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A psychic is a person who has the ability to experience extra-sensory perception, such as clairvoyance, psychometry, and precognition, or who has other paranormal abilities such as psychokinesis. The study of such paranormal abilities is called parapsychology. Mediums, like psychics, also say they have extra-sensory abilities but obtain their information from spirits or the deceased.

The sciences of psychology and biology do not recognize the existence of any psychic or other paranormal phenomena. Mentalists like Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but proffering psychological explanations instead of supernatural ones. Specifically, they have identified, described and developed the complex psychological techniques of cold reading and hot reading.

Parapsychological studies

Within the specific discipline of parapsychology, researchers have sometimes drawn conclusions favorable to psychics. For instance, parapsychologists such as Dr. Dean Radin, a leading parapsychological researcher and President of the Parapsychological Association, claims that psychokinetic alteration of the output of random number generators is scientifically well-founded. It should be noted that parapsychology is itself highly controversial, and regarded by many scientists in other fields as a pseudoscience or protoscience.

The term in religious doctrine

The term "psychic" is also featured in many variations of Gnosticism. For a brief treatment of the subject, and how psychics related to pneumatics and hylics in the Gnostic hierarchy, see hylics.

The Bahá'í faith acknowledges the reality of the potential of psychic ability, but characterizes many claims as false. Of the true ability itself, it is suggested that individuals do not seek to develop it as it is said to be an unnatural condition perhaps hurting the development of the soul, and that the natural practice of that ability is a gift from the next world. However there is a distinction made between innate psychic ability and a gift of the Holy Spirit - while the former is to be avoided, the second is to be lauded and the first is often faked while the second is rare and precious. See external links below.

Popular culture

Psychic characters are common in fiction as well. For example, The Dead Zone by Stephen King (and the film and TV series based on it) are about a psychic named Johnny Smith whose abilities are awakened after a car accident.

Psychic is also the name of a song performed by the artist Vanessa Hudgens.

See also

• Parapsychology
• Clairvoyance
• Psychometry
• Cold reading
• Psychic detective
• Remote viewing
• Psychokinesis
• Precognition
• Telepathy
• Psionics
• Dean Radin
• Hylics
• Medium (spirituality)

External links

• The Society for Psychical Research — Founded in 1882 to examine paranormal phenomena in a scientific and unbiased way
• James Randi Educational Foundation — An Educational Resource on the Paranormal, Pseudoscientific, and the Supernatural
• Alternative Science - Criticisms of James Randi's $1 million challenge
• Skeptic's Dictionary — Psychic

References

1. Radin, Dean I. (1997). The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-251502-0.

• Parapsychology
• Pseudoscience