THE STATE OF THE ART IN PSYCHIC RESEARCH. ELECTRO/77 SPECIAL SESSION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00787R000500060001-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 59
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 11, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 19, 1977
• Content Type: RP

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Electrol77
Special Session
The State of the Art in
Psychic Research
*j~ EI@CtC077 Professional Program
New York, April 19-21, 1977
Copyright01977 Electro
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INDEX SPECIAL EVENING SE5SION
'T'HE STATE OF THE ART IN PSYCHIC RESEARCH
SESSION ORGANIZER SESSION CHAIRMAN
Russel Targ, Dr. George Pezdirtz
Stanford Research Institute Director of Energy Storage Div.
Menlo Park, Ca. ERDA
Washington, D.C.
A Look at the Exceptional. Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D, P.O. Box 2015,
Palm Beach, FL.
2 Direct Perception o~F Remote Geographical Locations. Harold E. Putoff and Russell
Targ, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA.
3 Possible EEG Correlates to Remote Stimuli Under Conditions of Sensory Shielding.
E. G. May, Russell Targ, and H. E. Putoff, Stanford Research Institute,
Menlo Park, CA.
4 An Investigation of Soviet PsychicalResearch, E. C. Wortz, A. S. Bauer, R. F. Blackwelder,
J. W. Eerkens, and A. J. Saur. AiResearch Manufacturing Company of California,
2525 W. 190th St., "Forrance, CA.
5 Improving Real Time ESP B Su ressin the Future: Trans-Temporal Inhibition.
Charles T. Tart, University of Ca ifornia, Davis, CA.
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INTRODUCTION
An inherent danger for a maturing democra-
tized society,. is that the pursuit of egalitar-
ian goals creates neglect of the very charac-
teristics which allow attainment of success;
that is, the pursuit of excellence, emphasis on
creativity and nurturing of those exceptional
human beings who possess the rare talents need-
ed in the vanguard of human progress. Without
such talents being utilized by leadership
throughout history, manki.n d would still be
struggling in the dark ages. If a modern soci-
ety fails to continually cultivate those areas
where creative intelligence can mature into ex-
ceptional capabilities, the society will find
itself slipping back toward the more primitive
values and institutions characteristic of mun-
dane leadership.
Noble social goals to improve the lot of
the least talented cannot possibly succeed
without developing the highest capabilities of
the most talented who can lead the way.
"To give a fair chance to potential
creativity is a matter of life and
death for any society. This is all
important because the outstanding
creative ability of a fairly small
percentage of the population is man-
kind's ultimate asset and the only
one with which Man has been endowed."
.....Toynbee -- January 19661
To emphasize this need--whereas United
States Federal expenditures for social better-
ment is hovering near the 50% mark of the to-
tal budget of about $400 billion dollars, the
rrbst recent figures show only 2.56 million de-
voted to training, understanding and research
of "gifted" individuals and their exceptional
talents. This is approximately .0013% of the
Federal expenditures for achieving social goals
and is a distressingly small investment consid-
ering the magnitude of the problem.
The creative, cognitive and intellectual
potential of the human mind is vast and of al-
most limitless variation. On the other hand,
the characteristics that `distinguish the un-
usual talent from mediocrity are not at all un-
derstood. In fact, some of the unusua_1 talents
possessed by a few are not even believed, much
less understood.
It is toward such understanding and what it
could achieve that this author's effort is
devoted.
A century of competent but always contro-
versial research by dedicated men and women of
science dermnstrates convincingly, for those
who will study the record,'that a variety of ex-
traordinary capabilities are indeed facts of our
existence. Further it seems, human beings are
usually, and probably always the causative
agents. Not only is the range of verifiable
events quite large, but the lines of evidence
point to little understood properties of our hu-
man mental machinery as perpetrator of, or at
least collaborator in, these events. They have
been inappropriately described as: miraculous,
PARAphysica,l, PARAnormal, SUPFdinatural, "spirits"
and other such terms which make a traditional-
ist's skin crawl. For this reason, it is im-
portant to dispel any notion that this paper
will give strength to ideas of "unnaturalness".
Let us attempt to cut through superstition and
myth and get to the crux of the matter regard-
ing cause, but keeping in mind that "natural"
does-not necessarily imply a "material." or con-
ventional viewpoint. Quite the contrary.
7.b the extent that each of the reported
capabilities is valid and observable, it is part
of the natural order of the universe which peo-
ple in science attempt to understand. There are
no unnatural or supernatural phenomena, only
very large gaps in our knowledge of what is nat-
ural, particularly regarding relatively rare
occurences. We should strive to fill those gaps
of ignorance. The fact that claims about many
phenomena have associated with them a high
"giggle factor" and have historically attracted
an unsavory assortrr~nt of cranks, quacks, frauds
and charlatans who prey upon the gullible,
should not deter the dedicated investigator from
seeking the truth. Let it be remembered that in
the world of science, the methods and the sub-
jects one-must use for observations are not al-
ways neat, clean and tidy. In its infancy,
pathology was dependent upon grave robbers, and
microbiology is indebted to contents of the
chamber pot in order to gain knowledge about
human functioning. No less onerous is the en-
vironment of the contemporary investigator who
chooses to study the functioning of extraordin-
ary-human mental processes.
Only in recent months; after many years of
effort by a handful of dedicated investigators,
including individuals presenting their results
at this conference, has it been possible to
bring certain investigations out of the closet
and to publish research results in prestigious
professional journals. This fact reflects
equally the perseverance of the investigators
and the entrenched rigidity of our scientific
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With all candor, however, it must be stated
that of the varied forms of extraordinary men-
tal activity, .the mast shunned of which bear
that distressing label "psychic", only a few
have yet achieved a sufficient; level of scien-
tific control 'and scrutiny to be repeatably
demanstrable under laboratory conditions. Some
that meet the ',test are: telepathy, precognition,
clairvoyance and now, remote viewing, which per-
haps includes'~,several of the other categories.
These forms of activity rightly deserve to be
accepted and explained by the scientific com-
munity at lame.
There are .numerous other events, however,
which are quite real but relai;ively m7re rare,
and which have proven to be rmre difficult to
control. These have yet to be adequately docu-
mented in the ;manner required by our tradition-
al methodology. This is true as much because
of the limitation of our methods and concepts
a the rarity of events. We must remember that
it is not nature's task to adapt to our rigid,
and often erroneous, preconceived notions, but
rather our task to be sufficiently creative and
intelligent to understand the myriad clues
nature gives us. The experienced field inves-
tigator who has travelled to different parts of
the world to observe and measure in situ those
individuals who possess these extraordinary
faculties should be heeded. Many have arrived
at the conclusion that, in fact, ALL the vari-
ous reported events can be, acid often are, gen-
uine occurrences. I refer in these cases not
only to prodigious feats of computation and mem-
ory, but mare 'specifically to major psychokine-
tic phenomena ''which have been observed and
reported by reliable investigators. None of
these have, a~ yet, been sufficiently studied
under laboratory conditions. It is this auth-
or's contention, however, that in the fullness
of time, the entire class of psychokinetic
events will be learned and brought under the
conscious control of a sufficiently large sample
of individuals that field studies can move into
the laboratory where mare carE;ful scrutiny is
possible.
It is because many experienced observers
agree strongly with the view that_all the men-
tal functions-now considered extraordinary will,
in due course, be made more ordinary; that it
is time to speculate about what this will mean
to our social 'functioning and institutions. Is
there an obvious impact not only on our think-
ing and way o~ daily life, but also on our val-
ues?
Toward that end, let us aaialyze that class
o:f extraordinary human mental functioning often
referred to as "psychic" and :from the sparse
knowledge we currently have, :peculate what is
likely to happen should this