Real Life Super Powers

When looking at the concept of super powers, there are two types that are reported widely.  There are innate superhuman powers, such as those generated from the development of ESP and/or Telekinesis and those that are derived through technological assistance.  For the purpose of this exploration, these powers will refer only to the end result, and not merely to the method of acquisition.

With an increased interest in super heroes and the potential application of powers that were once thought simply to be the stuff of fiction, several world military powers have studied the development of latent human consciousness as a means of studying the potential for extra sensory perception and manipulation.  Telekinesis is one example studied by the USSR and to a lesser extent the US military.  In experiments a number of test subjects demonstrated presumably impossible feats manipulating objects behind glass walls and even underneath glasses while under the close scrutiny of scientists.  Some were demonstrated to have an incredible aptitude at seeing through walls or even on the other side of the world from within a white room with no windows deep underground.  Such experiments have even been demonstrated with the ability to see through time and space with varying levels of success depending on the test subjects.  And even as interest in becoming a real world superhero is finally being trailed closely by technological achievement many people are making it their life’s work to become more than human.

Of course one needs only to look at the skills of those who have dedicated their lives to the study of even traditional human skills to understand that with enough practice even an average person can perform feats that seem incredible, and even impossible.  The world’s fastest shooter, for example, has an ability that puts many comic book characters to shame.  In less time than it takes to blink an eye, Munden is capable of drawing a pistol and shooting a silver dollar as it flies through the air.  The incredible feat seemed so unbelievable that many have tried to debunk it as stage magic or some form of trickery.  But a close analysis of Munden’s abilities have demonstrated that his skill has been achieved simply by a keen and steady hand and years of practice and experience.  Could the magicians who can reach across time and space simply be the Bob Munden’s of telepathy?

The other kind of super power, that of the technologically achieved, is a power that any human can acquire through the use of technology.  Many objects that seem mundane to us would be mythical in status at earlier times.  A car achieving speeds of even 100 miles per hour may seem mundane to us, but would have been considered impossible in 1890.  In time these technological wonders are becoming increasingly integrated with human bodies and minds.  How long will it be before we all have abilities that imbue us all with technological powers beyond our wildest dreams?  And to quote one of today’s most well known superheros, “With great power comes great responsibility.”