The phrase "ability to read thoughts" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a hypothetical or fictional capability, often in contexts related to telepathy or mind-reading.
Example: "In the story, the protagonist possesses the ability to read thoughts, which leads to both advantages and complications in their relationships."
Alternatives: "capacity to perceive thoughts" or "skill to interpret thoughts".
Seeking to create a new race with superhuman abilities like his own, Doro has stocked small communities around the world with individuals who show signs of unusual talents, like the ability to read thoughts or to move matter with their minds.
As InteraXon repeatedly notes, measuring brainwaves doesn't give you the ability to read thoughts or record dreams, but it does represent a tantalizing new aggregate data pool from which to draw insights that could eventually shed light on customer intent.
Some researchers claim to be near to using f.M.R.I.'s to read thoughts.
To do so, Jor-El gives Clark the ability to read people's thoughts, only to take it away at an important moment and force Clark to apply what he has learned about human behavior.
During the events of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1996), Shao Kahn decides to resurrect Mileena so her skills as a vicious fighter would help him defeat Earth's chosen warriors, also magically granting her the ability to read Kitana's thoughts.
My hunch is that Obama's ability to read other people's thoughts comes from three factors: being biracial, living for many years outside the the continental U.S., and growing up very close to his mother and grandmother.
The X-Men are mutants and misfits shepherded into altruism by the compassionate mutant Prof. Charles Xavier Patrick Stewartt), who has the ability to read minds and affect the thoughts of others.
Novels can make us more empathic and help us navigate our complex social world, perhaps by improving our "theory of mind"—our ability to read or anticipate another person's thoughts and feelings.
The ability to communicate with others via thought, for example, is exciting, but giving others the ability to read your mind is frightening.
But knowledge of Latin and the ability to read medieval manuscripts are still essential if one wishes to study Buridan's thought first-hand.
This view leaves out the rich seam of critical thought that runs through English literature, that hard-to-measure ability to read well and think deeply.
