CNTH?: ON THE STRATEGIC POTENTIAL OF ESP

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• Publication Date: January 1, 1982
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Approved For Release 2001/03/07 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001200350008-4
CIth1: On the Strategic
Potential of ESP
By Dr. Roger A. Beaumont
NTEREST iN the military potential
I of ESP-extrasensory percep-
tion-has grown in recent years.
Some of it stems from the search
for reliable and jamming-free
modes of communication. A popu-
lar wave of interest in ESP
stemmed from a boom in the occult
and supernatural p enomena in the
late 1960s and early 1970s, a time
when ESP research in Eastern Eu-
rope and the Soviet Union also
attracted popular attention. Claims
of success in using ESP in military
operations, however, appeared af-
ter the First World War'.
In spite of all such assertions, a
basic question remains unan-
swered: does ESP actually work?
While many have thought so-and
think so-some scientists in the
West have feared that the mounting
fascination with ESP, in league
with the resurgence in the occult
and mysticism, threatens science
itself. Moreover, such nagging
doubt about psychic phenomena is
not evident in Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union. The Russians
have long recognized that if ESP
were an actual effect and could be
harnessed, it would have great stra-
tegic potential.
Are such systems really possi-
ble? Many have thought so for
so me time-. In this respect, it may
be useful to look closely at the
differences in approach in ESP re-
search in the West, on the one
hand, and in the Soviet block coun-
tries on the other. In the latter,
parapsychology is not considered
to be a separate research disci-
pline. Instead, articles on "bio-
communications" (telepathy) ap-
pear in traditional scientific jour-
nals, salted in among what Western
scientists view as orthodox re-
search. The attention of many in
the West was aroused in the 1970s,
as Soviet authorities brought a
heavy hand down on news cover-
age of ESP research in Russia3.
Western Research
L,/r. 1%Uge1 1%. LJG(4641/tvns .....1.? _., _-
sor of history at Texas A&M Uni- In the West, psychic research
versity and has authored more than has long been tainted by sensation-
40 articles on military history and alism and some charlatanism. man Approved For Release 201tjx FOudCIA- DP 96 0078 3ROOSince the
~~ a5'0OO8a4's u c 1 have
39
SIGNAI JANUARY. 1982
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sought links with the supernatural
through such means as Ouija
boards and seances. The dramatic
and the absurd overtones of the
popular culture aspect of ESP has
led even the more conservative ele-
ments of the popular press to treat
ESP as a novelty. Also confusing is
the fact that the various types of
apparent ESP-telekinesis (the
projection of force), telepathy
(mental transmission), clairvoy-
ance (the sensing of remote images)
and precognition (foreknowl-
edge)-have been lumped together
as related phenomena. Major cen-
ters of ESP research in the West, at
Utrecht, London and Duke Uni-
versity, have come under suspicion
from many scientists. As a result,
researchers like J. B. Rhine, re-
cently deceased, have labored to
prove an effect which the Soviets
accept and attempt to explain-and
control.
While the enfolding of "biocom-
munications" within their central-
ized research system may reflect
Soviet concern that ESP drifts too
close to religion, their closing of
public access to ESP research
might be a parallel to what hap-
pened in the United States and
Britain during World War II after
work on an atomic bomb began4.
When it was still visible, Russian
research seemed to be trying to
reconcile individual ESP experi-
ence with transmission and recep-
tion of low-peer low-frequency
electromagnetic waves similar to
the kind used to transmit radio,
television and radar signals-. Much
of the work on "biocommunica-
tions" dealt with the electrical
dynamics of organisms, even back
in the 1950s, when, in the United
States, the idea that animals and
plants and individual cells could be
influenced by electromagnetic radi-
ation other than heat was rejected
in biological research.
Soviet Research
Since the 1930s, biologists and
parapsychologists in the Soviet
Union have traced out in ever
greater detail a telepathic transmit-
ter-receiver ESP model, based on
the concept that people with strong
abilities as either transmitters or
receivers can communicate by
sending basic symbols or sensa-
tions (but not detailed or precise
verbal thoughts or images) at great
distance, thus, constituting a "cy-
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bernetic system with all its proper-
ties"6-based on very-long-wave
transmission. Nevertheless, the
Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GSE)
of 1974 states flatly in the article on
"Parapsychology" that while ESP
is a phenomenon, it is not related to
a variant of long-wave electromag-
netic transmission. Since the GSE
is known to be a vehicle for official
policy and is rather Orwellian in
nature, the refutation, which con-
trasts with much extant in Soviet
ESP research, is interesting.
While transmission of data over
great distances by ESP was exam-
ined in the West from the 1920s on.
it was rejected at first, since it was
in violation of scientific laws which
were believed to govern radio
transmission and which decreed
that there was a falling-off of power
relative to the square of the dis-
tance between transmitter and re-
ceiver. Later, when unexpected
long-range transmission of weak
signals due to atmospheric effects
was discovered, a theory of analo-
gous enhancement and relay
through psi-sensitive individuals of
ESP "signals" came to the fore,'
while other research pointed to the
effects of electromagnetic radiation
on the body8.
Research into the biological ef-
fects of electromagnetic waves is,
of course, not an exclusive pre-
serve of Soviet science. It has been
known for almost a century, for
example, that magnetic fields in-
duce a sensation of light in the
human eye, even in darkness9. In
the late 1960s, a Russian-born
American physicist noted magnetic
resonance effects in matter con-
taining particles with gyromagnetic
properties, observing that "absorp-
tion of electromagnetic energy can
cause transitions from lower to
higher energy levels with resulting
absorption of radiation and re-ori-
entation of the dipoles."10 Most
recently, a British investigator re-
ported a relationship between
depth of hypnotic trance and the
electrical resistance of the skin."
While such evidence of overlap
between parapsychology and biolo-
gy, physics and chemistry falls
short of the certainty needed for
firm scientific conclusion, the un-
certainty poses a problem for de-
fense policy makers. It is especially
frustrating, considering the history
of ESP which is strewn with hoax-
es and wishful thinking that even
some scientifically-trained para-
psychologists have drifted into mis-
representation and fudging, as des-
perate searches for conclusive re-
sults have led to a shaving of
research rules. Discovery of such
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SIGNAL, JANUARY, 1982
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"Perhaps ESP is a not-yet-understood sensitivity to subtle cues, or the brain
function, as a computer processing information subconsciously. Perhaps
those who are most sensitive "print out" slightly before or in :parallel with
distant events, thus appearing to be clairvoyant, but having actually calcu-
lated probabilities unconsciously from data gathered along the way-also
unconsciously."
hoaxes further discredits a field of
investigation under suspicion. As
John Beloff, a parapsychologist,
has noted, ESP research has ".. .
suffered from its fatal attraction for
persons of unbalanced mind who
seek in it their personal salvation.
"12
Nevertheless, what is to be made
out of the evidence that suggests
the possibility that there may be
something more solid lying behind
it?13 That question makes govern-
ment funding of ESP-related re-
search, at the worst, a ticking
bomb and, at best, a quandary.
Sponsoring such seemingly wild-
eyed studies could well explode
back in the face of sponsoring
agencies, policymakers or re-
searchers-but failure to follow
leads might yield great advantages
to those less skeptical.
Perhaps ESP is a not-yet-under-
stood sensitivity to subtle cues, or
the brain function, as computer
processing information subcon-
sciously. Perhaps those who are
most sensitive "print out" slightly
before or in parallel with distant
events, thus appearing to be clair-
voyant, but having actually calcu-
lated probabilities unconsciously
from data gathered along the way-
also unconsciously. Are such ran-
dom coincidences noticed only un-
der stress, as psychiatrist Carl Jung
suggested in his theory of "syn-
chronicity"? Or is there actually a
lining up of electropotential forces
in the brain at certain times, creat-
ing a low-power long-wave trans-
mitter-receiver system of the kind
suggested by Kogan?
Defense-related Research
the Rand Corporation and the Insti-
tute for Defense Analyses cropped
up occasionally. In the early 1960s,
there were reports of telepathy be-
tween the submarine USS NAUTI-
LUS and a shore-based command
post-which was denied forthwith
by the Navy.14 in 1973, stories ap-
peared - describing CIA-sponsored
probing of Soviet and Chinese se-
cret installations by individuals
with high psi ability.'' By the mid-
1970s, Stanford Research Institute
appeared to be carrying the ball. 16
From time to time, some indica-
tions of interest on the part of
NASA emerged to public view.
Following a call for an experiment
in the course of the moonlanding
programs in the late 1960s," an
field of "disinformation." If Soviet
research in this area proved to be a
spoof, the diversion of money and
people to ESP could lead to the
overlooking of other develop-
ments, as well as serving as a waste
of effort.
Such cautions do not erase the
tantalizing advantages to be gained
in harnessing ESP. Given that such
phenomena are based on an ele-
ment of reality, the strategic use of
ESP raises a further series of ques-
tions. Are the alignments of people
or conditions only random or occa-
sional? Is psi ability a by-product
of surrounding electromagnetic ra-
diations, or of solar radiation or
induced by terrestrial magnetism?
Is it enhanceable through hypno-
tism or drugs? Is there means for
testing for psi ability? Or for devel-
oping it? Can it be jammed? Is the
effect simply explainable in terms
of a variation of radio-communica-
tions theory? Can "information
bits," or code messages really he
transmitted by sending combina-
tions of basic sensory images? Is
foreknowledge and remote-sensing
possible? Is it group enhanceable?
American defense analysts and
policy makers seem to have been
hedging their bets in this area for
some time. Reports of U.S. de-
fense-related ESP research have
appeared fairly regularly in the
public press over the last quarter of
a century. In the 1950s, for exam-
ple, news releases and popular fea-
tures described the involvement of
W~s tin~ghouse Laboratories and
thAPAIRYOUSMABIeasle i2 0
ESP research. Later, the names of
astronaut, Captain Edgar Mitchell,
conducted an experiment using
star-cross-wave-square-circle psi
cards developed at Duke Universi-
ty. In six sessions, he "transmit-
ted" 25 card images at preset
times, while "recipients" recorded
their impressions. While the results
exceeded statistical probability,
they were not overwhelming.''
NASA was quick to disclaim offi-
cial sponsorship.
Other cases of NASA involve-
ment included a communication
project funded through Stanford
Research Institute, which generat-
ed hostile reaction in some scien-
tific circles, and a "previewing" of
Jupiter by a well-known psychic
researcher-19
Evidence of interest and re-
search, however, does not neces-
sarily mean serious acceptance or
commitment to programs. James
Dougherty pointed out how nations
involved in disarmament talks may
interject "jokers" or "riders" into
otherwise serious and rational pro-
posals to make sure that their op-
ponents will not accept them.
Those thus maneuvered into the
role of rejectors may then seem in
the eyes of technically unaware
publics to be the foes of peace.20 A
corollary to this is the strategy of
mounting shadow programs to
draw an adversary's attention-
$te3twNT
~r Pt$'8
the essence o Soviet e P6 in the
ESP and C3
In a parallel vein, the mounting
interest in C3-command, control,
communication-reflects concern
about the complexities of war in
what National Security Advisor
Breszinski called the "nucleotronic
age." The situation is made more
critical not only by a rising curve of
innovation but also by anxiety
about Russian developments in this
area. Contradictions in their pub-
lished material do not produce
much agreement among Western
analysts about where the Soviets
are going, but their lines of thought
and unorthodox military problem-
solving techniques are unique and
sometimes strange.21
And so it is not clear at this point
if both sides are really just playing
with each other, or if there is some-
thing really developing in the realm
of ESP. Spoofing, deception and
I l n t f'W l and pea e. If
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ESP does work as a kind of long-
wave radio, it could allow reliable,
unjammable, unmonitorable com-
munication with remote strategic
weapons, especially the nuclear
submarine force. Is there, then,
some overlap between ELF-the
extremely low-frequency radio sys-
tem proposed by the Navy over the
last 10 years under the titles San-
guine and Seafarer-and ESP?
The congruence of the Soviet
model of ESP and the characteris-
tics of ELF (Extremely Low Fre-
quency) communication occur at
several qualitative levels, from the
simple aspect of hypothetical-theo-
retical overlap of transmission and
reception, to the need for an un-
jammable and EMP-proof C3 medi-
um in post-nuclear exchange envi-
ronment modes, from "broken-
back war" fighting to conflict
termination. One main hypotheti-
cal parallel is the problem of slow
data rate, a la the age of signal flags
and semaphores, and the early era
of telegraphy and radio, a problem
overcome with codebooks, and
imagination. Unhappily, an effec-
tive ESP system would, depending
on the nature of the phenomena,
offer potential to the executor of a
surprise attack, from the psychic
influencing of targets, through pre-
cognition and remote sensing, to
message transmission below the
detection and countermeasure
threshold of a potential victim.22
Thus the anxiety born of the magni-
tudes of increase in threat and con-
sequence of error tends to overide
rationalist skepticism.
Threat Perception
fight. The anxiety has also been
reinforced by the fact that the two
nuclear superpowers are the na-
tions which suffered the greatest
strategic surprises of World War II,
Operation BARBAROSSA, the
Nazi assault on Russia, and Pearl
Harbor, both in 1941, within six
months of each other.
A principal problem in the realm
of ESP stems from the dynamics of
political power in an age in which
"far-out" concepts have regularly
become reality. Those who seek
and hold political power often lack
technical knowledge about the
complex systems on which defense
and foreign policy rely, Many mod-
ern leaders have come to be as
dependent on their scientific advi-
sors as ancient kings were on their
shamans and soothsayers. The
controversial influence of Dr. Lin-
demann (later Lord Cherwell) on
Winston Churchill in the Second
World War is still viewed as cru-
cial, since Lindemann's advice led
to a major redirection of British
bombing toward attacks on Ger-
man civilians.
In the Nuclear Age, national
leaders have often had science ad-
visors act as translators of the ar-
cane, even though the performance
of such modern shamans has been
uneven. Albert Speer, for example,
overlooked the potential of nuclear
research, and the influence of Lord
Cherwell on Winston Churchill has
Perception and interpretation of
threat, after all, has been a growing
problem in the age of machine war-
fare, a by-product of the rising
speed and destructiveness of weap-
ons. Since the 1950s and the com-
ing of H-Bomb-tipped ICBMs, the
nuclear super-powers have wired
together elaborate networks of ra-
dar screens, electronic computers,
radios, telephones and, more re-
cently, satellites, fiber optics, fluid-
ic computers and lasers. Articles in
the Western popular press on the
strategic potential of ESP began to
appear in the late 1950s, as the first
generation of inter-continental bal-
listic missiles cut nuclear surprise
attack warning time from hours to
minutes. Since then, such concern
born of increasingly destructive nu-
clear power has been a driving
.and control" cin shaping such "command
Pnt " itaiigR~ to ef 2G01
ciency, systems which are de-
signed as much to prevent war as to
long been under scrutiny by histori-
ans. In any case, science has yield-
ed much of use in modern war,
and, recently, as World War II
secret files have been opened, the
electronic warfare and decoding
battles of that period, truly resem-
ble, as Churchill said, a duel of
magicians.
When looking at the current
plight of policy makers in respect
to ESP, then, it is sobering to recall
that the vast atomic bomb project
of World War II, undertaken in fear
of parallel Nazi efforts, was based
on an unproven hypothesis in a
highly theoretical branch of sci-
ence. Nevertheless, two days be-
fore Pearl Harbor, President Roo-
sevelt committed vast and scarce
resources to support the work of
scientists who had no firm data in
hand, to seek the exotic goal of
loosing the electrical bonds of mat-
ter. As a result, what was literally
science fiction until 1944 became
brutal truth in 1945.
Effects of Programs
face hazardous paradoxes. If too
much were spent, and produced a
dead-end, the political result could
be deadly. But.if the potential were
ignored, and an adversary succeed-
ed in harnessing ESP, the result
would be worse than embarrass-
ment. If ESP can, indeed, be mea-
sured and controlled, whichever
player in the game of international
power mastered it might succeed
without tipping their hand; it would
be hard to keep sealed off. If the
effect proved to be a variant in the
phenomenon of extra-long wave
communication, a whole sub-world
of communications research would
be opened up, not to mention the
impact on geography, meteorology
and psychometry.
The tendency for those who
dwell in corridors of power to over-
read threats is proverbial. In view
of that, even suspicion that a foe
was using ESP could generate tur-
bulence in a system in times of
stress or crisis. The uncertainty
regarding the designs and motives
behind Soviet interest in ESP also
raises other questions. Is that inter-
est merely a spoof, a form of "dis-
information," or are they really
into pay-dirt and trying to cover
up? Did they move their ESP re-
search into their first-line scientific
research establishment to conceal
developments-or to heighten
Western anxiety and uncertainty?
Do they fear that the West may be
active in this area-or even ahead?
Perhaps, in the end, all the inter-
est and effort in this area will prove
wasteful.
merely superstitious hndeaalready
Or perhaps many
glimpsed bits and fragments of an
effect-or effects-which will
someday be measured scientifical-
ly. For those looking out over this
strange and blurred landscape, and
trying to fit it into a context of
policy, operations and technology,
it is a very tough call, indeed.
Footnotes
'The Czechs, for instance. claimed the use of
clairvoyance against the Hungarians in 1918 and in
guerrilla warfare in World War II: Sheila Os-
trander and Lynn Schroeder, Psychic Discoveries
Behind the Iron Curtain, Englewood Cliffs, Pren-
tice Hall, 1970, pp. 312-313: Peter Maddock,
"Electromagnetic Induction of Psi States: The
Way Forward in Parapsychology." in Mysteries.
Colin Wilson, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons.
1978, p. 632.
21n the 1920s, the British government reportedly
funded development of a device to measure psy-
chic emanations, Ian Stevenson, "The Uncom-
fortable Facts About Extra-Sensory Perception,"
Harpers, July 1959, pp. 20-25: The military theo-
rist, J. F. C. Fuller, a student of the occult,
~slroatAljglfty bejween psychic power and
IN d7~~ilhdfv) ~bhn Tythall. "Bone"
Fuller: Soldier, Strategist and Writer, 1878-1966.
The data at hand hardly suggest
isinore.A u a
gram mounted in this area would
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New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1977.
3See Henry Gris and William Dick, The New
Soviet Psychic Discoveries, Englewood Cliffs.
Prentice Hall, 1978, pp. 286-287; R. A. McCon-
nell, "Parapsychology in the USSR," Journal of
Parapsychology (39:2), June 1976, pp. 129-134:
Milan Ryzl, Parapsychology: A Scientific Ap-
proach; J. G. Pratt, "Soviet Research in Parapsy-
chology" in Handbook of Parapsychology, Benja-
min Woolman, ed.. New York, Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1977; Alfred Douglas, Extra-Sensory
Perception: A Century of Psychic Research, Lon-
don, Victor Gollancz, p. 345. In 1974. it was
announced that E. M. Naurov, a principal Soviet
ESP investigator, had been jailed for two years on
charges of having personally profited from his
work and contacting foreigners, and, in 1977.
Russian security police detained an American
journalist for questioning who had tried to inter-
view Soviet ESP researchers. Reports of Soviet
VIPs seeking health treatment from a well-known
medium have appeared in the West, e.g., see n.a.,
"Ober Ihrem ein Leuchten," Der Spiegel (35:17).
April 20, 1981, pp. 126-139.
?See Leslie Groves, Now It Can Be Told: The
Story of the Manhattan Project, New York.
Harper and Brothers, 1962, p. 146ff.
'See M. Ryzl, 'Model of Parapsychological
Communication," Sdelovica Technika (8), 1964,
pp. 299-302, AD-466927, and I. M. Kogan, "The
Information Theory Aspect of Telepathy." transl.
F. J. Krieger, Rand Paper p. 41-45, 1969. For
whatever reason, since Kogan's article appeared,
listing of ESP-related research in US unclassified
technical report indices has ceased.
6L. Vasiliev. Studies in Mental Telepathy, Mos-
cow, Gospoliditzat, 1966. Joint Public Research
Service Document No. 10702. p. 175.
'See Adrian Dobbs, "The Feasibility of a Physi-
cal Theory of ESP" in J. R. Smythies, Science and
ESP, London. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971.
pp. 230-254.
BA. S. Presman, "The Role of Electromagnetic
Fields in the Processes of Vital Activity." Bio-
physics, 1964. p. 134, also see na.. "Biofields: The
Aura of Magic." Washington Post, July 20, 1978.
Sec. K. p. 10.
9E.g., see Horace Barlow, Henry 1. Kohn and
E. Geoffrey Walsh, "Visual Sensations Aroused
by Magnetic Fields," American Journal of Physi-
ology (L48:2), Feb., 1947, pp. 372-375; Walter
Sullivan, "Finger Tip Regrowth Starts a Study of
Regenerating Nerves and Limbs," New York
Times, Dec. 30, 1979, Sec. I, pp. 1 & 18.
"Alexander Kolin, "Magnetic Fields in Biolo-
gy," Physics Today, November, 1968, pp. 39-50.
in the early 1970s, the use of very low level
currents to aid in the healing of broken bones
evolved from research on the electrical aspects of
limb regrowth in lower order animals.
IIC. Maxwell Cade and Ann P. Woodley-Hart,
"The Measurement of Hypnosis and Auto-hypno-
sis by Determination of Electrical Skin Resist-
ance," Journal of the Society for Psychic Re-
search (76:748), June 1971. p. 99.
"For a brief critique and description, see Eliza-
beth Hall, Possible Impossibilities. Boston,
Houghton-Mifflin, 1977, p. 161.
13See Stephan A. Schwartz, "Deep Quest,"
Omni, March 1979, p. 94ff.
14Gerald Messarie, "Le Secret du Nautilis."
Science et Vie, No. 509, 1960, pp. 30-35, and n.a.,
"L'Armde Americfine titudie le 6 sense," Science
et VIE, No. 508, 1960, p. 32.
ISNew York Times Index, 1973; and Bris and
Dick, New Soviet Psychic Discoveries, Engle-
wood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, 1978, p. 293. For a
more recent perspective, see Ingo Swann, Ban-
quet Address, "Proceedings of the 17th Annual
U.S. Army Operations Research Symposium,"
Ft. Lee, VA, Defense Documentation Center
#AD B 0362704, pp. 9-27.
"For evidence of a trend in the late 1970s, see
Ingo Swann. "The Threat of Possible Psychic
Techniques in Future Conflicts. Proceedings of
the 17th Annual U.S. Army Operations Research
Symposium, 6-9 November 1978, Fort Lee, VA
(DDC#AD B 036704); also see Dennis M. Ross,
"Hypnosis as a Tool of Military Intelligence,"
Military intelligence (4:3), July-September 1978,
pp. 34-37; and John B. Alexander, "The New
Mental Battlefield: 'Beam Me UP, Spock,' " Mili-
tary Review (LY: 12), Decemer 1980, pp. 47-54.
17M. Ruderfer, "Note on the Effect of Distance
in ESP," Journal of the American Society for
Psychical Research (63:2), April, 1969, p. 201.
18N.a., "Space Experiment in ESP is De-
scribed," New York Times, February 23, 1971, p.
40.
19See Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ, "A
Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer Over
Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspectives and
Recent Research" in Mind at Large: IEEE Sympo-
sia on the Nature of ESP, ed. Charles T. Tant,
Puthoff and Targ (New York: Praeger, 1979). pp.
13-76; n.a., "Techniques to Enhance Man/Ma-
chine Communication," Stanford Research Insti-
tute, July 1974, Final Report on NASA Project
(NAS 7-100).
James E. Dougherty. How to Think About
Arms Control and Disarmament, New York.
Crane and Russak, 1973, p. 52.
21E.g., V. V. Druzhinin and D. S. Kontorov,
Concept, Algorithm, Decision. Washington, DC:
U.S. Air Force, 1974.
uSee Clinton Roche, "ELF and the SSN: Data
Rate at Depth and Speed Today." SIGNAL (35:8),
April 1981, pp. 29-32
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The "Human Factor"
inC3
To the Editor:
Stephen Andriole and Gerald
Hopple's March 1982 article on
"Decision Makers in C2" was very
exciting reading. As a research
manager in the behavioral sci-
ences, I was pleased to see SIG-
NAL publish such an article be-
cause the article stressed orienta-
tion which I believe needs to be
more broadly appreciated in the C2
world. Namely, the authors
showed the need to consider hu-
man information processing, cogni-
tive styles, psychophysiological
factors and belief systems, and put
forth the notion that C2 systems
ought to be designed from the deci-
sion maker up rather than from
electronic capabilities down. Es-
sentially, they showed concerns for
the "humanization of C" (p. 45).
The authors also correctly pointed
out that C2 programs need an inter-
disciplinary approach and one
which draws from both basic and
applied (behavioral) research.
I attempted to achieve similar
goals in a paper entitled "Individ-
ual Difference Dimensions as Hu-
man Factors Considerations in
Tactical Communications Sys-
tems" which I presented at the
Human Factors Association of
Canada annual conference in Octo-
ber 1981. Starting with generic fea-
.,tures of C3 systems, I identified
some major impacts of C3 technolo-
gy on decision makers: These im-
pacts included:
because of the real time aspect of terests. He recounted his experi-
C3 and the short life of- informa- ences to the membership. The Rus-
tion especially at the tactical lev- sians have trained receptor teams
el; to receive telepathic messages. In-
? crisis management as the norm in telligence, audio, video or thought
operations; energy is transmitted as individual
? decision makers' concerns over pulses. By use of the teams each
information accuracy and source receptor contributes his fraction of
reliability; the transmission to all the others.
? decision makers' need to be open The integration forms a complete
to technological innovation and intelligence.
organizational change. Dr. Dean, an adjunct professor
Given the generic features of C3 at Newark College of Engineering
systems and their impacts on deci- (now New Jersey Institute of Tech-
sion makers, numerous individual nology) became Director of the
difference dimensions were pro- Dream Institute at Mamoiades
posed as useful in the selection and Hospital, New York City where he
training of decision makers and in conducted thought transfer experi-
the design of C3 systems. These ments with certified results pub-
dimensions include: lished in scientific journals. The
? Personality U.S. government granted $25,000
-tolerance of ambiguity to his activity. Professor Al Shu-
-risk taking kur, his co-experimenter, I believe,
-anxiety/stress is still active in parapsychology at
-dogmatism NJIT. The subject is offered in
-evaluation apprehension scores of universities.
? Cognitive Styles
-field dependance
-systematic-heuristic
? Attitudes
-toward innovation/change
-toward high technology
I hope that more and more the
"human factor" in its full connota-
tion will be taken into account in
the C3 world.
Robert Loo, Ph.D.
Canadian Forces Personnel
Applied Research Unit
Mental Communication
To The Editor:
Your article in the January 1982
issue of SIGNAL ("C"`19: On the
Strategic Potential of ESP," by
Roger A. Beaumont, p. 39) was
read by me with particular interest.
My professional life has been occu-
pied in electronic communication,
the last 20 years, before retirement
three years ago, as an electronic
engineer at Ft. Monmouth, NJ.
As a member of the New Jersey
Society of Parapsychology, I pro-
posed that the U.S. Army fund a
research effort in mental communi-
cation, or telepathy. I failed to con-
vince lower echelons of manage-
ment to send the proposal up to
command authority.
I have personally participated in,
and have witnessed experiments in
this activity. One of our members,
Dr. Douglas Dean had traveled to
an international symposium in Rus-
It can be seen that my interest in
your article is based upon my con-
viction of unquestioned realism of
mental communication. Our gov-
ernment had a viable credence in
parapsychology during World War
1. Edgar Cayce, an internationally
recognized psychic was assigned in
an official role to General John
Pershing and accompanied him on
European missions. Hugh Lynn
Cayce, his son, and Director of the
Association for Research and En-
lightenment, Virginia Beach, VA,
has publicly stated his father's role
and can be expected to repeat his
own experiences in relation to his
father in this matter.
In the early 1930s when I lived in
the Boston area, the Boston Herald
published in its Sunday magazine
supplement, the results of its ask-
ing world famous scientists what
they considered would be man-
kind's greatest achievement in the
20th century. Independently, six of
the 10 replied that man's ability to
communicate by thought process
would be the event.
I advocate that the U.S. govern-
ment seriously undertake research
in mental communication. There
are many young persons in this
country who have natural ability
and interest in this activity. Those
pragmaticists who cite the lack of a
scientific basis must be challenged
and educated.
While the Indians were using
smoke signals, radio was in the
wings waiting to be discovered and
developed. So, too, is mental com-
munication waiting.
Alfred J. Donovan
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