I have a confession that might shatter my reputation as The Daily  Reveille’s token Atheist:I believe in Extra-Sensory Perception.Under certain circumstances, humans can get information through means other than their five senses.For instance, through the power of the ratio of pi, I can successfully predict the diameter of a circle by knowing only the radius.Abracadabra — knowledge without the senses.But that’s not all. With a similar dark art, I can predict the future!Newton’s approximation of the laws of gravity allows me, or anyone else, to predict the path a flying ball will take. With enough experience, even a dog can intuitively grasp a parabola.Clairvoyance is commonplace.As a child, I was told Santa Claus delivers a sleigh of presents throughout the world. When I grew up, I learned there really is a spectacular force delivering goodies worldwide — it’s called international trade.Recently, I got 20 fillets of tilapia from Walmart. Instead of the North Pole, they came from China. Instead of milk and cookies, I gave $12. The details are wrong, but the legend is real.As a child, I was told a man in ancient Israel cured diseases by casting out demons.That sounds ridiculous. Perhaps they were referring to the heroes who distributed the smallpox vaccine? That’s a miracle we can all celebrate.Professor Snape’s potions are nothing more than a stylistic twist on chemistry. I room with two chemistry majors who would love to analyze polyjuice potion. It can’t be found, so instead they’re working on nanotechnology that could help cure cancer. It’s not supernatural, but it is super.Some might say I’m being dishonest. I might be strictly following some definitions of ESP, clairvoyance and miracles, but usually these words have different meanings.And they’re right. As far as I can tell, the defining difference between the mathematician’s ESP and the “real” ESP is the “real” ESP is impossible.I can conceive of worlds with witches, goblins and minotaurs, but I can’t imagine a world with magic.Even if Harry Potter was real, we could still place the “magic” wands under a microscope and figure out how they worked. The only difference between electromagnetism and “magic” spells is one actually moves things around. The only difference between oxytocin and “potions” is that one, by definition, is only found in fantasy.Believers in the supernatural don’t have a monopoly on the spectacular, for the natural contains the Grand Canyon.Believers in the supernatural believe in things outside the domain of reason.We live in a universe that can be understood — and conquered. What an unending source of beauty — and power.The next time someone describes themselves as “spiritual, but not religious,” ask them what the word “spiritual” means.Their answer probably won’t make a lick of sense.I have a sneaking suspicion the word “spiritual” means “emotions I don’t want to think about.” Emotions outside the realm of reason and the jurisdiction of curious questioning.”I’m not religious, but I do have feelings I’m afraid to investigate.”That’s not to say all knowledge is attainable. Data is expensive to gather — and when processed has diminishing returns. There will always be logistical problems that appear insurmountable. Particle physicists will always be struggling to catch the next smallest particle. Economists will never be able to run the “Great Depression” experiment again. Psychologists will never study someone who is completely self-aware.These are the frontiers to which the curious are called.Pretending like the man in the funny hat has knowledge about the unknowable doesn’t help.Daniel Morgan is a 21-year-old economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_dmorgan.– – – -Contact Daniel Morgan at [email protected]