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PARANORMAL

Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of purported anomalous phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology (Parapsychology Association), the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions." [1] The term is derived from the Latin use of the prefix "para", meaning "against, counter, outside or beyond the norm."

Many see the term paranormal as synonymous with parapsychology, which deals with psychical phenomena like telepathy, ESP, and survival studies like ghosts. However, the paranormal also includes subjects considered to be outside of the scope of parapsychology, including UFOs, cryptozoology, the Bermuda Triangle and many other non-psychical subjects. [2]

Contents

Paranormal Subjects

Although this isn't a complete list, the following are some subjects considered to fall under the term paranormal:[3]

Dowsing. ESP. Precognition. Remote Viewing. Communicating with the Dead and/or "Channeling". Violations of Newton's Laws of Motion (Perpetual motion Devices). Homeopathy. Chiropractic Healing (beyond back/joint problems). Faith Healing. Psychic Surgery. Astrology. Therapeutic Touch (aka "TT"). Qi Gong. Psychokinesis (aka "PK"). The Existence of Ghosts. Precognition & Prophecy. Levitation. Physiognomy. Psychometry. Pyramid Power. Reflexology. Applied Kinesiology. Clairvoyance. The Existence of Auras. Graphology. Numerology. Palmistry. Phrenology.

See also

Perinormal

Perinormal phenomena describes previously unknown forces which at first appeared to be paranormal and were later verified scientifically. The name is derived from the Greek "peri", meaning "in the vicinity of". While paranormal phenomena remains scientifically questionable ("beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation"), perinormal phenomena can eventually be shown, in the words of Richard Dawkins, to be "skeptic-approved".

One significant modern example of a perinormal phenomenon is electromagnetic fields (EMF). At one time EMF was debatable from a scientific perspective but later was proven to be real and is currently accepted by scientific and medical communitities.[citation needed]

Smaller examples of perinormal phenomena include medical oddities which at first may baffle medical professionals, and later turn out to have a mundane cause.

Perinormal external links

Notes

  1. ^ Glossary, The Journal of Parapsychology, Parapsychology Association, accessed August 05, 2006
  2. ^ What is PSI? What Isn't?, Parapsychology Association, accessed August 01, 2006
  3. ^ The JREF Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge "FAQ", James Randi Educational Foundation, accessed August 20, 2006