by Sean Curtis

Created on: January 09, 2008   Last Updated: January 14, 2008

It's certainly fun to imagine that mind readers exist. Or maybe it's a little scary to imagine - can some stranger really tap into my thoughts without my knowledge? Either way, the unknown is always alluring to us, and mind reading seems to fit broadly into that category. But the fact is, no one has ever been able to uncategorically prove they can read minds. This is most likely because our brains have not yet evolved enough for mind reading to be possible.

The most overwhelming evidence to support this is quite simple: no one has ever been able to prove they can perform mind reading accurately. If there was an individual out there who could read minds, we would all know about it. Dateline or 60 Minutes would break the story. They'd conduct some convincing tests on air. Then the mind reader would inevitably embark on some world-wide tour to showcase his or her talent. People everywhere would be talking about this. True mind reading ranks up there with UFOs and ghosts as far as unknown phenomena - proof of a mind reader would instantly be a world-wide news story.

But until someone like this comes forward, today's "mind readers" will continue to speak in broad, sweeping terms and guestimations. For example: why does a psychic usually say something like, "I'm getting the letter 'D.' Is that important?" Of course it's important! Who in the world can't think of a way to connect the letter "D" to something important. If the psychic were a true mind reader, he or she should be able to tell me exactly what "D" stands for.

Who knows, maybe one day the first true mind reader will come forward and rock the world. As we continue to evolve as a species, it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that our brains could begin to develop this talent. But until that Dateline special or national news story, I'm not buying it.

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