Psychic

Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. Psychic powers are asserted by psychic detectives and in practices such as psychic archaeology and even psychic surgery. Critics attribute psychic powers to intentional trickery or to self-delusion. National Academy of Sciences gave a report on the subject and concluded there is "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena". Attempts to repeat the results, which involved performance on a memory test to ascertain if post-test information would affect it, "failed to produce significant effects" and thus "do not support the existence of psychic ability" of this kind. Psychics are sometimes featured in science fiction and fantasy fiction. Examples of fiction featuring characters with psychic powers include the Star Wars franchise, which features "Force-sensitive" beings who can see into the future and move objects telekinetically, along with Dungeons & Dragons and some of the works of Stephen King, amongst many others. The word "psychic" is derived from the Greek word psychikos , and refers in part to the human mind or psyche . In Greek mythology, the maiden Psyche was the deification of the human soul. The word derivation of the Latin ps?ch? is from the Greek ps?ch?, literally "breath", derivative of ps??chein, to breathe or to blow . French astronomer and spiritualist Camille Flammarion is credited as having first used the word psychic, while it was later introduced to the English language by Edward William Cox in the 1870s. Elaborate systems of divination and fortune-telling date back to ancient times. Some fortune-tellers were said to be able to make predictions without the use of these elaborate systems , through some sort of direct apprehension or vision of the future. People were known as seers or prophets, and in later times as clairvoyants and psychics. Seers formed a functionary role in early civilization, often serving as advisors, priests, and judges. The book of 1 Samuel illustrates one such functionary task when Samuel is asked to find the donkeys of the future king Saul.