Research on the Extra-Sensory Perception Between Twins

Twins are defined as “two offspring produced by the same pregnancy” (Wikipedia 2019). There are two types of twins in the world: identical twins and fraternal twins (the most common type of twins). Identical twins (also known as monozygotic) come from one zygote which then splits to from two embryos, one sperm fertilizes one egg. Fraternal twins are the opposite. Dizygotic twins is when the mother has two separate eggs and 2 separate sperms fertilise these eggs. The difference between fraternal and identical twins is that fraternal twins don't share anything in the womb: they don't share the same placenta or amniotic sac. Fraternal twins usually share placentas and amniotic sacs. Same-sex twins are usually identical however same sex-twins can also be fraternal. Due to this fact, many people consider identical twins to be closer and if extra-sensory perception does exist, people think it is more likely between identical twins. Research on the subject of extra-sensory perception between twins has been done for many years and by many different institutions and civilians in general. In 1844, Alexandre Dumas wrote the novel “The Corsican Brothers” which revolves mostly around twin telepathy, this was one of the first ideas of twin telepathy that was documented. Ever since then there have been other books such as “Twin Telepathy: The Psychic Connection” by Guy Lyon Playfair. It is suggested that twin telepathy “occurs spontaneously” and that it “tends to work best when it is needed.” (Playfair, 2010). It also works best when the pair receiving and sending the telepathic signals are close and strongly bonded.

Due to the fact that the type of experiments done to test this phenomenon have no merit i.e getting twins to guess the same card or write down the same number, the articles and journals on this topic are very short and the scientists usually say that it doesn’t exist (Playfair, 2010). However, alternative tests were done by Playfair to see how emotions play a role in telepathy between twins. In 2003, Playfair put twins in two different soundproof rooms. One twin found himself hooked up to a polygraph machine while the other had his head dunked into a bucket filled with ice and water. While the one brother gasped due to the shock, the other experienced changes as seen on the polygraph at the exact same time (Wagner, 2018) Even though twin telepathy is a recurring phenomenon, due to the fact that it cannot be explained scientifically at this point in time many people have dismissed it. According to Dr Nancy Segal of University of Minnesota, ESP- like behaviour does exist however there are more interesting areas of research in terms of studying twins (Playfair, 2010). Dr Segal believes that the occurrences are merely coincidental and something that is very likely between two people who are already so similar (Wagner, 2018).

These sources are a summary of a wide variety of other sources that I have read. The words come directly from the scientists who do research on this type of topic and because of this I consider them reliable. The Wikipedia page may not be reliable but I have read the definition that Wikipedia gives of twins from other sites and that confirms that it could be a reliable source that wrote the article. According to my research, the late Guy Lyon Playfair was a widely recognised author. I also consider his research valid and reliable because he was a parapsychologist and it was his job to research such phenomenon. The fact that doctors at universities that study twins I general were referenced is also reliable and their opinion is very valid too as their explanations make sense. My sources were also very useful as they provided ways for me to test this phenomenon and also gave alternatives as to why this phenomenon may not exist which is very helpful.