I apologize. It appears as though I have been harping a lot on religion lately. Maybe that’s because I’m reading “God is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens. It would be awesome to see him at TAM. But let’s discuss something else. How about some more about psychic abilities? I was telling my step father about how I’m quite certain that there are no people out there that are psychic. I cited the fact that Randi’s million remains unclaimed along with the many other challenges that offer monetary prizes. He disagreed and said that he still believes that there are psychics out there but that they are few and far between and that they prefer to remain hidden. Now if they are hidden, I’m not sure how he knows about them but I guess he just does.
So I asked him why these folks would prefer to remain anonymous. After all there is a lot of fame and fortune involved in letting the world know they exist. Not to mention the fact that they are selfishly hoarding a power that could help millions. He asked me if I would go public if I discovered that I had had psychic powers. I told him that the first thing I would do would be to win the MDC and then I would move someplace nice and hot. I would also spend much of my time finding missing children and solving crimes. Yeah, I know I said that I hated that but we are assuming that I ACTUALLY am psychic not just deluded.
But according to my step dad, that would be a very bad idea. He said that there once was a “real” psychic who called the police and informed them that she knew where the body of a murder victim lay. This was a case that had few leads and was far from being solvable. But this psychic lead them right to the body and was promptly arrested and jailed for four years. Whether or not this actually happened, I have no idea as my step dad was unable to recall the exact details of the case or even where he heard about it. I think it was just something he saw on TV. So it must be true. Regardless, he thinks that this happened and that’s good enough for him to believe that psychics coming out of the closet would be a mistake on their part. He also cites that those with extraordinary powers would likely also be dissected, studied and feared just like you see on the movies. I recall the movie “Jumper” where the lead character and a few others like him could instantly teleport from one place to another place just by looking at a picture. Now THAT would be way cool. He had to remain hidden though as he was being hunted by not only the police but also by a group of people who had decided that his powers were unnatural and therefore an abomination in the eyes of god. I know it’s just a movie but I can see my step father’s objections.
So there’s something to think about. If you did suddenly develop a super power, would you reveal yourself to the world or keep it a secret?
So I asked him why these folks would prefer to remain anonymous. After all there is a lot of fame and fortune involved in letting the world know they exist. Not to mention the fact that they are selfishly hoarding a power that could help millions. He asked me if I would go public if I discovered that I had had psychic powers. I told him that the first thing I would do would be to win the MDC and then I would move someplace nice and hot. I would also spend much of my time finding missing children and solving crimes. Yeah, I know I said that I hated that but we are assuming that I ACTUALLY am psychic not just deluded.
But according to my step dad, that would be a very bad idea. He said that there once was a “real” psychic who called the police and informed them that she knew where the body of a murder victim lay. This was a case that had few leads and was far from being solvable. But this psychic lead them right to the body and was promptly arrested and jailed for four years. Whether or not this actually happened, I have no idea as my step dad was unable to recall the exact details of the case or even where he heard about it. I think it was just something he saw on TV. So it must be true. Regardless, he thinks that this happened and that’s good enough for him to believe that psychics coming out of the closet would be a mistake on their part. He also cites that those with extraordinary powers would likely also be dissected, studied and feared just like you see on the movies. I recall the movie “Jumper” where the lead character and a few others like him could instantly teleport from one place to another place just by looking at a picture. Now THAT would be way cool. He had to remain hidden though as he was being hunted by not only the police but also by a group of people who had decided that his powers were unnatural and therefore an abomination in the eyes of god. I know it’s just a movie but I can see my step father’s objections.
So there’s something to think about. If you did suddenly develop a super power, would you reveal yourself to the world or keep it a secret?
Comments
We are nowhere near as superstitious as we once were the witch-trials are behind us. There was never any real evidence that any witches actually had powers, they were scapegoats for a more fearfully credulous public of an earlier time.
If I had superpowers (actually, I do have a super power - somehow I always get in the fastest line up at the grocery store... or maybe that's confirmation bias) I would ABSOLUTELY tell the world and put and end to the debate about it.
Yeah, maybe there's a slight chance that I'd be locked up in a "super-power proof cell" under the Pentagon, but I find that as implausible as super-powers.
In a modern media age, you could prepare a campaign that would reveal your powers to the world with a relatively high level of evidence in such a way that should you be 'disappeared' it would rock the world - outing yet another skeptical assumption about conspiracies.
Yeah, perhaps it'd be the end for me if I did come forward about my fast-line-up ability, but the impact it would have upon the world would be for the greater good.