After my first new topic was rather far-fetched (though I had to ask). There is now a more serious topic I want to discuss.
Now throughout the internet I see people asking others to teach them pyrokinesis or telekinesis of telepathy, precognition. I see tips and techs and psi-wheels broadcast all over hyperspace and its' boundless borders. And a part of me is heartbroken. Not because I DON'T believe in paranormality. It's quite the opposite. It's just that, I believe these abilities are exceedingly rare, found in the essence of a select few, and that they can never be learned. Many people may argue that parapsychological studies have done tests and have found that most people have some psi ability. I would have to disagree. Though I do believe credible parapsychological research does exist, most of the studies that say parapsychological phenomena is found in most of the average populous are flawed, fraudulent, or unreasonable. For instance, there is a claim made by some parapsychologists that, in terms of zener card tests, the total sum of the participants and their scores points unquestionably to psi. Two points must be made here.
1)The rule states that the zener cards (5 cards for each 5 types of shapes on the card) should be 5 out of 25 by mere chance. Most people on the tests got around 7 out of 25 or somewhere closer to the 5 out of 25 range. This wouldn't count for paranormality, as though 5 is the "by chance" guideline, common sense and logic should tell one that there are numbers around 5 (like 7,8,9....6,4,3, and sometimes 2) that could be reached by chance as well.
2)It shouldn't take a century's worth of summed results to find psychic ability

And when it comes to premonitions and visions, people are many times too quick to point to paranormality than asking themselves these questions. Was it logically deduced? Did I hear it subconsciously from a non-paranormal source?
What are the chances of this happening by normal means? And if I think about a person, and see them when I walk in the store....is this the only time this has happened, or is this one of only a few times?
I think that this key factor is forgotten:
if it is truly paranormal, it MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST, happen a SIGNIFICANT number of times and must be based SOLELY on psychic intuition, not deduction. The same is for telekinesis

The misconceptions about paranormality are also concerning to the mind. For instance, it is popular belief among believers that identical twins have a telepathic link, because they can finish each others sentences, speak at the same time, and do the same thing at the same time while being blocks, even thousands of miles away. But the truth of the matter is, identical twins are homozygotic, their DNA virtually the exact same, and studies on genetics have shown that twins raised apart do many of the same things; there was one set of twins with wives with the same name as the other wife. So, if identical twins are that much alike, would not the finishing the sentences of one another and "knowing" what the other was thinking be based on the likeness, as well as doing the same thing at the same time, even in different locations.

Then why do I believe in paranormal phenomena, because I have researched and read about some paranormal resarch that I can in no way explain otherwise, because of a psychic giving me readings about my life they could have NEVER known, like with specifics what was going to happen in my college life, specifics that were quite unusual and dead on in the fact that no one in their logical mind (and without psychic ability) would guess

I believe that many who wish to learn paranormal powers are like many who search for purpose through them.
It's a feeling of having control in a world where uncertainty may seem the dominant. To be different from others, because without "powers" they may feel unspecial or talentless. And, let's face it, becoming like your favorite superhero can seem intoxicating. Do I believe that that's what's going on in these forums. I'm not the one to answer that, only those reading this can answer that for themselves. But the truth is, you cannot become something that you are not, no matter how hard you try. If you are truly paranormal, you will know it, trust me.
And one should see the beauty in themselves, the being that they are, for that is where you find your truest power.
And I think that that's worth more than ANY paranormal power.
So what do you guys think about this. Thoughts from both skeptics and proponents welcome.
*May your mind find fulfillment

I agree, if paranormal related abilities are to be proven, they have to be able to be repeated (As to eliminate chance, no matter how improbable the first trial), and they also must be proven on a platform in which logical deduction, chance, and subconscious memories. Extrapolating from your premonition example, you bring up a good point : Conclusions drawn from memory made within the subconscious can often be mistaken for premonitions. In fact, the subconscious is an extremely powerful tool, which I think both skeptics and believes will agree to, perhaps too powerful for our own good when we cannot know of it's inner workings. Does this mean everything can be explained by the subconscious' efforts? Possibly, but I find it highly unlikely with all the unexplained things in our world.




You bring up a good point, it would be extremely difficult to test telepathy between twins, but your examples don't include that of twins sharing pain when one hurts themselves, in where the other doesn't know about it. The odds of them knowing because of thinking the same way and thus able to draw a conclusion to pain is nearly astronomical if they're unknowing of where the other twin is, yet stories of this are heard of often.

http://isitnormal.com/story/2814/ (I know that links to what random people say are thought of as worthless, but I think they're almost as valuable as studies, because unless a person is a pathological liar, they very rarely lie when talking about their perceptions, especially on places such as that where they're asking about a happening for information.)

http://www.twinconnections.com/christinevi.htm (An interesting site, which appears to be a collection of stories about twins, the exact reference is an example of my point so that the reader of this post wouldn't need to sift through hundreds of stories to find one relevant.)

http://www.amazon.ca/Twin-Telepathy-Guy-Ly...r/dp/1843336863 (Perhaps an interesting book to read if you have much interest on the subject of twin telepathy, but the Product Description serves as an example to what I am trying to say.)







You bring up another good point, in that it is a large shining beacon to someone to rush to, perhaps even a beacon that leads nowhere. But, giving credit to the believer side of the argument, I'd think from what I've seen that some powers are inborn, and will awaken without the efforts of the individual (And sometimes even against the efforts of said individual), but from the same side I think it too unlikely that all paranormal powers would be impossible to learn. From the skeptic side (Which I seem to have ignored throughout my post, and for this I apologize) it could be stated that all paranormal powers are simply a product of the mind, in which the person wishes something to be true until it truly is, though only in their mind, perhaps even using the defense mechanisms to combat the reality of a lack of powers, and those who confess of paranormal powers without showing any tendency to trying to gain them could have a mental illness, or be otherwise hallucinating or having their mind work against itself. From the skeptic side I'd also like to draw the conclusion that saying that only a very small percentage of people have paranormal powers is like saying "There's a mermaid, it's just really rare so you can't find it when you look". It sounds nearly like a dodge. From the believer side though, it can sound either accurate, or it can sound as though restricting the abilities of people for one reason or another. Unfortionately, you can't prove that paranormal powers are genetic (Which they would have to be if they only occurred in a few people), until you prove first that paranormal powers exist, which hasn't been done conclusively enough for the skeptics. I'd site a quotation made to go submit paranormal claims to the James Randi Paranormal Challenge, but for one reason or another I don't find it to be a very good example, as James Randi and Kramer both seem to have a "It won't work because it doesn't exist" attitude, which would create a large amount of bias, and the fact that very few claims have been submitted recently because of the fact you must now have had media coverage to apply.


Edit : Fixed misspellings, and clarification on a sentence.

They don't exist and those who believe they do suffer from self delusion.

Do you know for certain that they don't exist? Where did you learn this to?

Science and yes I'm certain the lack of evidence suggesting such powers exist along with the evidence provided where human physiology and physics are concerned that suggest that contradict peoples claims of super powers.

science will take in anything proven to be true as science never before

Science hasn't disproved it, if it was disproved there wouldn't be discussion on it the way there is.

Also you're certain by the lack of evidence. What is evidence to you? Definie it ... because when someone comes here with something tangable for you to see we have to make sure that you don't go back on your word. You're going on what others have told you ... do YOU know for a fact that it doesn't exist ... or has science not shown you that it does?

Without God, there are no athiests.




A lot of the times, yes.

so i am correct then?

Alot of the times, yes.