CONTINUATION OF DOCUMENT 2: PSYCHOENERGETIC RESEARCH: SUGGESTED APPROACHES. SRI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00787R000500070004-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 26
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 11, 1998
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 1, 1978
• Content Type: REPORT

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This technique provides an additional benefit for the
transmission of messages. With judicial assignment of the attributes
in terms of 1's and 0's, it is possible to transform a given target
into one of the specially coded words shown at the. top of Table 4--
for example, an indoor swiauning pool would be rendered as the code
word 10101. These code words are carefully chosen is to construct
an error-correcting block code of a type commonly used for signal
transmission over noisy information channels.
A 5-BIT DECODING MATRIX
(Two Information Bits, Three Parity Check Bits)
10000
11110
00011
i c'
01001 ~
tail
00101
01011
=
0110_ ~'
~
--~
1100~
Double Error
11100 t
~
10010 s
Correction
... ~~ ! 1
e of four messages using our standard remote
sensing protocol, an outbound team of experimenters chooses the message
whose attributes match one of the four shown at the top of Table 4 and
proceeds to a target location corresponding to that binary word. The
subject and his monitor then conduct a standard remote viewing experi-
ment. (The subject is encouraged to respond freely, and is discouraged
from guessing with regard to the attribute list.) Once the response
period is completed, a judge must form a single binary word from the
subject's response, as described above. The judge then must find his
"response" word somewhere in the decoding matrix shown in Table 4 and
choose as his "message received" the word that tops the column in which
the response ward appears. By inspection of Table 4, one finds that
the decoding matrix will correct far all single errors in attribute
labeling, and will correct for some double errors.
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~~~/ ~
~ ~`~`~
~5,~2
. ~~ Gy
X032
0 `7~Or~050~ 70004=8.32~~8
No Error Correcting
Error Correcting
- ? - Majority Vote of 3 Error
Corrected Messages
0.50 0.60 0.70 0. BO 0.90 1.00
ps: PROBABILITY OF CORRECTLY PERCEIVING
A SINGLE BIT
,~3~2~
~~ =,327in8
~~6
~~~~~
,~ ~.
`~ ~
,~
,3.~~(c
FIGURE 1 USE OF A 5-BIT ERROR-CORRECTING CODE TO INCREASE
PROBABILITY OF CORRECT MESSAGE RECEPTION
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Figure 1 shows the enhanced probability of receiving a
message correctly over that expected if no error correction is used.
The message reliability can be further enhanced by use of a majority
vote of three such error-correcting experiments. The probability
enhancement for this case is also shown in Figure 1. Pilot work has
indicated that for the attributes shown in Table 3, the probability
of a correctly received message approaches 95%. Another benefit of the
procedure incorporating the additional majority vote feature is that
in th,e absence of obtaining a majority vote (that is, in the absence
of obtaining 5-bit responses which, at least two times out of three,
lands in one of the four message columns of Table 4), one is certain
that no message was received.
Experiments will be carried out to evaluate the proposed
judging procedure. If successful, such a procedure will provide
"information on subject reliabilities with respect to various categories
of response, and will thus be useful in assessing channel reliability.
b. Role of Feedback in Remote Viewing
In past programs we have conducted two series of experi-
ments with experienced remote viewing subjects to determine the effects
of withholding feedback. Both of these series failed to give a single
successful outcome in the no-feedback condition. This result offers
strong evidence that feedback is an essential element for successful
remote viewing, whether the reasons be psychological or physical. The
next appropriate series of experiments with these normally successful
subjects is to intermix, on a random schedule, feedback and no-feedback
trials, to eliminate any effect of psychological expectation that a
subject might have with regard to a given trial being carried out
without feedback. If we again find no success in trials without feed-
back, while the subjects continue to demonstrate successful remote
viewing in those experiments with feedback, this would indicate that there
was some substantive, perhaps physical, basis for the effect of feed-
back on the experiments.
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c. Role of Consciousness (Computer-Controlled Experiments)
If it should turn out that the subjects under the
conditions of the previous experiment exhibit success in remote viewing
independently of the feedback condition, we would then carry out a
further experimental series to define more precisely the role played by
feedback. In this case a subject would be asked to describe pictorial
material presented by a distant slide projector. (We carried out such
experiments in a pilot study and found them successful.)
The purpose of this new set of trials is to determine
whether a subject can accurately describe material that is unknown,
and remains unknown, to any person. To accomplish this result it is
necessary to arrange for computer scoring of the trials. Each of 32
target slides will be dichotomized into five pairs of describable
attributes such as indoors/outdoors, wet/dry, etc. These attributes
constitute a five-bit binary code where each bit corresponds to the
presence or absence of each of the target attributes. (The complete
technique is described in the previous section on coding.) Such target
description encoding allows automatic computer scoring of the subject's
response to proceed as follows.
After the subject finishes his description of the target
in the remote viewing experiment, an experimenter, who is blind to the
target selected, would have the task of evaluating the description
in terms of the five dichotomies, which would then be entered into a
microcomputer by toggle switches. The computer would then compare and
score his judgment of target attributes against the correct ones,
registered on the slide by an appropriate light/dark bar code read by
photodiodes. The total number of matches would be recorded automatically.
After six such trials, the experimenters would read out the total number
of correct matches. A perfect score would consist of 6 experiments
times S bits, or 30 hits. A score of 20 hits would be the minimum to
show statistical significance, and, if achieved, would constitute
evidence for remote viewing in the absence of any conscious access to
the target/response pair key. In the event that this experiment is
successful, it would provide definitive and crucial evidence that
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models of psychoenergetic processes based on precognitive feedback
channels alone, such as those proposed by 0. Costa de Beauregard,ls
are not correct,
An additional variation to be included is the presence
or absence of an experimenter viewing the slides to determine whether
knowledge of the target by some person enhances the remote viewing
process.
The outcome of experiments of this type is important
with regard to assessing the reliability of information obtained under
conditions in which feedback is minimal. As a side benefit, the protocol
as outlined can yield information as to resolution (depending on size of
slide projection) and enhancement factors associated with the presence or
absence of individuals knowledgeable of the target. Finally, the data
obtained provide for evaluation of the feasibility of using slide targets
as a medium for a practical communication system. If the use of slide
targets is successful, a standard demonstration experiment would be
developed so that the communications system could be observed by outside
evaluation teams.
d. Tracking of Targets in Motion
It has been pointed out by several sources that some
operators of fire-control radar displays can continue to make correct
judgements even when their scope is "white" with chaff and jamming, The
conjecture is that they either obtain subliminal information that the
untrained observer cannot see, or that there is a paranormal component
to their perception.
An attractive way to investigate this phenomenon with
regard to the paranormal hypothesis would be to generate a CRT display
showing clouds with a superimposed grid. An invisible target airplane
can be programmed to circumnavigate the display in a randomly-determined
manner, The task of the operator would be to activate a light-pen gun
over the square where he senses the plane to be, at which time the plane's
location is made visible for a short feedback interval. This computer-
controlled game would test, record, and provide immediate feedback to the
16
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user. If tracking of this nature is a learnable skill, the protocol of
feedback and .immediate reinforcement should allow learning to take
place.
e. Measurement of Accuracy as a Function of Repetition Rate
The rate at which trials in an ESP experiment are con-
ducted appears to strongly affect the success of the experiment. In our
experience, the success of subjects increases in direct proportion to
the time between experiments. From data including card guessing, remote
viewing, and picture drawing experiments, the common finding suggests
that if the targets are presented too rapidly in time, a temporal
contamination of neighboring stimuli occurs. In the annals of psychical
research this has been called displacement. Atypical example is afforded
by repetitious slide experiments in which a subject gives an excellent
description of a remote slide that has not yet been illuminated, or a
description of one which has been illuminated but not yet shown to the
subject, thereby missing the real-time target. A corollary is that
displacement phenomena must be inhibited for successful real-time
psychoenergetic functioning to occur.
Tart has a theoretical explanation for this effect, which
he draws from conventional physiology.17 He calls this phenomenon
"Trans-Temporal Inhibition," and offers the following explanation:
Trans-Temporal Inhibition
"What I am postulating, then, is an active inhibition
of the precognitively and post-cognitively gained information
about immediate future and immediate past, in order to enhance
the detectability of ESP information about real-time events.
Since this inhibition extends over time, I have named this
phenomenon trans-temporal inhibition.
Except for the unusual features of extending over time
rather than space, trans-temporal inhibition is analogous to
a widely used information processing strategy in the nervous
system called lateral inhibition. This is a general
phenomenon of a highly stimulated receptor sending out
inhibitory impulses to receptor endings laterally/spatially
adjacent to it, thus suppressing their initially weaker
output, unless they are also strongly stimulated by an
appropriate stimulus. It amounts to an edge detection
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process. To illustrate: If you press on your skin with a
sharply pointed object, not only is the touch receptor
immediately under the point strongly stimulated, but,
because of the mechanical deformation of the skin, receptors
laterally adjacent to the point are also stimulated, although
less intensely. The neural impulses resulting at the first
stage of detection, then, would be most intense immediately
under the stimulated point, but fairly intense on each side of
it, gradually tapering off, producing a neural signal pattern
suggesting a blunt, rounded stimulating object, rather than a
point. The most stimulated receptor under the point, however,
sends out inhibitory impulses suppressing the weaker (less
frequent) impulses from the laterally adjacent receptors, and
so recovering a pattern indicating point stimulation further
on in the nervous system. The phenomenon of trans-temporal
inhibition, then, suggests that a generally useful information
processing procedure is also operative for ESP."
In order to investigate this conjecture, the results of
experimentation under way for other purposes would be analyzed for the
displacement phenomenon as a function of inter-experiment temporal spacing.
2. Analysis
In our remote viewing experiments, the final output is typically
a tape recording and a written transcript, in which the subject relates
his perceptions and experiences with respect to the remote site that he
is attempting to describe. It is becoming apparent to us, as experimenters,
that some portions of a subject's output are more reliable than others.
For example, when a subject describes something at the site as being very
surprising to him, it can usually be found at the site. When the subject
assigns a name to the site, or a specific function, it is usually
incorrect. Similarly, when motion is perceived at the site, this
perception is usually correct. In some instances, a change in the tone
of voice of the subject is an indicator that the material being described
is more (or less) likely to be correct.
In addition, certain descriptive aspects of remote sites are
usually described correctly, such as whether they are indoors or out-
doors, whether the light is bright or dim, or whether the outbound
experimenters at the site are active or passive. These dichotomies have
already been codified in preliminary attempts to quantify remote viewing
for the purpose of sending messages.
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A systematic analysis of transcripts and tapes could greatly
increase the accuracy of information obtainable from this type of
experiment, and therefore extensive transcript analysis could profitably
be carried out on the data base generated. to date. This could include
such speculative procedures as voice stress analysis of the tapes.
3. Mechanisms
a. Theoretical Studies
To date, three basic physical models have been proposed
to describe paranormal functioning on the basis of present theory or
reasonable extensions of same. These are the ELF (extremely low fre-
quency) electromagnetic hypothesis, the quantum correlation hypothesis,
and the extradimensional hypothesis.
As discussed in Section I, the ELF hypothesis suggests
that psychoenergetic processes are carried by electromagnetic waves in
the frequency region below 1 kHz.s 9 Experimental support for this
hypothesis is claimed on the basis of lower-then-inverse-square attenua-
tion, low bit rates, and ineffectiveness of ordinary electromagnetic
shielding; factors (among others) apparently common to both ELF and
psychoenergetic processes. The quantum correlation hypothesis stems from
the recognition that a theory of reality compatible with quantum theory
cannot require spatially separated events to be independent,is-2o but
must permit interconnectedness of distant events in a manner that is
contrary to ordinary experience.21~22 The extradimensional hypathesis
is based on the ideas of Targ, Puthoff, and May (SRI), G. Feinberg
(Columbia University), and E. Rauscher (University of California Lawrence
Berkeley Laboratory) pertaining to the use of extra spatial and temporal
dimensions to provide a space-time metric especially suitable for
describing psychoenergetic processes.23
In the theoretical studies suggested below, we would
provide a series of predictions around which experiments can be designed,
and thus provide for the necessary differentiation among competing models
for psychoenergetic mechanisms. Such work would be pursued by both SRI
personnel and by consultant theoretical physicists; it will be collated
by SRI.
19
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Using the data base generated in past remote viewing
experiments, SRI proposes to look for correlations between success/failure
and time of day, geomagnetic storm activity, sun spot activity, and other
naturally occurring phenomena. In particular, we would use standard
statistical procedures to study correlation of remote sensing results
with factors such as east-west asymmetry, geomagnetic disturbance
indices, and diurnal variations, which are known to affect ELF and
other propagation.
b. ELF Experiments
The objective of these experiments is to determine the
extent to which the demonstrated remote viewing ability of an experienced
subject is degraded by placing him in electrically shielded environments
such as mu-metal chambers or submersibles. (Arrangements have been made
with appropriate organizations to obtain the use of a deep sea submersible
for this experiment.) It is anticipated that at least six experiments
would be carried out in each environment of interest. These remote
viewing experiments would be judged and evaluated statistically in
accordance with the previously established procedures described earlier.
If a subject is able to perform remote viewing from such
environments, we would conclude that electromagnetic radiation plays a
negligible role in the process. If he is unable to produce statistically
significant results under the shielded conditions, this would tend to
support the ELF hypothesis. We would, however, have to check for the
possible effects of psychological inhibition caused by the unusual
settings. This would be accomplished by covertly degrading the shielding
of the shielded room, or by attaching a wire to the submersible. If an
otherwise successful subject were still unable to remote view, we could
conclude that psychological factors rather than shielding degraded his
performance. If, on the other hand, his ability were restored by
the covert reduction of shielding, we would conclude that electromagnetic
effects were involved.
The use of shielding with different characteristics allows
differential testing of such factors as frequency dependence of the
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phenomenon. Therefore, we would carry out remote viewing experiments
using electromagnetic-and magnetic shielding, such as thick-walled or
mu-metal chambers (NASA Ames, Stanford University Physics Dept.) or the
shielded room at the MIT Magnet Laboratory, as well as submersibles,
for the purpose of obtaining further information pertaining to the ELF
hypothesis, the hypothesis favored in the USSR for all psychoenergetic
phenomena.
If it appears from the above work that ELF plays a part in
remote viewing, we would then conduct a similar series of controlled and
judged experiments with the subject in a high-intensity EM environment
such as an electrical substation whose 60-Hz generator would act as a
potential jamming noise source.
We also propose to use a portable ELF generator that would
be taken to six remote target areas that are otherwise relatively free of
ELF. At these sites, it would be determined in a random manner, blind to
the subject, whether the generator is to be turned on or off. We would
then make a statistical comparison of the remote viewing results. Thus,
we would use ELF sources (i. e., signal generators) as targets in remote
sensing, and use ELF sources for jamming the remote viewing environment,
in controlled double-blind experiments.
c. Subject-Induced Equipment Perturbation Effects
The study of human/machine interactions as a psychoenergetic
process has posed great difficulties for serious investigators. Among
these difficulties are the combined facts that the reported effects tend
to be small, and that the local enviroYUnent has rarely been monitored for
causes other than the proposed psychoenergetic ones. In addition, one
finds that the strongest effects are reported as occurring with the most
controversial and/or suspect subjects. Out of this collection of
questionable experimentation (and often poor reporting) emerge, however,
a few provocative experimental results that suggest that further careful
examination may be worthwhile and possibly rewarding. Such studies would
provide valuable data for assessing whether the area of subject-induced
equipment perturbations constitutes a useful area in inquiry.
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(1) Strain Gauge Experiments
As a result of technical contacts with Prof. John
Hasted, Birkbeck College, University of London, during an Iceland
Conference on Physics and Parapsychology, we have developed an interest
in attempting to confirm his claimz4~26 that he has observed inelastic
and elastic deformations of metal bars by some kind of remote human
interaction. During these experiments the subjects are reported to
cause effects without any physical contact with the metal.
In an effort to replicate Prof. Hasted's results, we
have constructed an electrically shielded enclosure having more than
135 dB RF attenuation from 10 kHz to 10 MHz and plexiglass sides (to
shield against air currents). Within this enclosure is the experimental
system of resistive strain gauges attached to a thin metal bar. These
are wired as a temperature-compensating bridge and connected to battery-
operated amplifiers and recording instruments. At present we can detect
changes in the length of the bar on the order of 500 angstroms and
applied transverse forces of approximately 100 mg. To date, we have
been successful in isolating and correcting several sources of artifact,
and have obtained hours of artifact-free baseline operation. All of the
data will be magnetically recorded for later computer analysis, and a
simple stripchart record will provide immediate feedback to the subject
of any changes in the bar. We are encouraged with the progress of
artifact isolation, and we propose to begin to task subjects to attempt
to perturb the isolated metal bar.
Should experimentation reveal genuine subject-
induced perturbations, we propose to determine whether such effects can
be used as a message-transmission device (remote telegraph).
(2) Random Number Generator Experiments
Another class of experiments that have been extensively
reported are those that involve alleged human/machine interaction with
electronic random-number generators. In these experiments, digital
electronic noise derived either from a thermal noise source or from the
decay of a radioactive material is monitored while a subject is
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attempting to alter the statistical properties of the noise distribution,
The usual protocol involves providing visual and audio feedback signals,
proportional to various statistical parameters, to a subject who is asked
in a biofeedback scenario to concentrate upon the feedback signals and to
alter them in a prescribed way. To date, there have been 54 such experi-
ments reported in the literature, 26 of which 35 report statistically
significant effects, while one of these studies show similar departures
from randomness during control runs without intended influence.
We are presently in the design stage of a micro-
processor-based random-number generator. A block diagram of the system
is shown in Figure 2. We plan to use three fundamentally different
sources of random events to derive the digital electronic noise signal.
The first of these is a diode designed by R. H. Haitz,s7 that is com-
pletely understood from both the quantum mechanical and solid state
construction point of view. A second fundamentally different source of
random events is to be derived from the decay of a single-transition
beta emitter, Lastly, the entire system can be checked against a
pseudorandom shift register, that constitutes a third source of random
events, This latter has the property that a long string of bits appears
random, yet once the shift register is reinitialized it produces the
identical random sequence once again,
The instrument is under control of a microprocessor
that records data on magnetic tape for later analysis, and controls a
printing I/O statistical calculator that provides immediate results for
feedback. Once the instrument is complete, it will be exhaustively
tested for possible artifacts resulting from environmental conditions.
We propose to use this instrument first to attempt
to confirm the existence of the claimed phenomenon, and, if it is con-
firmed, to investigate theoretical implications with regard to various
modes of human/machine interaction. Assuming that an effect can be
stabilized, this microprocessor-based system can easily be reprogrammed
to utilize coding techniques (described earlier) to construct a "remote"
telegraph communication system,
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R1
R3
RCA 1802
MICR PROCESSOR
TAPE
HP 915
PRINTING I/O
CALCULATOR
R1 ? "HAITZ" NOISE DIODE
,--~
R2 ~ ELECTRON EMITTER -RADIO ACTIVE SOURCE
~.
R3 ? PSEUD RANDOM SHIFT REGISTER
FIGURE 2 RANDOM-NUMBER GENERATOR -BLOCK DIAGRAM
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(3) Magnetometer Experiments
One of the first intentionally induced physical
perturbation effects observed by SRI personnel was the apparent pertur-
bation of a superconductor-shielded Josephson effect magnetometer by
two subjects who performed successfully in remote viewing experiments.28
We propose to carry out further experimentation with a sensitive
Josephson junction cryomagnetometer, a commercial instrument manu-
factured by Superconducting Technology, Inc., Mountain, View, California
(Model A201 magnetometer, employing an A401 SQUID sensor, A301 RF
amplifier, and removable superconducting shield).
Experimentation with such instrumentation requires
the following steps:
(1) Obtain calibration data in control runs to establish
baseline performance of the magnetometer in the absence
of any subject,
(2) Repeat above with various subjects present, but passive,
to establish background of perturbation effects in the
presence of subjects not engaging in volitional effarts
to perturb magnetometer system,
(3) Carry out controlled experimental runs based on effort/
non-effort periods being determined by random number
generator to provide statistical control. Make multiple
recordings to investigate "recorder only" effects, and
conduct automated statistical analysis (FFT, spike train
analysis, etc.) of the magnetometer output to determine
the signature of subject-produced effects.
(4) If perturbation effects are observed, interposition
of distance and shielding in a systematic way to
determine dependence of these factors.
In addition to the possible use of sensitive
instrumentation as targets for active perturbation efforts in, for
example, a communication link, such study offers the potential for
determining the use of such instrumentation as aP ssive detectors
of remote viewing phenomena ("intrusion detection"),
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C. Psychophysiological Correlates
1, Physiological Measures for Psi-Conducive States
In recent years, behavioristically oriented scientists have
suggested that in addition to obtaining overt responses such as
verbalizations or key presses from a subject, it should be possible to
obtain objective evidence of psi activity by direct measurement of same
physiological parameter of a subject, Ka.miya, Lindsley, Pribram,
Silverman, Walter, and others who came together to discuss physiological
methods to detect ESP functioning, have suggested that a whole range of
electroencephalogram (EEG) responses such as evoked potentials (EPs),
spontaneous EEG, and the contingent negative variation (CNV) might be
sensitive indicators of the detection of remote stimuli not mediated by
usual sensory processes.29
An early experiment of this type is that of Douglas Dean at the
Newark College of Engineering. In his search for physiological correlates
of information transfer, he used the plethysmograph, which measures
changes in the blood volume in a finger and is a sensitive indicator of
autonomic nervous system functioning,30 A plethysmographic measurement
was made on the finger of a subject during telepathy experiments. In
these tests a sender looked at randomly selected target cards consisting
of names known to the subject, together with names unknown to him
(selected at random from a telephone book), The names of the known people
were contributed by the subject and were to be of emotional significance
to him. Dean found significant changes in the chart recording of finger
blood volume when the remote sender was looking at those names known to
the subject as compared with those names randomly chosen,
Three other experiments using the physiological approach have
now been published, The first work by Tart,31 a later work by Lloyd,32
and most recently the work by the authors of this document33 all follow
a similar pattern, Basically, a subject is closeted in an electrically
shielded room while his EEG is recorded. Meanwhile, in another laboratory,
a second person is stimulated from time to time, and the time of that
stimulus is marked on the magnetic tape recording of the subject's EEG.
The subject does not know when the remote stimulus periods are, as
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.compared with the nonstimulus periods. Evidence for systematic changes
in EEG correlated with the remote stimuli are then sought.
All of these physiological measures might be used as a potential
signaling channel for information transfer, but a more important
application of this output would be as feedback to the subject, so that
he could learn to recognize his own optimal state of mind for success
in a psychoenergetic task.
a. Altered States of Consciousness: Special Environments
For the entire history of parapsychological research
there has been keen interest in optimizing the physical and psychological
conditions for a subject during an experiment. In the early part of this
century, there was much interest in the use of hypnosis as a means of
relaxing the subject, and suggesting to him that he would be successful
in the task before him. This approach, although attractive to many
investigators, never yielded convincing results indicating that subjects
did better through the use of hypnosis then they might have done with
ordinary relaxation.
In the last two decades there had been an interest in the
use of various pharmacological agents with a view toward whether they
would induce psi-conducive states. No evidence of enhancement emerged
from these studies either. Some subjects could produce statistically
significant results both in pharmacologically-altered and in normal
states, and so there was no evidence that the altered state had anything
to do with their success.
More recently there has been a great deal of interest in
the so-called ganzfeld protocol, in which a subject is provided with
presumably neutral sensory inputs. These are usually in the form of white
noise through earphones, and uniform illumination filtered through ping-pong
ball halves covering the eyes. The researchers at the Maimonides Hospital
Parapsychology Laboratory have obtained consistent success with this kind
of protocol over a period of several years. Thus, unlike the use of
hypnosis and pharmacological agents, some evidence that this form of
of environment control can be conducive to psychoenergetic functioning for
some subjects.
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Therefore, it is desirable to conduct experiments with
trained, high-scoring subjects to examine the effects of other factors
which might provide psychological conditions conducive to high-quality
psychoenergetic functioning (e. g., sensory isolation, free-fall
conditions in space, etc.).
b. Examine the Part Played by the Experimenter
FYom the work of Prof. Robert Rosenthal at Harvard it is
clear that there is a strong difference in the outcome of some
psychology experiments, depending on who conducts the experiment. This
so-called experimenter effect has been the subject of investigation for
the past 15 years in an attempt to find means to objectify some of the
principal findings of conventional perceptual and behavioral psychology.
We are not suggesting that this experimenter effect in psychology is
due to paranormal influences, but rather that some of the inability to
replicate ESP experiments of one laboratory, when the experiments are
transferred to another laboratory, might be due to subtle experimenter
effects of the type known to occur in psychology and behavior experi-
ments in general.
We consider it important to find out if the success or
failure of parapsychology experiments relate to the experimenter effect
through interpersonal interaction, subliminal cueing, or some as-yet
uncataloged factor.
a. Screening
Conversations with East Bloc researchers, and recent
information from Soviet researcher I.M. Kogan indicate that the USSR
has established a significant nationwide testing program to identify
psychically gifted young people. It is now generally agreed that
psychic functioning is an innate or latent ability, somewhat similar to
musical talent. That is, all people have it to some degree, but there
is a wide range of abi,ities from the psychically tone deaf, to the
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virtuoso performer. It would be the goal of a screening program to
locate and recruit the most psychically talented individuals available,
both to obtain a measure of the range of abilities that exists, and also
to make use of these abilities to further increase our understanding
of the phenomenon.
(1) Explore Training Techniques with Children,
the Blind, and Other Special Subjects
Although there is strong laboratory evidence for
psychoenergetic functioning in a great number of individuals, psychic
functioning is not yet widely accepted and utilized in the society at
large, One conjecture for the reason that there is not more day-to-day
evidence of this ability is that it is a forbidden activity, largely
suppressed in our society, It is further conjectured that psychic
functioning may be easier to elicit from children, who have not yet
"unlearned" the use of this otherwise natural ability. Therefore, we
would anticipate that part of any program effort would be directed
toward work with children in order to test this hypothesis.
Similarly, if the hypothesis of societal inhibition
against the use of psychic functioning is correct, a group of adults
likely to have overcome it to some degree would be the blind, since it
would be greatly advantageous to them to have additional means of gaining
information about their environment, We have carried out a remote sensing
experiment with one blind individual and found him to be an excellent
subject.
In addition, work with the blind may provide an
opportunity to observe underlying parameters of~paranormal perception
at a more primary level, since individuals lacking sight may be less
conditioned by the visual learning modalities characteristic of our
society.
We consider that investigation with both children
and blind subjects would constitute a valuable addition to any continuing
effort to screen the population for high-performance subjects,
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(2) Distance Experiments with Identical Twins
Identical twins have become an enigma to modern
psychoenergetic research. Although there is copious anecdotal material
verifying the existence of a paranormal rapport between distantly
separated twins, this alleged linkage has resisted laboratory
confirmation,
Identical twins often express the opinion that they
have a sensitivity to the feelings, dangers and traumas experienced by
each other, and many such instances have been well documented in the
parapsychological literature. However, it is interesting that these
same twins tend to perform at chance levels when tested with standard
ESP testing materials, such as cards and pictures, In our opinion
meaningful use can be made of the unique psychological and physiological
relationship existing between twins, by having them participate in
experiments of the remote viewing type in which there is a high yield of
success generally, If an exceptionally high degree of success with twins
taking part in remote viewing experiments was forthcoming, perhaps new
measures of the limits of resolution could be obtained from such an
effort,
It appears that the lack of accuracy in the remote
viewing protocol comes not so much from the lack of perception by the
receiver, but rather from his or her ability to render the preconscious
images without distortion, It is possible that twins share a common
fund of such images and image-processing mechanisms, and therefore could
provide increased resolution and analytic content, as compared with
relative strangers who typically make up the remote viewing duo,
b, Training
(I) Training in Perceptual Tasks Paralleling
Ordinary Perception
We have in our laboratory carried out a series of
communication experiments involving the transmission, from one laboratory
to another, of simple shapes (e. g., T, 0, ~), which also were of
different colors for each shape, These tests were initiated in an
effort to assess reports of Soviet work in this area, which include
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the transmission of decimal numbers via a psychoenergetic channel,
with a claimed yield of 105 out of 135 decimal digits 0-9 (p ^- 10-77),34
The communications series was designed to determine
whether a gradient series of perception tasks that mimic the known
development of ordinary perception would be useful in the development of
paranormal perception. The decision to follow such a protocol was
derived from data indicating that the laws of paranormal perception are
congruent with, rather than skew to, the laws that govern ordinary
perception, especially under conditions of subliminal presentation.
The particular question examined was whether a specific perceptual
orientation process known to hold in ordinary perception of color,
would hold in the case of paranormal perception as well. The perceptual
process of interest was the well-documented scale of increasing
sensitivity to color tones. Cross-cultural studies of 98 separate
linguistic stocks indicate that perception of color tones in the
environment begins with discrimination first of black and white (dull/
bright); then red is identified as a color; then yellow followed by
green or green followed by yellow; then blue; brown; and finally purple,
pink, orange, and grey.as
With the hypothesis that a similar gradient is
followed in the development of paranormal perception, subjects were
asked to differentiate among simple remote color card targets first on
the basis of the dichotomy dull/bright, then with regard to shape, and
only finally with regard to color. Specifically, subjects were
encouraged to reject premature mental discrimination processes based on
color recognition, which, by the hypothesis under test, we would assume
to be imaginative overlay from the already highly developed ordinary
perceptual modes.
Numerous data were gathered with subjects who
were experienced remote viewers. Analysis of the data, which shows
learning on both cases, provides initial support for the hypothesis
that progress in paranormal perception can be made on the basis of
training drills designed from what is known about ordinary perception.
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The purpose of this kind of training is the development
of excellent and reliable paranormal perception of analytic and other
alphanumeric types of target material.
Two extensions of this work are proposed: (1) Novice,
as opposed to experienced, subjects will be tested on the protocol
established above to determine whether they also show improvement in
remote perception skills; and (2) additional protocols based on factors
known to be important in ordinary perception will be designed and
evaluated by further testing with experienced subjects.
(2) Training in Abstract Targeting, Including
Geographical Coordinates
To date, two subjects have unmistakably demonstrated
their ability to describe distant locations, given only the map
coordinates (latitude and longitude) of a target site. Other subjects
have attempted similar tasks with mixed results.
One notable difference between the two groups is
that the successful group ran through practice training procedures
involving ^'100 sites taken from an ordinary atlas. Therefore, it is
proposed that a similar procedure be applied with new subjects to
evaluate whether such a procedure might result in the development of a
training protocol of general use. Should improvement be forthcoming on
this basis, novice subjects would also be tested and evaluated utilizing
the same protocols.
Additional variations on the theme of abstract
targeting would include targeting on the basis of pictures or
maps of the target site (with and without key elements missing).
The goal of these efforts is to evaluate potential
training protocols of wide applicability. Should such a program be
successful, it would eliminate our dependence on a select group of
naturally gifted individuals, a group that is inadequate in number for
large-scale exploration of the field's potentialities.
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Based on our own past six years of research, and the decades of
investigation by other scientists, we conclude that present evidence
strongly indicates the existence of same sort of paranormal or psycho-
energetic perceptual channel. By paranormal perception we mean the
respo~.ise of an individual to a stimulus presented to no known sense,
esented to a known sense by a currently unknown modality.
he two underlying goals that must be attained for the eventual
utili ation of this phenomenon are reliability and understanding, and
the recognition that it is necessary to have both in order to have
either.
We recommend that the principal objective of any new research
activity in this area should be the development of the most reliable
possible communication link, either between two individuals or between
a person and an object, such as a thought-controlled switch. Only
through achieving a system reliability of perhaps upwards of 80% can
the physical and psychological factors controlling paranormal perception
be determined.
To accomplish these objectives, we suggest that the highest-
priority tasks to be carried out are those that involve optimizing the
experimental protocols, and the training of subjects to reach excellence
of performance. In addition, screening procedures must be established
to enlarge the populations from which subjects are drawn, to allow us
to find additional gifted individuals for participation in the experi-
mental program.
Finally, we recommend that SRI, as a major contractor in this
area, serve a dual function: (1) carry out the major portions of the,
contracted R&D efforts; and (2) host inter-agency and inter-contractor
conferences. For day-to-day update, a teletype terminal would be
placed at contractor and sponsor locations so that teleconferencing by
computer can take place on a continual basis. Such computer tele-
conferencing provides the benefits of a message center that can be
33
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accessed at any time, in addition to multi-party teleconferencing.
Teleconferencing programs of the type used in the DARPA net or Planet
system can be supplied by SRI.
For more formal inter-contractor conferences, SRI would follow
procedures similar to those used on the ARPA-sponsored SECEDE and
TEALWING programs, and the ABNIDA-sponsored HAPREX program, wherein
SRI hosts meetings of scientists brought together to advise DoD
personnel on technological advances of potential strategic significance.
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