QUESTIONS RELATING TO BASIC RESEARCH EFFORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010058-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2014
• Sequence Number: 58
• Publication Date: May 14, 1974
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/09: CIA-RDP79-00999A000200010058-2
14 May 74
MEMO FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT Questions Relating to Basic Research Effort
1. This is an attempt to put into perspective the basic research issues
evolving out of a number of conversations and documents, viz: the initial con-
tract discussions of 23-25 January 74; the first Monthly Status Report, dated
18 March 74; the discussions in Washington with Messrs Jones, Puthoff and Targ
(I) on 28 March 74; and the 2nd Monthly Status Report dated 24 April 74. The intent
is to pose questions and suggestions which, once resolved or adopted, will enable
both the sponsor and the contractor to have a clear view of exactly what will
be performed in the basic research context how it will be performed and by whom,
and what the status of the effort is at any given time.
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2. Review. A brief review of the salient points emerging from the above
conversations and documents might be useful.
a. 23-25 Jan Conversations. It was agreed that the basic research would
focus on three primary tasks: identification of measurable characteristics pos-
sessed by gifted subjects; identification of those neurophysiological correlates,
if any, which relate to paranormal activities; and the establishment of protocols
to validate and/or identify the nature of the energy involved in the ostensible
paranormal activities; these tasks were to, respectively, receive approximately
20%, 20% and 10% of the total contract effort. A tentative agreement on the
specific tasks to be undertaken in each category, contingent upon the contractor's
ability to obtain the appropriate facilities, gear and personnel, was reached--
see the attached parer (those marked "A" were to be implemented; those marked "B"
were to be considered). On the basis of a subsequent telecon, the Halstead-
ReitaaLBattery was to be substituted for several of the Sensory and Psychological
tests.
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b. First Status Report. The WAIS (PAS) was administered to three subjects
and steps were taken to locate people capable of administering the Halstead-
Reitan. Visual acuity tests were run on one subject, with the finding that the
range of acuity was not unusual. Arrangements were completed for a computer-
assisted program to monitor GSR, blood flow and EEG during paranormal experi-
mentation. And a program to measure the effects of (monetary) Motivation, with
respect to guessing the state of a four-stage electronic random target generator,
was begun.
c. 28 March Conversations. We stressed the need to finalize and specify
all of the medical/sensory/psychological/neurophysiological testing to be employed
(and by whom they are to be administered) and to provide us with a definitive
statement of the basic research protocol. Contractor personnel reported that:
Dr Lim of the VA Hospital would administer the Halstead-Reitan; the Palo Alto
Medical Clinic would do the medical examination and lab work; Dr Ornstein of
Langley Porter was being consulted on the split-brain theorizing and would also
help Dr Lucas set up the polygraph monitoring mentioned in (b) above; Dr Helgard
at Stanford might handle the 'suggestibility' testing; flicker-threshold testing
would be performed at SRI; and that they were having difficulty (reconfirmed in
a telecon in late April) finding an appropriately qualified individual to do the
In-depth interviewing--i.e., a broad-gauge and respected psychologist whose-
findings wouldn't be restricted by the perspectives of a single 'school'. It was.
also agreed that the sponsor would provide a gradiometer and operator and that
the contractor would try to find an appropriate instrument (perhaps the O'Leary
Scale) for recording the subjects' state at the beginning and end of each testing
day.
d. Second Status Report. In addition to that covered in (c) above, the
report indicated that: Dr Ornstein would administer tests relating to brain-
hemispheric predisposition; that EEG tests appeared to substantiate the hyp-
othesis of right hemispheric specialization (reduced alpha) in, at least, remote
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strobeflash experiments; that the medical-lab work would include urinalysis, blood
analysis, hearing tests (frequency & intensity), eye tests (depth, color, far-,
near- and peripheral-vision), pulmonary function, EKG tonometry; and that two
additional instruments (a radiation probe box and a mechanical force indicator)
have been set up as remote probes, with baseline data now being collected.
3. Questions and Suggestions. The contractor has been only partially res-
ponsive with respect to our urgings in the basic research area--and then, usually,
has focused on those matters already of interest to him by virtue of previous
experiments or hypotheses. We still do not have any clear view of what will be
done (or has been done) with respect to the non-experimental examination of the
subjects or the mid-experimental measuring of neurophysiological correlates--nor
do we know in what sequence or by whom or (with respect to the mid-experiment
tests) by what random methods the testing will be performed. The contractor has,
in a sense, been responsive in that he has pursued most of our suggestions, made
several of the necessary arrangements and appears to be trying to finalize others.
But the over-riding concern from our vantage point is the uncertainty and fuzziness
which seems to reign--and the sense that, being much more interested in the
experiments themselves, he really does not share our sense of the purpose and
urgency and requisite meticulousness ot the basic research tasks. Hopefully, the
following questions and suggestions might help create the much-needed focus.
a. Missing Tests & Measurements. Taking into account all the arrangements
(i) that have been made, it still seems as though the following "A" category tests
from our original shopping-list have not yet been accommodated:
Visual: Pseudoisochromatic plates (?)
Psychological: Projective Tests
Luscher Color Tests
Embedded Figure or Raven's Matrix/Field Dependency
Aptitude and Values Tests (Strong & Allport/Vernon)
,Suggestibility Tests (unless Helgard is doing them(?))
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Behavioral: Time Estimates
Unless covered by the Reitan (?)
Tachistoscope
Both the deairability and feasibility of including the above should be
nailed down as soon as possible.
b. In Depth Interviews. In the medical context there is no explicit
mention of detailed interviews (medical history statements) being performed at
the Palo Alto Medical Clinic; this may be an oversight in the reporting but it
should be checked out and who ever does it should be given a feel for the kinds
of focus and insights we're seeking. With respect to the in-depth psychological
interviews, while we share their concern that they get the right kind of inter-
viewer, we simply can't wait much longer for the ideal since this plays a major
integrative role in the basic research effort and since any insights coming out
of it should be available early enough to be plowed back into the experimentation.
While we don't want a 'poor' interviewer, even a 'fair' one will be much better
than none.
c. Have they found a subject-state instrument to be used at the start and
end of each testing day? Again, a fair one would be better than none at all.
d. The Definitive Protocol. As soon as the above issues are decided (or even
without them, if they can't be resolved by the time of the next Status Report) we
need a precise statement of the basic research protocol which: lists each dikrete
test or instrument (whether medical, psychological, behavioral, neurophysiological)
to be used with each subject; for each, prescribes who (or what institution) will
administer it; provides the, at least, ideal sequence or phases in which they will
be given to the subjects; and describes what they will do with the resulting data--
i.e., in addition to reporting the results to us, how do they intend to administer,
record, review, integrate and exploit the data?
e. Status of Testing. We need to be able to tell quite precisely where they
are with such testing at any given time. Suggest that, once all the tests are
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known and listed in sequence, they prepare.a matrix table as an attachment to each
Status Report: across the top list the tests/instruments by category; and down the
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side list the at least nine subjects--S-S 1, 2 and 3 (Super-Sensitives), S-1, 2 and
3 (Sensitives) and C-1, 2 and 3 (Controls); they can then merely 'X' in the
appropriate boxes to show us the status. This should also include the mid-experi-
ment testing for neurophysiological correlates, together with an explanation of the
basis on which the testing sequences were selected. And the first report should
also tell us precisely how the tests are administered (e.g.:, with what 'set' or
instructions or explanations for the subjects, if any); subsequent reports should
focus only on any significant deviations from that procedure with respect to a
given subject (with an explanation of why the deviation was necessary).
f. Responsibility. I have the feeling that much of the fuzziness thus far
may be due to the fact that they have not laid specific responsibility for this
area on any one individual; if that is in fact the case, I suggest that they do
so immediately and that he understand from their management that he will be
accountable for the romance. In this context, we've heard no more about their
'review' or 'control' panel and it might be that the panel, if it is in fact
operative, should levy this responsibility.
g. Other Possible Measurements of Positive (PK) and Passive (00B) Energy.
As I understand it, modern science recognizes four (or, possibly, five) basic
sources of energy: Electromagnetic; Gravitational; Nuclear (pi-meson); Weak-
Interaction; and the postulated Tachyon. With the gradiometer we will have
accounted for a substantial part of the Electromagnetic. In conversations with
Dr LUKE, the following possibilities for broadening our scope emerged and may be
worth discussing with the contractor.
(1) Use of an electrometer (mono- di- and quardopole) to measure
any static electric field being projected by the subjects;
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(2) Use of a super-conducting-shielded radioactive source to measure
whether paranormal activity by the subjects affects the rate of decay;
and (3) Use of a Light-Lever device to measure whether paranormal activity
by the subjects creates any gravitational perturbation.
(VOTE: Following space provided for comments by
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