According to this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/science/06esp.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all published by the NY Times, ESP is not considered “true” psychology. “The decision may delight believers in so-called paranormal events, but it is already mortifying scientists,” alledges the newspaper. As a scholar of parapsychology (and other occult sciences) I personally believe ESP to be MAINSTREAM psychology. It is one of the most experimented on areas, the military have considered its merits and countless papers have been published on the validity of the science. It is not up to the individual to decide whether ESP is “real” or not, but whether or not humanity can be open minded (excuse the pun) enough to accept it. We, as a species, do find it difficult to find truth in phenomenon we cannot see (mesmerism, telekenesis, telepathy, etc) and tend to require physical proof. I don’t want to have to use such a strong and out of place word as faith, but believers in parapsychology, if we can be called that, do have a certain standing when it comes to defending the less “mainstream” matters of the mind. One cannot help but recall the debates in the 1850s in England concerning mesmerism, especially after the scandals surrounding the O’ Key sisters. It was clear mesmerism had affected the sisters, but were the results due to the metaphysical manifestation of mesmerism, or a psychological placebo effect? One could debate the merits and faslehoods of parapsychology forever, and there will still be differing opinions, regardless of apparent evidence. I, personally, shall watch this debate with interest, and welcome comment from other scientifically minded readers who have an interest in the fringes of normal academic research.

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