Computer game to test for telepathy

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Computer game tests for telepathy
Don Frame

SCIENTISTS are using computer technology to play mind games in a bid to probe the mysteries of the paranormal. Researchers at Manchester University have created a virtual world to test for evidence of telepathic links between 100 people in what is being described as the most objective study undertaken so far. Volunteer pairs, including best friends, work colleagues and husbands and wives, have spent hours immersed in what appears to be a life-sized computer game, in a new twist to the old Zener card symbol experiment.

Wearing a 3D "helmet" and an electronic glove, they took turns to navigate their way through electronically-generated rooms containing a variety of objects including a telephone, football and umbrella. The "sender" would then attempt to communicate the items they had selected to their partner receiver, who could pick from a variety of objects by opening doors and cupboards in the same virtual world. Over the next few months researchers will painstakingly analyse all the data they have obtained and the results will be contained in scientific papers that should be published by the end of the year.

The experiment is a joint project between the University's School of Computer Science and School of Psychological Sciences. Researcher David Wilde says it has already created keen academic interest. "In the past there have been various pitfalls in any kind of testing for evidence of telepathy, including the possibility of participants being influenced," he said. In the virtual world that has been created we can control everything that is seen and heard during the experiment,which ensures there is absolutely no sensory leakage. Our aim is not to prove or disprove the existence of telepathy, but to create an experimental method which stands up to scientific scrutiny. Many of the volunteers have come from within the university itself. They have ranged from people who are very sceptical about telepathy, to others who believe there may well be something in it. This is the first time such computer technology has been used in this way. We are keeping a completely open mind about what we may find.

"The results could prove fascinating."

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sounds interesting for sure...