<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Psi powers, also known as ESP (extra-sensory perception), include everything from mind-reading to instantaneous movement between two points. A fascination with the possibility that the human mind may have abilities as yet unknown to us is not confined to the SF field, but it is there that most of the speculation has taken place about the impact such powers might have on the individual and society at large. The most commonly used psi power in fiction is Telepathy—the ability to read the thoughts of others, sometimes by eavesdropping, sometimes requiring the active cooperation of the second party. It can be passive, providing only the ability to listen to the thoughts of others, or active, allowing one individual to send a message directly into another's mind.

There are scores of novels in which Telepathy is simply part of the setting, perhaps serving an important plot function at some point, but not the central focus of the story. A few authors have confronted the possibilities directly and in more detail. One of the best of these stories is The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester, which takes place in a future when telepaths are employed by the police to question suspects. The plot involves a premeditated murder by a man who believes that he has a way to avoid being found out. John Brunner considered the possibility that telepathy might alter the way doctors practice medicine in a series of three stories that eventually became the novel The Whole Man. Robert A. Heinlein explored another possibility in Time for the Stars. His premise was that twins or others with intense pair-bonds are more likely to be telepathic, and that telepathy is instantaneous regardless of distance. It would therefore be possible to communicate with interstellar ships despite the time differential by placing one of a pair of twins on board and keeping the other safe on Earth. Robert Silverberg was less interested in how telepathy might be put to use, concentrating instead on how it might affect a person gifted, or afflicted, with an inability to shut out the thoughts of others. His highly acclaimed 1973 novel Dying Inside follows the life of a lonely telepath who eventually loses his talent.

Telekinesis, or Psychokinesis, is the ability to move physical objects through an act of will. The title character of Stephen King's Carrie uses this power to wreak havoc at a school dance. Perhaps the most interesting exploration of telekinesis is in Larry Niven's The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton and The Patchwork Girl, in both of which a telekinetic detective makes good use of his talent despite certain unusual limitations.

Teleportation is the transfer of a person from one place to another, instantaneously and without passing through the space between. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination is the seminal example of the use of Teleportation in fiction, but Steven Gould's Jumper (1992) has also generated a strong following.

Other Psi powers are more rarely employed. The protagonist of Rob Chilson's The Shores of Kansas can mentally travel through time. The little girl in Stephen King's Firestarter can start fires by thinking about them, a talent usually called Pyrokinesis. The villains of Frank Robinson's The Power and Dan Simmons's Carrion Comfort can control the minds of others against their will. The Empath in Journal of Nicholas the American, The by Leigh Kennedy can sense other people's emotions. Crime prevention is achieved through Precognition in Philip K. Dick's story "Minority Report" (later made into a movie of the same name), and a Clairvoyant proves to be an effective rebel in John Brunner's Wrong End of Time, The. Psi talents have yet to be conclusively proven to exist in the real world, but the concept has provided a rich subject for speculation by SF writers.