Twin Telepathy: Does It Exist?

All twins have a connection with their twin sibling. This connection could simply be blood, the connection that all siblings have, but evidence suggests that there can be a greater connection; twin telepathy.

Twin telepathy is when one twin can “assess the thoughts or feelings” of another twin without the other twin giving them any signs (Fierro). Through telepathy a twin can sense what the other twin is thinking or feeling, even if they are not in the same place. It acts as a “sixth sense” between the twins, although there is scientific evidence and theories to back it up. In fact, it has been “documented by scientists and researchers alike” giving it more credibility than many seem to offer it (Deshmukh). Twin telepathy is a phenomenon that has mystified people for ages, yet there are still definite signs that it exists.

By getting past how twin telepathy is stereotyped and looking at personal stories, scientific theory, and academic studies, fundamental evidence emerges supporting twin telepathy. To fully understand twin telepathy, it is pertinent to know the biological background of twins. Twins can be either monozygotic or dizygotic. Monozygotic, or identical twins, are formed when “a single fertilized egg . .

. divides” causing there to be two eggs with the same genes and almost identical DNA (Segal). This makes the twins look very similar and have similar mannerisms since they were created from the same egg. Dizygotic, or fraternal twins, “are conceived and delivered together” but are formed from two separate eggs (Watson 18). This makes fraternal twins the same as any other brother or sister, except that they have the same birthday as each other and that they were raised together. Telepathy tends to occur more in pairs of identical twins, yet it is noted in fraternal as well.

The closeness between identical twins genetically plays a large part in why they experience telepathy so often. The genes of identical twins are the same, and the DNA has minor differences. This is why identical twins look and act so similarly, and therefore, is an important element in twin telepathy. Many claim that this closeness gives identical twins a “heightened extra sensory perception” (Deshmukh). Extra sensory perception is “an ability to acquire information without relying on physical senses or previous experience (Fierro). Since the twins are so close they are able to know how the other twin is feeling without their physical senses.

Because twins are so close genetically, they are considered “biologically ‘interchangeable'” making them able to experience telepathy in the way of knowing how the other twin feels without having any way of knowing (Segal 16). Out of identical twins, “thirty to forty percent” are likely to experience telepathy (Slaughter 28). This is a huge percentage in the world of science. Compared to fraternal twins, identical are “twice as likely” to have experienced telepathy at some point in their life (Stephanopoulos). Although there is a large difference, fraternal twins are still shown to experience it in lesser ways.

Identical twins experience telepathy more often because “they share a closer genetic connection” (Fierro). This connection lies in how they are almost exactly the same genetically, making them incredibly similar. They are so similar that scientists even use them as “human guinea pigs” for research and studies. The similarity in the DNA of the identical twins makes “their brains process information identically” (Stephanopoulos). This is backed by research that shows that twins have “almost identical brain wave patterns (“Having Twins or Triplets”). Twins’ brains working in the same way explains how many twins know how the other would respond to something, or more commonly, how it is common for twins to complete each other’s sentences.

The identical genes that twins share play a huge roll in twin telepathy and the study of it. Twin telepathy has been noticed for ages and as a result, it has been stereotyped. Due to stereotypes, many people see telepathy as impossible and not worth scientific study. However, by getting past the stereotypes, telepathy is seen as a more realistic phenomenon. Many people see it as a supernatural power that allows twins to read each other’s minds along with other odd powers.

However, this is not what twin telepathy truly is. Studying real occurrences of telepathy helps to combat these stereotypes. Telepathy mostly occurs when one of the twins is in an “[a time] of pain or distress”, as shown in many personal stories (Slaughter 28). These are times such as life or death situations, or other important events in a person’s life. This contrasts the common belief that twins can “connect” to each other whenever they want.

Telepathy is stereotyped to be something mystical that the common person would never experience. However, this is far from true. There is evidence to support the theory that “most people have telepathic techniques” (Deshmukh). This does not mean that people should be experiencing telepathy on a daily basis, it simply means that the ability is there, but most people “have tuned their body to ignore [the] signals (Deshmukh). Although people have the ability, they just don’t listen to it, or let it work.

This is shown in the stories of telepathic experiences between dogs and their owners and mothers with newborns. In many stories the closeness between the dog and the owner, or the mother with her newborn allowed them to sense when someone or something close to them was in danger, and they acted on those senses. Many people “exhibit some degree of ability” allowing them to connect to another person (Slaughter 27). Twins just tend to be more “in tune” to this ability. This takes telepathy out of the paranormal and into the common, explainable experience that it really is.

The strongest pieces of evidence supporting twin telepathy are personal stories. Thousands of personal accounts can be found in books, on the internet, and in movies. That many people could not all be making it up. Among these stories is the story of the “Jim Twins.” These twins were raised apart and never even knew about their brother.

However, they married women with the same names, named their children and their dog the same, built a circular white bench around a tree, and other oddly similar things. When the twins met each other they were dumbfounded about everything that they had done alike in their life (Powell 22). All these similarities could simply be a coincidence, but the chances of that are astronomically low. However, there is another viable explanation; twin telepathy. As stated before, since they are twins they have almost identical brain wave patterns. This would explain why they named their children and their dog the same names, along with both building a circular bench around the tree.

Scientists have studied many identical twins that were raised apart as the Jim twins were and found that they are “about as similar as identical twins reared together” (Segal 76). This shows that identical twins have a connection, even when they do not know that each other exist. Scientists go as far as saying that being raised together makes only “a small contribution to personality” explaining why the twins are so alike (Segal 75). In fact, twins raised apart “can end up more similar” to each other than they would if they were raised together. This is because many times when twins are raised together they feel the need to make themselves unique and to stand apart from their twin, causing them to act or do something differently than their twin simply because their twin does it that way. The amount of personal stories of twin telepathy show that it is an actual occurrence.

Researchers have many stories of documented twin telepathy as well. In one of these stories one twin was hooked up to a polygraph while the other twin had his hand dunked into ice cold water in another room. The polygraph showed a change at the exact time that the event occurred, even though that twin did not feel a thing. Another study was conducted by Robert Sommer, Humphrey Osmond, and Lucille Pancyr. They interviewed pairs of twins to find out how many had experienced telepathy before. In the end, out of thirty-five participants, twelve said that they “could communicate telepathically” (Powell 21).

This is not a small number when it comes to science. Other odd stories have been documented as well. In a more extreme case, a girl broke her ankle in a bike accident. Her twin sister started to experience swelling on the same ankle that her sister broke even though she had done nothing to hurt it. Another account says that a brother sat down because he had a shooting pain in his heart. He later found out that his twin brother had gotten shot in the heart.

All these stories shows how telepathy “happens frequently . . . during crisis” (Powell 22). When one twin was in distress or needed the other, the other twin could feel it or sensed it. Fraternal twins also report experiences of telepathy.

Christina and Michael Pepe have always been able to tell when the other was going through a hard time. Without even discussing it they would know to meet each other in the living room to sleep there together and get through the night. Marissa and Sal Picheria know what each other are feeling without any indication. Fraternal twins being raised together and having the same experiences may play a part in them being able to experience telepathy as well. Scientific studies and personal stories together back up twin telepathy.

There are many scientific theories behind twin telepathy. One of the most credible ones is that the similar brainwaves cause the twins to act so alike and experience telepathy. Another credible theory is that because twins are so alike, they have “[close] social bonds,” making them closer than other siblings would be (Segal 97). Twins communicate with each other “in different ways than . .

. normal siblings” (Deshmukh). These ways are especially shown when the twins are young. When twins grow up together they constantly have the other twin there with them, making them really close to one another and social with each other. This is shown when twins create “cryptophasia or idioglosia”, which is a language that they create when they are younger that only they can understand (Having Twins or Triplets).

This language shows the closeness between the twins and helps the theory. Since the twins could understand each other when they were little, it makes sense that they would be able to know the feelings of the other twin without anything signaling them to why that twin feels the way they do. These many different theories provide a basis for twin telepathy. Another more complicated theory is starting to form with the new technology that has been made available in the world of research and science. Scientists have found that cells can be “entangled, or coupled” (Powell 25). This means that the cells are two different cells, but they have a unique connection.

Since they are entangled, they must spin in opposite directions. They could be thousands of light years away from each other, yet they still have to maintain their spins of opposite directions. If the spin of one of these cells is altered even minutely, the others spin changes too even though they are not near each other. The cells are connected in a way that cannot be seen and yet the connection is still there. Scientists hypothesize that twin telepathy could be related to this concept of entangled cells. When something happens to one twin, it affects the other twin no matter how far away they are or how subtle the change is, just like how the entangled cells work.

Again, like the entangled cells, the connection cannot be seen yet it is still clearly there. With time and further advancements in science, this theory could be proven to be true. Twin telepathy has been noticed for ages, and as a result has been disputed and stereotyped. Yet there is strong evidence backing twin telepathy in personal stories and scientific research. People see twin telepathy as psychic powers between twins that allow them to read each other’s thoughts and know exactly what the other twin is thinking and feeling. However, this is not what twin telepathy really is.

Twin telepathy is simply twins being able to sense how the other twin is feeling at certain points in time. The thousands of personal stories that can be found show that telepathy is not a hoax. These stories provide clear evidence that twin telepathy exists and happens all the time. Scientific research also provides a strong backing for twin telepathy. Research has shown that twins can definitely communicate with each other and that there is a connection. Science has also provided many theories for twin telepathy.

One of these theories is that telepathy is involved with entangled cells that communicate with each other. Another is that the similar brain waves between twins cause them to act the same and therefore know how each other are feeling. And yet another theory states that because twins are so alike they can communicate with each other in ways that other siblings and people cannot. All these clues build up to provide a solid backing for twin telepathy and prove that it does in fact exist.