories of flaws. Six of these concerned statistical defects, and the other six covered procedural flaws such as inadequate documentation , randomization, security, and possibilities of sensory leakage. Over half of the studies failed to safeguard against sensory leakage , and all of the studies contained at least one of

4387-622: The American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with a general openness to psychic and occult phenomena in the 1970s, led to a decade of increased parapsychological research. During this period, other related organizations were also formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research,

Slan - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-659: The Bozo Bus Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Lytheria in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . The manga and anime series Toward the Terra is influenced by Slan . Both stories feature a hero named Jommy/Jomy, who discovers that he is a member of a race of telepathic mutants, who are persecuted by artificial general intelligence and non-telepathic humans brainwashed by them. American science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson completed

4601-577: The Parapsychological Association, parapsychologists do not study all paranormal phenomena, nor are they concerned with astrology , UFOs , cryptozoology , paganism , vampires , alchemy , or witchcraft . Journals dealing with parapsychology include the Journal of Parapsychology , Journal of Near-Death Studies , Journal of Consciousness Studies , Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , and Journal of Scientific Exploration . The Ganzfeld ( German for "whole field")

4708-557: 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 worldwide and have rarely been out of print since his death. He

4815-783: The SOPHIA Project at the University of Arizona ; the Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Research Unit of Liverpool John Moores University ; the Center for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of Northampton ; and the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London . Research and professional organizations include the Parapsychological Association ;

4922-505: The Slans actually do control the world in much the same way as is imagined about the Jews by students of The Protocols of Zion ." In American science fiction fandom , the slogan "Fans are slans" quickly developed, making the analogy between science fiction fans, perceived as harassed because of their greater intelligence and imaginative capacity, and the slans in the novel, who are persecuted for their superior mental abilities. Although some regard

5029-404: The Society included, in addition to Richet, Eleanor Sidgwick and William James , and subsequently Nobel Laureates Henri Bergson and Lord Rayleigh , and philosopher C. D. Broad . Areas of study included telepathy , hypnotism , Reichenbach's phenomena , apparitions , hauntings , and the physical aspects of Spiritualism such as table-tilting , materialization , and apportation . In

5136-424: The U.S. federal government. The Stargate Project was terminated in 1995 with the conclusion that it was never useful in any intelligence operation. The information was vague and included a lot of irrelevant and erroneous data. There was also reason to suspect that the research managers had adjusted their project reports to fit the known background cues. The affiliation of the Parapsychological Association (PA) with

5243-543: The U.S. government to investigate remote viewing . Critics such as Ed J. Gracely say that this evidence is not sufficient for acceptance, partly because the intrinsic probability of psychic phenomena is very small. Critics such as Ray Hyman and the National Science Foundation suggest that parapsychology has methodological flaws that can explain the experimental results that parapsychologists attribute to paranormal explanations, and various critics have classed

5350-518: The US is now confined to private institutions funded by private sources. After 28 years of research, Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR), which studied psychokinesis , closed in 2007. Two universities in the United States have academic parapsychology laboratories. The Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia 's Department of Psychiatric Medicine, studies

5457-537: 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 fame during the Victorian period for his reported ability to levitate to various heights and speak to

SECTION 50

#1732858864376

5564-646: The affiliation of the PA to the AAAS needed to be reconsidered. His challenge to parapsychology's AAAS affiliation was unsuccessful. Today, the PA consists of about three hundred full, associate, and affiliated members worldwide. Beginning in the early 1950s, the CIA started extensive research into behavioral engineering . The findings from these experiments led to the formation of the Stargate Project , which handled ESP research for

5671-620: The analysis of the predictions found that psychics were correct 11% of the time, wrong 35% of the time, and that some predictions were too vague to characterize (19%) or the predicted outcome was so obvious it was to be expected (15%). Two percent of the predictions were unable to be categorized. The main conclusions of the Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project were: “Psychics are appallingly bad at predicting future events.” “Most predictions were too vague, expected, or simply wrong.” “Most of what happens

5778-534: The approaches of psychical research, which generally sought qualitative evidence for paranormal phenomena, the experiments at Duke University proffered a quantitative , statistical approach using cards and dice. As a consequence of the ESP experiments at Duke, standard laboratory procedures for the testing of ESP were developed and adopted by interested researchers worldwide. George Estabrooks conducted an ESP experiment using cards in 1927. Harvard students were used as

5885-429: The audience to be non-responsive. Magicians such as James Randi , Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but they present physical and psychological explanations as opposed to paranormal ones. In January 2008 the results of a study using neuroimaging were published. To provide what are purported to be the most favorable experimental conditions,

5992-667: The cards, sealed them in an envelope, and asked Garrett to guess their contents. She performed poorly and later criticized the tests by claiming the cards lacked a psychic energy called "energy stimulus" and that she could not perform clairvoyance to order. The parapsychologist Samuel Soal and his colleagues tested Garrett in May 1937. Soal conducted most experiments in the Psychological Laboratory at University College London . Soal recorded over 12,000 guesses, but Garrett failed to produce above chance level. In his report Soal wrote "In

6099-422: The case of Mrs. Eileen Garrett we fail to find the slightest confirmation of J. B. Rhine's remarkable claims relating to her alleged powers of extra-sensory perception. Not only did she fail when I took charge of the experiments, but she failed equally when four other carefully trained experimenters took my place." The parapsychology experiments at Duke evoked much criticism from academics and others who challenged

6206-477: The client not to tell their friends or family as they know they may be warned away from the psychic. With curse removal, the psychic may say that the magic will not work or get worse if they do tell anyone about their involvement with the psychic. The con games from psychics, according to Radford, can "play out over the course of weeks, months, or even years." The psychic is playing the long game and looking to extract as much money as possible. Radford claims that when

6313-474: The concepts and evidence of ESP. Many psychological departments attempted to repeat Rhine's experiments with failure. W. S. Cox (1936) from Princeton University , with 132 subjects, produced 25,064 trials in a playing card ESP experiment. Cox concluded, "There is no evidence of extrasensory perception either in the 'average man' or of the group investigated or in any particular individual of that group. The discrepancy between these results and those obtained by Rhine

6420-429: The course of 12 years, Saunders and then Saunders and his international team of skeptics - Michelle Bijkersma, Kelly Burke, Susan Gerbic , Adrienne Hill, Louis Hillman, Wendy Hughes, Paula Lauterbach, Dr. Angie Mattke, Rob Palmer, and Leonard Tramiel - searched through Australian published media for individuals making psychic or otherwise paranormal predictions. The goal of the Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project

6527-574: The dead. As the Spiritualist movement grew, other comparable groups arose, including the Theosophical Society , which was co-founded in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891). Theosophy coupled spiritualist elements with Eastern mysticism and was influential in the early 20th century, later influencing the New Age movement during the 1970s. Blavatsky herself claimed numerous psychic powers. By

SECTION 60

#1732858864376

6634-563: The descendants of the Oracle of Delphi , their visions also contrast their personalities (Cara is a Goth that sees only positive visions, while Sara is always in a good mood despite only seeing negative visions). Parapsychological research has attempted to use random number generators to test for psychokinesis , mild sensory deprivation in the Ganzfeld experiment to test for extrasensory perception , and research trials conducted under contract by

6741-516: The experiment appeared far more often than others, indicating poor shuffling or card manipulation. The experiment was not repeated. Duke's administration grew less sympathetic to parapsychology, and after Rhine's retirement in 1965, parapsychological links with the university were broken. Rhine later established the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man (FRNM) and the Institute for Parapsychology as

6848-472: The experimenter; nobody controlled the experiment, so Ownbey could have cheated by communicating with Zirkle or made recording mistakes. The Turner-Ownbey long-distance telepathy experiment was also flawed. May Frances Turner positioned herself in the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory, while Sara Ownbey claimed to receive transmissions 250 miles away. For the experiment, Turner would think of

6955-418: The experiments a success, being the result of an " ectenic force ". Critics noted that the conditions were insufficient to prevent trickery. For example, the sitters may have moved the table with their knees, and no experimenter was simultaneously watching above and below the table. The German astrophysicist Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner tested the medium Henry Slade in 1877. According to Zöllner, some of

7062-654: The experiments were successful. However, flaws in the experiments were discovered, and critics have suggested that Slade was a fraud who performed trickery in the experiments. The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London in 1882. Its formation was the first systematic effort to organize scientists and scholars to investigate paranormal phenomena. Early membership included philosophers , scholars, scientists, educators and politicians , such as Henry Sidgwick , Arthur Balfour , William Crookes , Rufus Osgood Mason , and Nobel Laureate Charles Richet . Presidents of

7169-505: The field as pseudoscience . This has largely been due to a lack of replication of results by independent experimenters. The evidence presented for psychic phenomena is not sufficiently verified for scientific acceptance, and there exist many non-paranormal alternative explanations for claimed instances of psychic events. Parapsychologists , who generally believe that there is some evidence for psychic ability, disagree with critics who believe that no psychic ability exists and that many of

7276-517: The field that other SF novels will inevitably be measured against." R. D. Mullen reported Slan to be "perhaps the most widely read, and perhaps the best of [van Vogt's] novels." He described the situation of the Slan minority in the imagined society as "obviously intended" as analogous to "the position of the Jews in the Third Reich", though in the novel "there actually is a secret world-wide conspiracy, and

7383-481: The field, and to integrate the findings with those of other branches of science". In 1969, under the direction of anthropologist Margaret Mead , the Parapsychological Association became affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest general scientific society in the world. In 1979, physicist John A. Wheeler said that parapsychology is pseudoscientific and that

7490-462: The first academic institution in the United States to study extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK) in a laboratory setting. The effort was headed by psychologist John Edgar Coover and funded by Thomas Welton Stanford , brother of the university's founder. After conducting approximately 10,000 experiments, Coover concluded that "statistical treatments of the data fail to reveal any cause beyond chance." In 1930, Duke University became

7597-445: The first type) travels with his mother to the capital, Centropolis. They are discovered and Jommy's mother is killed, while Jommy flees. Jommy Cross is not only the heir to the brilliant inventions of his father, but he represents the last hope of the Slan race to save it from genocide . In fulfilling his mission, he seeks to destroy Kier Gray, and, in their final confrontation, discovers an astonishing secret. Groff Conklin , reviewing

7704-410: The future and move objects telekinetically, along with Dungeons & Dragons and some of the works of Stephen King , amongst many others. The word "psychic" is derived from the Greek word psychikos ("of the mind" or "mental"), and refers in part to the human mind or psyche (ex. "psychic turmoil"). The Greek word also means "soul". In Greek mythology , the maiden Psyche was the deification of

7811-413: The future. These people were known as seers or prophets , and in later times as clairvoyants (French word meaning "clear sight" or "clear seeing") 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

7918-620: The human soul . The word derivation of the Latin psȳchē is from the Greek psȳchḗ , literally "breath", derivative of psȳ́chein , to breathe or to blow (hence, to live). French astronomer and spiritualist Camille Flammarion is credited as having first used the word psychic, while it was later introduced to the English language by Edward William Cox in the 1870s. Elaborate systems of divination and fortune-telling date back to ancient times. Perhaps

8025-401: The human mind, and anomalistic psychology , which examines paranormal beliefs and subjective anomalous experiences in traditional psychological terms. Parapsychologists study some ostensible paranormal phenomena, including but not limited to: The definitions for the terms above may not reflect their mainstream usage nor the opinions of all parapsychologists and their critics. According to

8132-421: The incident to CTV News, CTV News contacted the psychic. While Dev did not admit to knowing the woman, the money was refunded in full the next day. Falling for a psychic scam can result in a loss of one's entire life savings. In an example given in an article by Rob Palmer a woman gave a psychic $ 41,642 over a period of 10 weeks. The woman had contacted Palmer for help, who put her in contact with Bob Nygaard ,

8239-416: The instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as mediumism , can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as cold reading , hot reading , or even self- delusion . Cold reading techniques would include psychics using flattery, intentionally making descriptions, statements or predictions about a person vague and ambiguous, and surreptitiously moving on to another prediction when the psychic deems

8346-651: The last two decades, some new sources of funding for parapsychology in Europe have seen a "substantial increase in European parapsychological research so that the center of gravity for the field has swung from the United States to Europe". The United Kingdom has the largest number of active parapsychologists of all nations. In the UK, researchers work in conventional psychology departments and do studies in mainstream psychology to "boost their credibility and show that their methods are sound". It

8453-539: The late twentieth century, psychics were commonly associated with New Age culture. Psychic readings and advertising for psychics were common from the 1960s on, as readings were offered for a fee and given in settings such as over the phone, in a home, or at psychic fairs. In a 1990 survey of members of the National Academy of Sciences, only 2% of the respondents thought that extrasensory perception had been scientifically demonstrated, with another 2% thinking that

8560-433: The minds of ordinary humans and telepathically communicate with other Slans. The tendrils are golden-colored, making it easy to spot them. These Slans are hunted to near extinction. The other type is tendrilless, equally as intelligent as the tendrilled kind but without psychic abilities, except the ability to hide their thoughts from the first type of Slan. As the novel begins, nine-year-old Jommy Cross (a telepathic Slan of

8667-422: The model for similar societies in other European countries and the United States during the late 19th century. Early clairvoyance experiments were reported in 1884 by Charles Richet . Playing cards were enclosed in envelopes, and a subject was put under hypnosis to identify them. The subject was reported to have succeeded in a series of 133 trials, but the results dropped to the chance level when performed before

8774-436: 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

8881-993: The phenomena happened sometimes. Asked about research in the field, 22% thought that it should be discouraged, 63% that it should be allowed but not encouraged, and 10% that it should be encouraged; neuroscientists were the most hostile to parapsychology of all the specialties. A survey of the beliefs of the general United States population about 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 . 31 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

8988-413: The possibility of survival of consciousness after bodily death , near-death experiences , and out-of-body experiences . Gary Schwartz at the University of Arizona 's Veritas Laboratory conducted laboratory investigations of mediums , criticized by scientific skeptics . Several private institutions, including the Institute of Noetic Sciences , conduct and promote parapsychological research. Over

9095-481: The priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi , was believed to be able to deliver prophecies inspired by Apollo during rituals beginning in the 8th century BC. 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

9202-740: The proper mental discipline , known as kything in the former work. Popular movies include The Initiation of Sarah . Psychic characters are also common in superhero comics , for instance Jean Grey , Professor X and Emma Frost as well as many others from the Marvel Comics' X-Men . More characters include the characters Raven Baxter and Booker Baxter from the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven and its spin-off Raven's Home . The Disney Channel Original Series American Dragon: Jake Long features recurring characters Cara and Sara, who are twin psychics claimed to be

9309-412: The receiver mentally. While in the Ganzfeld, experimenters ask the receiver to continuously speak aloud all mental processes, including images, thoughts, and feelings. At the end of the sending period, typically about 20 to 40 minutes, the receiver is taken out of the Ganzfeld state and shown four images or videos, one of which is the actual target and three non-target decoys. The receiver attempts to select

9416-408: The second major U.S. academic institution to engage in the critical study of ESP and psychokinesis in the laboratory. Under the guidance of psychologist William McDougall , and with the help of others in the department—including psychologists Karl Zener , Joseph B. Rhine , and Louisa E. Rhine —laboratory ESP experiments using volunteer subjects from the undergraduate student body began. As opposed to

9523-417: The sequel to Slan , titled Slan Hunter , that includes content from an unfinished draft by van Vogt. It was published July 10, 2007, and credited to both Van Vogt and Anderson. Van Vogt's widow Lydia van Vogt previously gave permission to publish her introduction online, which partly deals with the onset of Alzheimer's disease that van Vogt struggled with at the end of his life. Psychic A psychic

9630-594: The statistical results higher than they should have been. Rhine and his colleagues attempted to address these criticisms through new experiments described in the book Extrasensory Perception After Sixty Years (1940). Rhine described three experiments: the Pearce-Pratt experiment , the Pratt-Woodruff experiment , and the Ownbey-Zirkle series, which he believed demonstrated ESP. However, C. E. M. Hansel wrote, "It

9737-406: The strongest evidence yet obtained against the existence of paranormal mental phenomena." James Alcock had cautioned the researchers against the wording of said statement. A detailed study of Sylvia Browne predictions about missing persons and murder cases found that despite her repeated claims to be more than 85% correct, "Browne has not even been mostly correct in a single case". Concerning

9844-508: The study included appropriate emotional stimuli and had participants who are biologically or emotionally related, such as twins. The experiment was designed to produce positive results if telepathy , clairvoyance or precognition occurred, but despite this, no distinguishable neuronal responses were found between psychic stimuli and non-psychic stimuli, while variations in the same stimuli showed anticipated effects on patterns of brain activation. The researchers concluded that "These findings are

9951-448: The subjects. Estabrooks acted as the sender, with the guesser in an adjoining room. Estabrooks conducted a total of 2,300 trials. When Estabrooks sent the subjects to a distant room with insulation, the scores dropped to chance level. Attempts to repeat the experiment also failed. The publication of J. B. Rhine's book, New Frontiers of the Mind (1937), brought the laboratory's findings to the general public. In his book, Rhine popularized

10058-640: The support of psychologist William James , the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) opened its doors in Boston in 1885, moving to New York City in 1905 under the leadership of James H. Hyslop . Notable cases investigated by Walter Franklin Prince of the ASPR in the early 20th century included Pierre L. O. A. Keeler , the Great Amherst Mystery and Patience Worth . In 1911, Stanford University became

10165-412: The target, using perceptions experienced during the Ganzfeld state as clues to what the mentally "sent" image might have been. The Ganzfeld experiment studies that were examined by Ray Hyman and Charles Honorton had methodological problems that were well documented. Honorton reported only 36% of the studies used duplicate target sets of pictures to avoid handling cues. Hyman discovered flaws in all of

10272-445: The television psychics, James Underdown states that testing psychics in a studio setting is difficult as there are too many areas to control: the psychic could be getting help from anyone on the set. The editor controls everything; they can make a psychic look superior or ridiculous depending on direction from the producer. In an Independent Investigations Group exposé of John Edward and James Van Praagh they discovered that what

10379-678: 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, as well as the ghosts in the StarCraft franchise. 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

10486-511: The term remote viewing for use in some of his work at SRI in 1974. The surge in paranormal research continued into the 1980s: the Parapsychological Association reported members working in more than 30 countries. For example, research was carried out and regular conferences held in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union although the word parapsychology was discarded in favor of the term psychotronics. The main promoter of psychotronics

10593-423: 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

10700-563: The usage as a sign of fandom's elitism, along with the related term " mundane " for non-fans, others regard it as a natural reaction to the disapproval of science fiction fans by the broader culture. The related term "slan shack" came to be used in fanspeak for a home occupied primarily by fans. The first Slan Shack to bear that name was established in 1943 in Battle Creek, Michigan by Al and Abby Lou Ashley , Walt Liebscher , E. Everett Evans and fan artist Jack Wiedenbeck. Others have included

10807-487: The word "parapsychology", coined by psychologist Max Dessoir over 40 years earlier, to describe the research conducted at Duke. Rhine also founded an autonomous Parapsychology Laboratory within Duke and started the Journal of Parapsychology , which he co-edited with McDougall. Rhine, along with associate Karl Zener, had developed a statistical system of testing for ESP that involved subjects guessing what symbol, out of five possible symbols, would appear when going through

10914-615: Was Czech scientist Zdeněk Rejdák, who described it as a physical science , organizing conferences and presiding over the International Association for Psychotronic Research. In 1985, the Department of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh established a Chair of Parapsychology, awarding it to Robert Morris , an experimental parapsychologist from the United States. Morris and his research associates and PhD students pursued research on topics related to parapsychology. Since

11021-660: Was actually said on the tape day, and what was broadcast to the public were "substantially different in the accuracy. They're getting rid of the wrong guesses... Once you pull back the curtain and see how it's done, it's not impressive at all." Richard Saunders , Chief Investigator for the Australian Skeptics , and producer and presenter of The Skeptic Zone podcast sought to answer the question “Can self-proclaimed psychics predict unlikely future events with any greater accuracy than chance?” To answer that question he launched "The Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project". Over

11128-471: Was anecdotal, biased, dubious and the result of "faulty observation and familiar human frailties". Rhine's experiments were discredited due to the discovery that sensory leakage or cheating could account for all his results, such as the subject being able to read the symbols from the back of the cards and being able to see and hear the experimenter to note subtle clues. Illusionist Milbourne Christopher wrote years later that he felt "there are at least

11235-551: Was created in Durham, North Carolina , on June 19, 1957. J. B. Rhine proposed its formation at a parapsychology workshop held at the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University. Rhine proposed that the group form itself into the nucleus of an international professional society in parapsychology. The aim of the organization, as stated in its Constitution, became "to advance parapsychology as a science, to disseminate knowledge of

11342-480: Was to collect and then vet the accuracy of every published psychic prediction in Australia since the year 2000. The team analyzed over 3800 predictions made by 207 psychics over the years 2000 to 2020. While a few of the psychic predictions were about events outside of Australia, the predictions primarily focused on celebrities, scandals, natural disasters, weather patterns, sports, and real estate trends. The results of

11449-401: Was used to prevent the pair from communicating by sensory cues. Ownbey tapped a telegraph key to Zirkle to inform him when she was trying to send him a symbol. The door separating the two rooms was open during the experiment, and after each guess, Zirkle would call out his guess to Ownbey, who recorded his choice. Critics pointed out the experiment was flawed as Ownbey acted as both the sender and

#375624