‘A Practitioner’s Guide to Telepathy in the Law’
The Law Society of New South Wales, 2nd edition
Selected extracts
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Scope of Ability
1.4 Telepathic abilities are broken down into six overlapping functions or effects. These are:
1. Telepathic perception of the presence of another person
2. Telepathic perception of the thoughts of another person
3. Telepathic communication with the mind of another person
4. Telepathic influence or control over the actions of another person
5. Telepathic influence or control over the autonomic nervous system of another person
6. Telepathic modification of the thoughts, memories or personality of another person
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1.6 Although the scope of telepathy contemplated by section 344G is vast, in reality few telepaths have the capacity to effectively utilise their abilities to such an extent. The majority of telepaths can exercise first, second and third degree functions without difficulty, and fourth degree functions with some difficulty and to a limited extent. Adult telepaths capable of competently exercising fifth or sixth degree influence are rare, and will usually not be encountered in a legal setting.
1.7 Expertise in telepathy does not necessarily equate with being competent at exercising higher degree functions, nor does an inability or ineptitude with higher degree functions indicate a lack of professionalism or incompetence. The majority of work done by professional telepaths involves first, second and third degree telepathy, and the depth of experience required to be proficient in these areas, third degree telepathy in particular, is extensive. As such, many telepaths forego developing their aptitude for fourth, fifth or sixth degree telepathy in favour of mastering more practical skills.
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Common myths and misconceptions about telepathy
1.8 As a widespread, potentially intrusive and easily comprehendible power, there are a number of misconceptions about telepathy and telepaths both broadly and among specific cultures and communities. These misconceptions are exacerbated by the depiction of telepathy or similar abilities in pre-Aurora media and folklore, which can depict telepaths or creatures with telepathy as capable of a broad range of unrealistic behaviour. Practitioners need to be aware of these inaccurate beliefs, both for their own knowledge and education and so that they can recognise and correct them when they are expressed by clients, witnesses, legal officers or lay people.
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Myth: A telepathic reading damages your mind or steals your soul
1.19 False. There is no evidence of any harm, effect or change in personality, either short-term or long-term, resulting from properly conducted telepathic contact.
Myth: There is no way to tell if a telepath has read your mind
1.20 False. Damage or modifications to a person’s mind caused by the improper, deliberate or malicious use of telepathy is clearly identifiable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a telepath‑recipient’s brain. Additionally, the thoughts of a person who has undergone telepathic alteration are typically highly perceptible to other telepaths, even in passing.
Myth: Repeated use of or contact with telepathy causes brain damage
1.21 False. As above there is no evidence that telepathic examination or communication, used properly, has any negative long-term effects.
TIP
A helpful analogy to assist clients or witnesses in understanding the long-term effects of telepathy is to compare it to normal speech. In the same way that permanent hearing damage is not caused by being repeatedly spoken to at a regular volume, permanent brain damage is not caused by repeated responsible use of telepathy.
Myth: A telepath who makes contact with your mind instantly knows all about you
1.22 False. As above there are degrees of telepathy and telepathic contact, not all of which involve thought perception. A telepath engaged in routine security or non-invasive monitoring will only get a general sense of a person’s current location, mood and thoughts.
Furthermore, even in direct third degree mental examination a telepath neither accesses nor retains the entirety of a telepath‑recipient’s thoughts or memories. The total amount of information being put out or processed by an individual’s brain at any given moment is often greater than a telepath can accurately interpret, given that it includes conscious, instinctual and inarticulable thought as well as subconscious processes, sensory perception and synaptic communication.
TIP
Use analogies and practical explanations to help your client or witness understand the limits of telepathy. Possible examples include:
- A telepath reading your mind is like you reading a book – you cannot simply open it for a second and know everything inside.
- Your brain is an incredibly complex biological computer. When you use a computer, do you instantly know everything that’s on it? Like when you look for a file on your computer, the telepath will search in your brain in certain ways to try and find what they are looking for, but they cannot perceive everything.
- Remember, the telepath is still only human, and is seeing your thoughts through their own human mind. They are not going to be able to memorise your every thought and memory in the same way that you would not be able to memorise every word you read if you were going through a large folder of documents.
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Myth: Simply being nearby allows a telepath to know what a person is thinking
1.25 Partially false. A telepath not seeking to make telepathic contact can nevertheless perceive powerful and uninhibited thoughts and emotions in nearby individuals in the same way that non‑telepathic people can overhear conversations or perceive facial expressions…
…As addressed above, the simple fact of telepathic perception or contact does not mean that a telepath will be privy to a person’s entire memories or thoughts, and it is likely that the majority of Australians pass telepaths every day without any negative repercussions.