When author Guy P. Harrison posed as a psychic, he was shocked at how easy it was to fool the public. After fumbling through generalized predictions and questions, he was certain his subject would laugh or perhaps become angry. But, no, she leaned close and whispered, “That was amazing. How long have you been a psychic? You knew so much about me.” This sort of thing happens all the time. It is common for intelligent and sensible people to be fooled into thinking that another person can read their mind or see the future. Probably the biggest reason is "confirmation bias," our natural tendency to embrace that which supports our preconceptions -- while ignoring anything that contradicts our beliefs. Those who believe in psychics are likely to remember all the correct guesses and excuse the failed ones. Try to sort out reality from fantasy -- and pick out valid claims from false ones, as you override your confirmation bias.

^{Image by Kevin Hand/Prometheus Books}