How Telepathic Messages Might Be Travelling Faster Than Light

Extrasensory Perception (ESP) is a range of claimed supernatural abilities, including telepathy, the power of mind-to-mind communication. This alleged ability to send and receive information without using the known human senses raises interesting questions about the hypothetical speed at which this information could travel, especially when compared to the limitations of conventional communication methods.

In conventional communication, the speed of information transfer is limited by factors such as the speed of light in fibre optic cables or the speed of electrical signals in copper wires. The greater the distance the signal is travelling, the longer it takes for the entire message to be received from one point to another.

The speed of light, a fundamental constant in the universe, is the basis for much of our understanding of physics and the cosmos. Yet, if ESP could surpass this speed, as weird as it sounds, it would introduce the possibility of receiving information from the future.

If telepathic communication is possible, it may be that it is also subject to a fixed "speed of thought." This hypothetical speed could exists within the framework of the universe that we are as yet unaware of. Or could the speed be variable, perhaps based on the clarity and intensity of the sender's thoughts? If the sender's thoughts are muddled or weak, it might take longer for the message to be "transmitted" or "received" compared to clear, focused thoughts.

On the other hand, logically, it makes more sense to think of telepathy as an instantaneous process in which the "telepathic signal" isn't affected by the usual speed limits of the universe. The problem is that this mechanism would be unlike anything in our current understanding of physics. Although it does have something in common with a certain quirk of quantum physics known as "entanglement."

Quantum entanglement is a weird-sounding phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles become interconnected in such a way that they take on the same properties. Entangled particles remain connected even when they are separated by large distances, and if the state of one particle is changed, the other instantly exhibits that same change. This peculiar quantum link, famously described by Albert Einstein as "spooky action at a distance," suggests that information transfer could, in theory, occur instantaneously between entangled particles.

However, despite its instant connectivity, even quantum entanglement doesn't allow for the transfer of meaningful information in a way that would enable ESP-like communication. The changes observed in entangled particles are random and cannot be controlled in a way to encode and send messages in the way traditional communication does.

The problem is that, in our current understanding of the universe, it is well established that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This speed limit applies not only to physical objects but also to the transmission of information. Any form of communication that claims to transmit meaningful information faster than the speed of light would run into fundamental problems with our current understanding of the laws of physics. Such communications would require a profound revision of much of modern physics. This is because the cosmic speed limit ensures that cause precedes effect.

This conundrum is also true of psychokinesis, which claims the ability to move objects with the mind. If the mind is able to exert influence over an object instantaneously, regardless of the distance, this would again mean that information would be travelling faster than the speed of light. The movement of an object might not seem like instantaneous information transfer, but in essence, it is. The act of moving an object with the mind implies that there is a communication of intent and action from the mind to the object without any visible intermediaries or delay. It would essentially mean that the mental command 'move' is being transmitted to the object instantaneously.

These problems, while just thought experiments, highlight the fundamental problem with the existence of ESP. While the problems caused by a form of communication unbound by the temporal restrictions that govern all known matter and energy are very real, they don't by themselves give any grounds for disproving the existence of ESP. However, if psi powers were proven to be real, it would require a radical rethinking of our scientific principles.