The phrase psi assumption has been coined by skeptics to refer to the belief, held by parapsychologists and others, that the laws of chance can be used as a basis for proving psychic ability. Skeptics argue, for example, that just because there is a one-ina-million chance that someone would be able to predict which cards will turn up in a particular order in a particular stack of cards during an extrasensory perception (ESP) test, it does not follow that someone who succeeds in making such a prediction is exhibiting ESP. Instead, skeptics say, that person could be cheating on the test or exhibiting incredible luck—that is to say, he or she simply beat the odds.
SEE ALSO:
- psi
SOURCE:
The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning
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