# Paranormal Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251 "2010-01-09T04:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/21 "2010-01-09T18:53:01Z")
I understood prediction as only seeing what happens to you (letting you know you shouldn’t take that plane that is going to crash) - not as being able to predict which lottery numbers would come. If that is the case - I switch my answer as well! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/22 "2010-01-09T19:17:07Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I understood prediction as only seeing what happens to you (letting you know you shouldn’t take that plane that is going to crash) - not as being able to predict which lottery numbers would come. It should amount to much the same thing; if you consider buying a lottery ticket, whether or not it is a winning ticket will affect your personal future. You could probably find your way to where the winning ticket is too, as well by a sort of game of Twenty Questions. “If I go north do I have a future where I win? South? East? OK.” \*\* goes east \*\* “If I go in that store do I have a possible future where I win? That store? The other? OK”. \*\* goes in store \*\* “Does using that machine lead to a future with me winning? The one over there? The one to the right? OK.” \*\* buys ticket \*\* "Does this ticket lead to a future with me winning? \*\* buys ticket \*\* “This?” \*\* buys ticket \*\* “This? Got it!” ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/23 "2010-01-09T19:39:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Just be _very_ careful when looking at the moon. Oh snap, I didn’t think of that. That _was_ going to be my pick… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/24 "2010-01-09T21:54:31Z")
None of the above: I’d pick levitation. I levitate in my dreams all the time, to the point where it’s puzzling and disappointing that I can’t actually do it in real life. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/25 "2010-01-09T22:17:29Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Just wait for the ISS to pass overhead and it’s pretty quick. Dress smartly though, and forget about stargazing - way too risky. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/26 "2010-01-09T22:19:39Z")
It looks like line-of-sight teleportation is ahead by a mile-or 200 feet on a smoggy day, if you live in Los Angeles. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/27 "2010-01-09T22:22:54Z")
“Line-0f-sight teleportation” Just yourself? “Telepathy-one person at a time” Do they know you’re doing it? ETA: This would almost certainly make me very depressed. What people are really thinking is invariably not as polite and rose-tinted as what they outwardly imply. “Invisibility-30 minutes a day” Do you get to choose when it commences? ETA: I’d feel guilty choosing this one. One immediately thinks that people who choose this one must be thinking along voyeuristic lines. “Prediction-only concerning yourself” How far into the future? ETA: I can’t quite see the benefit of this, except for maybe being able to think of those witty combacks _in time_ instead of too late. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/28 "2010-01-09T22:25:38Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > “Line-0f-sight teleportation” Just yourself? > > “Telepathy-one person at a time” Do they know you’re doing it? > > “Invisibility-30 minutes a day” Do you get to choose when it commences? > > “Prediction-only concerning yourself” How far into the future? Yes, no, yes, a week. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/29 "2010-01-09T22:25:55Z")
I’d take Prediction. I’d predict myself some really good stock picks/lottery numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/30 "2010-01-09T22:30:07Z")
Too late for edit: I didn’t list a negative for the teleportation one (the one I picked): Namely that it would be a reason to do even less exercise, and thus get fatter quicker. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/31 "2010-01-09T22:40:20Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Yes, no, yes, a week. For teleportation, does that mean you teleport naked and lose your fillings, or do we get to keep our clothes on, etc? I’m leaning towards prediction. It would be pretty easy to just start writing down numbers. Is this number the first winning digit? Is this the second number? Third? It shouldn’t take long to get the winning lotto number. Day trading would be very lucrative, too. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/32 "2010-01-09T22:47:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > For teleportation, does that mean you teleport naked and lose your fillings, or do we get to keep our clothes on, etc? When someone says, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”, do you ask “How wide is the road, how heavy is the traffic and what kind of chicken is it?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/33 "2010-01-09T22:59:58Z")
Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/34 "2010-01-09T23:21:45Z")
I voted none of the above. The second [del]Oakminster[/del] anybody realized I had super-powers, they’d hunt me down to kill me, and I can’t even blame them. I mean, even **I** don’t think I can be trusted with them. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/35 "2010-01-10T00:19:14Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I voted none of the above. The second [del]Oakminster[/del] anybody realized I had super-powers, they’d hunt me down to kill me, and I can’t even blame them. I mean, even **I** don’t think I can be trusted with them. I trust you ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/36 "2010-01-10T00:36:11Z")
Explain this prediction thing to me. Do you really mean clairvoyance? So, I can look ahead, oh, five years. I can see that I’m living by myself. But I can’t see what’s happening with my son, to know whether or not he’s off to college or got run over by a bus two years ago? And I can’t know whether or not I’ve finally managed to divorce my loser husband and am paying him alimony or he dropped dead of a heart attack and his insurance has paid off the mortgage? ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/37 "2010-01-10T00:44:02Z")
Probably prediction, it seems easiest to exploit into getting whatever you could possibly want. On the other hand, depending on the limitations, teleportation might be nice too even if it is LoS only. For example, how quickly can you teleport again? How is LoS determined? i.e. I can see the moon at night could I teleport there? what about another star? does looking through a telescope count? Is the teleport faster then light? if so, it theoretically allows you time travel as well. what a difficult choice. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/38 "2010-01-10T01:06:51Z")
I’ve always wanted to be able to A) have private conversations in public places, and B) share mental images/feelings that I can’t describe in words. So, telapathy. Telekinesis would be a close second. Not only is it wonderful for the chronically lazy, but you can reach things on high shelves and do fun party tricks. Hey, if you could do it on yourself, you’d have flying in the package, too! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/39 "2010-01-10T02:17:07Z")
> [@MC\_E](#): > > I’m going with invisibility, but I’d probably only ever use it to see people naked. Which is why 30 minutes is not long enough. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251/40 "2010-01-10T19:22:14Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > I trust you You & I both know that’s only because of the World Series thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-poll/524251.md?page=3)