

Do psychic powers exist ? Image Credit: YouTube / CarrieNYC

The Society for the Scientific Investigation of Para-Sciences is looking for proof that psychic abilities exist.

Consisting of psychologists, physicists and biologists, the Germany-based group maintains that people who claim to possess psychic abilities should be given the opportunity to prove themselves.Each year, candidates are invited to the University of Wurzburg to demonstrate their talents under laboratory conditions and there is even a prize of $11,700 on offer to anyone who succeeds.So far at least 60 people have taken up the challenge, however despite claiming to possess abilities ranging from telekinesis to telepathy, none have managed to prove that psychic powers exist."We're not here to make people look ridiculous," said researcher Rainer Wolf who oversees the testing. "We just want to show that many such claims are nonsense."Last year, one of the candidates who turned up claimed that he was able to move objects around with his mind. The test he was given involved moving a piece of paper contained inside a glass lid.He spent several hours attempting to move the paper before eventually admitting defeat.According to Rainer, most of the candidates genuinely believe that they possess special powers. In many cases, it is a belief that has been built up over the course of many years.In many ways, the group's research is less about validating the existence of such abilities and more about understanding the psychology behind why people believe they possess them in the first place.