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Since the beginning of recorded human history, people worldwide have been fascinated by those perceived to have psychic abilities. Many cultures from all over the world have a long history of rich, traditional folklore with seers, witches, wizards, mediums, shamans, priests, and priestesses. All ancient societies had people who divined the future or interpreted signs, people who were believed to be capable of perceiving or manipulating extrasensory information.

Despite the many answers that modern science can now provide, psychics are still sought out and glorified in today's society. Psychics are often employed in movies, television shows, and bestselling books. Dead-end, cold criminal cases often become psychic jobs after the traditional leads have all panned out. Police departments and detectives often hire psychics for possible extra clues or insights.

Psychic abilities can be very useful for people who need a way to resolve certain issues in their lives, but beware the charlatans who fleece believers of the supernatural. Con artists can be extremely believable and difficult to detect; genuine psychics can be far and few between, so skepticism is encouraged when seeking a psychic.

Parapsychology is the official term for the study of paranormal psychological phenomena and abilities. Psychic abilities can be categorized into groups and then rated for relative strength. Although there is no single psychic ability test, a various number of ESP tests can attempt to measure the strength of certain extrasensory perception skills in people.

When you take a psychic ability test, you will be screened for telepathic abilities, ESP, or psychokinetic powers. Mental telepathy, the facility to read others' thoughts, send them specific thoughts, or control other people's minds, is also checked for in these parapsychology tests. Two or more people are requested to concentrate on various items, and high incidences of answers that coincide suggest the presence of telepathic ability. You have probably heard of telepathy before in popular culture and/or science fiction literature.

Other tests can test for extrasensory perception abilities of clairvoyance, precognition, or remote viewing. Clairvoyance refers to the extrasensory ability to gain information about places or events at remote locations. Precognition refers to the extrasensory ability to know about future places or events before they occur. Remote viewing is similar to clairvoyance since it allows a person to see a place or event occurring without actually being there.

Psychokinetic abilities make up the other group of psychic abilities that are often tested in study situations. Those abilities involve powers of mind over matter. Telekinesis moves objects or projects force using just the mind. Psychokinetic abilities can also control temperature, weather, or electrical energy.