The human interest in the paranormal can be witnessed through the widespread success of such themes in the media including books, television, and movies. People just cannot resist watching even a completely fictional take on the paranormal. There are countless movies featuring direct references of theme variations on tarot cards and ouija boards that only make the argument stronger. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the social acceptance of items that were once consider taboo and now sold as children's toys. However, due to this over exposure in the media the true essence and origin of extra sensory perception (ESP) has been forgotten by most people. The technical definition of ESP says that it is, "the ability to acquire information by means other than the five canonical senses (taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing), or any other sense well-known to science (balance, proprioception, etc)".
ESP has a long presence in history and was known long before it became a pop-culture phenomenon like it is today. A study of different cultures, especially Egyptian and Chinese, reveals that these people did not consider ESP to something special. It was almost a given that everyone ought to be able to speak to god, or dead people, or simply other spirits. Of course, these beliefs had to be abandoned over time as the science movement gained popularity and all over the world every belief was viewed as a potentially superstitious bit of nonsense.
Modern science is more open to the thought of such abilities of the human mind and there is an increasing number of paranormal scientists who, through experiment they conducted, found themselves amazed that something very much like ESP seems to be happening with certain individuals. Paranormal studies and tests conducted are now showing strong evidence that so-called psychics are able to describe the contents of sealed envelopes and some of them successfully replicated the drawings of other individuals in other remote locations while the other person was still drawing the image. Parapsychology was earlier restricted to a few members but has increased in both credibility as well as the number of people are beginning to accept its legitimacy.
There is a great deal in common between the various psychic readings and the ESP effects of clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition. Telepathy is well known as the means by which people can communicate with more than one person at a time without speaking or using any of the normal senses. It is direct transmission and reception of thoughts across the minds of the people involved, a kind of psychic telephone.
Clairvoyance is what is also known as the sixth sense or the second sight. Either term implies that things are seen that are not visible to the eyes and felt that cannot be perceived by any of the regular five senses. The person with this ability can perceive events that might be in the past, present, or future, taking place in a completely unknown location, and with absolutely no type of foreknowledge that would lead to such a perception.
