( tele , far, and pathein , to experience) A term introduced by
F.W.H. Myers in 1882 to denote "the ability of one mind to
impress or to be impressed by another mind otherwise than
through the recognized channels of sense" (Gurney, "Phantasms of
the Living", I, 6); or: "the communication of impressions of any
kind from one mind to another independently of the recognized
channels of sense" (Myers, "Human Personality", I, xxi). The
term telepathy is sometimes used, in conformity with its
derivation, to mean the direct communication between minds at a
great distance. Such terms as thought-transference, mind-
reading, or mental suggestion would then apply to the direct
communication between minds in the same room or at a small
distance. Generally, however, at least in English, telepathy
connotes only the exclusion of the recognized channels of
sensation, irrespective of the distance. It supposes that, in
some cases, the usual signs by which ideas are manifested—,
writing, gestures, muscular contraction, facial exp