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From: mcgeer%ucbkim%Berkeley@sri-unix.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: psychic predictions
Message-ID: <288@sri-arpa.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 20-Jun-85 14:49:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.288
Posted: Thu Jun 20 14:49:06 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Jun-85 02:59:40 EDT
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From:  Rick McGeer (on an aaa-60-s) <mcgeer%ucbkim@Berkeley>

>It seems to me that ESP would be extroadinarily useful if it existed,
>and therefore that those who couldn't, for example, sense a well-hidden
>tiger with hungry thoughts would have died out, leaving only those
>having ESP behind.  The ability to detect objects at a distance by
>certain other means is so useful that practically everyone has it to a
>considerable degree.  Society is structured for people with this
>ability.   Those who don't have it are called "blind" and receive
>sympathy and sometimes public support It would be as rare for people to
>lack ESP as it is for people to lack sight.  Summarizing, if ESP
>existed at all its owners would have inherited the planet long ago!!!

By the way, it's "premonitions".

Anyway, the skill would only be useful if it was easy to control and was
predictable.  Further, possessors of superior traits do not necessarily
defeat those without; some of the pre-men had larger brains than modern man,
for example.

Now, this doesn't mean that I "believe" in ESP, in any sense at all.  Until
a phenomenon is reliably and consistently observed, it doesn't exist.

						Rick.