INFORMATION TRANSMISSION UNDER CONDITIONS OF SENSORY SHIELDING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010002-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2014
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 1, 1974
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010002-3
e ? Arvi-
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L.)
EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICA-
TION are often rejected out of hand by physical scientists as
an explanation for the ability which some individuals appear
to have to sense patterns and events at great distances or
through inpenetrable barriers. However, the inadequacy of
conventional explanations has encouraged qualified scientists
in a number of countries to carry out well-controlled experi-
ments to test the validity of the ESP hypothesis. The following
paper is a report on experiments, conducted at Stanford
Research Institute, which strongly suggest the existence of
extrasensory ability in a number of individuals, ranging from
the controversial professional Uri Geller to persons who were
previously unaware of their apparent talents. This report was
first published in the October 1974 issue of Nature magazine,
a conservative British scientific journal. Communications
Society welcomes comments from our readers on the present
article and on extrasensory communication in general.
Information Transmission
Under Conditions
Of Sensory Shielding
Russell Targ and Harold E. Puthoff
We present results of experiments suggesting the existence
of one or more perceptual modalities through which indivi-
duals obtain information about their environment, although
this information is not presented to any known sense. The
literature [1]-[3] and our observations lead us to conclude
that such abilities can be studied under laboratory conditions.
We have investigated the ability of certain people to
describe graphical material or remote scenes shielded against
ordinary perception. In addition, we performed pilot studies
to determine if electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings
might indicate perception of remote happenings even in the
absence of correct overt responses.
We concentrated on what we consider to be our primary
responsibility?to resolve under conditions as unambiguous as
possible the basic issue of whether a certain class of para-
normal perception phenomena exists. So we conducted our
experiments with sufficient control, utilizing visual, acoustic,
and electrical shielding, to ensure that all conventional paths
of sensory input were blocked. At all times we took measures
to prevent sensory leakage and to prevent deception, whether
intentional or unintentional.
Our goal is not just to catalogue interesting events, but to
The authors are with the Electronics and Bioengineering Labora-
tory, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025.
12
uncover patterns of cause-effect relationships that lend them-
selves to analysis and hypothesis in the forms with which we
are familiar in scientific study. The results presented here
constitute a first step towards that goal; we have established
under known conditions a data base from which departures as
a function of physical and psychological variables can be
studied in future work.
First, we conducted experiments with Mr. Uri Geller in
which we examined his ability, while located in an electrically
shielded room, to reproduce target pictures drawn by experi-
menters located at remote locations. Second, we conducted
double-blind experiments with Mr. Pat Price, in which we
measured his ability to describe remote outdoor scenes many
miles from his physical location. Finally, we conducted pre-
liminary tests using EEG's, in which subjects were asked to
perceive whether a remote light was flashing, and to determine
whether a subject could perceive the presence of the light,
even if only at a noncognitive level of awareness.
Remote Drawing Reproductions
by Uri Geller
In preliminary testing, Geller apparently demonstrated an
ability to reproduce simple pictures (line drawings) which had
been drawn and placed in opaque sealed envelopes which he
was not permitted to handle. But since each of the targets was
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known to at least one experimenter in the room with Geller, it
was not possible on the basis of the preliminary testing to
discriminate between Geller's direct perception of envelope
contents and perception through some mechanism involving
the experimenters, whether paranormal or subliminal.
So we examined the phenomenon under conditions de-
signed to eliminate all conventional information channels,
overt or subliminal. Geller was separated from both the target
material and anyone knowledgeable of the material, as in the
experiments of,[4].
In the first part of the study a series of 13 separate drawing
experiments were carried out over 7 days. No experiments
were deleted from the results presented here.
At the beginning of the experiment either Geller or the
experimenters entered a shielded room so that from that time
forward Geller was at all times visually, acoustically, and
electrically shielded from-personnel and material at the target
location. Only following Geller's isolation from the experi-
menters was a target chosen and drawn, a procedure designed
to eliminate pre-experiment cueing. Furthermore, to eliminate
the possibility of pre-experiment target forcing, Geller was
kept ignorant as to the identity of the person. selecting the
target and as to the method of target selection. This was
accomplished by the use of three different techniques:
1) pseudo-random technique of opening a dictionary arbi-
trarily and choosing the first word that could be drawn
(Experiments 1-4); 2) targets, blind to experimenters and
subject, prepared independently by SRI scientists outside the
. --
TARGET
RESPONSE 1
01?X .29 I.
?
o?oo
RESPONSE 2
(a)
TARGET RESPONSE
(b)
TARGET
experimental group (following Geller's isolation) and provided
to the experimenters during the course of the experiment
(Experiments 5-7, 11-13); and 3) arbitrary selection from a
target pool decided upon in advance of daily experimentation
and designed to provide data concerning information content
for use in testing specific hypotheses (Experiments' 8-10).
Geller's task was to reproduce with pen on paper the line
drawing generated at the target location. Following a period of
effort ranging from a few minutes to half an hour, Geller
either passed (when he did not feel confident) or indicated he
was ready to submit a drawing to the experimenters, in which
case the drawing was collected before Geller was permitted to
see the target.
To prevent sensory cueing of the target information, Ex-
periments 1 through 10 were carried out using a shielded room
in SRI's facility for EEG research. The acoustic and visual
isolation is provided by a double-walled steel room, locked by
means of an inner and outer door, each of which is secured
with a refrigerator-type locking mechanism. Following target
selection when Geller was inside the room, a one-way audio
monitor, operating only from the inside to tha outside, was
activated to monitor Geller during his efforts. The target
picture was never discussed by the experimenters after the
picture was drawn and brought near the shielded room. In our
detailed examination of the shielded room and the protocol
used in these experiments, no sensory leakage has been found.
The conditions and results for the 10 experiments carried
out in the shielded room are displayed in Table I and Fig. 1.
RESPONSE 1
RESPONSE 2
RESPONSE 3
TARGET
4
RESPONSE
Id)
Inc
TARGET
RESPONSE
(e)
OF?11 ;Li--
tt IL
TARGET
Fig. 1 Target pictures and responses drawn by Uri Geller under
shielded conditions.
13
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L.)
TABLE I
Summary: Remote Perception of Graphic Material
Experiment
Date
Geller Location
Target Location
Target
Figure
1
8/4/73
Shielded room #1a
Adjacent room (4.1 m)b
Firecracker
1(a)
2
8/4/73
Shielded room #1
Adjacent room (4.1 m)
Grapes
1(b)
3
8/5/73
Shielded room #1
Office (475 m)
Devil
1(c)
4
8/5/73
Room adjacent to shielded room #1
Shielded room #1(3.2 m)
Solar system
1(d)
5
8/6/73
Room adjacent to shielded room #1
Shielded room #.1 (3.2 m)
Rabbit
No drawing
6
8/7/73
Shielded room #1
Adjacent room (4.1 m)
Tree
No drawing
7
8
8/7/73
8/8/84
Shielded room #1
Shielded room #1
Adjacent room (4.1 m)
Remote room (6.75 m)
Envelope
Camel
No drawing
1(e)
9
8/8/73
Shielded room #1
Adjacent room (4.1 m)
Bridge
1(f)
10
8/8/73
Shielded room #1
Adjacent room (4.1 m)
Seagull
1(g)
11
8/9/73
Shielded room #2
Computer (54 m)
Kite (computer CRT)
2(a)
12
8/10/73
Shielded room #2
Computer (54 m)
Church (computer
memory)
2(b)
13
8/10/73
Shielded room #2
Computer (54 m)
Arrow through heart
2(c)
(computer CRT, zero
intenstiy)
,_aEEG facility shielded room (see text).
'Perceiver-target distances measured in meters.
CSR I Radio Systems Laboratory shielded room (see text).
All experiments except 4 and 5 were conducted with Geller
inside the shielded room. In Experiments 4 and 5, the
procedure was reversed. For those experiments in which Geller
was inside the shielded room, the target location was in an
adjacent room at a distance of about 4 m, except for Experi-
ments 3 and 8,-in which the target locations were, respectively,
an office at a distance of 475 m and a room at a distance of
about 7 m.
A response was obtained in all experiments except Numbers
5-7. In Experiment 5, the person-to-person link was eliminated
by arranging for a scientist outside the usual experimental
group to draw a picture, lock it in the shielded room before
Geller' s arrival at SRI, and leave the area. Geller was then led
by the experimenters to the shielded room and asked to draw
the picture located inside the room. He said that he got no
clear impression and therefore did not submit a drawing. The
elimination of the person-to-person link was examined further
in the second series of experiments with this subject.
Experiments 6 and 7 were carried out while we attempted
to record Geller's EEG during his efforts to perceive the target
pictures. The target pictures were, respectively, a tree and an
envelope. He found it difficult to hold adequately still for
good EEG records, said that he experienced difficulty in
getting impressions of the targets, and again submitted no
drawings.
Experiments 11 through 13 were carried out in SRI's
Engineering Building, to make use of the computer facilities
available there. For these experiments, Geller was secured in a
double-walled, copper-screen Faraday cage 54 m down the hall
and around the corner from the computer room. The Faraday
cage provides 120-dB attenuation for plane-wave radio-
frequency radiation over a range of 15 kHz to 1 GHz. For
magnetic fields the attenuation is 68 dB at 15 kHz and
decreases to 3 dB at 60 Hz. Following Geller's isolation, the
targets for these experiments were chosen by computer labora-
tory personnel not otherwise associated with either the experi-
ment or Geller, and the experimenters and subject were kept
blind as to the contents of the target pool.
For Experiment 11, a picture of a kite was drawn on the
face of a cathode ray tube display screen, driven by the
computer's graphics program. For Experiment 12, a picture of
a church was drawn and stored in the memory of the
computer. In Experiment 13, the target drawing, an arrow
14
through a heart [Fig. 2(c)] was drawn on the face of the
cathode ray tube and then the display intensity was turned off
so that no picture was visible.
To obtain an independent evaluation of the correlation
between target and response data, the experimenters sub-
mitted the data for judging on a 'blind' basis by two SRI
scientists who were not otherwise associated with the research.
For the 10 cases in which Geller provided a response, the
judges were asked to match the response data with the
corresponding target data (without replacement). In those
cases in which Geller made more than one drawing as his
response to the target, all the drawings were combined as a set
for judging. The two judges each matched the target data to
the response data with no error. For either judge such a
correspondence has an a priori probability, under the null
hypothesis of no information channel, of p = (10!)-1 = 3 X
10-7.
A second series of experiments was carried out to deter-
mine whether direct perception of envelope contents was
possible without some person knowing of the target picture.
One hundred target pictures of everyday objects were
drawn by an SRI artist and sealed by other SRI personnel in
double envelopes containing black cardboard. The hundred
targets were divided randomly into groups of 20 for use in
each of the three days' experiments.
On each of the three days of these experiments, Geller
passed. That is, he declined to associate any envelope with a
drawing that he made, expressing dissatisfaction with the
existence of such a large target pool. On each day he made
approximately 12 recognizable drawings, which he felt were
associated with the entire target pool of 100. On each of the
three days, two of his drawings could reasonably be associated
with two of the 20 daily targets. On the third day, two of his
drawings were very close replications of two of that day's
target pictures. The drawings resulting from this experiment
do not depart significantly from what would be expected by
chance.
In a simpler experiment Geller was successful in obtaining
information under conditions in which no persons were know-
ledgeable of the target. A double-blind experiment was per-
formed in which a single 3/4-in die was placed in a 3 X 4 X 5 in
steel box. The box was then vigorously shaken by one of the
experimenters and placed on the table, a technique found in
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TARGET
RESPONSE
(a)
TARGET
RESPONSE 1
c&vP
RESPONSE
lb)
2
TARGET
RESPONSE 1
Fig. 2. Computer drawings and responses drawn by Uri Geller. (a)
Computer drawing stored on video display. (b) Computer drawing
stored in computer memory only. (c) Computer drawing stored on
video display with zero intensity.
control runs to produce a distribution of die faces differing
nonsignificantly from chance. The orientation of the die
within the box was unknown to the experimenters at that
time. Geller would then write down which die face was
uppermost. The target pool was known, but the targets were
individually prepared in a manner blind to all persons involved
in the experiment. This experiment was performed ten times,
with Geller passing twice and giving a response eight times. In
the eight times in which he gave a response, he was correct
each time. The distribution of responses consisted of three 2's,
one 4, two 5's, and two 6's. The probability of this occurring
by chance is approximately one in 106.
In certain situations significant information transmission
can take place under shielded conditions. Factors which
appear to be important, and therefore candidates for future
investigation, include whether the target is known by any of
the experimenters.
It has been widely reported that Geller has demonstrated
the ability to bend metal by paranormal means. Although
metal bending by Geller has been observed in our laboratory,
we have not been able to combine such observations with
adequately controlled experiments to obtain data sufficient to
support the paranormal hypothesis.
15
RESPONSE 2
lc)
Remote Viewing
by Pat Price
A study by Osis [5] led us to determine whether a subject
could describe randomly chosen geographical sites located
several miles from the subject's position and demarcated by
some appropriate means (remote viewing). This experiment
carried out with Price, a former California police commissioner
and city councilman, consisted of a series of double-blind,
demonstration-of-ability tests involving local targets in the San
Francisco Bay area which could be documented by several
independent judges. We planned the experiment considering
that natural geographical places or man-made sites that have
existed for a long time are more potent targets for paranormal
perception experiments than are artificial targets prepared in
the laboratory. This is based on subject opinions that the use
of artificial targets involves a "trivialization of the ability" as
compared with natural pre-existing targets.
In each of nine experiments involving Price as subject and
SRI experimenters as a target demarcation team, a remote
location was chosen in a double-blind protocol. Price, who
remained at SRI, was asked to describe this remote location, as
well as whatever activities might be going on there.
Several descriptions yielded significantly correct data per-
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with the subject at SRI was in ignorance both as to the
particular target and as to the target pool, he was free to
question Price to clarify his descriptions. The demarcation
team then remained at the target site for 30 minutes after the
30 minutes allotted for travel. During the observation period,
the remote-viewing subject would describe his impressions of
the target site into a tape recorder. A comparison was then
made when the demarcation team returned.
Price's ability to describe correctly buildings, docks, roads,
gardens, and so on, including structural materials, color,
ambience, and activity, sometimes in great detail, indicated the
functioning of a remote perceptual ability. But the descrip-
tions contained inaccuracies as well as correct statements. To
obtain a numerical evaluation of the accuracy of the remote-
viewing experiment, the experimental results were subjected to
independent judging on a blind basis by five SRI scientists who
were not otherwise associated with the research. The judges
were asked to match the nine locations, which they indepen-
dently visited, against the typed manuscripts of the tape-
recorded narratives of the remote viewer. The transcripts were
unlabeled and presented in random order. The judges were
asked to find a narrative which they would consider the best
match for each of the places they visited. A given narrative
could be assigned to more than one target location. A correct
match requires that the transcript of a given date be associated
with the target of that date. Table II shows the distribution of
the judges' choices.
Among all possible analyses, the most conservative is a
permutation analysis of the plurality vote of the judges'
selections assuming assignment without replacement, an
approach independent of the number of judges. By plurality
vote, six of the nine descriptions and locations were correctly
matched. Under the null hypothesis (no remote viewing and a
random selection of descriptions without replacement), this
outcome has an a priori probability of p = 5.6 X 10-4, since,
among all possible permutations of the integers one through
nine, the probability of six or more being in their natural
position in the list has that value. Therefore, although Price's
descriptions contain inaccuracies, the descriptions are suf-
ficiently accurate to permit the judges to differentiate among
the various targets to the degree indicated.
Pat Price, who was the subject in
our remote-viewing experiments
described in Nature. Price is a re-
tired police commissioner and ex-
mayor of Burbank, Calif. He is
now the president of a West
Virginia mining corporation. Mr.
Price came to SRI on the basis of
descriptions of his successful use
of the remote-viewing channel in
his day-to-day activities.
taming to and descriptive of the target location.
In the experiments, a set of twelve target locations clearly
differentiated from each other and within 30-min driving time
from SRI had been chosen from a target-rich environment
(more than 100 targets of the type used in the experimental
series) prior to the experimental series by an individual in SRI
management, the director of the Information Science and
Engineering Division, not otherwise associated with the experi-
ment. Both the experimenters and the subject were kept blind
as to the contents of the target pool, which were used without
replacement.
An experimenter was closeted with Price at SRI to wait 30
min to begin the narrative description of the remote location.
The SRI locations from which the subject viewed the remote
locations consisted of an outdoor park (Experiments 1, 2), the
double-walled copper-screen Faraday cage discussed earlier
(Experiments 3, 4, and 6-9), and an- office (Experiment 5). A
second experimenter would then obtain a target location from
the Division Director from a set of travelling orders previously
prepared and randomized by the Director and kept under his
control. The target demarcation team (two to four SRI,
experimenters) then proceeded .directly to the target by
automobile without communicating with the subject or experi-
menter remaining behind. Since the experimenter remaining
TABLE II
Distribution of Correct Selections by Judges A, B, C, D, and E in Remote Viewing Experiments.
Descriptions Chosen by Judges
1 2
Places Visited by Judges
3 4 5 6
7 8 9
Hoover Tower
DE
Baylands Nature Preserve ABC
Radio Telescope
Redwood City Marina CD
Bridge Toll Plaza
Drive-In Theatre
Arts and Crafts
Garden Plaza
Church
Rinconada Park
CE
ACD BE
ABD
ABD DCE
A
ABC
E
AB
AB
Of the 45 selections (5 judges, 9 choices), 24 were correct. Boldface type indicates the description chosen most often for each
place visited. Correct choices lie on the main diagonal.
The number of correct matches by Judges A through E is 7, 6, 5, 3, and 3, respectively. The expected number of gprrect matches
from the five judges was five; in the experiment 24 such matches were obtained. The a priori probability of such an occurrence by
chance, conservatively assuming assignment without replacement on the part of the judges is p=8.10-10.
16
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(al TARGET LOCATION
SO PRICE RESPONSE
Drawing of Rinconada Park by Pat Price.
Note left-right reversal.
EEG Activity
As A Response To Remote Stimuli
An experiment was undertaken to determine whether a
physiological measure such as EEG activity could be used as an
indicator of information transmission between an isolated
subject and a remote stimulus. We hypothesized that percep-
tion could be indicated by such a measure even in the absence
of verbal or other overt indicators [6], [7].
It was assumed that the application of remote stimuli
would result in responses similar to those obtained under
conditions of direct stimulation. For example, when normal
subjects are stimulated with a flashing light, their EEG
typically shows a decrease in the amplitude of the resting
rhythm and a driving of the brain waves at the frequency of
the flashes [8]. We hypothesized that if we stimulated one
subject in this manner (a sender), the EEG of another subject
in a remote room with no flash present (a receiver) might show
17
changes in alpha (9-11 Hz) activity, and possibly EEG driving
similar to that of the sender.
We informed our subject that at certain times a light was to
be flashed in a sender's eyes in a distant room, and if the
subject perceived that event, consciously or unconsciously, it
might be evident from changes in his EEG output. The receiver
was seated in the visually opaque, acoustically, and electrically
shielded double-walled steel room previously described. The
sender was seated in a room about 7 m from the receiver.
To find subjects who were responsive to such a remote
stimulus, we initially worked with four female and two male
volunteer subjects, all of whom believed that success in the
experimental situation might be possible. These were desig-
nated "receivers." The senders were either other subjects or
the experimenters. We decided beforehand to run one or two
sessions of 36 trials each with each subject in this selection
procedure, and to do a more extensive study with any subject
whose results were positive.
A Grass PS-2 photostimulator placed about 1 m in front of
the sender was used to present flash trains of 10-s duration.
The receiver's EEG activity from the occipital region (Oz),
referenced to linked mastoids, was amplified with a Grass 5P-1
preamplifier and associated driver amplifier with a bandpass of
1-120 Hz. The EEG data were recorded on magnetic tape with
an Ampex SP 300 recorder.
On each trial, a tone burst of fixed frequency was presented
to both sender and receiver, and was followed in one second
by either a 10-s train of flashes or a null flash interval
presented to the sender. Thirty-six such trials were given in an
experimental session, consisting of 12 null trials?no flashes
following the tone-12 trials of flashes at 6 flashes/s and 12
trials of flashes at 16 flashes/s, all randomly intermixed,
determined by entries from a table of random numbers. Each
of the trials generated an 11-s EEG epoch. The last 4 s of the
epoch was selected for analysis to minimize the desyn-
chronizing action of the warning cue. This 4-s segment was
subjected to Fourier analysis on a LINC 8 computer.
Spectrum analyses gave no evidence of EEG driving in any
receiver, although in control runs the receivers did exhibit
driving when physically stimulated with the flashes. But of the
six subjects studied initially, one subject (H.H.) showed a
consistent alpha blocking effect. We therefore undertook
further study with this subject.
Data from 7 sets of 36 trials each were collected from this
subject on 3 separate days. This comprises all the data
collected to date with this subject under the test conditions
described above. The alpha band was identified from average
spectra, then scores of average power and peak power were
obtained from individual trials and subjected to statistical
analysis.
Of our six subjects, H. H. had by far the most mono-
chromatic EEG spectrum. Fig. 3 shows an overlay of the three
averaged spectra from one of this subject's 36-trial runs,
displaying changes in her alpha activity for the three stimulus
conditions.
Mean values for the average power and peak power for each
of the seven experimental sets are given in Table III. The
power measures were less in the 16 flashes/s case than in the 0
flashes/s in all seven peak power measures and in six out of
seven average power measures. Note also the reduced effect in
the case in which the subject was informed that no sender was
present (Run 3). It seems that overall alpha production was
reduced for this run in conjunction with the subject's ex-
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L.1
5 H7
10 Hz
15 Hz
Fig. 3. Occipital EEG spectra 0-20 Hz, for one subject (H.H.) acting as receiver,
showing amplitude changes in the 9-11 H7 Band and as a function of strobe frequency.
Three cases: 0,6, and 16 flashes/s (12 trial averages).
TABLE Ill
EEG Data for H.H. Showing Average Power and
Peak Power in the 9-11 Hz Band as a Function of
Flash Frequency and Sender (Each Entry is an Average
over 12 Trials)
Flash Frequency Average Power Peak Power
Sender
0
6
16
0
6
16
J.L.
94.8
84.1
76.8
357.7
329.2
289.6
R.T.
41.3
45.5
37.0
160.7
161.0
125.0
No Sender (Subject informed)
25.1
35.7
28.2
87.5
95.7
813
J.L.
54.2
55.3
44.8
191.4
170.5
149.3
J.L.
56.8
50.9
32.8
240.6
178.0
104.6
R.T.
39.8
24.9
30.3
145.2
74.2
122.1
No Sender
(Subject not informed)
86.0
53.0
52.1
318.1
180.6
202.3
Averages
56.8
49.9
43.1
214.5
169.8
153.5
-12%
-24%
-21%
-28%
(P