neartelepathy

Neartelepathy is a term used in parapsychology and popular psychology to describe a purported form of communication in which two or more people report experiencing a close mental connection that appears to convey thoughts, feelings, or impulses with little or no observable sensory input. The term combines near- with telepathy, implying a “near” or partial form of telepathic transfer, often linked to moments of intense emotion, proximity, or synchronized mental states.

Usage and scope: The concept is largely anecdotal and lacks acceptance in mainstream psychology. Proponents describe cases in which individuals report knowing another’s intention or receiving a thought at the same instant, sometimes during emergencies or deep emotional bonding. It is often distinguished from full telepathy by the absence of systematic reliability or testable transfer of information.

Evidence and critique: There are no widely accepted empirical demonstrations of neartelepathy. Critics note that reported instances are subject to demand characteristics, confirmation bias, and retrospective reinterpretation. Alternative explanations include coincidences, shared context, emotional arousal, and intuitive guessing, as well as limitations in memory and perception.

Origins and usage: The idea appears in fringe parapsychology literature and among some researchers and hobbyists exploring broader notions of mind-to-mind communication. It has also appeared in fiction and popular accounts as a descriptive label for synchronic subjective experiences.

See also: Telepathy, Parapsychology, Anomalous experiences.