In popular culture the word psychic from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul, mental") refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the senses through means of extra-sensory perception. The term also refers to theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation and cold reading to produce the appearance of having such abilities.

In the past, parapsychologists had attempted to study what some believe are psychic phenomena using a variety of methods such as random number generators to test for psychokinesis or the Ganzfeld experiment to test for extra-sensory perception.

Early examples of individuals thought by some to have psychic powers include the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi who was thought to provide prophecies from Apollo himself as well as Nostradamus, a French apothecary who is thought by some to have had the ability to predict the future.