Further, you state that such a medium - should they exist - would not be susceptible to any sort of proof. I disagree with that assertion. I can easily design an experimental setup that would provide at least a preliminary validation of a psychic's prowess: Just find an interesting piece of information that relates to a person, but which he does not know himself. Then have the diviner attempt to divine it.

This could be any kind of information, but it should be agreed upon ahead of time and it is an absolute requirement that precise information is given and in a form that precludes self-fulfilling prophesies. The question could be "will my brother marry within the next five years, and if so, on what year and day will he marry and who will he marry?" The psychic could then write a note saying 'no, your brother will not marry within five years,' put the note in an envelope and put the envelope in a strongbox in a bank. Five years later, or when your brother marries, you fetch the note and look at it.

Of course you would have to repeat such an experiment a large number of times to be able to determine whether the psychic is right significantly more often than tossing a die or flipping a coin would be, and you might want to put more elaborate controls in place, but the basic experimental setup could be used essentially unchanged.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.