Journal’s Paper on ESP Expected to Spark Outrage

The scientific community has its panties in a twist because The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is publishing a paper presenting evidence for ESP. That's the modern-day scientific method: don't examine evidence and attempt to prove or disprove the researchers' conclusions. Instead, ban certain topics from being investigated, while ridiculing any colleagues brave (or foolish) enough to stray off the reservation.

One of psychology’s most respected journals has agreed to publish a paper presenting what its author describes as strong evidence for extrasensory perception, the ability to sense future events.

The decision may delight believers in so-called paranormal events, but it is already mortifying scientists. Advance copies of the paper, to be published this year in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, have circulated widely among psychological researchers in recent weeks and have generated a mixture of amusement and scorn. Read more