How would Telepathy work?, page 1
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Topic started on 23-12-2005 @ 11:53 PM by Yarium
Assume for a moment that telepathy is possible - even if not amongst the human populace.

In this case, how would it work? What kind of physics/biology exist that could be used to naturally transmit thoughts over a distance to another living entity. How would this impact evolution of that race? How would it change their society?

I think the most down to earth mode would be the creation and distortion of an electromagnetic field around the body. The human body already has such a field (called a HEF - Human Electromagnetic Field ), and it is thought that this is what causes some people to see "auras". This field is created by electricity flowing through our nerves, in the same way that an EM Field is produced by produced by flowing electricity through a wire circuit.

If a race could produce a stronger EM Field, or had senses (ferromagnetic cells perhaps) that could detect this field, or had an array of these senses to detect very minute changes in this field, perhaps that would be one way of transmitting thoughts and feelings. Also, like animals that are probably already using this, changes in an area's magnetic field have been known to signal an imminent geological disaster (like volcanic eruption or earthquake), and many animals try to escape the area. This race would likely have the same survival tendency.

However, these fields are weak, and so long-range communication would likely be impossible (not just due to strength, but also due to other interferance from multiple EM fields). So, from an evolutionary standpoint, some other form of verbal communication would likely be necessary. This could be verbal, but it could also be visual or sommantic (jestures). I believe verbal would be most likely, perhaps because if one is close enough to see visual changes or movements of a fellow being, then they'd probably be close enough to sense their field. Audio could be much further, and doesn't require sight to the friend.

From a cultural perspective, this could mean many things. For one, how much more important would groups be? I'd imagine very important - almost to the point of herds. Could a "chain" be created? If so, could a unifying consciousness also be formed?


As for other possible methods of telepathic communication, perhaps some kind of organic radio? If we can produce it with technology, could evolution do it as well? Such transmitions would probably even be able to be picked up at longer ranges, and might be able to better transmit thoughts that "feeling" disturbances in a field.


Anyone else have any theories?

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By the way, I was just thinking, while typing, about the similarities between human nerves and electric wiring. If, by wrapping a wire into a "spring" and running a running a current through it you can produce a magnetic field, could a species/race evolve low-powered electromagnets? They could then use metallic objects and levitate them towards themselves (though whether such amazing things such as levitation could be done is unsure). That would be interesting to see.


reply posted on 24-12-2005 @ 05:46 AM by Bhadhidar
Yes, the body's EM field (the "B-field", for short) is, in my experience, integral to short range "telepathic" communication. the B-field is capable of detailed, high-precision information transfer in real-time. I've often used it to perform what I call a "med-scan" , a quick eveluation of another person's general physical condition; a technique that I've found to be very useful preliminary to doing any type of healing and/or massage. Disturbances/variations in the B-field can identify musculo-skeletal and even some nurological anomilyes.

As far as the necessity of developing ferrously-based senory organs; I hardly think that would be required, save for the perception of gross changes such as those produced by artificial means (You want to "plug-into" your PC?).

Remember, anything that can produce an electromagnetic field can be influenced by a magnetic field. Whether that influence results in what would be called "communication" depends firstly on whether there is any cogent informatioon contained within the "signal", and secondly, the sensitivity of the "reciever/perceiver" to the information being conveyed.

As to telepathy at a distance, remeber that when we are dealing with the EM spectrum we are not only dealing with the observable, relativistic world at our fingertips; we are also dealing with the "un-oberverable" quantum mechanical worls as well.

A simple, working theory of "telepathy-at-a-distance" most likely involves a form of "information propogation through quantum entanglement of bio-ordered electrons" : although I will admit that I have recently formed a simpler, yet far more bizzare, theory.
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