How did you become so sure that psi isn’t real? If I were to write a parallel article about how atomic physics is the control group for science because I’m pretty sure atoms aren’t real, what asymmetry would there be between the two articles?
Experiments have demonstrated that the universe runs on math. Our understanding of which math this is has been changing over time, but the technical descriptions have been getting shorter, short enough that we don’t expect minds to play a fundamental role. The minds we know must apparently process information by complex interaction of simple parts, as computers do. Such interaction cannot introduce new sensorimotor capabilities.
A simpler explanation of where psi beliefs come from is that the powers it grants run on expectation becoming reality, which is just the sort of power you unlock in a dream. The brain tries to keep such experiences from leaking into memory, but this mechanism isn’t perfect. If you ever observe psi plain as day, expect that you’re in a dream.
short enough that we don’t expect minds to play a fundamental role.
Why would minds need to play a fundamental role in how the universe works for psi to be real? Somebody who has never seen a radio might protest that they are too big to be fundamental to reality, but it wouldn’t matter: radios do work. Of course, it turns out that the part of a radio that invisibly communicates with other pieces of technology at a distance of several miles is tiny and mathematically simple. But then, couldn’t there be a similar explanation for psi?
This argument holds a lot more water for some types of psi than for others. Humans being able to read other humans’ thoughts at a very low resolution seems semi-plausible to me; humans being able to lift objects off the ground without touching them seems much less plausible. There is a gap in my knowledge that affects the mind-reading comment, though: I have no idea how sure we are that we’ve identified all of the different signals-that-can-be-sent-through-the-air (like sound waves and radio waves).
I don’t think the “dream” explanation covers much ground. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that most believers in psi came to believe in it after having a real experience (even if that experience didn’t actually justify believing in psi).
Such empathic abilities as detecting by smell whether another being is in heat do exist, I suppose. With some stretching, we can even imagine that all human brains represent the same concepts the same way, and neural patterns create some aetheric pertubation that can resonate in another brain at global distance.
I keep getting psi powers when I’m dreaming, even though I am culturally more exposed to other magic systems. Slow forward upright flight, telekinesis with somatic components, and similar reality warping. Not usually deliberate extrasensory abilities, but dreams are sure known for giving you knowledge without telling you where it came from.
How did you become so sure that psi isn’t real? If I were to write a parallel article about how atomic physics is the control group for science because I’m pretty sure atoms aren’t real, what asymmetry would there be between the two articles?
Experiments have demonstrated that the universe runs on math. Our understanding of which math this is has been changing over time, but the technical descriptions have been getting shorter, short enough that we don’t expect minds to play a fundamental role. The minds we know must apparently process information by complex interaction of simple parts, as computers do. Such interaction cannot introduce new sensorimotor capabilities.
A simpler explanation of where psi beliefs come from is that the powers it grants run on expectation becoming reality, which is just the sort of power you unlock in a dream. The brain tries to keep such experiences from leaking into memory, but this mechanism isn’t perfect. If you ever observe psi plain as day, expect that you’re in a dream.
Why would minds need to play a fundamental role in how the universe works for psi to be real? Somebody who has never seen a radio might protest that they are too big to be fundamental to reality, but it wouldn’t matter: radios do work. Of course, it turns out that the part of a radio that invisibly communicates with other pieces of technology at a distance of several miles is tiny and mathematically simple. But then, couldn’t there be a similar explanation for psi?
This argument holds a lot more water for some types of psi than for others. Humans being able to read other humans’ thoughts at a very low resolution seems semi-plausible to me; humans being able to lift objects off the ground without touching them seems much less plausible. There is a gap in my knowledge that affects the mind-reading comment, though: I have no idea how sure we are that we’ve identified all of the different signals-that-can-be-sent-through-the-air (like sound waves and radio waves).
I don’t think the “dream” explanation covers much ground. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that most believers in psi came to believe in it after having a real experience (even if that experience didn’t actually justify believing in psi).
Such empathic abilities as detecting by smell whether another being is in heat do exist, I suppose. With some stretching, we can even imagine that all human brains represent the same concepts the same way, and neural patterns create some aetheric pertubation that can resonate in another brain at global distance.
I keep getting psi powers when I’m dreaming, even though I am culturally more exposed to other magic systems. Slow forward upright flight, telekinesis with somatic components, and similar reality warping. Not usually deliberate extrasensory abilities, but dreams are sure known for giving you knowledge without telling you where it came from.