Researchers test telepathy in virtual world

Those mad scientists at the University of Manchester are at it again, first repairing broken bones with inkjet printers, then simulating velociraptor attacks, and now trying to determine once and for all if telepathy is real -- using virtual reality, of course. About a hundred individuals are expected to take part in the experiment, which'll also test if telepathic abilities are stronger between people that already know each other. In the tests, two subjects will be placed far apart from each other, on different floors of the building (to avoid cheating), each donning VR helmets and gloves that plop then into a virtual environment. One of the individuals is then presented with an image that they're supposed to concentrate on and interact with, while the other is shown four items, from which they must pick the other person's object. We give this about an 80% chance of being inconclusive, a 10% chance of it proving that telepathy is real, and a 10% chance that things go completely haywire, giving everyone involved super telepathic abilities.

[daryl @ Jul 19th 2006 5:25PM]

Oh boy, #3 would be teh awesome! Where do I sign up?

[Matt @ Jul 19th 2006 5:59PM]

Lawnmower Man!?

[Istrancis @ Jul 19th 2006 6:25PM]

Number three there is a good one, Lol!!! Those Engadgeteers sure know how to write a humorous article!

[TB @ Jul 19th 2006 7:19PM]

Sounds pretty nifty to me.

[!! @ Jul 19th 2006 7:42PM]

Think of a number between 1 and 10...is it...7?

If yes, I am clearly psychic, as demonstrated. If no, you obviously and purposefully shunned the voice in the back of your head telling you to pick 7. Cheater.

[shmengie @ Jul 19th 2006 7:42PM]

and 0% chance of proving telepathy is a myth. 0%? no chance whatsoever? is that what you;re saying? how's about: i'm thinking of 2 words. see if you can read my mind and tell me what they are...

[Adam @ Jul 19th 2006 7:53PM]

0%, of course. How do you prove that not one person in the world has the power to read your mind, and on top of that, prove that there is no POTENTIAL for anyone, ever, to do so?

[John B @ Jul 19th 2006 8:02PM]

I for one will welcome my visor wearing virtual overlords!

[Evilsmevil @ Jul 19th 2006 8:14PM]

Haha i was going to take part in this but in the end I had too much else on at the same time. My tutor is running part of the tests. You actually get payed £7 a session (worth about 3 pints at the union) and you get 2 sessions!

[furtim @ Jul 19th 2006 9:22PM]

0% chance of proving to believers in psy phenomena that telepathy is a myth, yes. No matter how often these "studies" come back with negative results, they refuse to give up their pet belief.

[Calorie Counter @ Jul 19th 2006 9:28PM]

Heh, I never took too much stock in telepathy.

sounds like a waste of money.

[Zach C. @ Jul 19th 2006 9:46PM]

Funny thing: Telepathy is real enough (I have seen and experienced its performance in a setting with no other possible form of communication including radio - think miles away during a snowstorm), but it's not likely that these researchers are going to find it. If they were working with people who already practiced magic (special K magick, that is), they'd have a better chance of getting positive results. But a random and generic population of people, of whom only a few have ever meditated seriously - not to mention who have no idea how to sense, focus, or direct their personal energies - is going to garner a success rate of less than five percent.

In other words, telepathy is almost entirely an anomalous occurrence within the general population. Untrained subjects with strong mental and emotional ties will probably perform better. Properly trained subjects, however, tend to perform better than that; and highly trained pairs with strong ties perform best of all.

[Sin Adam @ Jul 19th 2006 9:57PM]

i hope it goes haywire... that wud be fun

[M @ Jul 19th 2006 10:29PM]

Isn't Special K a cereal? Is that being used in the tests?

[furtim @ Jul 19th 2006 10:30PM]

Actually, the people who are best at passing psychic tests tend to be the ones who practice magic without the k...

[jnasato @ Jul 19th 2006 10:34PM]

Zach C- Yah, that's totally right, man. It's like trying to prove the existence of "amazing soccer players", by testing the general population. Probably 1 out of many, many thousands would be able to do a rainbow kick, catch the ball on the chest, bounce it onto a knee, and then kick it into a goal at 50 feet away, with no prior practice. "Our tests conclude, that because of the low occurance of solid tactical skills and agility in the general populace, 'amazing soccer players' do not exist beyond the realm of folklore, urban legend, and childhood fantasy soccer cults."

[M @ Jul 20th 2006 12:49AM]

jnasato, would Wheaties be involved in those tests?

[Frangible @ Jul 20th 2006 1:40AM]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16491679&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum

PubMed ID 16491679

This study investigated possible telepathic communication in connection with e-mails. On each trial, there were four potential e-mailers, one of whom was selected at random by the experimenter. One minute before a prearranged time at which the e-mail was to be sent, the participant guessed who would send it. 50 participants (29 women and 21 men) were recruited through an employment web site. Of 552 trials, 235 (43%) guesses were hits, significantly above the chance expectation of 25%. Further tests with 5 participants (4 women, 1 man, ages 16 to 29) were videotaped continuously. On the filmed trials, the 64 hits of 137 (47%) were significantly above chance.

[Frangible @ Jul 20th 2006 1:45AM]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15142304&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum

Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: two meta-analyses.

Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany. [e-mail]

Findings in parapsychology suggest an effect of distant intentionality. Two laboratory set-ups explored this topic by measuring the effect of a distant intention on psychophysiological variables. The 'Direct Mental Interaction in Living Systems' experiment investigates the effect of various intentions on the electrodermal activity of a remote subject. The 'Remote Staring' experiment examines whether gazing by an observer covaries with the electrodermal activity of the person being observed. Two meta-analyses were conducted. A small significant effect size (d =.11, p =.001) was found in 36 studies on 'direct mental interaction', while a best-evidence-synthesis of 7 studies yielded d =.05 (p =.50). In 15 remote staring studies a mean effect size of d = 0.13 (p =.01) was obtained. It is concluded that there are hints of an effect, but also a shortage of independent replications and theoretical concepts.

PMID: 15142304 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Cereal killer @ Jul 20th 2006 5:44AM]

Ever since I was little I've eaten Weetabix and hot milk for breakfast. It's never given me any telepathic abilities. Except that I do know I'll be eating Weetabix and hot milk tomorrow for breakfast.
Special K? That's for loosers (of weight).

[M @ Jul 20th 2006 2:45PM]

Cereal Killer, despite your limited prescience involving your next meal, if you had eaten Special K all your life, you would so be the Kwisatz Haderach by now.

[Drew @ Jul 20th 2006 6:12PM]

Reminds me of the movie, Lawnmower Man.