Mind Reading Isn’t Just for ‘X-Men’ Anymore – Science Might Make
It a Reality While mind reading has long since been a novelty
among magicians, circus sideshows and Professor Xavier from the
‘X-Men’ franchise, a new study suggests that this once thought
fictional ability is actually possible. Scientists at the
University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University
inserted tiny electrodes into the brains of epilepsy patients
awaiting brain surgery and then asked them to memorize a series
of fifteen words. The researchers were not only able to see
changes in brain activity, but could also see how each subject
grouped words together like “goose” and “duck.” They say that by
watching how different areas of a subject’s brain reacted while
they committed certain words to memory, they could determine in
advance which words the subject would then say – even though the
subjects were not speaking or making gestures. Lead researcher
Michael Kahana, a professor at the Department of Psychology of
the University of Pe