Negative ESP
Some people who take ESP tests score so badly that ESP researchers have theorized that their low scores can't be attributable to chance alone. These low-scorers must be using "Negative ESP' to avoid getting correct answers.
This phenomenon is also known as "psi-missing." You can find a discussion of it in the Introduction to Parapsychology textbook.
I realize now that this must be why I manage to ALWAYS pick the slowest checkout line at the grocery store. It's not bad luck. I've got Negative ESP!
This phenomenon is also known as "psi-missing." You can find a discussion of it in the Introduction to Parapsychology textbook.
I realize now that this must be why I manage to ALWAYS pick the slowest checkout line at the grocery store. It's not bad luck. I've got Negative ESP!
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jan 19, 1972
Comments
83.74% of all facts are made up on the spot and 16.26% of all facts are made up to support getting a gubment grant.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 05/11/16 at 10:19 AM
Maybe negative ESP is how one calls up reverse geomagnetism.
Posted by Virtual on 05/11/16 at 11:44 AM
Perhaps Dr. Peter Venkman would be more qualified to answer the question.
Posted by KDP on 05/11/16 at 11:48 AM
Well golly gee! Someone done figured out that variations in random chance sometimes sometimes dip below the mean, as well as rise above it.
No evidence of ESP here, just some clod having a slight epiphany about the law of averages.
No evidence of ESP here, just some clod having a slight epiphany about the law of averages.
Posted by Captain DaFt on 05/11/16 at 09:00 PM
I have the same luck picking checkout lines as you, Alex. I often tell friends that if they ever see me in any kind of checkout line, immediately choose another, because inevitably, someone in front of me will have a problem that brings the line to a halt. To make things worse, there will already be someone behind me so I can't just go to a different line, which wouldn't help anyway, because then that line will grind to a halt. The funniest thing is that when I finally do get to checkout, it usually takes me less than 30 seconds to do my own purchase, with the longest part of it waiting for the card scanner to contact its network and authorize my card. I do use self-checkout where it's available, unless I have coupons I've printed myself, which frequently require a store associate to input some mysterious code to make them work.
Posted by Fritz G on 05/12/16 at 08:26 AM
This so-called negative ESP might simply be positive ESP combined with poor self-confidence. A study (I forgot which) showed that you could test the self-esteem of student with a IQ test, by comparing his test results fifteen minutes and two hours after beginning the test. The students with low self-esteem will change their answers from right to wrong during the extra imparted time. The phenomenon looks the same; person guesses a card, person thinks it cannot be the right one since he/she guessed it him/herself, person gives another result, thus confirming the poor image of him/herself he/she has. That would also explain the poor results in their business ventures, since people tend to have more confidence in a person who is self-confident.
Posted by Yudith on 05/12/16 at 12:53 PM
well this pretty much explains this year's NCAA basketball bracket.
Posted by GFinKS on 05/12/16 at 01:50 PM
Mack Reynolds' short story "Prone" (1954) tells about a person surrounded by negativity.
People who believe anything is truly random simply don't understand all the forces involved.
People who believe anything is truly random simply don't understand all the forces involved.
Posted by Phideaux on 05/12/16 at 03:27 PM
Yes, I have Negative ESP. I am POSITIVE that I can feel the negative thoughts emanating through the walls from one room to another in this house.
Posted by Greg on 05/13/16 at 02:14 PM
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Category: Paranormal | Psychology