Telepathy?

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 05:27 PM

Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous telepathic communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

jasonpatterson · 6th May 2012, 05:31 PM

Just to be clear, your idea is that because all evidence shows that the universe has rules that prohibit faster than light travel, our only recourse for communication with distant listeners is to violate those laws with magic?

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 06:19 PM

Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

ehcks · 6th May 2012, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

I'm gonna go with magic.

Gord_in_Toronto · 6th May 2012, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

There is no evidence that telepathy exists. First things first.

aggle-rithm · 6th May 2012, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

If it's not magic, then it would obey physical laws, and so there would be no way it could be used to get around the universal speed limit. You'd be better off using radio.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous telepathic communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

How would telepathic communication occur faster than the speed of light?

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 07:13 PM

Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye.
Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye.
Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

And perhaps there's an invisible pink unicorn hiding out in my garage.

No. This is fantasy. You're postulating ideas that go completely against what science knows, and likely without any evidence whatsoever.

Utter nonsense.

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by AdMan

..You're postulating ideas that go completely against what science knows..

Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist?

Gord_in_Toronto · 6th May 2012, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye.
Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

Or, then again, maybe not.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist?

Let's start by defining telepathy, shall we? What is it, and what is the evidence for it?

fuelair · 6th May 2012, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

neither. It is a fictional mode of communication which does not exist in the real world. And just a friendly as you might actually be interested in these questions you are bringing up. You might want to just look around in here for a while. Examine other's posts in the topic areas you are interested in and consider how different ones are taken by the membership. You are not, at this point making a good impression. This does not bode well for your future here. Hopefully that can and will improve.*

*This is not a great place to pop out with any random thought that comes into your head. Thinking is a skill that must be practiced.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by fuelair

You might want to just look around in here for a while. Examine other's posts in the topic areas you are interested in and consider how different ones are taken by the membership. You are not, at this point making a good impression. This does not bode well for your future here. Hopefully that can and will improve.*

*This is not a great place to pop out with any random thought that comes into your head. Thinking is a skill that must be practiced.

This is good advice. Johnny Brant, I suggest you take it.

fuelair · 6th May 2012, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist?

You are not going to like this, but: we do not like to say that science knows things. Scientists tend to, but.... AND science does not say "x does not exist", it says "no evidence of any kind for the existence of X has been found to exist". To non-scientists, these apparently seem to mean the same thing. They do not and scientists know the difference. With no offence, you need to learn that difference.

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by fuelair

You are not, at this point making a good impression..

I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?..

Gord_in_Toronto · 6th May 2012, 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by AdMan

This is good advice. Johnny Brant, I suggest you take it.

And if you want speculation, read some science fiction. People much smarter than some of us here have worked out all sorts of interesting scenarios.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?..

No, I'd say you're fantasizing.

Which is OK, as long as you admit that's all it is.

Johnny Brant · 6th May 2012, 07:54 PM

This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here?
If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum..

(PS how do i get an avatar, i want to display my famous "hooded monk" avatar that's renowned throughout internetland)

Gord_in_Toronto · 6th May 2012, 08:00 PM

First Rule of Internet Posting (when joining a new froup) -- before posting, lurk. Second Rule -- lurk some more.

AdMan · 6th May 2012, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here?
If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum..

Who are you responding to? Use the Quote button (bottom right in each post) if you don't want to confuse people.

And, yes, I also suggest you lurk for a while.

fuelair · 6th May 2012, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here?
If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum..

(PS how do i get an avatar, i want to display my famous "hooded monk" avatar that's renowned throughout internetland)

We are discussing them - you are just not happy with how. You want a discussion that must assume telepathy is real. There is ZERO evidence for it being real, so discussion is limited to that point.

We do not randomly discuss , for example, "what would it be like if ghosts were all around us and we could see them faintly!" because that does not lead to any intelligent thinking or bring up any new knowledge to any of us. It is more the type of question, as is the OP, that an aspiring Science Fiction author without much knowledge or skill might throw out fishing for free story ideas (which would be worth roughtly their cost).

And again, if you read some of the threads in science, you would hopefully see many good - and some bad- examples.

RobDegraves · 6th May 2012, 08:46 PM

I have to agree with fuelair.

To begin with, I'm wondering if you might just be trolling. In which case... it's boring.

Secondly... it's a skeptic's forum. Maybe the name could be a clue.

Brian-M · 6th May 2012, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous telepathic communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

Hmmm.... There are two possibilities here.

1. Telepathy has a basis in real-world physics, in which case instantaneous communication would be possible without telepathy by building communications devices that utilize the same physics underlying telepathy.

2. Telepathy has no basis in real-world physics, in which case it is a make-believe magical ability which cannot be used for genuine communication with anyone.

Either way, telepathy would not be the "only viable option". In the first case it is not the only option, while in the second case it is not a viable option.

Mojo · 7th May 2012, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous telepathic communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

Or maybe telepathy is actually slower than light. Since it has never been observed there is no way you can know how fast it is.

paiute · 7th May 2012, 04:32 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous telepathic communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

Maybe the Earth is not populated with humans at all. Maybe we are just telepathic constructs hosting the remote intelligences of various alien species around the universe who project here. The Earth is a kind of Disneyland where higher beings can hang out and fight in wars, drive drunk, treat other projections badly, etc. You know - the kind of behavior which is not even known, much less tolerated, on your real planet.

Beerina · 7th May 2012, 04:50 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye.
Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

Perhaps. I would like some evidence it even exists.

Mojo · 7th May 2012, 05:57 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye.

Maybe thought waves travel really slowly, and take several hundred thousand years to travel even as far as the outside of the subject's skull. This would explain why telepathy has not yet been observed.

Quote:

Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

Perhaps the reason we don't receive thought waves from aliens is that they travel too slowly for them to have reached us yet.

Or perhaps there is no such thing as telepathy.

What would Occam do?

jadebox · 7th May 2012, 06:47 AM

If there was a way to send a communication faster than light (such as they are apparently able to do in the Star Trek universe), you could send a message to yourself and receive it before you sent it! Kirk should be able to avoid trouble by warning himself of it.

-- Roger

Doubt · 7th May 2012, 06:52 AM

That which is instantaneous is not a wave.

MNBrant · 7th May 2012, 11:20 AM

They are showing previews about it right now. its called Host and is being put out but the twilight author. Your not telepathing unless you have some bug that makes you telepathic.

AgeGap · 7th May 2012, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mojo

What would Occam do?

Is this a trick question. Would he be able to contact the aliens for us?

The only way to find out if telepathy exists is to have a forum poll. I am getting an instantaneous telepathic message from Planet X and its telling me to vote 'yes'.

gentlehorse · 8th May 2012, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?..

Let's say that telepathy may be possible. As there exists no compelling evidence that it is, there is no reason to think that it is.

Is that open-minded enough?

LarianLeQuella · 9th May 2012, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny Brant

I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?..

At the risk of channeling Richard Feynman (or all the others who have also had this attributed to them):

I think you are being so open minded your brain fell out.

rcfieldz · 12th May 2012, 08:38 AM

Contact with Jodie Foster... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/

maggot9779 · 12th May 2012, 09:00 AM

As far as i'm aware, thoughts can only be as fast as the neurons that fire, which is a hell of a lot slower than the speed of light.

Although you haven't really explained what telepathy is supposed to be or how it is supposed to work.

Mouldy Cheeses · 12th May 2012, 08:30 PM

What the use of telepathy when the majority of the intended recipients do not possess working receivers between their ears?

MNBrant · 13th May 2012, 08:04 PM

Is chess telepathy? I mean a good chess player has guessed your next move two or three places.

AdMan · 13th May 2012, 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by MNBrant

Is chess telepathy? I mean a good chess player has guessed your next move two or three places.

No; that is someone who knows chess strategy and who's experienced at the game and can foresee moves. It has absolutely nothing to do with telepathy.

Bill Thompson 75 · 7th June 2012, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by AdMan

How would telepathic communication occur faster than the speed of light?

Doesn't the faster-than-the-speed-of-light barrier only apply to objects with mass?

Given the following from Space.com:

"Dark energy is the name given to an unexplained force that is drawing galaxies away from each other, against the pull of gravity, at an accelerated pace.
Dark energy is a bit like anti-gravity. Where gravity pulls things together at the more local level, dark energy tugs them apart on the grander scale.
Its existence isn't proven, but dark energy is many scientists' best guess to explain the confusing observation that the universe's expansion is speeding up. Experts still don't know what's driving this force, but the quest to learn more about dark energy is one of cosmologists' top priorities."

What is the difference between dark energy and telepathic energy?

6th May 2012, 05:27 PM	#1
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	Telepathy? Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous *telepathic* communication between humans and aliens the only viable option?

6th May 2012, 05:31 PM	#2
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,180	Just to be clear, your idea is that because all evidence shows that the universe has rules that prohibit faster than light travel, our only recourse for communication with distant listeners is to violate those laws with magic?
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

6th May 2012, 06:21 PM	#4
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,693	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have? I'm gonna go with magic.
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,693	__________________ Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

6th May 2012, 06:22 PM	#5
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,416	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have? There is no evidence that telepathy exists. First things first.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

6th May 2012, 06:28 PM	#6
aggle-rithm Ardent Formulist Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 14,150	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have? If it's not magic, then it would obey physical laws, and so there would be no way it could be used to get around the universal speed limit. You'd be better off using radio.
	__________________ To understand recursion, you must first understand recursion. Woo's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be adequately explained by aliens.

6th May 2012, 06:19 PM	#3
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have?

6th May 2012, 06:41 PM	#7
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous *telepathic* communication between humans and aliens the only viable option? How would telepathic communication occur faster than the speed of light?
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 07:13 PM	#8
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye. Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how.

6th May 2012, 07:25 PM	#9
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye. Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how. And perhaps there's an invisible pink unicorn hiding out in my garage. No. This is fantasy. You're postulating ideas that go completely against what science knows, and likely without any evidence whatsoever. Utter nonsense.
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 07:29 PM	#10
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	Originally Posted by AdMan ..You're postulating ideas that go completely against what science knows.. Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist?

6th May 2012, 07:30 PM	#11
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,416	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye. Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how. Or, then again, maybe not.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

6th May 2012, 07:32 PM	#12
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist? Let's start by defining telepathy, shall we? What is it, and what is the evidence for it?
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 07:38 PM	#13
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Is telepathy magic or simply an undeveloped ability that we all have? neither. It is a fictional mode of communication which does not exist in the real world. And just a friendly as you might actually be interested in these questions you are bringing up. You might want to just look around in here for a while. Examine other's posts in the topic areas you are interested in and consider how different ones are taken by the membership. You are not, at this point making a good impression. This does not bode well for your future here. Hopefully that can and will improve.* *This is not a great place to pop out with any random thought that comes into your head. Thinking is a skill that must be practiced.
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	__________________ There is no problem so great that it cannot be fixed by small explosives carefully placed. Wash this space! We fight for the Lady Babylon!!!

6th May 2012, 07:42 PM	#14
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by fuelair You might want to just look around in here for a while. Examine other's posts in the topic areas you are interested in and consider how different ones are taken by the membership. You are not, at this point making a good impression. This does not bode well for your future here. Hopefully that can and will improve.* *This is not a great place to pop out with any random thought that comes into your head. Thinking is a skill that must be practiced. This is good advice. Johnny Brant, I suggest you take it.
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 07:43 PM	#15
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Does science know that telepathy doesn't exist? You are not going to like this, but: we do not like to say that science knows things. Scientists tend to, but.... AND science does not say "x does not exist", it says "no evidence of any kind for the existence of X has been found to exist". To non-scientists, these apparently seem to mean the same thing. They do not and scientists know the difference. With no offence, you need to learn that difference.
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	__________________ There is no problem so great that it cannot be fixed by small explosives carefully placed. Wash this space! We fight for the Lady Babylon!!!

6th May 2012, 07:49 PM	#16
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	Originally Posted by fuelair You are not, at this point making a good impression.. I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?..

6th May 2012, 07:50 PM	#17
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,416	Originally Posted by AdMan This is good advice. Johnny Brant, I suggest you take it. And if you want speculation, read some science fiction. People much smarter than some of us here have worked out all sorts of interesting scenarios.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

6th May 2012, 07:51 PM	#18
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?.. No, I'd say you're fantasizing. Which is OK, as long as you admit that's all it is.
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 07:54 PM	#19
Johnny Brant Suspended Join Date: May 2012 Location: England Posts: 52	This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here? If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum.. (PS how do i get an avatar, i want to display my famous "hooded monk" avatar that's renowned throughout internetland)
	Last edited by Johnny Brant; 6th May 2012 at 07:56 PM.

6th May 2012, 08:00 PM	#20
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,416	First Rule of Internet Posting (when joining a new froup) -- before posting, lurk. Second Rule -- lurk some more.
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

6th May 2012, 08:00 PM	#21
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here? If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum.. Who are you responding to? Use the Quote button (bottom right in each post) if you don't want to confuse people. And, yes, I also suggest you lurk for a while.
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,169	__________________ It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

6th May 2012, 08:10 PM	#22
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant This is a discussion forum, so if you don't want to discuss anything, what on earth are you doing here? If everybody was shy of discussion there wouldn't be a JREF forum.. (PS how do i get an avatar, i want to display my famous "hooded monk" avatar that's renowned throughout internetland) We are discussing them - you are just not happy with how. You want a discussion that must assume telepathy is real. There is ZERO evidence for it being real, so discussion is limited to that point. We do not randomly discuss , for example, "what would it be like if ghosts were all around us and we could see them faintly!" because that does not lead to any intelligent thinking or bring up any new knowledge to any of us. It is more the type of question, as is the OP, that an aspiring Science Fiction author without much knowledge or skill might throw out fishing for free story ideas (which would be worth roughtly their cost). And again, if you read some of the threads in science, you would hopefully see many good - and some bad- examples.
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,932	__________________ There is no problem so great that it cannot be fixed by small explosives carefully placed. Wash this space! We fight for the Lady Babylon!!!

6th May 2012, 08:46 PM	#23
RobDegraves Muse Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 787	I have to agree with fuelair. To begin with, I'm wondering if you might just be trolling. In which case... it's boring. Secondly... it's a skeptic's forum. Maybe the name could be a clue.
RobDegraves Muse Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 787

6th May 2012, 09:04 PM	#24
Brian-M Daydreamer Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Downunder Posts: 4,264	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous *telepathic* communication between humans and aliens the only viable option? Hmmm.... There are two possibilities here. 1. Telepathy has a basis in real-world physics, in which case instantaneous communication would be possible without telepathy by building communications devices that utilize the same physics underlying telepathy. 2. Telepathy has no basis in real-world physics, in which case it is a make-believe magical ability which cannot be used for genuine communication with anyone. Either way, telepathy would not be the "only viable option". In the first case it is not the only option, while in the second case it is not a viable option.
	__________________ "That is just what you feel, that isn't reality." - hamelekim Last edited by Brian-M; 6th May 2012 at 09:05 PM.

7th May 2012, 02:20 AM	#25
Mojo Mostly harmless Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Nor Flanden Posts: 22,089	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous *telepathic* communication between humans and aliens the only viable option? Or maybe telepathy is actually slower than light. Since it has never been observed there is no way you can know how fast it is.
	__________________ "You got to use your brain." - McKinley Morganfield "The poor mystic homeopaths feel like petted house-cats thrown at high flood on the breaking ice." - Leon Trotsky

7th May 2012, 04:32 AM	#26
paiute Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Smack in the middle of a de Broglie wavelength. Posts: 1,140	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe the immense size of the universe and its light-speed barrier makes instantaneous *telepathic* communication between humans and aliens the only viable option? Maybe the Earth is not populated with humans at all. Maybe we are just telepathic constructs hosting the remote intelligences of various alien species around the universe who project here. The Earth is a kind of Disneyland where higher beings can hang out and fight in wars, drive drunk, treat other projections badly, etc. You know - the kind of behavior which is not even known, much less tolerated, on your real planet.
	__________________ A Novel and Efficient Synthesis of Cadaverine Organic chemistry, vengeful ghosts, and high explosives. What could possibly go wrong? Now free for download! http://www.scribd.com/doc/36568510/A...-of-Cadaverine

7th May 2012, 04:50 AM	#27
Beerina Sarcastic Conqueror of Notions Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: A floating island above the clouds Posts: 23,835	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye. Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how. Perhaps. I would like some evidence it even exists.
	__________________ "Great innovations should not be forced [by way of] slender majorities." - Thomas Jefferson The government should nationalize it! Socialized, single-payer video game development and sales *now!* More, cheaper, better games, right? Right?

7th May 2012, 05:57 AM	#28
Mojo Mostly harmless Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Nor Flanden Posts: 22,089	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant Maybe thought waves are instantaneous, travelling across the universe faster than the blink of an eye. Maybe thought waves travel really slowly, and take several hundred thousand years to travel even as far as the outside of the subject's skull. This would explain why telepathy has not yet been observed. Quote: Perhaps aliens can do it, but we haven't yet learnt how. Perhaps the reason we don't receive thought waves from aliens is that they travel too slowly for them to have reached us yet. Or perhaps there is no such thing as telepathy. What would Occam do?
	__________________ "You got to use your brain." - McKinley Morganfield "The poor mystic homeopaths feel like petted house-cats thrown at high flood on the breaking ice." - Leon Trotsky

7th May 2012, 06:47 AM	#29
jadebox Muse Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Oviedo, FL Posts: 904	If there was a way to send a communication faster than light (such as they are apparently able to do in the Star Trek universe), you could send a message to yourself and receive it before you sent it! Kirk should be able to avoid trouble by warning himself of it. -- Roger
	__________________ "Everyone should own a little jade box." - Harry Nilsson

7th May 2012, 06:52 AM	#30
Doubt Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 5,445	That which is instantaneous is not a wave.
Doubt Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 5,445	__________________ Doubt world tour locations: Mostly home for now. No international travel scheduled other than the Galapagos trip in March. Disclaimer: Not a high energy scientist!

7th May 2012, 11:20 AM	#31
MNBrant Master Poster Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,160	They are showing previews about it right now. its called Host and is being put out but the twilight author. Your not telepathing unless you have some bug that makes you telepathic.
MNBrant Master Poster Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,160

7th May 2012, 02:26 PM	#32
AgeGap Master Poster Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: St.Helens, UK Posts: 2,386	Originally Posted by Mojo What would Occam do? Is this a trick question. Would he be able to contact the aliens for us? The only way to find out if telepathy exists is to have a forum poll. I am getting an instantaneous telepathic message from Planet X and its telling me to vote 'yes'.

8th May 2012, 06:37 PM	#33
gentlehorse generally confused Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,131	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?.. Let's say that telepathy may be possible. As there exists no compelling evidence that it is, there is no reason to think that it is. Is that open-minded enough?
	__________________ "Oh Holy gravity, the mother of all powers, what you do to us, the children of the stars" pillory "How can the third-person requirements of the scientific method be reconciled with the first-person nature of consciousness?" Win

9th May 2012, 08:34 AM	#34
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: 3rd Rock from the Sun Posts: 1,995	Originally Posted by Johnny Brant I'm open-mindedly discussing the possibility of telepathy, are you?.. At the risk of channeling Richard Feynman (or all the others who have also had this attributed to them): I think you are being so open minded your brain fell out.
	__________________ My crappy blog that no one should be forced to read. Ever... But I like traffic and comments, so have at it if you please. Larian LeQuella Armyn ab Treanid

12th May 2012, 08:38 AM	#35
rcfieldz Muse Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 819	like this perhaps? Contact with Jodie Foster... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/
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