Robin Wooffitt

Poetic Confluence

Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition May 14, 2022 Robin Wooffitt

Poetic confluence is a spontaneous telepathic phenomenon in everyday conversation where one person's speech relates to another's unspoken thoughts or imagery. This exploratory sociological analysis treats it as a form of social action, drawing on Conversation Analysis principles but applying them to anecdotal accounts rather than recorded interactions. Three interpersonal functions are identified: restoring mutual attention, creating affiliation and emotional connection, and managing threats to social propriety (keeping face). Skeptical explanations are assessed, and the work is framed within existing theories of psi phenomena and metaphor. Suggestions for further research on social interaction and psi are offered.