Extrasensory Perception (ESP): A Claimed Sixth Sense

Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a "sixth sense," refers to the claimed ability to receive information without using the recognized physical senses, encompassing phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. The term was famously adopted by Duke University botanist J. B. Rhine in the 1930s, who, alongside his wife Louisa, conducted pioneering laboratory experiments using "Zener cards" (featuring symbols like circles, squares, and stars) to test these purported psychic abilities.

However, Rhine's work faced significant academic scrutiny and criticism, with other psychological departments, including Princeton University in 1936, failing to replicate his results. By 1938, his experiments were largely discredited, as critics like psychologist Joseph Jastrow highlighted anecdotal evidence and the discovery of "sensory leakage" or cheating that could explain the outcomes.

Despite later parapsychological efforts in the 1960s using methods like dream telepathy and ganzfeld experiments, ESP, along with concepts like "second sight" (perceiving future or distant events), remains widely classified as a pseudoscience. To date, there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of ESP or any paranormal abilities.