Psychic Power - Is It Possible?

[SolidSamurai]

The movie 'The Fury' had it pretty detailed. Is psychic power possible? In any way whatsoever? Will it ever happen?

Will technology allow us to find the answer: in maybe a thousand years? In a hundred thousand years?

Let's hear your opinion.

[uberfoop]

You can certainly read mental activity to control a device which does stuff depending on what your brain is doing. But as far as your brain directly carrying out stuff, that's like having a toaster shoot some kind of non-line-of-site laser beams or something.

[TheBB]

The movie 'The Fury' had it pretty detailed. Is psychic power possible? In any way whatsoever? Will it ever happen?

It's either happening right now, or it won't ever.

Will technology allow us to find the answer: in maybe a thousand years? In a hundred thousand years?

Yes.

[SolidSamurai]

How? Debate! Fuel the debate! More dogs! *tosses more dogs into furnace*

[ecyor0]

Possible? Yes. Happening right now? Weeellll you'd have a hard time convincing the sceptics.

Depends what you mean by psychic powers. If you mean any action or effect caused as a direct result of mental effort (instructing your hand to do something is indirect) then that's already done - research involving sticking an electrode in the top of the brain so you can move a mouse pointer around on the screen (very useful for paraplegics).
And I would argue that manipulation (reading people's emotional state and then doing/saying the right things to elict the response you want) is a crude form of mind control - abusive husbands dominating their wives into not telling anyone and whatnot.

I remember I made a thread in the starcraft forum a while back speculating how a psychic/psionic ability like that of the protoss might develop. Might still be there, hidden back a page or two..... Edit: dang, its dropped off the bottom....

[GenocideAlive]

How? Debate! Fuel the debate! More dogs! *tosses more dogs into furnace*
...um, epic fail.