Approved For Releasi;001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787PO40200080007-7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 64, NO. 3,M-ARCH 1976 A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research HAROLD E. PUTHOFF, MEMBER, IEEE, AND RUQ,,';FT,L TARG, SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE Abstract-For more than 100 years, scientists have attempted to determine the truth or falsity of claims for the existence of a perceptual channel whereby certain individuals are able to perceive and describe remote data not presented to any known sense. This paper presents an outline of the history of scientific inquiry into such so-called paranor- mal perception and surveys the current state of the art in parapsycho- logical research in the United States and abroad. The nature of this perceptual channel is examined in a series of experiments carried out in the Electronics and Bioengincering Laboratory of Stanford Research Institute. The perceptual modality most extensively investigated is the ability of both experienced subjects and inexperienced volunteers to view, by innate mental processes, remote geographical or technical targets including buildings, roads, and laboratory apparatus. The ac- cumulated data indicate that the phenomenon is not a sensitive func- tion of distance, and Faraday cage shielding does not in any apparent way degrade the quality and accuracy of perception. On the basis of this research, some areas of physics are suggested from which a descrip- tion or explanation of the phenomenon could be forthcoming. 1. INTRODUCTION "IT IS THE PROVINCE of natural science to investigate nature, impartially and without prejudice" [ 11. Nowhere in scientific inquiry has this dictum met as great a chal- lenge as in the area of so-called extrasensory perception (ESP), the detection of remote stimuli not mediated by the usual sensory processes. Such phenomena, although under scientific consideration for over a century, have historically been fraught with unreliability and controversy, and validation of the phe- nomena by accepted scientific methodology has been slow in coming. Even so, a recent survey conducted by the British publication New Scientist revealed that 67 percent of nearly 1500 responding readers (the majority of whom are working scientists and technologists) considered ESP to be an estab- lished fact or a likely possibility, and 88 percent held the investigation of ESP to be a legitimate scientific undertaking [2]. A review of the literature reveals that although experiments by reputable researchers yielding positive results were begun over a century ago (e.g., Sir William Crookes' study of D. D. Home, 1860's) [31, many consider the study of these phe- nomena as only recently emerging from the realm of quasi- science. One reason for this is that, despite experimental results, no satisfactory theoretical construct had been advanced to correlate data or to predict new experimental outcomes. Consequently, the area in question remained for a long time in the recipe stage reminiscent of electrodynamics before the Manuscript received July 25, 1975; revised November 7, 1975. The submission of this paper was encouraged after review of an advance proposal. This work was supported by the Foundation for Parasensory Investigation andthe Parapsychology Foundation, New York, NY; the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Palo Alto, CA; and the National Aero- nautics and Space Administration, under Contract NAS 7-100. The authors are with the Electronics and Bioengineering Laboratory, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA 94025. 329 unification brought about by the work of Ampere, Faraday, and Maxwell. Since the early work however, we have seen the development of information theory, quantum theory, and neuro physiological research, and these disciplines provide powerful conceptual tools that appear to bear directly on the issue. In fact, several physicists (Section V) are now of the opinion that these phenomena are not at all inconsistent with the framework of modern physics: the often-held view that observations of this type are a priori incompatible with known laws is erroneous in that such a concept is based on the naive realism prevalent before the development of quantum theory. In the emerging view, it is accepted that research in this area can be conducted so as to uncover not just a catalog of inter- esting, events, but rather patterns of cause-effect relationships of the type that lend themselves to analysis and hypothesis in the forms with which we are familiar in the physical sciences. One hypothesis is that information transfer under conditions of sensory shielding is mediated by extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves, a proposal that does not seem to be ruled out by any obvious physical or biological facts. Further, the development of information theory makes it possible to characterize and quantify the performance of a communications channel regardless of the underlying mechanism. For the past three years, we have had a program in the Electronics and Bioengineering Laboratory of the Stan- ford Research Institute (SRI) to investigate those facets of human perception that appear to fall outside the range of well- understood perceptual/processing capabilities. Of particular interest is a human information-accessing capability that we call "remote viewing." This phenomenon pertains to the ability of certain individuals to access and describe, by means of mental processes, information sources blocked from ordi- nary perception, and generally accepted as secure against such access. In particular, the phenomenon we have investigated most extensively is the ability of a subject to view remote geograph- ical locations up to several thousand kilometers distant from his physical location (given only a known person on whom to target).' We have carried out more than fifty experiments under controlled laboratory conditions with several individuals whose remote perceptual abilities have been developed suf- ficiently to allow them at times to describe correctly-often in great detail-geographical or technical material such as build- ings, roads, laboratory apparatus, and the like. As observed in the laboratory, the basic phenomenon appears to cover a range of subjective experiences variously referred to 'Our initial work in this area was reported in Nature [41, and re- printed in the IEEE Commun. Soc. Newsletter, vol. 13, Jan. 1975 Copyright (D 1976 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Approved For Release 2001/03/26: CIA-RD1396AMW14060200080007-7 Approved For Wease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP964%787ROO0200080007-7 330 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 oc" IA dl- Fig. 1. Airport in San Andres, Colombia, used as remote-viewing target, along with sketch produced by subject in California. in the literature as autoscopy (in the medical literature); exteri- orization or aisassociation (psychological literature); simple clairvoyance, Iraveling clairvoyance, or out-of-body experience (parapsychological literature); or astral projection (occult liter- ature). We @hoose the term "remote viewing" as a neutral descriptive te:rm free from prior associations and bias as to mechanisms. The development at SRI of a successful experimental pro- cedure to elicit this capability has evolved to the point where persons such: as visiting government scientists and contract monitors, with no previous exposure to such concepts, have learned to perform well; and subjects who have trained over a one-year. periQ: d have performed excellently under a variety of experimental conditions. Our accumulated data thus indicate that both specially selected and unselected persons can be assisted in developing remote perceptual abilities up to a level of usefuli information transfer. In experiments of this type, we have three principal findings. First, we have established that it is possible to obtain signifi- cant amounts.of accurate descriptive information about remote locations. S4cond, an increase in the distance from a few meters up to 14000 km separating the subject from the scene to be perceived does not in any apparent way degrade the quality or accuracy of perception. Finally, the use of Faraday cage electrical: shielding does not prevent high-quality descrip- tions from bei.hg obtained. To build a: coherent theory for the explanation of these phenomena, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of what constitutes the phenomena. In this paper, we first briefly than fifty experiments with nine subjects carried out in our own laboratory, which represent a sufficiently stable data base to permit testing of various hypotheses concerning the func- tioning of this channel. Finally, in Section V, we indicate those areas of physics and information theory that appear to be relevant to an understanding of certain aspects of the phenomena. First, however, we present an illustrative example generated in an early pilot experiment. As will be clear from our later discussion, this is not a "best-ever" example, but rather a typical sample of the level of proficiency that can be reached and that we have come to expect in our research. Three subjects participated in a long-distance experiment focusing on a series of targets in Costa Rica. These subjects said they had never been to Costa Rica. In this experiment, one of the experimenters (Dr. Puthof f ) spent ten days traveling through Costa Rica on a combination business /pleasure trip. This information was all that was known to the subjects about the traveler's itinerary. The experiment called for Dr. Puthoff to keep a detailed record of his location and activities, includ- ing photographs of each of seven target days at 1330 PDT. A total of twelve daily descriptions were collected before the traveler's return: six responses from one subject, five from another, and one from a third. The third subject who submitted the single response supplied a drawing for a day in the middle of the series. (The subject's response, together with the photographs taken at the site, are shown in Fig. 1). Although Costa Rica is a mountainous country, the subject unexpectedly perceived the traveler at a described an summarize previous efforts in tDis field Ueot@j" th bk&6o @d @Q W#0 r preseAaPWYAdJTQrd0 A he ocean at the h 4 & 1.1.2 S _A1?0 Approved For ReleasV001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-007871QO0200080007-7 PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANNEL FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER 331 end (correct). An airport building also was drawn, and shown to have a large rectangular overhang (correct). The traveler had taken an unplanned one-day side trip to an offshore island and at the time of the experiment had just disembarked from a plane at a small island airport as described by the subject 4000 kin away. The sole discrepancy was that the subject's drawing showed a Quonset-hut type of building in place of the rectangular structure. The above description was chosen as an example to illustrate a major point observed a number of times throughout the program to be described. Contrary to what may be expected, a subject's description does not necessarily portray what may reasonably be expected to be correct (an educated or "safe" guess), but often runs counter even to the subject's own expectations. We wish to stress again that a result such as the above is not unusual. The remaining submissions in this experiment pro- vided further examples of excellent correspondences between target and response. (A target period of poolside relaxation was identified; a drive through a tropical forest at the base of a truncated volcano was described as a drive through a jungle below a large bare table mountain; a hotel-room target descrip- tion, including such details as rug color, was correct; and so on.) So as to determine whether such matches were simply fortuitous-that is, could reasonably be expected on the basis of chance alone-Dr. Puthoff was asked after he had returned to blind match the twelve descriptions to his seven target locations. On the basis of this conservative evaluation proce- dure, which vastly underestimates the statistical significance of the individual descriptions, five correct matches were ob- tained. This number of matches is significant at p = 0.02 by exact binomial calculation. 2 The observation of such unexpectedly high-quality descrip- tions early in our program led to a large-scale study of the phenomenon at SRI under secure double-blind conditions (i.e., target unknown to experimenters as well as subjects), with independent random target selection and blind judging. The results, presented in Sections III and IV, provide strong evi- dence for the robustness of this phenomenon whereby a human perceptual modality of extreme sensitivity can detect complex remote stimuli. II. BACKGROUND Although we are approaching the study of these phenomena as physicists, it is not yet possible to separate ourselves entirely from the language of the nineteenth century when the labora- tory study of the paranormal was begun. Consequently, we continue to use terms such as "paranormal," "telepathy," and the like. However, we intend only to indicate a process of information transfer under conditions generally accepted as secure against such transfer and with no prejudice or occult assumptions as to the mechanisms involved. As in any other scientific pursuit, the purpose is to collect the observables that result from experiments and to try to determine the functional relationships between these observables and the laws of physics as they are currently understood, 2The probability of a correct daily match by chance for any given transcript is p = +. Therefore, the probability of at least five correct matches by chance out of twelve tries can be calculated from i-M (12-1) 0.02. Apj;riL_@44dfdase 2001/03/26 organized research into so-called psychic functioning began roughly in the time of J. J. Thomson, Sir Oliver Lodge, and Sir William Crookes, all of whom took part in the founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in 1882 in England. Crookes, for example, carried out his principal investigations with D. D. Home, a Scotsman who grew up in America and returned to England in 185 5 [ 3 1. According to the notebooks and Published reports of Crookes, Home had demonstrated the ability to cause objects to move without touching them. We should note in passing that, Home, unlike most subjects, worked only in the light and spoke out in the strongest pos- sible terms against the darkened seance rooms popular at the time [5 1. Sir William Crookes was a pioneer in the study of electiical discharge in gases and in the development of vacuum tubes, some types of which still bear his name. Although everything Crookes said about electron beams and plasmas was accepted, nothing he said about the achievements of D. D. Home ever achieved that status. Many of his colleagues, who had not observed the experiments with Home, stated publicly that they thought Crookes had been deceived, to which Crookes angrily responded: Will not my critics g .i.ve me credit for some amount of common sense9 Do they not imagine that the obvious precautions, which occur* to them as soon as they sit down to pick holes in my experiments, have occurred to me also in the course of my pro- longed and patient investigation? The answer to this, as to all other objections is, prove it to be an error, by showing where the error lies, or if a trick, by showing how the trick is per- formed. Try the experiment fully and fairly. If then fraud be found, expose it; if it be a truth, proclaim it. This is the only scientific procedure, and it is that I propose steadily to pursue [3]. In the United States, scientific interest in the paranormal was centered in the universities. In 1912, John Coover [61 was established in the endowed Chair of Psychical Research at Stanford University. In the 1920's, Harvard University set up research programs with George Estabrooks and L. T. Troland [71, [8). It was in this framework that, in 1930, William McDougall invited Dr. J. B. Rhine and Dr. Louisa Rhine to join the Psychology Department at Duke University 191. For more than 30 years, significant work was carried out at Rhine's Duke University Laboratory. To examine the existence of paranormal perception, he used the now-famous ESP cards containing a boldly printed picture of a star, cross, square, circle, or wavy lines. Subjects were asked to name the order of these cards in a freshly shuffled deck of twenty-five such, cards. To test for telepathy, an experimenter would look at the cards one at a time, and a subject suitably separated from the sender would attempt to determine which card was being viewed. Dr. J. B. Rhine together with Dr. J. G. Pratt carried out thousands of experiments of this type under widely varying conditions [ 10 1 . The statistical results from these experiments indicated that some individuals did indeed possess a paranor- mal perceptual ability in that it was possible to obtain an arbitrarily high degree of improbability by continued testing of a gifted subject. The work of Rhine has been challenged on -many grounds, however, including accusations of improper handling of statis- tics, error, and fraud. With regard to the statistics, the general consensus of statisticians today is that if fault is to be found in Rhine's work, it would have to be on other than statistical CIAQRDP916-00;%YlMty2ft(y8iatt&-?f fraud, the 332 Approved For Mease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP964W87ROO0200080007-7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 most celebrated Case Of criticism of Rhine's work, that of G. R. Price [ 112 1, ended 17 years after it began when the accusation of fraud was retracted by its author in an article entitled "Apol@gy to Rhine and Soal," published in the same journal in which it was first put forward [ 13 ]. It should also be noted that;. parapsychological researchers themselves re- cently exposed. fraud in their own laboratory when they encountered it [141. - At the end ot the 1940's, Prof. S. G. Soal, an English mathe matician working with the SPR, had carried out hundreds of card guessing ek eriments involving tens of thousands of calls , p [15). Many of these experiments were carried out over ex- tended distanc@ s. One of the most notable experiments was conducted with Mrs. Gloria Stewart between London and Antwerp. This.experiment gave results whose probability of Occurring by chOnce were less than 10-8. With .the publication Of Modern Experiments in Telepathy by Soal and Bateman (both of whom 'were statisticians), it appeared that card guess- ing experiment produced significant results, on the average. 3 The most sevtre criticism of all this work, a criticism diffi cult to defend against in principle, is that leveled by the well known British Oarapsychological critic C. E. M. Hansel [171, who began his plxamination of the ESP hypothesis with the I stated assumption, "In view of the a priori arguments against I it we know in advance that telepathy, etc., cannot occur." I Therefore, based on the "a priori unlikelihood" of ESP, Hansel's examin4tion of the literature centered primarily on the possibility V fraud, by subjects or investigators. He reviewed in depth four experiments which he regarded as providing the best evidence of ESP: the Pearce-Pratt distance series [18]; the'tPratt-Woodruff (191 series, both conducted at Duke; and So4l's work with Mrs. Stewart and Basil Shackle- ton [ 15 1, as well as a more recent series by Soal and Bowden [201. Hansel sh6wed, in each case, how fraud could have been committed (by tpe experimenters in the Pratt-Woodruff and Soal-Bateman s6.ries, or by the subjects in the Pearce-Pratt and Soal-Bowde@ experiments). He gave no direct evidence that fraud was cp:mmitted in these experiments, but said, "If the result could 'have arisen through a trick, the experiment must be considefed unsatisfactory proof of ESP, whether or not it isfinally d@cided that such a trick was infact used" [17, P. 181. As discussed by Honorton in a review of the field [211, Hansel's c6nclusion after 241 pages of careful scrutiny therefore was that these experiments were not "fraud-proof" and therefore in Orinciple could not serve as conclusive proof of ESP. Even among the supporters of ESP research and its results, there remained tl@e consistent problem that many successful subjects eventually' lost their ability and their scores gradually dfifted toward cliance results. This decline effect in no way erased their previbus astronomical success; but it was a disap- pointment since i @ paranormal perception is a natural ability, one would like td isee subjects improving wit .h practice rather than getting worse : One of the first ;successful attempts to overcome the decline effect was in Czeohoslovakia in the work of Dr. Milan RyzI, a chemist with the ;Institute of Biology of the Czechoslovakian Academy of Scio nce and also an amateur hypnotist [221. Through the use' of hypnosis, together with feedback and reinforcement, he developed several outstanding subjects, one of whom, Pavel Stepanek, has worked with experimenters around the world for more than 10 years. Ryzl's pioneering work came as an answer to the questions raised by the 1956 CIBA Foundation conference on extra- sensory perception. The CIBA Chemical Company has annual meetings on topics of biological and chemical interest, and that same year they assembled several prominent parapsy- chologists to have a state-of-the-art conference on ESP [231. The conference concluded that little progress would be made in parapsychology research until a repeatable experiment could be found; namely, an experiment that different experi- menters could repeat at will and that would reliably yield a statistically significant result. Ryzl had by 1962 accomplished that goal. His primary con- tribution was a decision to interact with the subject as a per- son, to try to build up his confidence and ability. His protocol depended on "working with" rather than "running" his sub- jects. Ryzl's star subject, Pavel Stepanek, has produced highly significant results with many contemporary researchers [241 - (291. In these experiments, he was able to tell with 60-percent reliability whether a hidden card was green side or white side up, yielding statistics of a million to one with only a thousand trials. As significant as such results are statistically, the information channel is imperfect, containing noise along with the signal. When considering how best to use such a channel, one is led to the communication theory concept of the introduction of redundancy as a means of coding a message to combat the effects of a noisy channel [301. A prototype experiment by Ryz1 using such techniques has proved to be successful. Ryz1 had an assistant select randomly five groups of three digits each. These 15 digits were then encoded into binary form and translated into a sequence of green and white cards in sealed envelopes. By means of repeated calling and an elaborate majority vote protocol, Ryzl was able after 19 350 calls by Stepanek (averaging 9 s per call) to correctly identify all 15 numbers, a result significant at p = 10 Is The hit rate for individual calls was 61,9 percent, 11 978 hits, and 7372 misses 1311. Note Added in Proof., It has been brought to our attention that a similar procedure was recently used to transmit without error the word "peace" in International Morse Code (J. C@ Carpenter, "Toward the effective utilization of enhanced weak-signal ESP effects," presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York, NY, Jan. 27, 1975). The characteristics of such a channel can be specified in accordance with the precepts of communication theory. The bit rate associated with the information channel is calculated from [301 R = HW - Hy W where H(x) is the uncertainty of the source message containing symbols with a priori probability pi: H(X) 2 Pi 1092 Pi (2) and Hy(.V) is the conditional entropy based on the a posteriori probabilities that a received signal was actually transmitted: 3Recently, some of the early Soal experiments have been criticized 1161. However, his! long-distance experiments cited here were judged in it double-blind fa0ion of the type that escaped the criticism of the early experiments. I : Approved For Release 2001/03/26 2 Hy W E P U, D log2 pi Q) (3) CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Approved For Releaw2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787%?PO200080007-7 PUTHOFF ANY IARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANNNWOR INFORMATION TRANSFER 333 1 For Stepanek's run, with pi = 11 , pi Q) = 0. 619, and an average time of 9 s per choice, we have a source uncertainty H(x) = 1 bit and a calculated bit rate or R - 0.041 bit/symbol RIT - 0.0046 bit/s. (Since the IS -digit number (49.8 bits) actually was transmitted at the rate of 2.9 X 10-4 bit/s, an increase in bit rate by a factor of about 20 could be expected on the basis of a coding scheme more optimum than that used in the experiments. See, for example, Appendix A.) Dr. Charles Tart at the University of California has written extensively on the so-called decline effect. He considers that having subjects attempt to guess cards, or perform any other repetitious task for which they receive no feedback, follows the classical technique for deconditioning any response. He thus considers card guessing "a technique for extinguishing psychic functioning in the laboratory" [32 1. Tart's injunctions of the mid-sixties were being heeded at Maimonides Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, by a team of researchers that included Dr. Montague Ullman, who was director of research for the hospital; Dr. Stanley Krippner; and, later, Charles Honorton. These three worked together for several years on experiments on the occurrence of telepathy in dreams. In the course of a half-dozen experimental series, they found in their week-long sessions a number of subjects who had dreams that consistently were highly descriptive of pictorial material that a remote sender was looking at throughout the night. This work is described in detail in the experimenters, book Dream Telepathy [331, Honorton is continuing work of this free-respon'se type in which the subject has no precon- ceived idea as to what the target may be. In his more recent work with subjects in the waking state, Honorton is providing homogeneous stimulation to the subject who is to describe color slides viewed by another person in a remote room. In this new work, the subject listens to white noise via earphones and views an homogeneous visual field imposed through the use of Ping-Pong ball halves to cover the subject's eyes in conjunction with diffuse ambient illumina- tion. In this so-called Ganzfeld setting, subjects are again able, now in the waking state, to give correct and often highly accurate descriptions of the material being viewed by the sender [341. In Honorton's work and elsewhere, it apparently has been the step away from the repetitive forced-choice experiment that has opened the way for a wide variety of ordinary people to demonstrate significant functioning in the laboratory, with- out being bored into a decline effect. This survey would be incomplete if we did not indicate certain aspects of the current state of research in the USSR. It is clear from translated documents and other sources [351 that many laboratories in the USSR are engaged in paranormal research. Since the 1930's, in the laboratory of L. Vasiliev (Leningrad Institute for Brain Research), there has been an interest in the use of telepathy as a method of influencing the behavior of a person at a distance. In Vasiliev's book Experiments in Mental Suggestion, he makes it very clear that the bulk of his labora- tory's experiments were aimed at long-distance communica- tion combined with a form of behavior modification; for example, putting people at a distance to sleep through hyp- nosis [36]. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 Similar behavior modification types of experiments have been carried out in recent times by 1. M. Kogan, Chairman of the Bioinformation Section of the Moscow Board of the Popov Society. He is a Soviet engineer who, until 1969, published extensively on the theory of telepathic communication [371- [401. He was concerned with three principal kinds of experi- ments: mental suggestion without hypnosis over short dis- tances, in which the percipient attempts to identify an object; mental awakening over short distances, in which a subject is awakened from a hypnotic sleep at the "beamed" suggestion from the hypnotist; and long-range (intercity) telepathic com- munication. Kogan's main interest has been to quantify the channel capacity of the paranormal channel. He finds that the bit rate decreases from 0.1 bit/s for laboratory experiments to 0.005 bit/s for his 1000-km intercity experiments. In the USSR, serious consideration is given to the hypothesis that telepathy is mediated by extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic propagation. (The pros and cons of this hypothesis are discussed in Section V of this paper.) In general, the entire field of paranormal research in the USSR is part of a larger one concerned with the interaction between electromagnetic fields and living organisms [411, [421. At the First International Congress on Parapsychology and Psychotronics in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1973, for example, Kholodov spoke at length about the susceptibility of living systems to extremely low-level ac and dc fields. He described conditioning effects on the behavior of fish resulting from the application of 10 to 100 pW of RF to their tank [43]. The USSR take these data seriously in that the Soviet safety re- quirements for steady-state microwave exposure set limits at 10 11W/cm 2, whereas the United States has set a steady-state limit of 10 mW/cm 2[441. Kholodov spoke also about the nonthermal effects of microwaves on animals' central nervous systems. His experiments were very carefully carried out and are characteristic of a new dimension in paranormal research. The increasing importance of this area in Soviet research was indicated recently when the Soviet Psychological Association issued an unprecedented position paper calling on the Soviet Academy of Sciences to step up efforts in this area [451. They recommended that the newly formed Psychological Institute within the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the Psychological Institute of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences review the area and consider the creation of a new laboratory within one of the institutes to study persons with unusual abilities. They also recommended a comprehensive evaluation of experiments and theory by the Academy of Sciences' Insti- tute of Biophysics and Institute for the Problems of Informa- tion Transmission. I The Soviet resear ,ch, along with other behavioristically oriented work, suggests 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 informa- tion transfer by direct measurement of physiological parame- ters of a subject. Kamiya, Lindsley, Pribram, Silverman, Walter, and others brought together to discuss physiological methods to detect ESP functioning, have suggested that a whole range of electroencephalogram (EEG) responses such as evoked potentials (EP's), spontaneous EEG, and the contingent negative variation (CNV) might be sensitive indicators of the detection of remote stimuli not mediated by usual sensory processes [46]. Early experimentation of this type was carried out by Douglas Dean at the Newark College of Engineering. In his CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Approved For Wease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP964%787ROO0200080007-7 334 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 search for physiological correlates of information transfer, he used the plethysmograph to measure 0 changes in the blood C volume in a finger, a sensitive indicator of autonomic nervous system functioning [47]. A plethysmographic measurement J 6 was made on the finger of a subjectt during telepathy experi- -6 .0 ments. A sender looked at randomly E 16 selected target cards CU 16 L consisting of names known to the subject, together with names unknown to hiTin (selected at random from a telephone book). The names of the known people were LU contributed by the sub- ect and were to be of emotional < significance to him. Dean found significant changes in the 0 chart recording of finger blood volume ivhen the remote sender> was looking at those names known to the subject as compared . with those names Hz randomly chosen. 5 10 Hz 15 Hz Three other experiments using the Fig.2. physiological approach Occipital EEG frequency spectra, 0-20 Hz, of one subject (H.H.) acting have now been.published. The first as work by Tart [48 1 receiver a later showing amplitude changes in the 9-1 1-Hz band as a , function work by Lloyd [491, and most recentlyof the work by the strobe frequency. Three cases: 0-, 6-, and 16-Hz flashes (twelve trial averages). authors [4] all.follow a similar procedure. Basically, a subject is closeted in an electrically shieldedresults room while his EEG is were produced by system artifacts, electromagnetic recorded. Meanwhile, in another pickup laboratory, a second person (EMI), or subtle cueing; the results were negative [4]. is stimulated from time to time, As and the time of that stimulus part of the experimental protocol, the subject was asked is marked on the magnetic-tape recordingto of the subject's EEG. indicate a conscious assessment for each trial (via telegraph The subject does not know when the key) remote stimulus periods as to the nature of the stimulus; analysis showed these are as compared with the nonstimulusguesses periods. to be at chance. Thus arousal as evidenced by signifi- With regard to choice of stimulus cant for our own experimenta- alpha blocking occurred only at the noncognitive level of tion, we noted that in previous physiological work others had attempted, response. Hence the experiment provided direct without success, to detect evoked physiological potential changes in a sub- (EEG) evidence of perception of remote stimuli Ject's EEG in response to a single even stroboscopic flash stimulus in the absence of overt cognitive response. observed by another subject (50]. Whereas In a discussion of that in our experiments we used a remote light flash as a experiment, Kamiya suggested that stimulus, because of the unknown Tart [48 ] in his work used an electrical shock to temporal chara6teristics of the himself information channel, it might as sender, and Lloyd [491 simply told the sender to be more approp,riate to use repetitivethink bursts of light to increase of a red triangle each time a red warning light was the probability:of detecting informationilluminated transfer [511. There- within his view. Lloyd observed a consistent fore, in our study we chose to use evoked a stroboscopic flash train of potential in his subjects; whereas in our experiments 10-s duration as;: the remote stimulus.and in Tart's, a reduction in amplitude and a desynchroniza- In the design.of the study, we assumedtion that the application of alpha was observed-an arousal response. (If a subject .of the remote stimulus would resultis in responses similar to resting in an alpha-dominant condition and he is then those obtained under conditions stimulated, of direct stimulation. For for example in any direct manner, one will observe example, when an individual is stimulateda with a low- desyncbronization and decrease in alpha power.) We con- frequency (< 30 Hz) flashing light,sider the EEG typically shows that these combined results are evidence for the existence a decrease in ihe amplitude of the of resting rhythm and a noncognitive awareness of remote happenings and that they driving of the brain waves at the have frequency of the flashes [ 5 2 a 1. profound implication for paranormal research. 'We hypothesizq'd that if we stimulated one subject in this III. manner (a putative sender), the SRI EEG of another subject in a INVESTIGATIONS OF REMOTE VIEWING remote room With no flash present Experimentation (a receiver) might show in remote viewing began during studies changes in alpha (9-11 Hz) activitycarried and possibly an EEG out to investigate the abilities of a New York artist, driving similar to that of the sender,Ingo or other coupling to the Swann, when he expressed the opinion that the insights sender's EEG [531. The receiver gained was seated in a visually during experiments at SRI had strengthened his ability ,apaque, acoustically and electrically(verified shielded, double-walled in other research before he joined the SRI program) steel room about 7 m from the sender.to The details of the view remote locations [541. To test Mr. Swann's asser- experiment, consisting of seven tion, runs of thirty-six 10-s trials a pilot study was set up in which a series of targets from each (twelve periods each for 0-Hz,around 6-Hz, and 16-Hz stimuli, the globe were supplied by SRI personnel to the ex- randomly intermixed), are presentedperimenters in [4]. This experiment on a double-blind basis. Mr. Swann's apparent proved to be successful. The receiver'sability alpha activity (9-11 Hz) to describe correctly details of buildings, roads, showed a significant reduction in bridges, average power (- 24 percent, and the like indicated that it may be possible for p < 0.04) and :peak power (-28 percent,a p < 0.03) during subject by means of mental imagery to access and describe 16-Hz flash stimuli as compared randomly with periods of no-flash chosen geographical sites located several miles stimulus. [A similar response was from observed for 6-Hz stimuli the subject's position and demarcated by some appro- 12 Percent it@ average power, - priate 21 percent in peak power), means. Therefore, we set up a research program to but the latter result did not reachtest statistical significance.] the remote-viewing hypothesis under rigidly controlled Fig. 2 shows an overlay of three scientific averaged EEG spectra from conditions. one of the subject's 36 trial runs,In displaying differences in carrying out this program, we concentrated on what we alpha activity during the three considered stimulus conditions. Extensive to be our principal responsibility -to resolve under control AppPwredeftf*04"ste 2004M/26e~-cCIAF,*E)PN-OffWMOUO008()OWqer or not this Approved For Releast;001/03/26 : CIA&RP96-00787WO200080007-7 335 PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANNELONFOR INFORMATION TRAN class of paranormal perception phenomenon exists. At all times, we and others responsible for the overall program took measures to prevent sensory leakage and subliminal cueing and to prevent deception, whether intentional or unintentional. To ensure evaluations independent of belief structures of both experimenters and judges, all experiments were carried out under a protocol, described below, in which target selection at the beginning of experiments and blind judging of results at the end of experiments were handled independently of the researchers engaged in carrying out the experiments. Six subjects, designated S I through S6, were chosen for the study. Three were considered as gifted or experienced subjects (S I through S3), and three were considered as learners (S4 through S6). The a priori dichotomy between gifted and learners, was based on the experienced group having been successful in other studies conducted before this program and the learners group being inexperienced with regard to paranormal experimentation. The study consisted of a series of double-blind tests with local targets in the San Francisco Bay Area so that several in- dependent judges could visit the sites to establish documenta- tion. The protocol was to closet the subject with an experi- menter at SRI and at an agreed-on time to obtain from the subject a description of an undisclosed remote site being visited by a target team. In each of the experiments, one of the six program subjects served as remote-viewing subject, and SRI experimenters served as a target demarcation team at the remote location chosen in a double-blind protocol as follows. In each experiment, SRI management randomly chose a target location from a list of targets within a 30-min driving time from SRI; the target location selected was kept blind to subject and experimenters. The target pool consisted of more than 100 target locations chosen from a target-rich environ- ment. (Before the experimental series began, the Director of the Information Science and Engineering Division, not other- wise associated with the experiment, established the set of lo- cations as the target pool which remained known only to him. The target locations were printed on cards sealed in envelopes and kept in the SRI Division office safe. They were available only with the personal assistance of the Division Director who issued a single random-number selected target card that con- stituted the traveling orders for that experiment.) In detail: To begin the experiment, the subject was closeted with an experimenter at SRI to wait 30 min before beginning a narrative description of the remote location. A second ex- perimenter then obtained from the Division Director a target location from a set of traveling orders previously prepared and randomized by the Director and kept under his control. The target demarcation team, consisting of two to four SRI experi- menters, then proceeded by automobile directly to the target without any communication with the subject or experimenter remaining behind. The experimenter remaining with the sub- ject at SRI was kept ignorant of both the particular target and the target pool so as to eliminate the possibility of cueing (overt or subliminal) and to allow him freedom in questioning the subject to clarify his descriptions. The demarcation team remained at the target site for an agreed-on 15-min period following the 30 min allotted for travel.4 During the observa- 4The first subject (Sl) was allowed 30 min for his descriptions, but it was found -that he fatigued and had little comment after the firs-t 15 Ved-f min. The" 0,1""'C S2 through S . tion period, the remote-viewing subject was asked to describe his impressions of the target site into a tape recorder and to make any drawings he thought appropriate. An informal com- parison was then made when the demarcation team returned, and the subject was taken to the site to provide feedback, A. Subject Sl: Experienced To begin the series, Pat Price, a former California police com- missioner and city councilman, participated as a subject in nine experiments. In general, Price's ability to describe correctly buildings, docks, roads, gardens, and the like, includ- ing structural materials, color, ambience, and activity-often in great detail-indicated the functioning of a remqte per- ceptual ability. A Hoover Tower target, for example, was recognized and named by name. Nonetheless, in general, the descriptions contained inaccuracies as well as correct state- ments. A typical example is indicated by the subject's drawing shown in Fig. 3 in which he correctly described a park-like area containing two pools of water: one rectangular, 60 by 89 ft (actual dimensions 75 by 100 ft); the other circular, diameter 120 ft (actual diameter 110 ft). He incorrectly indi- cated the function, however, as water filtration rather than recreational swimming. (We often observe essentially correct descriptions of basic elements and patterns coupled with in- complete or erroneous analysis of function.) As can be seen from his drawing, he also included some elements, such as the tanks shown in the upper right, that are not present at the target site. We also note an apparent left-right reversal, often observed in paranormal perception experiments. To obtain a numerical evaluation of the accuracy of the remote-viewing experiment, the experimental results were subjected to independent judging on a blind basis by an SRI research analyst not otherwise associated with the research. The subject's response packets, which contained the nine typed unedited transcripts of the tape-recorded narratives along with any associated drawings, were unlabeled and pre- sented in random order. While standing at each target loca- tion, visited in turn, the judge was required to blind rank order the nine packets on a scale 1 to 9 (best to worst match). The statistic of interest is the sum of ranks assigned to the target- associated transcripts, lower values indicating better matches. For nine targets, the sum of ranks could range from nine to eighty-one. The probability that a given sum of ranks s or less will occur by chance is given by (551 I Pr (s or less) = @@w i-n 1=0 I n- I where s is obtained sum of ranks, N is number of assignable ranks, n is number of occasions on which rankings were made, and I takes on values from zero to the least positive integer k in (i - n)ln. (Table I is a table to enable easy application of the above formula to those cases in which N = n.) The sum in this case, which. included seven direct hits out of the nine, was 16 (see Table 11), a result significant at p = 2.9 X 16-5 by exact calculation. In Experiments 3, 4, and 6 through 9, the subject was se- cured in a double-walled copper-screen Faraday cage. The Faraday cage provides 120-dB attenuation-for plane-wave radio-frequency radiation over a range of 15 kHz to I GHz. For magnetic fields, the attenuation is 68 dB at 15 kHz and dgcreases to 3 dB at 60 Hz. 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Subject Hammid (S4) drawing, describe d as "some kind of diagonal trough uP in the air,,, TABLE one of our primary tasks as researchers 11 is to scientifi 'c rigor, DISTRIBUTION . OF provide an environment in which the RANKINGS subject feels safe to ASSIGNED To TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED explore the possibility of paranormal WITii perception. With a now EACH TARGET LOCATION FOR ExPERIENCED SUBJECT subject, we also try to stress the PRICE nonuniqueness of the ability (Sl) - DistanceR k because from our experience paranormal of functioning appears Associated Target Location (km) Transcript to be a latent ability that all subjects can articulate to some Hoover Tower, Stanford3.4 1 degree. d 6 1 Because of Mrs. Hammid's artistic l 4 background, she was ca- l s Nature Preserve,. pable of drawing and describing visual Pa images that she could o A to Baylan Radio telescope, 6.4 1 Portola Valley not identify in any cognitive or analytic sense. When the target Marina, Redwood 6.8 1 demarcation team went to a target City location which was a Bridge toll Plaza.14.5 6 pedestrian overpass, the subject Fremont said that she saw "a kind of Drive-in theater, 5.1 1 trough up in the air," which she Palo Alto indicated in the upper part Arts and Crafts 1.9 1 of her drawing in Fig. 4. She went Plaza, Menlo Park on to explain, "If you Catholic Church, 8.5 3 stand where they are standing you Portola Valley will see something like Swimming pool complex,3.4 1 this," indicating the nested squares Palo Alto at the bottom of Fig. 4. Total sum of ranks 16 As it turned out, a judge standing where she indicated would (P=2.9Xl0-E) have a view closely resembling what she had drawn, as can be h t l h h f oca- s o t e targe seen from the accompanying p otograp tion. It needs to be emphasized, however, that judges did not who have access to our photographs of felt the site, used here for that he used his remote-viewing ability in his every- day illustrative purposes only, but rather life. they proceeded to each In of the target locations by list, comparison with the latter two, many people are more influenced In another experiment, the subject by described seeing "an their environment and are reluctant under public open barnlike structure with a pitched scrutiny roof." She also saw to attempt activities that are generally thought to a "kind of slatted side to the structure be making light and dark impossible. Society often provides inhibition and nega- tive bars on the wall." Her drawing and feedback a photograph of the to the individual who might otherwise have explored associated bicycle shed target are his shown in Fig. 5. (Subjects own nonregular perceptual ability. We all share an are encouraged to make drawings of historical anything they visualize tradition of "the stoning of prophets and the burning and associate with the remote location of because drawings they witches" and, in more modern times, the hospitaliza- tion make are in general more accurate o than their verbal description.) t ose who c to p@Lrceive things that the majority do l y n a results of the nine- 4 00 7-7 Approved For Release 2001/03/26 338 vJ4 CIA-RDP9§,-00787ROO0200080007-7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 Fig.: 5. Subject Hammid (S4) response to bicycle shed target described as an open "bam-like building" with "slats on the sides" and a "pitched roof." TABLE III DISTRIBUTION OF.. RANKINGS ASSIGNED To TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TARGET LOCATION FOR LEARNER SUBJECT HAMMID (S4) Rank Targdt Location Distanceof (km) Associated Transcript Methodist Church,,Palo1.9 1 Alto Ness Auditorium, 0.2 1 M.enlo Park Merry-go-round, 3.4 1 Palo Alto parking garage, 8.1 2 Mountain View SRI International;Courtyard,0.2 1 Menlo Park Bicycle shed, Menlo0.1 2 Park Railroad trestle 1.3 2 bridge, Palo Alto Pumpkin patch, Mer@1.3 1 :10 Park Pedestrian o@erpas's,5.0 2 Palo Alto Total am of ranks 13 (P.1.8X10-6) experiment series were submitted for independent judging on a blind basis by an SRI research analyst not otherwise associ- ated with the research. While at each target location, visited in turn, the judge was required to blind rank order the nine unedited typed manuscripts of the tape-recorded narratives, along with any associated drawings generated by the remote viewer, on a scale I to 9 (best to worst match). The sum of ranks assigned to f he target-associated transcripts in this case l 10-6 was 13, a result significant at p = 1.8 X by exact calcula- tion (see Table I and discussion), and included five direct hits and four d WWWWe I ease 2001/03/26 Again, as a backup judging procedure, a panel of five addi- tional judges not otherwise associated with the research were asked simply to blind match the unedited typed tran- scripts and associated drawings generated by the remote viewer, against the nine target locations which they independently visited in turn. A correct match consisted of a transcript of a given date being matched to the target of that date. In- stead of the expected number of I match each per judge, the number of correct matches obtained by the five judges was 5, 3, 3, 2, and 2, respectively. Thus, rather than the ex- pected total number of 5 correct matches from the judges, 15 such matches were obtained. C Subjects S2 and S3: Experienced Having completed a series of 18 remote-viewing experiments, 9 each with experienced subject S I (Price) and learner S4 (Hammid), additional replication experiments, four with each subject, were carried out with experienced subjects S 2 (Elgin) and S 3 (Swann) and learners S 5 and S 6. To place the judging on a basis comparable to that used with S I and S 4, the four transcripts each of experienced subjects S 2 and S 3 were com- bined into a group of eight for rank order judging to be com- pared with the similariy combined results of the learners S5 and S6. The series with S2 (Elgin, an SRI research analyst) provided a further example of the dichotomy between verbal and draw- ing responses. (As with medical literature, case histories often are more illuminating than the summary of results.) The ex- with this UV BICYCLE SHED TARGET DETAIL OF BICYCLE SHED Approved For Release 2 JM;1Rq1 -,@M'4QP96-00787WO200080007-7 PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANAW01 0 339 Fig. 6. Subject Elgin (S2) drawings in response to tennis court target. subject. It was a demonstration experiment for a government visitor who had heard of our work and wanted to evaluate our experimental protocol. In the laboratory, the subject, holding a bearing compass at arm's length, began the experiment by indicating the direction of the target demarcation team correctly to within 5", (in all four experiments with this subject, he has always been within 100 of the correct direction in this angular assessment.) The subject then generated a 15-min tape-recorded description and the drawings shown in Fig. 6. In discussing the drawings, Elgin indicated that he was uncertain as to the action, but had the impression that the demarcation team was located at a museum (known to him) in a particular park. In fact, the target was a tennis court lo- cated in that park about 90 m from the indicated museum. Once again, we note the characteristic (discussed earlier) of a resemblance between the target site and certain gestalt ele- ments of the subject's response, especially in regard to the drawings, coupled with incomplete or erroneous analysis of the significances. Nonetheless, when tank ordering transcripts I through 8 at the site, the judge ranked this transcript as 2. This example illustrates a continuing observation that most of the correct information related to us by subjects is of a non- analytic nature pertaining to shape, form, color, and material rather than to function or name. experiments, he dictates two lists for us to record. One list contains objects that he "sees," but does not think are located at the remote scene. A second list contains objects that he thinks are at the scene. In our evaluation, he has made much progress in this most essential ability to separate memory and imagination from paranormal inputs. This is the key to bringing the remote-viewing channel to fruition with regard to its potential usefulness. The quality of transcript that can be generated by this pro- cess is evident from the results of our most recent experiment with Swann. The target location chosen by the usual double- blind protocol was the Palo Alto City Hall. Swann described a tall building with vertical columns and "set in" wind6ws. His sketch, together with the photograph of the site, is shown in Fig. 7. He said there was a fountain, "but I don't hear it." At the time the target team was at the City Hall during the experiment, the fountain was not running. He also made an effort to draw a replica of the designs in the pavement in front of the building, and correctly indicated the number of trees (four) in the sketch. For the entire series of eight, four each from S2 and S3, the numerical evaluation based on blind rank ordering of tran- scripts at each site was significant at p = 3.8 X 10-4 and in- cluded three direct hits and three second ranks for the target- associated transcripts (see Table IV). A second example from this group, generated by S3 (Swann), indicates the level of proficiency that can be attained with D. Subjects S5 and S6: Learners practice. In the two years since we first started working with To complete the series, four experiments each were carried Swann,A0prbvedukffg qjV@1# epAulf V t learner subjects S5 and S6, a man and woman on the ternal signal from the inte!nIrn"olse" Pn AW"oQ0Z111Rft020W&0007cap, taken as a c@ TARGET-TENNIS COURTS Approved For Alease 2001/03126 CIA-RDP96Aft.787ROO0200080007-7 340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 A WU A^ t 40* .OLUM& A-on., Oft 014" OVA f0ft W4. t 0,4 V,04%,t. woo @s4* &A vi-X. @Im __77 Fig. 7. Subject Swann (S3) response to City Hall target. group, did not differ significantly from chance. For the series of eight (judged p a group of seven since one target came up tivice, once for @ach subject), the numerical evaluation based on blind rank d.rdering of transcripts at each site was non- significant at p =i 0.08, even though there were two direct hits and two second ranks out of the seven (see Table V). One of the diroft hits, which occurred with subject S6 in her first experiment, provides an example of the "first-time effect" that has been rig@rously explored and is well-known to experi- menters in the !field [57]. The outbound experimenter obtained, by ranoom protocol from the pool, a target blind to the experimenter with the subject, as is our standard pro- cedure, and proc@eded to the location. The sub'ect a mathe- matician AfiaF0V&&fsWhR RW I- I- TABLE IV DISTRIBUTION OF RANKINGS ASSIGNED To TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TARGET LOCATION FOR EXPERIENCED SUBJECTS ELGIN (S2) AND SWANN (S3) Rank Subject Target Location Distanceof (km) Associated Transcript 52 BART Station (Transit16.1 1 system), Fremont S2 Shielded room, 0.1 2 SRI, Menlo Park S2 Tennis court, Palo3.4 2 Alto S2 Golf course bridge,3.4 2 Stanford S3 City Hall, Palo 2.0 1 Alto S3 Miniature golf 3.0 1 course, Menlo Park s3 Kiosk in park, 0.3 3 Menlo Park S3 Baylands Nature 6.4 3 Preserve, Palo Alto Total sum of ranks 15 (p.3.8x10-4) TABLE V DISTRIBUTION OF RANKINGS ASSIGNED To TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TARGET LOCATION FOR LEARNER SUBJECTS S5 AND S6 Rank SubjectTarxet Location Distanceof (km) Associated Transcript S5 Pedestrian overpass,5.0 3 Palo Alto S5 Railroad trestle 1.3 6 bridge, Palo Alto S5 Windmill, Portols8.5 2 Valley S5, White Plaza, Stanford3.8 1 S6 (2) S6 Airport, Palo 5.5 2 Alto S6 Kioak in Park, 0.3 5 Menlo Park S6 Boathouse, Stanford4.0 1 Total sum of ranks 20 (P=O. 08, NS) vious experience in remote viewing, began to describe a large square with a fountain. Four minutes into the experiment, she recognized the location and correctly identified it by name (see Fig. 8). (It should be noted that in the area from which the target locations were drawn there are other fountains as well, some of which were in the target pool.) As an ex- ample of the style of the narrativ es generated during remote viewing with inexperienced subjects and of the part played by the experimenter remaining with the subject in such a case, we have included the entire unedited text of this experiment as Appendix B. E. Normal and Paranormal: Use of Unselected Subjects in Remote Viewing After more than a year of following the experimental pro- tocol described above and observing that even inexperienced subjects generated results better than expected, we initiated a series of experiments to explore further whether individuals other than putative "psychics" can demonstrate the remote- viewing ability. To test this idea, we have a continuing pro- gram to carry out additional experiments of the outdoor type with new subjects whom we have no a priori reason to believe have paranormal perceptual ability. To date we have collected data from five experiments with two individuals in this cate- gory: a man and a woman who were visiting government scientist@ interested in observing our experimental protocols. The motivation for these particular experiments was twofold. First e @Jejhe level of v 01118004or" AM olunteers. Y& a qA j v #MIS&AW w*7, 1040 &VA. Approved For Releau 2001/03/26 :IR14f~-RRfp6-00787WO200080007-7 341 PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHAN1W FOR INFORMAT 413- L MIX Second, when an individual observes a successful demonstra- tion experiment involving another person as subject, it inevi- tably occurs to him that perhaps chicanery is involved. We have found the most effective way to settle this issue for the observer is to have the. individual himself act as a subject so as to obtain personal experience against which our reported results can be evaluated. The first visitor (Vl) was invited to participate as a subject in a three-experiment series. All three experiments contained elements descriptive of the associated target locations; the quality of response increased with practice. The third re- sponse is shown in Fig. 9, where again the pattern elements in the drawing appeared to be a closer match than the subject's RESPONSES OF VISITING SCIENTIST SUBJECT analyti SublyftaWl of merry-go-round target. c*Wd*d'F& ft*496 20dft/26 : CIA-RDOP-st-Da 00080007-7 Fig. 8. Subject (S6) drawing of White Plaza, Stanford University. Sub- ject drew what she called "curvy benches" and then announced cor- rectly that the place was "White Plaza at Stanford." 342 Approved For ftease 2001/03126 : CIA-RDP96.ft787ROO0200080007-7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 TECHNOLOGY SERIES TYPEWRITER TARGET ow Wwwh ftlop opt-* afalk- - J&t wow - C-i" SUBJECT SWANN (S3) RESPONSE SUBJECT HAMMID (S4) RESPONSE Fig. 10. Drawings of a typewriter target by two subjects. The second visifpr [V21 participated as a subject in two ex- TABLE VI periments. In his. first experiment, he generated one of the DISTRIBUTION OF RANKINGS ASSIGNED To TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED WITH higher signal-to-noise EACH TARGET LOCATION FOR VISITOR SUBJECTS V1 AND V2 results we have observed. He began his narrative, "Thore is a red A-frame building and next to it is a large yellow thing [a tree-Editor].Subject Now further left there is another A-shape. It looks V1 Br like a swing-set, but it is pushed down in @ .gully so I can't see the swings." [All cor- rect.] He then w0lnt on to describe V1 Ba a lock on the front door that he said "looks like it's made V1 Me of laminated steel, so it must be a Master lock." (Alsocorrect.] For the series of five-three from V2 Wi the first subject and two from the second-@L-the numerical V2 Ap evaluation based on blind rank ordering of the transcripts at each site was significant at p = 0.0 17 and incl0ded three direct hits and one second rank for the target-assoc iated transcripts. (See Table VI.) idge ylands rry-go-round, Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : ndmill, artment - DistanceRank Target Location of (km) Associated Transcript over scream, Menlo 0.3 1 Park Nature Preserve, 6.4 2 Palo Alto Palo Alto 3.4 1 Porcola Valley 813 1 swimming pool, Mountain9.1 3 View Total sum of ranks 7) 4 VW &W.WX Approved For Releasq.ZO01/03/26 : QIA-@ 96-00787R&00200080007-7 , FR PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANNELF'FOR INFORMATION A TARGET LOCATION: XEROX MACHINE (TECHNOLOGY SERIES) 343 TO ADD INTEREST TO TARGET LOCATION EXPERIMENTER WITH HIS HEAD BEING XEROXED ly Fig. 11. Drawings by three subjects (S2, S3, and V3) for Xerox machine target. When asked to describe the square at upper left of response on the right, subject (V3) said, "There was this predominant light source which might have been a window, and a working surface which might have been the sill, or a working surface or desk." Earlier the subject had said, "I have the feeling that there is something silhouetted against the window." Observations with unselected subjects such as those de- Comparisons of the targets and subject drawings for three of scribed above indicate that remote viewing may be a latent and the multiple-response cases (the typewriter, Xerox machine, widely distributed perceptual ability. and video terminal) are shown in Figs. 10, 11, and 12. As is F. Technology Series: Short-Range Remote Viewing Because remote viewing is a perceptual ability, we consid- ered it important to obtain data on its resolution capabilities. To accomplish this, we turned to the use of indoor techno- logical targets. Twelve experiments were carried out with five different sub- jects, two of whom were visiting government scientists. They were told that one of the experimenters would be sent by random protocol to a laboratory within the SRI complex and that he would interact with the equipment or apparatus at that location. It was further explained that the experimenter remaining with the subject was, as usual, kept ignorant of the contents of the target pool to prevent cueing during question- ing. (Unknown to subjects, targets in the pool were used with replacement; one of the goals of this particular experiment was to obtain multiple responses to a given target to investigate whether correlation of a number of subject responses would provide enhancement of''the signal-to-noise ratio.) The sub- ject was asked to describe the target both verbally (tape recorded) and by means of drawings during a time-synchronized 15-min interval in which the outbound experimenter inter- acted in an appropriate manner with the equipment in the target area. In the twelve experiments, seven targets were used: a drill press, Xerox machine, video terminal, chart recorder, four- state random number generator, machine shop, and type- writer. Three of these were used twice (drill press, video terminal, and typewriter) and one (Xerox machine) came up ctilia three timA"MtrFV-'r Fh.,096"2001/03/26 apparent from these illustrations alone, the experiments provide circumstantial evidence for an information channel of useful bit rate. This includes experiments in which visit- ing government scientists participated as subjects (Xerox machine and video terminal) to observe the protocol, In general, it appears that use of multiple-subject responses to a single target provides better signal-to-noise ratio than target identification by a single individual. This conclusion is bome out by the judging described below. Given that in general the drawings constitute the most accurate portion of a subject's description, in the first judging procedure a judge was asked simply to blind match only the drawings (i.e., without tape transcripts) to the targets. Multiple- subject responses to a given target were stapled together, and thus seven subject-drawing response packets were to be inatched to the seven different targets for which drawings were made. The judge did not have access to our photographs of the target locations, used for illustration purposes only, but rather proceeded to each of the target locations by list. While standing at each target location, the judge was required to rank 6rder the seven subject-drawing response packets (presented in random order) on a scale 1 to 7 (best to worst match). For seven targets, the sum of ranks could range from 7 to 49. The sum in this case, which included I direct hit and 4 second ranks out of the 7 (see Table VII) was 18, a result significant at p = 0.036. In the second more detailed effort at evaluation, a visiting scientist selected at random one of the 12 data packages (a drill press experiment), sight unseen and submitted it for in- wit U0 Ir f : dxrb10#e2'6bY8flkN6Y60 or an esti- Approved For4ftlease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96^787RO00200080007-7 344 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 TARGET: VIDEO MONITOR FOR TEXT EDITING (TECHNOLOGY SERIES) E3 N 4.6s L"L @ e @f@ ut@, rl (a) (b) Fig. 12. Drawin : gby two subjects of a video monitor target. (a) Subject (S4) drawing of "box with light coming out of it . painted flat black and' in the middle of the room." (b) Second subject (V2) saw a computer terminal with relay racks in the background. TABLE VII DISTRIOTION OF RANKINGS AssIGNED TO SUBJECT DRAWINGS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TARGET LOCATION Total sum of ranks 18 (p=0.036) mate as to what! was being described. The analyst, blind as to the target and @iven only the subject's taped narrative and :3 drawing (Fig, 11 ), was able, from the subject's description alone, to correctly classify the target as a "man-sized vertical boring machine. G'. Summary of;Remote Viewing Results 1) Discussion.11 The descriptions supplied by the subjects in the experime;,"ts involving remote viewing of natural targets or laboratory apparatus, although containing inaccuracies, vvere sufficiently accurate to permit the judges to differentiate among vfirjYpY&M1d tF(*eRE46EEOSO-icMlffi&*&rYl.'OIA4tDP9S~60787ROO0200080007- Rank Subject Target of As I. ted Dsocingp S3, S4 - 2 Drill press S2, S3, Xerox machine2 113 S4, V2 Video terminal1 S3 Chart recorder2 S4 Random number6 generator s4 Machine shop 3 S3, S4 Type.riter 2 TABLE Vill SUMMARY: REMOTE VIEWING Number p-Value, Subject of Rank ExperimentsOrder Judging With natural targets Sl (experienced) 9 2.9 x 10- 5 -4 S2 and S3 (experienced) 8 3.8 x 10 -6 S4 (learner) 9 1.8 X 10 S5 and S6 (learners)a 0.08 (NS) Vl and V2 (learners/visitors)5 0.017 With technology targets S2, S3, S4, V2, 12 0.036 V3 tabulation of the statistical evaluations of these fifty-one ex- periments with nine subjects is presented in Table Vill. The overall result, evaluated conservatively on the basis of a judging procedure that ignores transcript quality beyond that necessary to rank order the data packets (vastly underestimat- ing the statistical significance of individual descriptions), clearly indicates the presence of an information channel of useful bit rate. Furthermore, it appears that the principal difference between experienced subjects and inexperienced volunteers is not that the latter never exhibit the faculty, but rather that their results are simply less reliable, more sporadic. Nevertheless, as described earlier, individual transcripts from the inexperienced group of subjects number among some of the best obtained. Such observations indicate a hypothesis that remote viewing may be a latent and wldel@ distributed Approved For Releasq.2001/03/26 : Qh@- rla6-00787RQ90200080007-7 345 PUTHOFF AND TARG; PERCEPTUAL CHANNTL FOR INFORMATIO 4FAIR BELT DRIVE FOR DRILL PRESS (CAN BE SEEN ONLY FROM ABOVE MACHINE) Fig. 13. Subject (S4) drawing of drill press showing belt drive, stool, and a "vertical graph that goes up and down." Thus the primary achievement of the SRI program was the elicitation of high-quality remote viewing from individuals who agreed to act as subjects. Criticism of this claim could in principle be -put forward on the basis of three potential flaws. 1) The study could involve naivet6 in protocol that permits various forms of cueing, intentional or unintentional. 2) The experiments discussed could be selected out of a larger pool of experiments of which many are of poorer quality. 3) Data for the reported experiments could be edited to show only the matching elements, the nonmatching elements being discarded. All three criticisms, however, are invalid. First, with regard to cueing, the use of double-blind protocols ensures that none of the persons in contact with the subject can be aware of the target. Second, selection of experiments for reporting did not take place; every experiment was entered as performed on a master log and is included in the statistical evaluations. Third, data associated with a given experiment remain unedited; all experiments are tape recorded and all data are included un- In the process of judging-attempting to match transcripts against targets on the basis of the information in the transcripts-soule patterns and regularities in the transcript desc @ tions became evident, particularly regarding individual rip styles in remote viewing and in the perceptual form of the descriptions given by the subjects. These patterns and the judging procedure are discussed below. a) Styles of response: The fifty-one transcripts were taken from nine different subjects. Comparing the tran- scripts of one subject with those of another revealed that each pattern tended to focus on certain aspects of the remote target complex and to exclude others, so that each had an individual pattern of response, like a signature. Subject S3, for example, frequently responded with topo- graphical descriptions, maps, and architectural features of the target locations. Subject S 2 often focused on the behavior of the remote experimenter or the sequence of actions he carried out at the target. The transcripts of subject S4, more than those of other subjects, had descriptions of the feel of the lo- cation, and experiential or sensory gestalts-for example, light/dark elements in the scene and indoor/outdoor and enclosed/open distinctions. Prominent features of S I's tran- scripts were detailed descriptions of what the target persons were concretely experiencing, seeing, or doing-for example, standing on asphalty blacktop overlooking water; looking at a purple iris. The range of any individual subject's responses was wide. Anyone might draw a map or describe the mood of the remote experimenter, but the consistency of each subject's overall approach suggests that just as individual descriptions of a directly viewed scene would differ, so these differences also occur in remote-viewing processes. b) Nature of the description: The concrete descriptions that appear most commonly in transcripts are at the level of subunits of the overall scene. For example, when the target was a Xerox copy machine, the responses included (S2) a rolling object (the moving light) or dials and a cover that is lifted (S3), but the machine as a whole was not identified by name or function. In a few transcripts, the subjects correctly identified and named the target. In the case of a computer terminal, the subject (V2) apparently perceived the terminal and the relay racks behind it. In the case of targets which were Hoover Tower and White Plaza, the subjects (S I and S6, respectively) seemed to identify the locations through analysis of their initial images of the elements of the target. There were also occasional incorrect identifications. Gestalts were incorrectly named; for example, swimming pools in a park were identified as water storage tanks at a water filtration plant (S 1). The most common perceptual level was thus an intermediate one-the individual elements and items that make up the tar- get. This is suggestive of a scanning process that takes sample perceptions from within the overall environment. When the subjects tried to make sense out of these fragmen- tary impressions, they often resorted to metaphors or con- structed an image with a kind of perceptual inference. From a feeling of the target as an "august" and "solemn" building, a subject (S4) said it might be a library; it was a church. A pedestrian overpass above a freeway was described as a conduit (S4). A rapid transit station, elevated above the countryside, was associated with an observatory (S2). These responses ,j] evaluated. seem to be the result of attempts to process partial informa- editedA h dataIseahobe toge judged an r e ease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 TARGET: DRILL PRESS (TECHNOLOGY SERIES) Approved For4ftlease 2001/03/26 CIA-RDP96AN787ROO0200080007-7 34c, PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1916 tion: similarly, this 'occurs in other parapsychological experi- ments. These observations are compatible with the hypotheses that inform6tion received in a putative remote-viewing mode is processed piecemeal in pattern form (consistent with a low bit rate process, but not necessarily requiring it); and the errors arise in the:processes of attempted integration of the data into larger patterns directed toward verbal libeling. When the subje0s, augmented the verbal transcripts with drawings or sketch@s, these often expressed the target elements more accurately t4an the verbal descriptions. Thus the draw- ings tended to correspond to the targets more clearly and precisely than the 'Words of the transcript. The descriptionsi given by the subjects sometimes went be- yond what the remote experimenter experienced, at least con- sciously. For exafnple, one subject (S4) described and drew a belt drive at the iop of a drill press that was invisible even to the remote experimenter who was operating the machine; another subject ($0 described a number of items behind shrubbery and thus not visible to members of the demarcation team at the site. Curiously, objects in motion at the remote site were rarely mentioned in the tTanscript. For example, trains crossing the railroad trestle target were not described, though the remote experimenter stood' very close to them. Also in a few cases, the subject descriptions were inaccurate regarding size of structures. A 20-ft courtyard separating two buildings was described as 200 ft wide, and a small shed was expanded to a barn+like structure. c) Blind judging of transcripts: The judging procedure entailed examiningi the transcripts for a given experimental series and attemptipg to match the transcripts with the cor- rect targets on the:! basis of their correspondences. The tran- scripts varied from 'coherent and accurate descriptions to mix- tures of correspon4nces and noncorrespondences. Since the judge did not know:a priori which elements of the descriptions were correct or incbrrect, the task was complicated, and tran- scripts often seeme4 plausibly to match more than one target. A confounding factor in these studies is that some target lo- cations have similarities that seem allke at some level of per- ception. For exainple, a radio telescope at the top of a hill, the observation deck of a tower, and a jetty on the edge of a bay all match a transcript description of "looking out over a long distance." A lake, a fountain, and a creek may all result in an image of water for the subject. Therefore, in several cases, even correct !images may not help in the conservative differential matching procedure used. According to the judge, the most successful procedure was a careful element-by-olement comparison that tested each tran- script against every target and used the transcript descriptions and drawings as arguments for or against assigning the tran- script to a particular target. In most cases, this resulted in either a clear conclusion or at least a ranking of probable matches; these matches were subjected to the statistical analyses presented iii this paper. 2) Summary: In -summary, we do not yet have an under- standing of the nature of the information-bearing signal that a subject perceives dt@ring remote viewing. The subjects com- monly report that they perceive the signal visually as though they were looking at the object or place from a position in its immediate neighborhood. Furthermore, the subjects' per- ceptual viewpoint has mobility in that they can shift their point of view so as to describe elements of a scene that would Approved For Release 2001/03/26 not be visible to an observer merely standing at ground level and describing what he sees. (In particular, a @ubject often correctly describes elements not visible to the target demarca- tion team.) Finally, motion is seldom reported; in fact, moving objects often are unseen even when nearby static objects are correctly identified. A comparison of the results of remote viewing (a so-called free-response task) with results of forced-choice tasks, such as the selection of one of four choices generated by a random number generator (58], reveals the following findings, From a statistical viewpoint, a subject is more likely to describe, with sufficient accuracy to permit blind matching, a remote site chosen at random than he is to select correctly one of four random numbers. Our experience with these phenomena leads us to consider that this difference in task performance may stem from fundamental signal-to-noise considerations. Two principal sources of noise in the system apparently are mem- ory and imagination, both of which can give rise to mental pictures of greater clarity than the target to be perceived. In the random number task, a subject can create a perfect mental picture of each of the four possible outputs in his own imagi- nation and then attempt to obtain the correct answer by a mental matching operation. The same is true for card guessing experiments. On the other hand, the subject in remote view- ing is apparently more likely to approach the task with a blank mind as he attempts to perceive pictorial information from remote locations about which he may have no stored mental data. Finally, we observe that most of the correct information that subjects relate to us is of a nonanalytic nature pertaining to shape, form, color, and material rather than to function or name. In consultation with Dr. Robert Ornstein of the Langley- Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, San Francisco, CA, and with Dr. Ralph Kiernan of the Department of Neurology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, we have formed the tentative hypothesis that paranormal functioning may involve specialization characteristic of the brain's right hemi- sphere. This possibility is derived from a variety of evidence from clinical and neurosurgical sources which indicate that the two hemispheres of the human brain are specialized for dif- ferent cognitive functions. The left hemisphere is predomi- nantly active in verbal and other analytical functioning and the. right hemisphere predominates in spatial and other holistic processing [591, [60]. Further research is necessary to elucidate the relationship between right hemisphere function and paranormal abilities. Nonetheless, we can say at this point that the remote-viewing results of the group of subjects at SRI have characteristics in common with more familiar performances that require right hemispheric function. The similarities include the highly schematicized drawings of ob- jects in a room or of remote scenes. Verbal identification of these drawings is often highly inaccurate and the drawings themselves are frequently left-right reversed relative to the target configuration. Further, written material generally is not cognized. These characteristics have been seen in left brain-injured patients and in callosal-sectioned patients. As a result of the above considerations, we have learned to urge our subjects simply to describe what they see as opposed to what they think they are looking at. We have learned that their unanalyzed perceptions are almost always a better guide to the true target than their interpretations of the perceived data. : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PUTHOFAPPf9RV0EFC%1RAl QciJAft,;PAV9AR% @T9AAQPM-00787RWO200080007-7 347 IV. CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING TIME If the authors may be forgiven a personal note, we wish to express that this section deals with observations that we have been reluctant to publish because of their striking appa rent in- compatibility with existing concepts. The motivating factor for presenting the data at this time is the ethical consideration that theorists endeavoring to develop models for paranormal functioning should be apprised of all the observable data if their efforts to arrive at a comprehensive and correct descrip- tion are to be successful. During the course of the experimentation in remote viewing (Section III), subjects occasionally volunteered the informa- tion that they had been thinking about their forthcoming par- ticipation in a remote-viewing experiment and had an image come to them as to what the target location was to be. On these occasions, the information was given only to the experi- menter remaining at SRI with the subject and was unknown to the outbound experimenter until completion of the experi- ment. Two of these contributions were among the most accurate descriptions turned in during those experiments. Since the target location had not yet been selected when the subject communicated his perceptions about the target, we found the data difficult to contend with. We offer these spontaneous occurrences not as proof of pre- cognitive perception, but rather as the motivation that led us to do further work in this field. On the basis of this firsthand evidence, together with the copious literature describing years of precognition experiments carried out in various other labo- ratories, we decided to determine whether a subject could per- form a perceptual task that required both spatial and temporal remote viewing. It is well known and recently has been widely discussed that nothing in the fundamental laws of physics forbids the appar- ent transmission of information from the future to the present (discussed further in Section V). Furthermore, there is a gen- eral dictum that "in physical law, everything that is not forbid- den, is required" [611. With this in mind, we set out to con- duct very well-controlled experiments to determine whether we could deliberately design and execute experiments for the sole purpose of observing precognition under laboratory conditions. The experimental protocol was identical to that followed in previous remote-viewing experiments with but one exception. The exception was that the subject was required to describe the remote location during a 15-min period beginning 20 min before the target was selected and 35 min before the outbound experimenter was to arrive at the target location. In detail, as shown in Table IX, each day at ten o'clock one of the experimenters would leave SRI with a stack of ten sealed envelopes from a larger pool and randomized daily, con- taining traveling instructions that had been prepared, but that were unknown to the two experimenters remaining with the subject. The subject for this experiment was Hella Hammid (S4) who participated in the nine-experiment series replicating the original Price work described earlier. The traveling experi- menter was to drive continuously from 10:00 until 10:30 be- fore selecting his destination with a random number, generator. (The motivation for continuous motion was our observation that objects and persons in rapid motion are not generally seen in the remote-viewmig mode of perception, and we wished the traveler to be a poor target until he reached his target site.) At the end of 30 min of driving, the traveling experimenter gener- TABLE IX ExPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL: PRECOGNITIVE REMOTE VIEWING Time Experimenter/Subject Activity Schedule 10:00outbound experimenter leaves with 10 envelopes (containing target locations) and random number generator; begins half-hour drive 10:10Experimenters remaining with subject in the laboratory elicit from subject a description of where outbound experimenter will be from 10:45-11:OD 10:25Subject response completed, at which time laboratory part of experiment is over 10:30Outbound experimenter obtains random number from a random number generator, counts down to associated envelope, and proceeds to target location indicated 10:45Outbound experimenter remains at target location for 15 minutes (10:45-11:00) ated a random digit from 0 to 9 with a Texas Instruments SR-51 random number generator; while still in motion, he counted down that number of envelopes and proceeded di- rectly to the target location so as to arrive there by 10:45. He remained at the target site until 11:00, at which time he re- turned to the laboratory, showed his chosen target name to a security guard, and entered the experimental room. During the same period, the protocol in the laboratory was as follows. At 10: 10, the subject was asked to begin a descrip- tion of the place to which the experimenter would go 35 min hence. The subject then generated a tape-recorded description and associated drawings from 10:10 to 10:25, at which time her part in the experiment was ended. Her description was thus entirely concluded 5 min before the beginning of the tar- get selection pr@cedure. Four such experiments were carried out. Each of them ap- peared to be successful, an evaluation later verified in blind judging without error by three judges. We will briefly sum- marize the four experiments below. The first target, the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor, consisted en- tirely of mud flats because of an extremely low tide (see Fig. 14). Appropriately, the entire transcript of the subject per- tained to "some kind of congealing tar, or maybe an area of co ,ndensed lava. It looks like the whole area is covered with some kind of wrinkled elephant skin that has oozed out to fill up some kind of boundaries where (the outbound experi- menter) is standing." Because of the lack of water, the dock where the remote experimenter was standing was in fact rest- ing directly on the mud. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Fig. 14. Subject Hammid (S4) described "some kind of congealing tar, or maybe an area of condensed lava ... that has oozed out to fill up some kind of boundaries." 34-8 Approved For4%lease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96ift~§7gP,99(90,qM9997,-ZAIII 1976 Note that the; subject has learned not to rush into interpreta- tion as to the j! :ature or purpose of the place. This is a result of our cautioriihg based on the observation that such efforts tend to be purely analytical and in our experience are almost invariably incorrect. If a subject can limit himself to what he sees, he is oftep then able to describe a scene with sufficient accuracy that an observer can perform the analysis for him and identify the place. The second t!arget visited was the fountain at one end of a large formal gaTden at Stanford University Hospital (Fig. 15). The subject gave a lengthy description of a formal garden be- hind a wall with a "double colonnade" and "very well mani- cured." When we later took the subject to the location, she was herself taken aback to find the double colonnaded wall leading into the garden just as described. The third target was a children's swing at a small park 4.6 kni from the laboratory (Fig. 16). The subject repeated again and again that the main focus of attention at the site was a "black iron triangle that the outbound experimenter had somehow ,walked into or was standing on." The triangle was "bigger than a man," and she heard a "squeak, squeak, about once a second," whicl@ we observe is a match to the black metal swing that did squeak. Fig. 17. Subject (S4) described a very tall structure located among city streets and covered with "Tiffany-like glass." The final target was the Palo Alto City Hall (Fig. 17). The subject described a very, very tall structure covered with "Tiffany-like glass." She had it located among city streets and with little cubes at the base. The building is glass-covered, and the little cubes are a good match to the small elevator exit buildings located in the plaza in front of the building. To obtain a numerical evaluation of the accuracy of the pre- cognitive viewing, the experimental results were subjected to independent judging on a blind basis by three SRI scientists who were not otherwise associated with the experiment. The judges were asked to match the four locations, which they visited, against the unedited typed manuscripts ofthe tape- recorded narratives, along with the drawings generated by the remote viewer. The 'transcripts were presented unlabeled and in random order and were to be used without replacement. A correct match required that the transcript of a given experi- ment be matched with the target of that experiment. All three judges independently matched the target data to the response data without error. Under the null hypothesis (no information channel and a random selection of descriptions without re- placement), each judge independently obtained a result signifi- cant at p = (4!)-' = 0.042. For reasons we do not as yet understand, the four transcripts generated in the precognition experiment show exceptional co- herence and accuracy as evidenced by the fact that all of the judges were able to match successfully all of the transcripts to Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Fig. 15. Subject (S4) described a formal garden "very well manicured" behind a double colonnade. Fig. 16. Subject (S4) saw a "black iron triangle that Hal had somehow walked into" and heard a "squeak, squeak, about once a second." PUTHOFF AAw%v@AJFEPkRf*xx%J.QQ 149A1RQ?,;0Q k4,XRsWR96-00787RW0200080007-7 319 the corresponding target locations, A long-range experimental program devoted to the clarification of these issues and involv- ing a number of subjects is under way. The above four experi- ments are the first four carried out under this program. Currently, we have no precise model of this spatial and tem- poral remote-viewing phenomenon. However, models of the universe involving higher order synchronicity or correlation have been proposed by the physicist Pauli and the psychologist Carl Jung [ 62 1. ACAUSALITY. If natural laws were an absolute truth, then of course there could not possibly be any processes that deviate from it. But since causalitys is a statistical truth, it holds good only on average and thus leaves room for exceptions which must somehow be experienceable, that is to say, real. I try to regard synchronistic events as acausal exceptions of this kind. They prove to be relatively independent of space and time; they rela- tivize space and time insofar as space presents in principle no ob- stacle to their passage and the sequence of events in time is in- verted so that it looks as if an event which has not yet occurred were causing a perception in the present, We shall see in the next section that such a description, though poetic, has some basis in modern physical theory. V. DIscUSSION It is important to note at the outset that many contempo- rary physicists are of the view that the phenomena that we have been discussing are not at all inconsistent with the framework of physics as currently understood. In this emerg- ing view, the often-held belief that observations of this type. are incompatible with known laws in principle is erroneous, such a concept being based on the naive realism prevalent before the development of modern quantum theory and information theory. One hypothesis, put forward by 1. M. Kogan of the USSR, is that information transfer under conditions of sensory shielding is mediated by extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves in the 300-1000-km region [37]_ [401. Experimental support for the hypothesis is claimed on the basis of slower than inverse square attenuation, com- patible with source-percipient distances lying in the induc- tion field range as opposed to the radiation field range; ob- served low bit rates (0.005-0.1 bit/s) compatible with the information carrying capacity of ELF waves; apparent ineffec- tiveness of ordinary electromagnetic shielding as an attenuator; and standard antenna calculations entailing biologically gener- ated currents yielding results compatible with observed signal- to-noise ratios. M. Persinger, Psychophysiology Laboratory, Laurentian Uni- versity, Toronto, Canada, has narrowed the ELF hypothesis to the suggestion that the 7.8-Hz "Shumann waves" and their harmonics propagating along the earth-ionosphere waveguide duct may be responsible. Such an hypothesis is compatible with driving by brain-wave currents and leads to certain other hypotheses such as asymmetry between east-west and west- cast propagation, preferred experimental times (midnight-4 A.M.), and expected negative correlation between success and the U index (a measure of geomagnetic disturbance throughout the world). Persinger claims initial support for these factors on the basis of a literature search [ 631, [ 64 ] . On the negative side with regard to a straightforward ELF interpretation as a blanket hypothesis are the following: a) ap- As usually understood. parent real-time descriptions of remote activities in sufficient detail to require a channel capacity in all probability greater than,that allowed by a conventional modulation of an ELF signal; b) lack of a proposed mechanism for coding and decod- ing the information onto the proposed ELF carrier; and c) ap- parent precognition data. The hypothesis must nonetheless re- main open at this stage of research, since it is conceivable that counterindication a) may eventually be circumvented on the basis that the apparent high bit rate results from a mixture of low bit rate input and high bit rate "filling in the blanks" from imagination; counterindication b) is common to a number of normal perceptual tasks and may therefore simply reflect a lack of sophistication on our part with regard to perceptual functioning [651; and counterindication. c) may be accom- modated by an ELF hypothesis if advanced waves as well as retarded waves are admitted [66), (67]. Experimentation to determine whether the ELF hypothesis is viable can be carried out by the use of ELF sources as targets, by the study of para- metric dependence on propagational directions and diurnal timing, and by the exploration of interference effects caused by creation of a high-intensity ELF environment during ex- perimentation, all of which are under consideration in our lab- oratory and elsewhere. Some physicists believe that the reconciliation of observed paranormal functioning with modern theory may take place at a more fundamental level-namely, at the level of the founda- tions of quantum theory. There is a continuing dialog, for example, on the proper interpretation of the- effect of an ob- server (consciousness) on experimental measurement [68], and there is considerable current interest in the implications for our notions of ordering in time and space brought on by the observation [691, [701 of nonlocal correlation or "quan- tum interconnectedness" (to use Bohm's term [711) of distant parts of quantum systems of macroscopic dimensions. The latter, Bell's theorem [721, emphasizes that "no theory of reality compatible with quantum theory can require spatially separated events to be independent" [73], but must permit interconnected ness of distant events in a manner that is con- trary to, ordinary experience [741-[75]. This prediction has been experimentally tested and confirmed in the recent experiments of, for example, Freedman and Clauser [69], [701. E. H. Walker and 0. Costa de Beauregard, independently proposing theories of paranormal functioning based on quan- turn concepts, argue that observer effects open the door to the possibility of nontrivial coupling between consciousness and the environment and that the nonlocality principle permits such coupling to transcend spatial and temporal barriers [76], [77]. Apparent "time reversibility"-that is, effects (e.g., observa- tions) apparently preceding causes (e.g., events)-though con- ceptually difficult at first glance, may be the easiest of appar- ent paranormal phenomena to assimilate within the current theoretical structure of our world view. In addition to the familiar retarded potential solutions f(t - r1c), it is well known that the equations of, for example, the electromagnetic field admit of advanced potential solutions f(t + r/c)-solutions that would appear to imply a reversal of cause and effect. Such solutions are conventionally discarded as not corresponding to any observable physical event. One is cautioned, however, by statements such as that of Stratton in his basic text on electro- magnetic theory [781. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Approved For4%lease 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP960%787ROO0200080007-7 350 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, MARCH 1976 The reader ha 's doubtless noted that the choice of the function f(t - r1c) is hijhly arbitrary, since the field equation admits also a solution f(t -0. r1c). This function leads obviously to an advanced time, implyin$ that the field can be observed before it has been generated by the source. The familiar chain of cause and effect is thus reversea and this alternative solution might.be discarded as logically inconceivable. However, the application of "logical" causality princjples offers very insecure footing in matters such as these and we shall do better to restrict the theory to retarded action solely on the grounds that this solution alone conforms to the present physical data. Such caution is justified by the example in the early 1920's of Dirac's development of the mathematical description of the lelativistic electron that also yielded a pair of solutions, one of which was discarded as inapplicable until the discovery of the positron in 1912. In an analysit by 0. Costa de Beauregard, an argument is put forward that advanced potentials constitute a convergence toward "finality" in a man ner symmetrical to the divergence of retarded p9itentials as a.result of causality [771. Such phenomena are, generally unobservable, however, on the gross macroscopic scale for statistical reasons. This is codified in the thermodynamic concept that for an isolated system entropy (disorder) on the average increases. It is just this requirement of isolation, however, that has been weakened by the observer problem in quantum theory, and 0. Costa de Beauregard argues that the finality principle is maximally operative in just those situations where the intrusion of consciousness as an ordering phenomenon results in a significant local reversal of entropy increase. At this point, further discussion of the subtleties of such considerations, though apropos, would take us far afield, so we simply note that such advanced waves, if detected, could in certain caseg constitute a carrier of information precognitive to the event. The above aTguments are not intended to indicate that the. precise nature! of the information channel coupling remote events and hu@nan perception is understood. Ra'her, we in- tend to show only that modem theory is not without resources that can be brought to bear on the problems at hand, and we expec+ that these problems will, with further work, continue to yield to analysis and specification- Furthermore!, independent of the mechanisms that may be involved in re Imote sensing, observation of the phenomenon implies the existence of an information channel in the inform ation-thp oretic sense. Since such channels are amenable to analysis on !the basis of communication theory techniques, as indicated ed :flier, channel characteristics such as bit rate can i be determinedi independent of a well-defined physical channel model in the !sense that thermodynamic concepts can be ap- plied to the analysis of systems independent of underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, as we have seen from the work of RyzI discussed'in Section 11, it is possible to use such a channel for error-free tt.ansmission of information ifredundancy coding is used. (See:also Appendix A.) Therefore, experimentation involving the Collection of data under specified conditions per- mits headway; to be made despite the formidable work that needs to be done to clarify the underlying bases of the phenomena. VI. CONCLUSION For the pasti three years we have had a program in the Elec- tronics and B oengineering Laboratory of SRI to investigate bilities. The primary achievement of this program has been the elicitation of high-quality "remote viewing"-the ability of both experienced subjects and inexperienced volunteers to view, by means of innate mental processes, remote geo- graphical or technical targets such as roads, buildings, and laboratory apparatus. Our accumulated data from over fifty experiments with more than a half-dozen subjects indicate the following. a) The phenomenon is not a sensitive function of distance over a range of several kilometers. b) Faraday cage shielding does not appear to degrade the quality or accuracy of perception. c) Most of the correct information that subjects relate is of a nonanalytic nature pertaining to shape, form, color, and material rather than to function or name. (This aspect suggests a hypothesis that information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding may be mediated pri- marily by the brain's right hemisphere.) d) The principal difference between experienced subjects and inexperienced volunteers is not that the latter never exhibit the faculty, but rather that their results are simply less reliable. (This observa- tion suggests the hypothesis that remote viewing may be a latent and widely distributed, though repressed, perceptual ability.) Although the precise nature of the information channel cou- pling remote events and human perception is not yet under- stood, certain concepts in information theory, quantum theory, and neurophysiological research appear to bear directly on the issue. As a result, the working assumption among re- searchers in the field is that the phenomenon of interest is consistent with modern scientific thought, and can therefore be expected to yield to the scientific method. Further, it is recognized that communication theory provides powerful techniques, such as the use of redundancy coding to improve signal-to-noise ratio, which can be employed to pursue special- purpose application of the remote-sensing channel independent of an understanding of the underlying mechanisms. We there- fore consider it important to continue data collection and to encourage others to do likewise; investigations such as those reported'here need replication and extension under as wide a variety of rigorously controlled conditions as possible. APPENDix A SIGNAL ENHANCEMENT IN A PARANORMAL COMMUNICATION CHANNEL By APPLICATION OF REDUNDANCY CODING Independent of the mechanisms that may be involved in remote sensing, observation of the phenomenon implies the existence of an information channel in the information- theoretic sense. As we have seen from the work of Ryzl dis- cussed in Section 11,6 it is even possible to use such a (noisy) channel for error-free transmission of information if suf- ficient redundancy coding is used [ 3 01, [ 3 1]. Following is a general procedure that we have used successfully for signal enhancement. We shall assume that the "message" consists of a stream of binary digits (0,1) of equal probability (e.g., binary sort of green/white cards as in Ryzl's case, English text encoded as in Table X and sent long distance by strobe light on/off, and so on). To combat channel noise, each binary digit to be sent through the channel requires the addition of redundancy bits (coding). Efficient coding requires a compromise between the desire to maximize reliability and the desire to minimize re- those facets o human perception that appear to fall outside See also the note added in proof on the successful work done by the raApptov*dfopcR&Nmsea'2001403/Vcr-qpC- IX-4RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PUTHOFF AApprxweckEkmPe&eaeea~MIk/03i2fiTicOlAADE186-00787WO200080007-7 TABLE X 5-BIT CODE FOR ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS E 00000Y 01000 T iiiiiG'J 10111 N 00001W 01001 R 11110v 10110 1 00010B 01010 0 111010 10101 A 000111 01011 S,X,Z111002 10100 D 001003 01100 H 110114 10011 L 00101 5 01101 C,K,Q110106 10010 F 001107 01110 P 110018 10001 U 001119 01111 M 11000 10000 Note: Alphabet characters listed in order of decreasing frequency in English text. See, for example, A. Sinkov [791. (The low-fre- quency letters, X, Z, K, Q, and J, have been grouped with similar chara 'cters to provide space for numerics in a 5-bit code.) In consideration of the uneven dis- tribution of letter frequencies in English text, this code is chosen such that 0 and I have equal probability. dundancy. One efficient coding scheme for such a channel is obtained by application of a sequential sampling procedure of the type used in production-line quality control [801. The adaptation of such a procedure to paranormal communication channels, which we now discuss, was considered first by Taetzsch [ 81 ]. The sequential method gives a rule of proce- dure for making one of three possible decisions following the receipt of each bit: accept 1 as the bit being transmitted; reject I as the bit being transmitted (i.e., accept 0); or continue transmission of the bit under consideration. The sequential sampling procedure differs from fixed4ength coding in that the number of bits required to reach a final decision on a message bit is not fixed before transmission, but depends on the results accumulated with each transmission. The principal advantage of the sequential sampling procedure as compared with the other methods is that, on the average, fewer bits per final decision are required for an equivalent degree of reliability. Use of the sequential sampling procedure requires the speci- fication of parameters that are determined on the basis of the following considerations. Assume that a message bit (0 or 1) is being transmitted. In the absence of a priori knowledge, we may assume equal probability (p = 0.5) for the two possibili- ties (0, 1). Therefore, from the standpoint of the receiver, the probability of correctly identifying the bit being transmitted is p = 0.5 because of chance alone. An operative remote-sensing channel could then be expected to alter the probability of correct identification to a value p = 0.5 + 0, where the param- eter satisfies 0 < < 0.5. (The quantity may be positive or negative depending on whether the paranormal channel results in so-called psi-hitting or psi-missing.) Good psi func-, tioning on a repetitive task has been observed to result in 0 = 0.12, as reported by Ryzl [311. Therefore, to indicate the design procedure, let us assume a baseline psi parameter V1b = 0. 1 and design a communication system on this basis. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - DECISION 1 D E CS'@ JN Accept "'I" as Ac.-pt - the Bit Being the Bit B e"'g ECISION T,a.sm,tted EC ISI 0N 3 Transmitted Continue ..s_ C @ntin.- - ransmission 's@'o DECISION 2 DEC N2 A. _e ISI@ 0" as Accept "0" as c pt the Bit Being the Bit Be'ng Transmitted Transmitted I I 351 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 NUMBER OF TRIALS z 50 z U)LLJ 0=' 40 UJ 30 LL < 0 @2 CC LU uJ m 20 M 2 =) LU Z (D cc 10 UJ < > 1`_ 1-- - 0 0 Fig. 18. Enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio by sequential sampling procedure (po = 0.4, p I = 0.6, ot = 0.0 1 0.0 1). The question to be addressed is whether, after repeated transmission, a given message bit is labeled a "I" at a low rate po commensurate with the hypothesis Ho that the bit in ques- tion is a "0," or at a higher rate p, commensurate with the hypothesis HI that the bit in question is indeed a "l." The decision-making process requires the specification of four parameters. po The probability of labeling incorrectly a "0" message bit as a " 1 @ " The probability of labeling correctly a "0" as a "0" is P = 0-5 + Ob = 0.6. Therefore, the probability of labeling incorrectly a "0" as a "I" is I - p = 0.4 = po. p, The probability of labeling correctly a "I" message bit as a "I," is given by p, = 0.5 + @b = 0.6. a The probability of rejecting a correct identification for a "0" (Type I error). We shall take ce = 0.0 1. The probability of accepting an incorrect identification for a "I" (Type II error). We shall takeo= 0.01. With the parameters thus specified, the sequential sampling procedure provides for construction of a decision graph as shown in Fig. 18. The equations for the upper and lower limit lines are =d, +SN E 0 -do + SN E where log I log I - a 0 di 1@1 I - Po do @i I - Po log log Po 1- p I Po I - p I 1 - Po log S - pi log pi I - Po P0 I - pi in which S is the slope, N is the number of trials, and d, and do are the y-axis intercepts. A cumulative record of receiver- nerated responses to the target bit is co iled until either EIA-RDP96-00787ROOO2OOO8OmOpO7-7 352 Approved Forftease 2001/03/26 CIA-RDP96ft-7§J",,qRg9q0§9 P P F F L:@ARCH 1976 >_ 1.0 0.8 CO 041Z >0) C. 0.6 -C-0 a .07 0 0 0.4 E. t: tZ JC E6 -S 0.2 < LU cc _Q +0.4 +0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 V/ (psi parameter) Fig. 19. Reliability! curve for sequential sampling procedure (po 0.4@ P, = 0.6, a = 0.01, 0 = 0.01). the upper or the lower limit line is reached, at which point a decision is made l@o accept 0 or 1 as the bit being transmitted. Channel reli4ility (probability of correctly determining message being transmitted) as a function of operative psi I parameter V/ is p! otted in Fig. 19. As observed, the sequential sampling proced@re can result in 90 percent or greater reliability with psi paramet@rs on the order of a few percent. Implementatioh of the sequential sampling procedure re- quires the transmission of a message coded in binary digits. Therefore, the t4rget space must consist of dichotomous ele- ments such as the white and green cards used in the experi- ments by RyzI. In operation, a sequence corresponding to the target bit (0 or 1) is sent and the cumulative entries are made (Fig. 18) until a decision is reached to accept either a I or a 0 as the bit being transmitted. At a prearranged time, the next sequence is begun and continues as above until the entire message has been received. A useful alternative, which relieves the percipient of the burden of being aware of his self-contradiction from trial to trial, consists'of cycling through the entire message repeti- tively and enteri#g each response on its associated graph until a decision has bd'en reached on all message bits. The authors have used this ochnique successfully in a pilot study, but a discussion of thi@ would take us beyond the intended scope of this paper. From the results obtained in such experiments, the channel bit rate can be ascertained for the system configuration under consideration. @urthermoke, bit rates for other degrees of reliability (i.e., for other po, p 1, a, and 0) can be estimated by construction of 6ther decision curves over the same data base and thus providie a measure of the bit rate per degree of reliability. In summary, the procedures described here can provide for a specification of the characteristics of a remote-sensing channel under well-defined conditions. These procedures also provide for a determination of the feasibility of such a channel for particular applications. APPENDix B RE)mOTE-VIEWING TRANSCRIPT Following is the unedited transcript of the first experiment with an SRI volunteer (S6), a mathematician in the computer science laboratoity, wiJh_no uevipus exp te Approved For Keleasenr6iffilln: viewing. The target, determined by random procedure, was White's Plaza, a plaza with fountain at Stanford University (shown in Fig. 8). As is our standard protocol, the experi- menter with the subject is kept ignorant of the specific target visited as well as the contents of the target pool. The experi- menter's statements and questions are italics. Today is Monday, October 7th. It is 11: 00 and this is a re- mote viewing experiment with Russ Targ, Phyllis Cole, and Hal Puthoff. In this experiment Hal will drive to a remote site chosen by a random process. Phyllis Cole will be the remote viewer, and Russ Targ is the monitor. We expect this experi- ment to start at twenty minutes after eleven and run for fif- teen minutes. It is just about twenty minutes after eleven and Hal should be at his target location by now. Why don't you tell me what kind of pictures you see and what you think he might be doing or experiencing. The first thing that came to mind was some sort of a large, square kind of a shape. Like Hal was in front of it. It was a ... not a building or something, it was a square. I don't know if it was a window, but something like that so that the bottom line of it was not at the ground. About where his waist was, at least. That's what it seemed to me. It seems outdoors some- how. Tree. Does Hal seem to be looking at that square? I don't know. The first impression was that he wasn't, but I have a sense that whatever it was was something one might look at. I don't know if it would be a sign, but something that one might look at. Can you tell if it is on the ground or vertical? It seemed vertical. I don't have a sense that it was part of anything particular. It might be on a building or part of a building, but I don't know. There was a tree outside, but I also got the impression Of cement. I don't have the impression of very many people or traffic either. I have the sense that he is sort of walking back and forth. I don't have any more explicit picture than that. Can you move into where he is standing and try to see what he is looking at? I picked up he was touching something-something rough. Maybe warm and rough. Something possibly like cement. It is twenty-four minutes after eleven. Can you change your point of view and move above the scene so you can get a bigger picture of what's there? I still see some trees and some sort of pavement or some- thing like that. Might be a courtyard. The thing that came to mind was it might be one of the plazas at Stanford campus or something like that, cement. Some kinds of landscaping. I said Stanford campus when I started to see some things in White Plaza, but I think that is misleading. I have the sense that he's not moving around too much. That it's in a small area. I guess I'll go ahead and say it, but I'm afraid I'm just putting on my impressions from Stanford campus. I had the impres- sion of a fountain. There are two in the plaza, and it seemed that Hal 'was possibly near the, what they call Mem Claw. What is that? It's a fountain that looks rather like a claw. It's a black sculpture. And it has benches around it made of cement. Are there any buildings at the place you are looking at? Are courtyard. dX-MY0Y9-ddbY8f Mft!U"0_dftft@1-7 Approved For ReleasqM01/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787R490200080007-7 PUTHOFF AND TARG: PERCEPTUAL CHANN`ff FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER 353 Usually at some places there should be a building, large or small that the courtyard is about. Look at the end or the sides of the courtyard. Is there anything to be seen? I have a sense that there are buildings. It's not solid build- ings. I mean there are some around the periphery and I have a sense that none of them are very tall. Maybe mostly one story, maybe an occasional two story one. Do you have any better idea of what your square was that you saw at the outset? No. I could hazard different kinds of guesses. Does it seem part of this scene? It ... I think it could be. It could almost be a bulletin board or something with notices on it maybe. Or something that people are expected to look at. Maybe a window with things in it that people were expected to look at. What kind of trees do you see in this place? I don't know what kind they are. The impression was that they were shade trees and not terribly big. Maybe 12 feet of trunk and then a certain amount of branches above that. So that the branches have maybe a 12 foot diameter, or sorne- thing. Not real big trees. New trees rather than old trees? Yeah, maybe 5 or 10 years old, but not real old ones. Is there anything interesting about the pavement? No. It seems to be not terribly new or terribly old. Not very interesting. There seems to be some bits of landscaping around. Little patches of grass around the edges and periph- eries. Maybe some flowers. But, not lush. You saw some benches. Doyou want to tell me about them? Well, that's my unsure feeling about this fountain. There was some kind of benches of cement. Curved benches, it felt like. They were of rough cement. What do you think Hal is doing while he is there? 1 have a sense that he is looking at things trying to project them. Looking at different things and sort of walking back and forth not covering a whole lot of territory. Sometimes standing still while he looks around. I just had the impression of him talking, and I almost sense that it was being recorded or something. I don't know if he has a tape recorder, but if it's not that, then he is saying some- thing because it needed to be remembered. It's 11:33. He's just probably getting ready to come back. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors wish to thank the principal subjects, Mrs. Hella Hammid, Pat Price, and Ingo Swann, who showed patience and forbearance in addition to their enthusiasm and outstanding perceptual abilities. We note with sadness the death of one of our subjects, Mr. Price. We express our sincere thanks also to Earle Jones, Bonnar Cox, and Dr. Arthur Hastings, of SRI, and Mrs. Judith Skutch and Richard Bach, without whose en- couragement and support this work could not have taken place. REFERENCES [11 J. R. Smythies, Ed., Science and ESP. London, England: Rout- ledge, 1967. 121 C. Evans, "Parapsychology -What the questionnaire revealed," New Scientist, Jan. 25, 1973, p. 209. [3] A. Gauld, The Founders of Psychical Research. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. See also W. 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Ca- vanna, Ed.: New York: Parapsychology Foundation, pp. 143- 169, 1970. ' J. Kamiy a,: "Comment to Silverman and Buchsbaum," ibid., pp. 158-159. D. Hill, and-, G. Parr, Electroencephalography. A Symposium on Its Various Aspects. New York: Macmillan, 1963. - T. D. Duan e and T. Behrendt, "Extrasensory electroencephalo- graphic induction between identical twins," Science, Vol. 150, P.367,1965. K. Osis, ASPR Newsletter, no. 14, 1972. R. L. Mor0s, "An exact method for evaluating preferentially matched fr@e-response material," J. Amer. Soc. Psychical Res., Vol. 66, p. 4.'0 1, Oct. 1972. G. R. Schm:6idler, "PK effects upon continuously recorded tem- peratures," @J. Amer. Soc. Psychical Res., Vol. 67, no. 4, Oct. 1973. W. Scherer,@ "Spontaneity as a factor in ESP," J. Amer. Soc. Psychical ROS. , Vol. 12, pp. 126-147, 1948. R. Targ, P *Cole, and H. Puthoff, "Techniques to enhance man/ machine communication," SRI, Menlo Park, CA, Final Rep., NASA Contract NAS7-1 00, June 1974. st 1 R. Orn ein@ 'The Nature ofHuman Consciousness. San Fran- cisco, CA: @reeman, 1973, ch. 7 and 8. R. W. Sperry, "Cerebral organization and behavior," Science, Vol. 133, pp: 1749-1757, 1961. 0. Bilaniuk and E. C. G. Sudarshan, "Particles beyond the light barrier," Phys. Today, Vol. 22, May 5, 1969. W. Pauli an4 C. G. Jung, Eds., The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche (Bollingen Ser. LI). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1955.1 M. A. Persiker, "ELF waves and ESP," New Horizons Trans. Toronto So@lety for Psychical Research, Vol. 1, no. 5, Jan. 1975. [641 -, "The paranormal-P. 11: Mechanisms and models," M.S.S. Information Corp., New York, 1974. [65 ] B. Julesz, Foundations of Cyclopean Perception. Chicago, IL: Univ. Chicago Press, 197 1. [66] H. Puthoff and R. Targ, in Psychic Exploration -A Challenge for Science, J. White, Ed. New York: Putnam, 1974, pp. 522-542. [671 G. Feinberg, "Precognition -A memory of things future?" in Proc. Conf. Quantum Physics and Parapsychology (Geneva, Switzerland). New York: Parapsychology Foundation, 1975. [68 ] E. P. Wigner, "The problem. of measurement," Amer. J. Phys., Vol. 3 1, no. 1, p. 6, 19 6 3. 169] J. J. Freedman and J. F. Clauser, "Experimental test of local hidden variable theories," Phys. Rev. Lett., Vol. 28, no. 14, p. 938, Apr. 3, 1972. [701 J. F. Clauser and M. A. Horne, "Experimental consequences of objective local theories," Phys. Rev. D, Vol. 10, no. 2, p. 526, July 15, 1974. [711 D. Bohm and B. Hiley, "On the intuitive understanding of non- [locality as implied by quantum theory" (Birkbeck College, London, England), Feb. 1974, Preprint. [72 J J. S. Bell, "On the problem of hidden variables in quantum theory," Rev. Mod. Phys., Vol. 38, no. 3, p. 447, July 1966. [73] H. Stapp, "Theory of reality," Lawrence-Berkeley Lab. Rep. LBL-3837, Univ. California, Berkeley, Apr. 1975. [741 A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen, "Can quantum-mechani- cal description of physical reality be considered complete?" Phys. Rev., Vol. 47, p. 777, May 155 1935. [751 R. H. Dicke and J. P. Wittke, Introduction to Quantum Meehan- Ics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1960, ch. 7. [76] E. H. Walker, "Foundations of paraphysical and parapsychologi- cal phenomena," in Proc. Conf. Quantum Physics and Para- psychology (Geneva, Switzerland). New York; Parapsychology Foundation, 1975. [771 0. Costa de Beauregard, "Time symmetry and interpretation of quantum mechanics," Lecture delivered at Boston Colloquim for Philosophy of Science (Feb. 1974), Foundations ofPhysics (in press). (781 J. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1941. [791 A. Sinkov, Elementary Cryptanalysts-A Mathematical Approach. New York: Random House, 1968. [80) P. Hoel, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1954, p. 27. [ 811 R. Taetzsch, "Design of a psi communications system," Int. J. Parapsychol., Vol. 4, no. 1, p. 35, Winter 1962. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 1544 Approved For Release 2U)/0.3/26: CIA-RDPASb 0 -7 ad6bb8b&ER 1976 iable ""' freq. X - L J put ou; kinetico-a t'r. Mr-@ -4 VD C vr 30 rectifierr , I _ JWA, - I y : Ina valve linvrJi inv J L J L J __ VDC __ Vi Vb.\'@-Vcb 30 inverter n' YN-L utility bus 60 HZ. i 15,6 fund;l f r 4 6 2 4 6 1, 2,1,2, 0 M i , lb 13,413A ... n I V 1 0 - ic .5,6,5,6, tr & r variable I r____. VL,L .__. J output . i a F ' r. ;@@' kinetico-alt L VDC T 30 rectifier valve linvIr VDC L 30 inverter VN-L I na,1 Vn I I- bus 60HZ. Utility I f a r 2 4 0 6 2 M 4 6 - i lb= 13434n - 5 1 1 i c 5,6,5,6,..t o r Fig. 2. Waveforms of voltages and currents along the asynchronous Fig. 4. Waveforms of voltages and currents along the asynchronous link. Case 1: Kinctico-alternator speed 1.0 pu. V,,[, P, 1.0 pu. link. Case III: Kin etico-al tern ator speed - 0.28 pu. V, 1, P, - 1.0 pu. aria ble VL_L vf". kinetico-aft'r. 60HZ. 10 lb ic r- * - - output 1`@21' Pr Jur VDC 30 rectifier Vr Ina _J1 inv r valve linvr VDC 30 inverter VN - L V Utility bus A f r 2 4 6 2 4 2 11,2,1,2,-' 0 in 1 3,4,3 A n' v e r 5,6,5,6, ... .1 r Fig. 3. Waveforms of voltages and currents along the asynchronous link. Case 11: Kinetic-alternator speed - 0.44 pu. V, I, P, - 1.0 pu. rated charge-the frequency converter thereby supplying losses.) b) At full charge and superwheel rated speed, CB3 can be closed, with C131 and CB2 open. . At this point the controlled firing-angle 0 (with con stant-ex tin ction-angle, CEA, override) of the inverter valves is auto- matically adjusted to "float" the rectifier-inverter combination by equating the average de output V, of the rectifier with the average counter dc, Vi of the inverter. This free-wheeling is maintained until power is desired from the superwheel, whereupon p is increased lower- ing Vi < Vr to yield the desired P3,P into the utility as depicted on Figs. 2, 3, and 4. After drawdown the charge-up sequence is repeated during an off-peak time period. Thus this ac/de/ac transmission link obviates the "usual" frequency droop and provides smooth energy flow from the kinetic storage to the fIxed-frequency utility grid with little limitation on the vaxiable-speed drive.1 As such this link can be considered one general approach to many problems of variable-speed input to some form of fixed output 'Extensive grateful credit must be given to Doctoral Candidate Bernard T. Merritt for his irreplaceable aid in setting up the equipment and instrumentation of this project. and has related application in areas such a-lind-energy conversion sys- terns, dynamic stabilization of system power-transients, recovery of slip-frequency power from the rotor of induction machines operating sub- or suprasynchronously, and others. REFERENCIES (if R. T. Dann, "The revolution in flywheels," Machine Design, pp. 130-135, May 1973. [21 R. F. Post and S. F. Post, "Flywheels," Sc. Amer., vol. 229, no. 6, pp. 17-23, Dec. 1973. 131 D, W. Rabenhorst, "Primary energy storage and the superfly- wheel," Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Tech. Memo, TG 1081 (Revised), Oct. 1970. [41 D. W. Rabenhorst, "Potential applications for the superflywheel," in Proc. Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conf., Soc. kuto. Eng. Inc., pp. 1118-1125, 1971. (51 E, J. Brunelle, "The superflywheel: A second look," J. Eng. Mate- rials and Tech., Trans. ASME, pp. 63-65, Jan. 1973. 161 L. J. Lawson, "New uninterruptible power system alternatives us- ing high capacity kinetic energy wheels," in Conf. Record IEEE, IAS, Eighth Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, pp. 151-156, Oct. 1973. [71 A. Seireg and K. S. Surana, "Optimum design of rotating disks," J. Eng. for Industry, Trans. ASME, pp. 1-10, Feb. 1970. [81 E. BlWenstein, "The first gearless drive for a tube mill," Brown Boveri Review, vol. 57, pp. 96-10S, Mar. 1970. A Confirmatory Remote Viewing Experiment in a Group Setting ARTHUR C. HASTINGS AND DAVID B. HURT A bstract- A remote viewing experiment was conducted with a group of 36 persons who successfully identified, without apparent sensory communication, a target location chosen randomly and visited by two observers (p = 6 X 10-7). Success is partly attributed to procedures designed to facilitate remote viewing abilities: asking participants to give themselves permission to have the ability, forming the group into two-person teams of viewer and coach, discussing resistances, and giving instructions on generating mental imagery and impressions. In response to the call for studies relating to the paper by Puthoff and Targi on information transfer via "remote viewing" and other modes, we wish to report an experiment with a large number of participants in a group setting. Manuscript received May 6, 1976. The authors are with the Parapsychology Research Group, Inc., Stanford, CA 94305. iH. E. Puthoff and R. Targ, "A perceptual channel for information transfer over kilometer distances: Historical perspective and recent re- search," Proc. IEEE, vol. 64, pp. 329-354, Mar. 1974. 0, ti ti Approved For Release 2001/03/26 CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PROCEEDAR.Mved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROOW0080007-7 1545 TERU 1W The authors followed the protocol, with some modifications, estab- lished by Puthoff and Targ in their SRI remote viewing experiments. Prior to the meeting of the group, and unknown to them, we selected six target sites, wrote their names on cards, and scaled them in en- velopes. These were randomly numbered, so no one, including us, knew the number of any target location. The group consisted of 36 people, men and women, mostly pro- fessional, who met with the understanding that an experiment in ESP would be conducted. At the time of tile experiment (8:30 PM, March 16), and in the presence of the group, one envelope was randomly selected by throwing a die. D. Ii. and a companion who was selected from the group then left with the scaled envelope. They opened t 'lie envelope in D. H.'s car and drove to the target site, timing their travel to arrive exactly ton minutes after their departure. At the site they ob- served and interacted with the location for ten minutes, then returned to the group meeting place. During the time the remote team was at the target, tile members of the group attempted to generate information about the target site, making notes and or drawings of their impressions. At the end of this ten minute period, but before the return of the remote team and still ignorant of the target location, the participants were allowed to com- plete their notes. Then A. II., who had directed the group procedure, named the six locations in the target pool and described them briefly. (A. H. knew the target sites in the pool, but not which one was ran- domly chosen.) The participants were asked to infer what the target was, based on the information they had generated during the target period. Of the 36 participants, 20 "voted" for one site, a playground area with a log structure in a nearby park. The remote team returned a short while after the vote was taken, handed over their envelope, and reported that the playground area was indeed the target location. Statistically, chance expectation (a null distribution) would allot six votes out of 36 to each of the six locations in the target pool. A t-tost (one tailed) for the 20 votes actually given to the correct target gives a Z score of 5.22, with a probability of less than 6 X 10-7. We do not wish to be blas6; frankly, we were astonished by the high level of success of the participants. The target was a circular play area, filled with sand, and containing a log structure with chains hanging from it and a slide on one side. The remote team climbed up the structure, stood on the platform, slid down, and took off their shoes in the sand. There were swings next to the play area, and a jungle gyni alongside the sidewalk. Perceptions of the participants in the group included mental pictures of swings, trees, park lights, sand, and the log structure (seen as logs, vertical columns, a balcony, etc.). Two participants reported images of the remote team taking off their shoes. One participant drew a circle and wrote "playground" in it; D. IJ.'s companion reported that at the location she had drawn a circle in the sand and had written "play- ground" in it. One participant reported the correct name of the park. Other descriptions included items outside the immediate area but which the travelers had observed: the jungle gym, swings, lighted windows of houses surrounding the park, a soft drink can on the ground. The other five target locations were a children's play tunnel into which tile remote team was to crawl, an orchard of flowering trees, a busy bar and restaurant, an ice cream parlor, and a post office building. In studying the SRI remote viewing results we concluded that tile target locations should vary widely along certain dimensions, particularly indoor/outdoor locations and dominant mood, and the sites in tile pool were chosen to be three indoor and three outdoor locations, with each location distinct in mood from the others. We think that the effectiveness of the experiment was partly due to the way we conducted it. We began by commenting that success in re- mote viewing seems to be helped by three conditions: 1) Accepting that remote viewing is possible and agreeing that you can do it; 2) Turning your attention away from external perceptions and to inner pictures, experiences, and thoughts; and 3) Receiving feedback as soon as possible. Regarding the first condition, we stated that remote viewing appeared to be a latent ability that could be developed, and that everyone who agreed to do remote viewing under the SRI conditions had succeeded. We asked everyone in the group to give themselves permission to have "ESP" or remote viewing ability. We then held a brief group discussion on reluctance and resistance to this ability, hoping in this way to relieve emotional blocks or intellectual rejection. For those who had hesita- tions, we suggested that they give themselves permission for the limited time and place of this experiment. Regarding tile allocation of attention, we used quiet periods in which the participants sat with their eyes closed in silence, and became aware Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : of inner images and thoughts. We had a practice period of one-two minutes before the experiment to facilitate this mode of attention. To generate information about the remote target, we advised the participants to clear their minds and "request" information about the location, then to observe what information came. We commented that they might expect it to be in the form of pictures, images, moods, and other perceptions. They were instructed not to be judgmental, i.e., not to edit, reject, or ignore impressions, but to remember and report as much as they could, even if fragmentary or apparently nonsensical. They were not to interpret what they perceived. We hoped these in- structions would facilitate an openness to internal impressions that would enable the remote viewing information to emerge above the noise level of the usual thinking, judging, and interpreting. For the actual remote viewing procedure we asked participants to form into pairs, with one person acting as percipient (viewer) and the other acting as a coach. During the first five minutes of the target period both remained silent, eyes closed. Then tile percipient, still with eyes closed, reported his or her information to the coach, who wrote down all the description. Near the end of the ten minute target period the coach could ask general questions, such as, "Is the location indoors or outdoors? Are there other people present?" Coaches were primarily intended to Support and assist the viewer, but they could also try remote description themselves if they wished. Our earlier statistics were based on total votes for target sites, combining viewers and coaches.. We did not record the two groups separately, though apparently most coaches' votes agreed with their partner. If we assumed that only viewers voted, and cast 10 out of 18 votes for the correct target, thcZ score would be reduced to4.43, giving a probability score of 6 X 10-5. With tile large number of persons, it was necessary to go through the schedule as a group, rather than having individuals set their own pace. It was important to have one person to conduct tile experiment, announce quiet Periods, times of viewing, and keep the proceedings relaxed within the protocol. Feedback was provided on the return of the remote team, who de- scribed where they were, details of the location, and their activities. The group asked them questions to check their remote viewing descrip- tions, and many participants later went to the target site to view it directly. The remote team made written notes and drawings of what they did, and in the future we would suggest tape recording and Polaroid photographs to add to the immediate feedback given to the viewers. We would also note some improvements that could be made in our procedure. In the results we relied on the viewer's own judgment to identify the correct target; it would be better to have the remote view- ing descriptions also judged by outside referees. The target pool should be made up by someone not at the experiment, And we would want to clarify whether the coaches should vote on the basis of their viewer's information or with consideration for information they themselves have generated. In conclusion the results of this test indicate that remote viewing did occur under controlled conditions in a group setting. We believe this justifies further exploration of this mode of information transfer. Comments on "A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research" Comments I by R. A. Mcconne112 The contribution of Puthoff and Targ in their paper3 Seems to Me to be two-fold. For a long time the enigma of extrasensory perception has been needing the pressure of fresh minds with broad backgrounds. In bring- ing to bear the viewpoint of engineering science, these authors have em- phasized informational, quantum mechanical, and thermodynamic aspects of the research that have been largely ignored by most of those who call themselves parapsychologists. Manuscript received May 6, 1976. R. A. McConnell is with the Life Sciences Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. 197 '61.1. E, Puthoff and It. Targ, Proe. IEEE, vol. 64, pp. 329-354, Mar. CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 P*(d6ygL% d)C6rQ17jLJ( 1976 1546 Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RD 0 _7 Secondly, they have developed a now and promising procedure called "remote viewing," which may bring us closer to the ideal of an experiment "repeatable by prescription." In a paper reporting a particular set of experiments the authors could not hope to convey the full scope of the existing literature. Their references, although well chosen for their purpose, do not provide a busy, sceptical engineer with many toeholds into the critical literature. Some of their experimental references are primarily of historical inter- est because there is no satisfying way to assess credibility from a dis- tance in time. They cite several modern papers of good quality, but the reader has no way of spotting these from among others that are important for conceptual exposition but fail to meet the highest stan- da.rds of evidentiality. In connection with a course that I teach to natural science umver- sity students, I have prepared an annotated "evidential bibliography of parapsychology" and a companion "sociological bibliography" (dealing with the taboo against parapsychology). I shall be glad to send a Copy4 of each to any reader who wonders how best to try to resolve feelings of uncertainty engendered by the findings of the Puthoff and Targ paper. Commentss by William A. HaryiS6 You have o-pened Pandora's box by publishing the paper by Put- hoff and Targ,1 and I assume you will have to publish a considerable number of discussions as a consequence. I personally would like to comment on two examples used in the above paper. 1) Subject Hella Hammid (S4) had initially demonstrated apparent noncognitive communication (pp. 334 and 336). A possible scenario: S4 unconsiously identifies one of the envelopes at approximately 10: 00 and causes the target experimenter to override the TI-5S and select the chosen card. No misdirection is implied. S4 directs the future instead of predicting it. 2) S4 described a part of a drill press not visible to the experi- menter (p. 346) lending credence to the possibility that she could have 11 seen" the contents of a scaled envelope. Invocation of "advanced potentials" as an explanation is subject to the criticism of too-close identification of a model with reality (see Slepian's paper "On Band- width," in the same issue). Comments7 by C. A. Mus@s' In connection with the article on parapsychology by Puthoff and Targ, I there is a historical anecdote, furnishing some relevant lessons on electronics vis-a-vis the mooted subject of "psi." When Puthoff visited my math lab and stayed overnight at my home some four years ago, I pointed out to him among other things that while retarded electromagnetic field potentials furnished the Lorentz transformations, the mathematically equally admissible advanced po- tentials were being neglected, and I gave him the Julius Stratton le er- ence which he cited in your issue mentioned above. However, Puthoff rushed into print too soon, forgetting that I had also told him that whatever use they were, advanced potentials could have no bearing whatsoever on precognition. Yet that they do was the main and really only electronic point of his and Targ's article (pp. 349- 3SO). The reason they do not is very simple. If one studies Maxwellian potential theory one soon learns that the time-advance in the case o advanced potentials amounts to r1c, where r is the distance between event and observer. The maximum distance between any two points on earth is one circumference of the planet or about 25 000 miles. Even with this distance the time advance of any "precognition" on this basis could be at best less than 0.0001 second! Since any precognition worthy of the name must antedate the event precognized by at least 15 minutes, it is clear that advanced potential theory's ability to explain precognition fails by a factor of about a million. We can only conclude that either Puthoff and Targ have not read their Maxwell lately, or else that they had so much desire to explain precognition in print that they sort of forgot their physics in their enthusiasm. 'His offer may be accepted by a postcard to him at the above address. 5 Manuscript received March 2 5, 19 76. 6W. A. Harris is a retired engineer formerly with the RCA Corpor- ation. 7Manuscript received April 6, 1976. 8C. A. Musas is with the Research Centre for Mathematics and Mor- phology, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. As to the telepathy (remote viewing) experiments, similar proce- dures, with even better results in graphic form, were performed and published by the French engineer Ren6 Warcoffier in the 1920's and 1930's. Warcollier, who anticipated the Puthoff-Targ findings by decades, is unfortunately omitted by them from their long list of "references." On all counts, then, this letter of rectification is due your readers, with a kudo to that one engineer of yours who cannily distrusted that particular piece. 9 Comments bySidDeutsch'o Publication of the paper on extrasensory perception by Puthoff and Targ I shows that, in addition to a shortage of electrical power, we are now suffering from a shortage of editorial restraint (scanning the issue, p. 291). This diversion into parapsychology was tolerable in a day when energy and paper were plentiful, but today man lives more and more by bread alone. It is immoral to devote 24 percent of the techni- cal content of the March 1976 PROCEEDINGS to the dignification of ESP when, ironically, the March 1976 Spectrum 11 bemoans the shaky financial state of the IEEE and is softening us up fox an increase in dues. Martin Gardner recently exposed the weaknesses in the Puthoff- Targ ESP research.12 He showed that the small amount of statistical -evidence" for ESP can be accounted for by bias on the part of the human experimenters. When one substitutes computer score-keeping for the human brain, the statistical evidence vanishes. But one cannot disprove the existence of ESP, and most people (including engineers and scientists) have an emotional need for this sort of thing. We can confidently expect, therefore, that ESP research will be one of our permanent acquisitions. One can understand how the NASA personnel could approve $80 000 of public funds for an ESP project. 12 At the very least it paid for some equipment that Stanford Research Institute could eventually employ in the public interest. One can only regret that the creativity of some obviously intelligent and skilled engineers and scientists was not directed into more socially useful channels. There are several scientific arguments against ESP. First, with our present-day sophisticated equipment, we cannot detect any forces beyond the four fundamental forces of physics-gravitational, electro- magnetic, the "weak" force, and the "strong" force. Second, we under- stand quite well the gross operation of an individual neuron, and no one seriously proposes that there is anything here but electrochemical phe- nomena. Briefly and approximately, a neuron fires, or generates a narrow 100-mV pulse, when the algebraic summation of incoming stimuli or their equivalents exceeds 20 mV. The firing rate generally has a strong noise-like component, but this can be traced to thermal noise (around 60 uV for a myclinated fiber), to the fact that there are many inputs (sometimes as many as 100 000), and not to extrasensory ectoplasm. The human brain contains some 100-billion neurons. With 100- billion neurons one can do research in ESP, and even write irate letters to the Editor. But the logical conclusion is that the future state of the human brain (and of everything else, for that matter) is predetermined by the present state of the universe. The behavior of the brain is stereo- typed in the sense that two or more identical brains, given identical initial conditions, would yield identical outputs at t = 0+. In other word, "free will" is an illusion. From another viewpoint, the computer of today was encoded in the genetic potential of the DNA molecule of its designers 40 years ago. The DNA molecule is synthesized out of only four nucleotide bases (abbreviated A, C, G, and T) each of which is a relatively simple as- semblage of atoms. Except for identical twins, each of us is the devel- opmental result of a chemically unique DNA molecule. The informa- tion content of the DNA molecule- 1 0-million bits based on subsequent protein structures13 -must be equal to or greater than that needed to 11 construct" the newborn infant. At what point, as the child develops, 9Manuscript received May 4, 1976. OS. Deutsch is with the Rutgers Medical School and Rutgers Uni- vers@ity, Piscataway, NJ 08854. 1 1 E. Rubinstein, "IEEE: another AMAV' [.FEE Spectrum, vol, 13, pp. 64-69, Mar. 1976. Also, same issue, E. Rubinstein, "Pres. Dillard on the budget," pp. 70-73. "M. Gardner, "Mathematical games," Scientific American, vol. 233, pp. 114-118, Oct 1975. Also, "Letters," Scientific Ame4can, vol. 234, pp. 6-8, Jan. 1976. "S. Deutsch, Models of the Nervous System. New York: Wiley, 1967, p. 57. cl Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PROCF,EAppromed For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROOD,,'~00080007-7 1547 1W do "free will" and ESP enter the picture? And wily, if all men are created approximately equal, are some of them blessed with ESP while others are doomed to a more mundane existence? It is difficult to contemplate a beautiful mathematical result, or the intricacies of a computer, and believe that it is all the predeter- mined outcome of ensembles of 100-billion neurons that are interacting with each other and with the environment. As a consequence, the IEEE has more than its share of egocentrics. To most of us the world is still flat, we reside at the center of an admiring universe, and the brain is greater than the sum of its 100-billion parts. The great Laplace, on the other hand, more humble than most of us, preached determinism. Today, when we know so much more, quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle are routinely invoked to prove that free will does, indeed, exist. The latter assertion is based on a distortion of the uncer- tainty principle. The principle does not state that the small-scale move- ments of an individual electron do not obey, say, F = ma; it only implies that the human experimenter, regardless of how sophisticated his measurements and apparatus become, cannot determine precisely the state of the electron. In any event, quantum mechanics is of negli- gible significance at the millivolt levels at which a neuron operates. The writing of this letter, and the decision as to whether or not it will be published, are all predetermined. If it is published, it will be fascinating to read the predetermined comments of readers who are convinced, without the slightest uncertainty, that they are writing let- ters out of their own free will. My point is that whatever they write, once it is published, had to be published that way. Comments 14 by James L. Calkinsl 5 Puthoff and Taig have undertaken a series of potentially significant studiesl utilizing what appears to be appropriate techniques taken from the scientist's arsenal of objective methodologies, many of which the authors have previously distinguished themselves using in research in the natural sciences. It is certainly an understatement to say that such a controversial topicas ESP requires extraordinarily precise and careful methods, especially well suited to exclude the basis for all those nagging criticisms often irreverently hurled at the parapsychologist-fraud, in- adaquate controls, imprecise and imcomplete reporting of essentials and details in their studies, improper statistics, and, especially, the presence of numerous confounding variables. Indeed, the authors themselves apparently set out to achieve this goal, what they refer to as their "principle responsibility -to resolve under unambiguous conditions tile basic issue of whether or not this class of paranormal perception P110- nomenon exists" (pp. 334-335). Unfortunately, the model for their study follows the traditional stratagems of the parapsychologists in the United States and Europe, rather than the method they no doubt other- wise use in their non-behavioral research (and I might add that is largely followed in experimental psychology). As we shall indicate, the conse- quence of this is that they must necessarily fall far short in fulfilling their stated "principle responsibility." It is the essence of the experimental method-in contrast to natural- istic observation, the survey technique, correlational procedures, field studies, and so on, to in fact create the conditions necessary for "unam- biguous" resolution of fundamental questions since only this method permits manipulation and control of potentially confounding variables by tile eminently sensible method of varying the critical factors under study, and systematically observing their effects upon other selected and measurable variables while holding potentially confounding vati- ables under tight control via such techniques as randomization, con- stancy, counterbalancing, matching, etc. The manipulated variables are called independent variables (IV's), and the variables sensitive to the effects of the IV are called dependent variables (DV's). This has been expressed quite eloquently by Ebbinghaus16 in his incorporation of this experimental method into his researches into human memory, a successful effort which went far in illustrating in 1885 the power of this method in scientifically understanding human behavior, including I might pointedly add, the study of human perception: We all knew of what this method consists: an attempt is made to keep constant the mass of conditions which have proven them- selves causally connected with a certain result; one of these con- ditions is isolated from the rest and varied in a way that can be numerically described; then the accompanying change oil the side of the effect is ascertained by measurement or computation. " Manuscript received May 3, 1976; revised June 22, 1976. 'J. L. Calkins is with the Department of Psychology and Sociol- ogy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104. '61-1. Ebbinghaus, Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psy- chology. New York: Dover Publications, 1964 (original: 1885). The simplest and most unambiguous experiments, therefore, are those employing but a single IV and a single DV, and, in the funda- mental situation in which an effort is being made to demonstrate the sheer existence of a phenomenon (as in the present study, without in- quiring further into its composition and contingencies), the two basic values or levels or variates of tile IV may be simply designated the "experimental" (i.e., the factor appears -operationally defined-in some amount) and "control" condition (i.e., the factor actually empirically appears as a "zero" level, something on the order of a "placebo" con- dition in a drug study). Unfortunately, in the present study, the basic procedure described was carried out with all the subjects (six in number for Section III studies through subsection "D," two more in subsection "E," and five more in subsection 17, "; we limit our critique to the more detailed accounts given in subsections A-D rather than the very eketchy mate- rial in subsections E and F, although all these studies used essentially the same procedure and varies mainly on the basis of subject char- acteristics). That is, all the subjects were administered, as it were, the same basic treatment condition, and were thus all part of tile same "clairvoyant" or "remote-viewing" group, consisting essentially in the S's making an effort to somehow envision a remote target. There did not appear to be, therefore, any variations of this critical factor, as Ebbinghaus and experimental logic requires. Actually, all we know of tile instructions to the S, so critical in determining the operational definition of this variable (not to mention making the study replicable!) is that the "remote-viewing subject was asked to describe his impressions of the target site into a tape recorder and to make any drawings he thought appropriate (p. 335)," since the authors do not give us the actual instructions. Unfortunately, there are also fundamental problems in the very def- inition of the DV, at the heart of which is confusion over the nature of the so-called "target." Specifically, the judge for a given S's perfor- mance for a given "target" was successively driven to each geographical location previously visited by the peripetetic L"s. Since we do not know precisely what aspects of the geographical location constituted a "target" in the original "experiment" when the demarcation team was present, and since it is even more ambiguous now what the judge was viewing, as weft as what he was supposed to be looking at while he re- viewed the S's packages of 9 descriptions, we seem in this procedure, therefore, to actually be dealing with at least three recognizably distinct categories of "targets": one is constituted by the perceptions of the demarcation team; a second by the perceptions of the judges; and a third by direct physical aspects of some geographical location (photo- graphs are used in the report and labelled "target" to further compli- cate target specification -e.g., their Fig. 4). It is difficult to evaluate how potentially dissimilar these various "targets" wore in the absence of clarifying and detailed accounts of the specific instructions to the teams and to the judge. Since these judgements define the essence of a "hit " the fundamental datum of the DV in this report, we are led logically to doubt the validity of this DV and suspect it is also very un- reliable (no reliability measures are presented to reassure us on this point). To summarize our concerns with the DV, we may say, first, it ap- pears to need considerable specification, a detailed operational defini- tion; second, its reliability should be ascertained, and doubt that it is inherently very unreliable removed; third, it should be used for deter- mining experimental condition ("clairvoyance") hit rates in the match- ing task, as well as for appropriate control conditions' (e.g., "No clair- voyance," "No clairvoyance and no demarcation team," and so on) hit rates, so that an appropriate statistic based on the net differences in "hit rates" could be tested for the degree to which this difference mea- sure is statistically significant. This latter point reminds us to comment on the essential experi- mental invalidity of this parapsychological tactic of comparing their so-called "experimental data" to some hypothetical "chance" level in the absence of experimental empirical control conditions, This point is perhaps most clearly illustrated in the psychokinctic ("mind over mat- ter") literature. In those studies, classically championed by Rhine some years age 17 (e.g., 1947), and reviewed up to 1.962 in an excellent re- port by Girden'8, a tumbler might toss out onto a table some 600 dice; the S being eviuated for his alleged "psychic" skills: makes some effort to mentally or "psychically" influence each die and have, say, as many 5's turn up as. he can. A tabulation is made, and it is found that, say, " J. B. Rhine, The Reach of'rhe Mind. New York: W. Sloane Asso- ciates, 1966. "E. Girden, A Review of Psychokinesis (11K), Psychol. Bull., Vol. 59, pp. 353-388, 1962. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 1548 Approved For Release 2001/03126: 235 5's have indeed turned up-a startling result, indeed, especially Replies2O when it is considered that only 100 should have so turned up by "chance," as dictated by purely theoretical (not experimental) con- siderations. The problem with this interpretation is the same as that in grateful the present "remote-viewing" study. This "chance level" is a theoreti- on cal, mathematical abstract model of the behavior of 600 ideal dice, not Publishing necessarily related to the dice actually being used in the study at all, to not to mention to the procedures and physical conditions operating in research actually using and tossing them. An empirical control condition is necessary to obtain this standard for comparison, one representing the possibility behavior of actual, physically existent and manipulated concrete dice cognition used in the study and accounting for such potentially confounding vari- remote ables influencing the throw such as non-horizontal tables, leaded dice, dence etc. This control condition would exactly duplicate the, experimental as condition, save only for the omission of some critical factor under leading study in the experiment -such as psychokinesis, or, in the present in- sibility, stance, "remote viewing." We must run a non-PK or nonremote view- of ing condition! tion, I-low could this be accomplished? For objective experimental pur- may poses, "remote viewing" may be operationally defined either by spec- exists ifying instructions to a subject concerning his potential task of envision- should ing, distant objects, or by controlling the very existence of a target to be seen "remotely" (or any other way for that matter). Therefore, cognitive each of these procedural details can serve as an IV in a well-controlled C0111c 2-factor design. For the "target" IV, we would seem to need only the of two basic levels of this IV, namely, a condition in which a remote tar- standing get is available for alledged "remote viewing," hypothetically facilitated velocity in some inscrutable fashion by a "demarcation team" actively observing rather the target according to explicit, replicable directions, and a condition of in which no such remote target or team exists. The former instance ity would theoretically permit clairvoyance to operate (if it exists), since to one's reported imagery could be matched or compared to the actual tion selected target; the latter control condition would not, since there theory would be no selected target to see clairvoyantly or otherwise. Stratton Furthermore, on the basis of an operational definition of "remote- knowledge viewing" in terms of the instructions to S establishing his remote- must viewing task (our second IV), we can proceed to require him to draw in pictures or verbally describe anything he can imagine, but in the experi- mental condition further telling him to attempt to view a remote target. are Procedurally, this would mean we begin by creating a large pool of Is nearby geographical sites to function as potential "targets" (this is an Sinclair attempt to Ivzrsorve the authors' procedures wherever feasible, since it iat, would hardly otherwise be very advisable to use such complex stimuli ing as these targets in preference to simpler, ideally quantifiable "targets"), come and then randomly assign targets to the 4 cells of our 2 by 2 factorial Lodge experimental design until, say, each cell as five (5) targets. As for the sequence to be followed in actually running S's through ticated these different treatment combinations, a simple randomized arrange- mental ment would suffice. Later, the judge can in random sequence consider paper, one cell of descriptions and targets after the other, until all four cells to have been "matched," where naturally the judge is not informed of the called treatment combination condition. Hit rates are determined, for ex- neuronal ample, and then appropriate statistical tests for simple effects, main ef- toward fects and possible interactions determined. leading It may be true, as the parapsychologists claim, that ESP is real and counter represents a great latent power of the human mind, one day to emerge gist, in full recognition by science as another momentous step in the evolu- will tion of man and his mind; but its truth remains to be demonstrated of through use of the experimental method, and until it is, in the same the way as Ohm's Law or Pavlov's conditioned reflex paradigm, parapsy- chologists ought not consider psychologists and other scientists and engineers calcified conservatives blindly refusing to see the obvious ratory, "fact" that ESP, etc., exists, because the parapsychologists themselves, just as in the present study, seem to virtually intentionally avoid using sponsored "Science the only techniques which in the long run will prove persuasive to the 19 scientific community, and those are objective experimental procedures, . even through it may appear such a convincing logic exists by virtue of Ics," @Vhite, the use of scientific jargon, description of scientific equipment, mat e- matical and information theory models, and so on. 1941. Indeed, the perseverance of belief in ESP, and the reinforcement it does and will continue to receive from such publications as evaluated Proc. Aug. in this present critique, indicates to this writer that we are dealing more with a social movement or cult than with a future discipline in empiri- 1948. cal science as Hoffer might put it (1964).19 '9 E. Hoffer, The True Believer. New York: New American Li- brary, 1964 (original: 1951). III(OCELDINGS 01"I '"' iLLE, OC'fOBER 1976 CIA-RDP96-00787ROOW0080007-7 by 11arold F. Puthoff and Russell Targ" cConnell, and we are To begin, we appreciate the remarks by M to him for his offer to make available annotated bibliographies paranormal studies, including the sociological issues. As researchers in the field, we learned early that sociological factors appear play an especially significant role in this field, both in carrying out and in disseminating reSUItS.22 In response to the comments of Harris, we too have considered the that an alternative explanation for apparent successful pre- in our experiment could involve a concatenation of telepathy, viewing, and remote psychokinesis. Although there is no evi to rule out such a possibility, we prefer the simpler explanation a working hypothesis. The idea of subject-caused paranormal events to apparent precognition, although within the realm of pos would seem to be less viable, if one is to give credence to any the more dramatic cases in the anecdotal literature (disaster prcdic etc.). Harris' comment that the "advanced potential" hypothesis be too parochial is well taken. We cited it only as a possibility that within the present scientific framework, and which we think be examined before ad hoc theories ate introduced. However, the objection to advanced potentials raised by Mus6s (pre "advantage" restricted to one nanosecond-per-foot) is over if one considers not just plane waves propagating at the velocity Light, but rather traveling-wave interforograms (i.e., slowly moving wave patterns). In this case information propagates at the of the interference pattern in the wake of the passing waves, than at the velocity of the waves themselves. The group velocity a signal would under these conditions be slower than the phase veloc- c, thus allowing for a longer precognition time interval.23 We Wish emphasize again that we axe not putting this forward as the explana- for precognition, but rather only as an example that modern does not absolutely forbid such modeling, as shown in our reference.24 in passing, one of the authors (HP) does ac the conversation on this topic referred to by Dr. Mus6s, but Point out that the original source of this concept in our work lies an earlier paper published by one of the authors (RT).25 With regard to the Warcollier reference pointed out by Muses, we familiar with Warcollier's work in remote picture drawing,26 which similar to the more easily available material in the book by Upton (with preface by Einstein), Mental Radio;27 we are not faniii- however, with any work by Warcollier in our format (remote view- of natural targets). For the latter a good early reference we have across since publication of our paper is a chapter by Sir Oliver in An Outline of Science. 28 Deutsch's first argument against ESP ("with our present-day sophis- equipment, we cannot detect any forces beyond the four funda- forces of physics . . .") indicates that, at least with regard to our he has missed one of our major points-that it is not necessary go outside of present-day physics in order to begin to model so paranormal perception. His comments on brain functioning, firing, and the uncertainty principle, although not directed our paper per se, nonetheless inspire us to point out that the neurophysiologists of our time have taken a position directly to that of Deutsch. For example, the eminent neurophysiolo- John C. Eccles, in discussing a neurophysiological hypothesis of in his book Facing Reality, comments at length on the possibility nouronal firing patterns being controlled by quantum processes at level of the uncertainty principle.29 Be that as it may, it would "Manuscript received June 30, 1976. " The authors are with the Electronics and Bioengineering Labo- Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA 94025. 12 Bicentennial Conference on America in the Information Age, by the American Society for Information Science; Panel on and unexplained phenomena," Washington, D.C., Apr. 12-14, 7,@, H. E. Puthoff and R. Targ, "Psychic research and modern phys in E. D. Mitchell's Psychic Exploration-A Challenge to Science, J. Ed., New York: Putnam's 1974, ch. 22. 24 J. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill, 'I R. Targ, "Precognition and everyday life: A physical model," in 15th Int. Conf. Parapsychology (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 1972, "'R. Warcollier, Mind-to-Mind, New 'York: Creative Age Press, "U. Sinclair, Mental Radio. New York: Collier Books, 197 1. " Sir Oliver Lodge, "Psychic science," in The Outline of Science, A, Thompson, Ed. New York: Putnam' , 1922. 9J. C. Eccles, Facing Reality, News@fork: Springer-Veriag, 1970, 1. 8. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PR0CEEAMr19y-ftdsFor Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROOQA00080007-7 1549 VOW appear to us that the "free-will-versus-determinism" issue is separate from and irrelevant to the ESP issue, since even in a deterministic uni- verse there is no strong argument against the occurrence of a com- pletely predetermined event that, because of its characteristics, would be considered "paranormal." With regard to Deutsch's trust in the Martin Gardner attempt to expose the weaknesses" of our research with a random number gener- ator, such trust is misplaced. Our rebuttal to Gardner points out that Gardner's major criticism of our experiments was based on his miscon- ception of the manner in which data were collected by an automated SyStern.30 In Calkins' letter we find a detailed presentation of the elements of an experiment, definitions of independent and dependent variables (IV's and DVs); a detailed description of a particular factorial experi- mental design standardly used in certain specialized studies (e.g., drug/ placebo treatment of animals), and so on; all of which, taken in proper context, we have no quarrel with. Unfortunately, intertwined with this discourse is the claim that since our experimental design differs from the paradigm he advocates, we have failed to follow accepted method- ology (as be narrowly interprets it) in experimental psychology. He would have the reader believe that, as a consequence, our experimental and control conditions, and our IV's and DV's were ill-defined, and per- force our results necessarily ambiguous. Although on the surface his cIriticism might appear to be both sophisticated and substantive, careful examination of his remarks point by point reveals a basic misinterpre- tation of our experiment; and also a basic misunderstanding of the roles that different experimental paradigms play in eliciting data of interest in complex and subtle behavioral experimentation. As a result we find his evaluation inaccurate and his conclusions invalid. To handle the general argument first, obviously there is no single research strategy or experimental design that can be applied in cook- book fashion to all research issues. The designs available within the arsenal of experimental psychologists range from naturalistic observa- tions, through systematic assessment with controlled stimuli, and fi- nally to experimental manipulation.31 The key distinctions among the strategies involve the degree of experimental control that is exer- cised, and the amount of artificiality or bias that is introduced. Each strategy has an appropriate function, application, strength, and short- coming, and, as Scott and Wertheimer point out, "any particular pro- ject maywencombine features of each strategy."31 At an early stage of research, the investigator must find procedures that will minimize ambiguity by controlling unwanted influences, while avoiding the rigidity, artificiality, masking, and biasing effects that pre- mature overrefinement of procedures might introduce. It would be in our opinion premature and imprudent, for example, during the initial stages of an investigation when much remains unknown about the mechanisms and factors involved, to follow Calkins' suggestion to specify precisely on which stimuli within a target area a subject or judge is to concentrate. As Scott and Wertheimer caution, "experi- mental manipulation may provide such refined control over the situa- tion in which a relationship is established that the generality of the results becomes questionable. Precision of control is not the only con- sideration in designing a research project. Generality and applicability of the conclusions are others ... The problem facing the investigator is to find an appropriate compromise that will afford control over certain unwanted influences, while at the same time adequately representing the complex interplay of circumstances he is trying to find out about." In the design of our remote-viewing protocol, we took into account the advice of Anderson as given in his discussion of what he calls a 11 natural experiment.1132 "In the early stages ofrescarch ... it is good strategy to observe the operations of variables in their natural settings to obtain some estimate of the relative importance of these variables." We therefore incorporated into our overall strategy certain elements of a "natural experiment" such as the use of targets defined by the "nat- ural" process of site visitation by a demarcation team with unspecified instructions, and the use of "free-response" questioning. In keeping with accepted methodology in experimental psychology we emphasized rigid control over variables that might have introduced bias into our results. For instance, double-blind protocol was used in all procedures involving the generation and presentation of the stimuli 30R. Targ and H. Puthoff, Letters, Scientific American, vol, 234, Jan5l976. W. A. Scott and M. Wertheimer, Introduction to Psychological ResfIrch. New Yorkz Wiley, 1962, pp. 69-77. B. F. Anderson, The Psychology Experiment. An Introduction to the Scientific Method, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 197 1. pp. 36-41. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 (target site visitations by demarcation team); the analysis of responses (S-gencrated transcripts and drawings) was carried out by a judge blind as to the correct stimulus-response pairs. A series of independent variables (IV's) that Calkins chooses to ignore (target-site characteristics such as distance, elevation, presence or absence of water, etc.) were manipulated by random selection, and a well-defined DV was obtained from the judged accuracy of S's oral and graphic description of target location as represented by rank-order number. Among other things the precise time of stimulus presentation was controlled and Ss were uni- formly instructed to provide a detailed description, by word and draw- ing, of their impression of the target area. In short, precise experi- mental control was used where appropriate to eliminate ambiguous conditions, independent variables were systematically manipulated and presented under suitably controlled conditions, and measurement was made of the effects of the changed stimuli. Thus, the vital elements of an experiment as defined in experimental psychology were present. (For definitions of the elements of an experiment, see footnotes. 31-37) There is insufficient space to answer in detail each of the specific criticisms made in Calkin's' comments (for example, the effort to in- validate our statistical procedure by erroneous extrapolation of the biased-die fallacy). However, a few important points need to be made. 1) Calkins suggests that the two-factor design be advocates is a superior experimental design, in part because of the introduction of control conditions such as: (i) there is an experimental target demar- cated by the target team as in our usual experimental condition, but S is told to think of "anything he can imagine" (his "do-not-remote- view" condition), and (ii) there is no target, but S is asked to carry out a remote viewing anyway. In the first case Ss might imagine remote scenes, might focus on close relatives or friends, doodle or simply think of anything at random. It is not at all clear that a meaningful compari- son can be made between the output of this exercise and a genuine ef- fort at remote viewing. This would be similar to comparing apples with an entire fruit stand. For case (ii) it is not clear how the absence of a target would be generated. How', for example, does one effectively send a target team "nowhere"? If there is a target team, the members must be somewhere, and thereby would provide some basis for remote viewing. (Our best effort in this direction [p. 340, Table IV, 2nd target site] was to lock the target team up in a shielded room, instead of send- ing them out to an outdoor target.) If, on the other hand, there is no designated target team, this situation is so dissimilar to the putative remotv-viewing situation under study that S responses would be open to serious question with regard to the basis for making meaningful comparisons. In sum, Professor Calkins has not shown how his ap- proach is better, if indeed it is as acceptable as that which was used. It would seem, rather, that the recommended approach would intro- duce more ambiguity into the experimental design than it would re- solve, making the results extremely difficult to interpret. One must not abjure common sense in an effort to follow a particular favorite procedure which might recommend itself theoretically. 2) Perhaps the most valid criticism in Calkins' comments, center on our not detailing information about the reliability of the judging pro- cess. Although the data are contained within the paper, clarification is in order. As indicated in Sections A and B, pp. 335-338, twojudging proce- dures were used. In the first, panels of 5 independent judges analyzed the first and second experiments. From this one could obtain the re- liability of rankings by several judges (inter-rater agreement) as inea- sured by the coefficient of concordance W. However, in the present study a judgment consisted of the matching of descriptive transcripts and drawings to actual sites, and therefore the accuracy of matching provides an empirical measure of judge reliability. The best judge ob- tained seven matches out of nine cases in the first experiment, five out of nine in the second, setting at least an empirical standard for quality of judging. This procedure amounted to a pre-testing of potential judge reliability. A sixth judge was then obtained who independently rank-order judged the same two experiments. Since he also indepen- 3 'H. B. English and A. C. English, A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and Psychoanalytic Terms. New York: McKay, 1958. 3' B. J. Underwood, Experimental Psychology, 2nd ed. New York- Appleton Century Crofts, 1966. 3 5 D. T. Campbell and J. C. Stanley, Experimental and Quasi-Experl- mental Designsfor Research, Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, 1963. G. McCain and L. M. Segal, The Game of Science, Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole 1969. 37A. Chapanis, Research Techniques in Human Engineering. Balti- more, Ml): The Johns 11opkins Press, 1959. isso , 111tOCLILDINGS OFTEIE ILEX, OCTOBLR 1976 Approved For Release 2Q01/03/26 CIA-RDP96-00787ROO=0080007.7 dently obtained the same 7 and 5 direct matches as the best ju7g,., we TABL at least had a measure that indicated that with regard to the data goner- ated in our first two experiments, the better judges were in accord, indicating a high degree of reliability, inter- and intra-judge. This sixth judge was therefore used for all the subsequent judging in the paper, and thus the rank-order judging of all the experiments in the paper was carried out by a single judge whose degree of reliability was estimated on the basis of a comparison Arith the results of judging panels, The authors do recognize, however, that the analysis of free-response mate- rial is difficult at best and further work is being pursued in the hope that subjective judging procedures can be replaced altogether by a more quantified form of content analysis. With regard to Calkins' closing remarks on cultism versus empirical science, it is our understanding that the key distinction between the two is that cultism consists of belief, in the absence of observation or experimentation, whereas those who follow the entirical method can be found in the laboratory formulating hypotheses and designing and car- that it is those who experiments. It would to rying us out carry appear out experiments and report results (see other replication studies, this issue), rather than many of their critics, who are true to the canons of TABLE 11 empirical science. Ist 2nd Total Preliminary Experiments in Group "Remote Viewing" THOMAS W. WHITSON, DAVID N. BOGART, JOHN PALMER, AND CHARLES T. TART Abstract-In preliminary research designed to test the "remote view- ing" paradigm of Puthoff and Targ, two university art classes drew their impressions of an unknown, randomly determined location. Based on the drawings, independent judges attempted to select the correct loca- tions from among ten slides. The results (P = 0.03), although not con- clusive, were encouraging, The experimental findings of Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) suggest that it is possible to obtain descriptive information about remote locations through an unidentified perceptual channel. Here we report two preliminary experiments per- formed at the University of California, Davis, to check on the validity of "remote viewing." We wanted to test the hypothesis that "remote viewing" of natural objects may be a latent and widely distributed ability. We used stu- dents in a university art course as percipients. None of them were known to possess extraordinary psychic abilities and none reported hav- ing prior experience in describing unknown remote locations. The per- cipients were practiced art students quite willing to draw and describe their visual images. Unlike the experiments at SRI, this study was a group experiment, i.e., all percipients present simultaneously. The pereipients produced their drawings individually, with no discussion between one another. For the first experiment, thirty target locations were selected by the experimenters, all within ten minutes driving time from the Davis campus. Of these thirty, ten locatioAs clearly differentiated from each other by visual criteria were chosen as the target pool. A few examples of the target pool are: a palm tree, a Hammond organ, a bike underpass tunnel, and a gravestone statue of an angel. A color slide of each site was scaled in an envelope together with traveling instructions from the university to the location pictured. Before meeting with the class, El (Whitson) randomized the envelopes while E2 (Bogart) was not Present- The experimenters decided to introduce the nature of the experiment at the beginning of the class and then carry out the procedures after the percipicnts had been drawing for two hours. We felt that the percip- ients' visual imagery would be more activated at this time than at the beginning of class. On arriving, the experimenters introduced themselves and the experi- ment to the percipients. They described the studies performed at SRI and emphasized that the earlier experiments suggested "remote view- ing" might be a widely distributed perceptual ability. They then in- formed the percipients of the procedures that were to be followed two hours later, i.e., that E2 would travel to a remote location and view the site for fifteen minutes. Upon leaving, E 2 selected one of the envelopes Manuscript received March 25, 1976. The authors are with the Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. ANGEL 0 D 0 BANJO 3 3 6 BrAN POLE 1 2 3 BIITS* 3 1 4 BM ITI14M 1 0 1 DIRT NOUNDS0 2 2 LOGS 2 1 3 ORGAN 4 8 . PA 0 0 0 LM ME TRACTOR 0 N-b@r of 14 Drawings 11ACTUAL TARGET SITE from the randomized target pool, without telling E, I what it was, and traveled to the chosen site. El returned to the art class to be present while the percipients attempted to visualize the remote location that E2 was viewing. The experimenters had synchronized the fifteen minute interval so that E2 and the percipients were "viewing" at the same time. After the perciplents had attempted "remote viewing," they were asked by El to produce a drawing of the images that corresponded to the re- mote site. El then collected the drawings and told the percipients the results would be discussed at a later class meeting. E2 returned to a designated room, removed the slides from the enve- lopes, and randomized them a second time with target slide included. El was not present at the time tile target site envelope was selected or rerandomized. El then proceeded with the method of evaluation, but being ignorant of the target identity he could not bias the results. The judge for the first experiment was an employee of the U.C. Davis art department. He was asked to match a first and second choice of the ten possible target slides to each drawing. At the time of the judging, he was not aware that it was an ESP experiment. Using an overhead projector, the ten slides were projected on a screen simultaneously. The judge could then readily distinguish the differences in each location and make the decision for each drawing. After the judging E2 revealed the target site to everyone concerned. The results of the judging were as follows (Table 1), with first and second choices counted as hits, a procedure decided upon before the analysis. Although we were not able to apply a formal statistical test to this single session, we nevertheless were impressed that the correct target received almost twice as many matches as the next most frequently chosen slide (11 versus 6). On the other hand, we were aware that if, by chance alone, the selected remote location happened to meet a pre- dominant drawing bias in the pexcipients, the results would be aTti- factually inflated. Therefore we conducted a second remote viewing experiment, with mixed motivation. Partly we wanted to see if we could again obtain positive results, partly we wanted to see if images of tunnels (the target in Experiment One) occurred frequently when it was not the target. Approved For Release 2001103/26 CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007.7 @qvedsFor Release 2QW/03/26: CIA-RDP96-00787ROOQ30008000 PROCEEAR TTER 7-7 Experiment Two used essentially the same procedure as Experiment One except that a new art class and a new judge, a graduate student in the art department, were used. The bike tunnel was precluded as a pos- sible target, although it was included in the judging pool. Finally, El noted before the data were analyzed that this class seemed less inter- ested and involved in the experiment than did the first class. Table 11 gives the results. ike Tunnel-like images that would be matched with the slide of the b tunnel were quite rare, so we consider the possibility of artifactual in- flation of the results of Experiment One to be unlikely. The results of the second experiment were not as impressive as those of the first al- though the target slide did receive the third highest number of matches out of ten. Of all possible target pairs in both sessions combined, the total number of matches assigned to the actual target pair was the third highest of the 90 possible pairs. This is associated with a one-tailed probability of 0.033. These initial experimental excursions into the investigation of "to- mote viewing" offer modest support to Puthoff and Targ's results. Given the theoretical significance of the phenomenon, we intend to do further studies. Remote Viewing Experiments Through Computer Conferencing JACQUES VALLEE, ARTHUR C. HASTINGS, AND GERALD ASKEVOLD Abstract-A series of remote viewing experiments were run with 12 participants who communicated through a computer conferencing net- work. These participants, who were located in various regions of the United States and Canada, used portable terminals in their homes and offices to provide typed descriptions of 10 mineral samples. These samples were divided into an open series and a double-blind series. A panel of five judges was asked to match the remote viewing descriptions against the mineral samples by a percentage scoring system. The cor- rect target sample was correctly identified in 8 out of 33 cases; this represents more than double the puye chance expectation. Two experi- enced users provided 20 transcripts for which the probability of achiev- ing the observed distribution of the percentage score by chance was 0.04. These results confirm earlier reports of successful remote viewing ex- periments while extending them to cases in which participants were thousands of miles away from each other and in which the targets were mineral samples of potential economic significance, with control of communications provided by a computer network. In a recent article,1 Puthoff and Targ have stated the case for the existence in humans of the ability to perceive objects and scenes at a distance through an apparently unknown information channel. In this note, we report a series of experiments that appear to confirm their work while extending it to cases in which the participants were several thousand miles away from each other, with control of sensory condi- tions automatically and unobtrusively provided by the modium of communication, and in which the targets were mineral samples of po- tential economic significance. The experiments were conducted via a computer teleconferencing sys- tem, which has been described elsewhere.2 This system is implemented on a computer network and allows each participant to type comments at any time. AR comments are immediately printed by the computer on the terminals of any participants who are currently logged in (or are stored for later retrieval). Twelve persons, in Now York, Florida, Que- bec, and California, were sup-plied with computer terminals in their homes or offices. The conference was sponsored by a communications company, and participants made their personal time available for the project on a voluntary basis. Manuscript received May 5, 1976. The authors are with the Institute for the Future, Menlo Park, CA 94025. I H. E. Puthoff and R. Targ, "A Perceptual channel for information transfer over kilometer distances: Historical perspectives and recent re- search," Proc. IEEE, vol. 64, no. 3, Mar. 1976. M 2See, in particular, the articles "Network conferencing," Datatnation, ay 1974, and "The Computer conference, An altered state of com munication?," Theruturist, June 1975. T ACTUAL NEL SELIC ION A D SCORES PA N REMOTE P TARGET DESCRIPTION SS NONE H 00 IOL TARGETS A TE I t VAI lp" 2nd h ,I I't` 5t I N.. @h M@ @ LH I M,1 t,l, Met M d L t - 0 t0 11 Ch l4v C _ 1 OpenI.$. J(134)r @5 G(44) (60)0) (30) C 2 OpenH. (100)1 r2) IT 05)C A (60) (50) 6 3 BI : 6r G 0 11 F i 12@ 0 C 'O@ d @2 ' @ @10@ @5 F5 K 0 G 4 0 S. J E 5 30 A @ JOG 76 P 5 8 A.H. K(70)IT G(60) D 11 (62) ,d 6 1111'dA.B. 14) 1 D ' 11) T ( 7 BlindR.T. (2 I@O)C(s.) 05) 8 81 S. d I " ' " ) " 9 0pe@: I AH. 110 0 1(50) C00) '0@ F I @ @ 7 @ 10Op- I.S. Q J K(50)E(118)C 1 (so)(50) (30) 11OP- R.B. 208)D(30)C(20@)1 1 (1) (20) 12openA.H. F(45(20)0(17 E @ 3 Op- A.B. r188 I :4nd A.B. K(110) 0 1(30) H 6 (56) 1 15A A.H. A(18U)0 1(10) IT "d (To) : 16 Ii N 'I (166 V -S' 17 8 I.S. (100@ (P F i- R -) Open (w 18 2 0 1 F ' 46 20 20) Ope , 19 n o4 C B4) i B,e @ 00 J@ @: 0 @ 20OP- A.H. F(30)K 0(6) (20) 21OpenR.S. 0(56)1 D(30)A C J (50) (10)(10) 22B A.B. H62) K d @ i 23@ A.M. 1) 6 K @ 52) (10) 8 1 d 24BITIdJ.B. (40 D 1(10) K (14) 25 121 D A.B. 101 p E @ 26op..A @ D V 5) 27open: @55@(5) F(5)K D H: @) (2) A 28OpenA 26 H B. ( . 29 A. 1 F H 1 1 (222)()0) p n 0 I.S. 30 D1. 58) C 2) A 1 H i( OD) CH) [10)(10) (2 311 A H32)E G(10)1 A lnd ( T.) (6) n, A 3 @ A C( G A B I 130)(11211) I 33Op- B.S. 1(600 J(15)(6) (16) Fig. 1. Total panel results for each remote description (correct matches are circled). The primary purpose of the experiments was to test "remote viewing" under the altered state of communication enabled by computer teleconferencing -in which participants are individually isolated, com- municating with each other only in the printed mode, but often in real time. We further wished to confirm that the use of the teleconferenc- ing system would supply accurate and unobtrusive recording of the data and would prevent collusion or subliminal cuing to a degree not found in most parapsychological experiments. Over the period of 14 June to 8 July 1975, the participants discussed current issues in psychic research. The formal experiments lasted rive days, from 29 June to 3 July, and were conducted as follows: Ten mineral samples selected from geological collections were assigned a label and enclosed in scaled envelopes. The specimens were the rare mineral bastnosite, a vein filling of galena and quartz, opal, gold ore, halite, cinnabar, magnetite, realgar, barite, and cobaltite. The partici- pants were told only that the targets were mineral samples from North America, Five of the samples were enclosed in larger envelopes and randomly labeled "Sunday" through "Thursday" to compose a "double-blind" pool. The other samples constituted an "open" pool. Each day at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a geolo- gist sitting at his home terminal took one of the envelopes from the open pool, extracted the sample, and held it in his hand. Anyone logged into the conference at that time could volunteer a remote view- ing description. Such descriptions were recorded and printed by the computer with a date and time stamp. After all descriptions were in, the geologist entered a brief description of the specimen to provide feedback for the participants. This sample was then removed from the open pool. Similarly, each morning the envelope for the day was taken from the double blind pool and placed at a designated office location where it was a target for remote viewing for eight hours. Anyone logging into the conference during that time could type in a description of the sample contained in that envelope. At the end of the day, the envelope was taken to the geologist, who added the sample to the open pool. No feedback was given for the double blind targets. Upon completion of the experiments, we had obtained 33 descrip- tions of the ten samples from six people. Thirteen of these descriptions were under double blind conditions and 20 under open conditions. Four specimens had been run under both conditions. Inspection showed what appeared to be successful descriptions of several samples, but in order to objectively evaluate the accuracy of the remote viewing descriptions, we asked outside judges to match the 33 descriptions against the mineral samples. Five judges who had no prior knowledge of the correct pairings (a sociologist, an editor, a physicist, a secretary, and a librarian) were given transcripts of the descriptions Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007.7 1592 Approved For Release 2V/03/26 (without time, date, or author identification) and tile geological speci- mens. Their instructions were to assign one or more spechneris to cacti description. We consider the method of judging to be a critical factor. While Puthoff and Targ used a ranking system, we used a percentage scoring system. Each specimen assigned to a given description was al- lotted a percentage score which reflected the judge's certainty of the 11 match." The total of 100 percent could be divided among any or none of the specimens. We then totaled all five judges' assignments for each description to find which specimens scored the highest for each description. The results are shown in the accompanying table. The corrrect target sample was assigned the highest score (that is, correctly" identified) in 8 out of 3 3 cases on the basis of the remote viewing description, This frequency is more than double a pure chance expectation of 3.3 and would occur less than once in 100 trials by chance. For a more detailed analysis, which accounted for the distribu- tion of percentages among several targets for each description, the per- centage scores were computer processed with the Statistical Package for the social sciences. A one-tailed T-test was used to determine the probability that the assigned percentage scores for correct and incor- rect targets were due to chance. For all 3 3 transcripts, the probability of achieving the observed distributio 'n of the percentage scores by chance was 0.08. For transcripts provided by participants 1. S. from New York and R. B. from Orlando, Florida (9 and 11 transcripts, re- spectively), the T-test indicated a 0.04 probability score. Following are some descriptions of the target specimens taken from the remote viewing transcripts. Target F was halite, which is NaCt (salt). It consisted of two, al- most transparent, intergrown crystals. Transcript #18 said, "crystal, crystal ball, glass, crystal, clear crystal . . . formed by dripping and evaporation ... acquired by mining but found quite near surface ... Northern Nevada." (Actual origin was Southern Nevada.) Transcript #17 referred to supersaturated salt solu- tions, and Transcript #3 said, "white thing like a, coral ... Will crumble if treated hard ... more than one part ... it grew." Target D contained blue-green and milky-white opal clusters in a brown pyramidal silica rock. Transcript #25 said, in. part, "Why do I keep getting GREENS? I see a medium size green wedge ... flecked with brown rock color ... I don't see a pure "ItOCELDINGS oi, Till: IEEE, OCTOBER 1976 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROOU00080007-7 green emerald Crystal ... it is flecked and connected to a coarse rock edging ... It looks to me like it was poured, a heavy liquid green plastic (the green becoming blue-green at the edges of the sample), and if it is fractured it would be in one clean smooth break of glassine purity." About two-thirds of the transcripts contained descriptive elements that corresponded with the correct target specimen, but often these were mixed with noncorresponding elements, and it was not possible to reduce tile information to a coherent single identification. The char- acteristics most often identified correctly were the color of the sample, the shape, relative weight, presence of crystals, type of material (e.g., metallic), and geological formation process (e.g., volcanic). Attempts to specify location were usually in error as were descriptions of the size of the samples and their exact substance, We do not know if these pat- terns are due to the participants or to the nature of the information transfer process. We suggest that further studies should select targets that are easily discriminated (i.e., widely different) along these "most perceived" characteristics. We were encouraged by these results. Accurate and significant re- mote perception occurred under test conditions that placed the most successful participants 2500 M away from the targets. Also ofinterest is the result that the double blind conditions provided equally correct descriptions, suggesting that the ability under study also functions on information not known to others. The computer conference system allowed control of the test conditions, with complete recording of all messages among participants. . The fact that several of the specimens wexc composite and contained mixed materials made this an especially complex (though realistic) test situation, perhaps more demanding than the conditions that prevailed in the SRI studies, at least for non-geologists. Our results tend to vali- date Puthoff and Targs experiments and indicate that remote viewing techniques are deserving of further attention. The conference and experiments were made possible by Mr. A. Katz of Deer Communications, Inc., San Francisco. We also express our gratitude to Messrs. Hudson and Wilson for their assistance in carryi.ng out and analyzing the experiments, Our special thanks go to the five judges: Ms. Amara, Ms. Chula, Dr. Johansen, Dr. Lipinski, and Ms. Spangler. Book Reviews The following reviews were selectedfrom those recently published in various IEEE TRANSACTIONs and GrouplSociety Newsletters. They are reprinted here to make them conveniently available to the -nany readers who otherwise might not have ready access to them. Each review isfol- lowed by an identification of its original source. Design of Systems and Circuits for Maximum Reliability or Maximum Pioduction Yield-P. W. Becker and F. Jensen (Lyngby, Denmark-. Polyteknisk Forlag, 1974, 347 pp., $16.00). Reviewed by Harold K. Knudsen, University ofNew Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. The main thrust of this exceptional book is the development of methods of computer-aided design which results in circuits and systems of maximum drift reliability or maximum production yield. The book has an excellent exposition. The authors express themselves with candor and give a full and nonpedantic development of their material. The material is presented at a level which assumes a modest knowledge of probability theory (e.g., conditional probability, continuous density functions, functions of random variables, etc.). This book wou d c suitable for a graduate level course, or for self-study in computex-aided design and reliability. The main body of the text develops fundamental reliability concepts, the formulation of suitable inathernatical models, and optimization methods. This material is applied in the design of example circuits of reasonable complexity. The reliability concepts which are defined and/or developed include: the definition of. the reliability function, properties of the reliability function, combinational reliability, and system reliability as a function of time; chapters on design and philosophy, the rule of preliminary design in model formulation, feasible solutions, the development of a mathematical model of yield or of drift reliability, and methods for computing the probability of system or circuit success. The chapter on optimization reviews methods for scareldrig for unconstrained maxima and for formulating performance indices which lead to feasible solutions. Finally, circuit examples consisting of one-transistor and three-transistor amplifiers are used to illustrate the methods which were developed. The appendices provide valuable extensions to the text materials. There is also an extensive bibliography. This preliminary edition, although excellent in exposition and con- tent, does have some areas in which it could be improved. There is no concluding chapter as a summary of the methods developed and esti- mates for the costs of applying these methods to more complex sys- tems. A few exercises are scattered throughout the book; but these are insufficient for self-instruction, or for a class, unless supplemented by the instructor. Finally, the equations occasionally contain symbols which are not adequately defined in the text (e.g., Pli on p. 46). The above shortcomings in tile preliminary edition detract very little from tile overall book which is an excellent tutorial presentation of the techniques of reliability optimization in the design phase of circuits and systems. Reprinted from the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Newsletter, February-1976. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 W11 Approved For Release 2001/03/26 CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 PROCEED@NGS LETTERS 1259 dissertation, ETS. Ing Telecomunicaci6n, Madrid, 073. 131 S. Yoshizawa, "Some properties of randomly connected networks of neuron-like elements with refractorY Period," Kybemetik, vol. 16, pp. 173-182, 1974. S. Amari, "A method of statistical neurodynamics," Kybernerik, Vol. 14, pp. 201-215, 1974. Comments on "A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research" LEON D. HARMON There are many ways in which to comment upon the above paper.1 I imagine that PROCEEDINGS readers will provide a fine variety of -feed- back. My own reaction, however, is very simple. If one takes the trouble to categorize roughly the contents of this ramble, the sequence looks like this: Number of Topic Pages 1) Introduction I 2) Informal anecdotal assertions 11. 3) Historical background 3 i 4 4) Main study: Introduction, procedures, controls 3 2F 5) Results, gratuitous editorial comments, anecdotal procedure citation 51 6) Informal presentations and discussions T of further experiments 10 7) Analysis 3 12F 8) Raw data transcript 1 iow 9) Bibliography 2 The central issue in a deeply controversial and highly suspect topic such as telepathy, clairvoyance, time reversal, etc., is whether one is prepared to accept as true what is offered in evidence. Notice that in the rough categorization of the article's contents, above, only three. quarters of one page (p. 335) in a 26 page paper is concerned with the critical issue of rigorous experimental protocols and controls. And much of that slim section is cursory and anecdotal. We can keep our eyes on the ball by examining solely the relevant three paragraphs on page 335 of the Puthoff and Targ paper (par. 3, 4, 5). All the rest -background, anecdotes, drawings, discussion, and other (less formal) experiments, delightful as they may be-can be set aside while we peer closely at what must ultimately supply reasonable satisfaction regarding credibility. The signal-to-noise ratio of this article improves markedly when 26 pages of meander are replaced by three paragraphs of explicit rela. tively formal description of experimental procedure. We are told the following. 1) The experiment was double blind. 2) The "transmission" experimenters were given "target" locations and proceeded to the target while the "reception" experimenter was kept ignorant of the target, 3) Experimenters were with the "transmitting" subject at all times during the "transmission." 4) An experimenter was with the "receiving" subject at all times during data taking. The entire business now hinges on the reader's accepting on- faith that no information was transmitted conventionally at any time from, say, the transmission experimenters to the receiving experimenter or to the subject. But no controls are cited; no safeguards are described; no neutral watchdogs are mentioned. *ffanuscript received March 15, 1976. The author is with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106. 1 H, E. Puthoff and R. Targ, -Proo. IEEE, Vol. 64, pp. 329-354, Mar. 1976. Further, this was not a true double-blind experiment as claimed, since at least one of the researchers had a priod knov4edge of the pie- sumed occult data. We are asked to believe that no conceivable com-i muaication channel existed between "transmitter" and "receiver" other than by some exotic attenuationless seemingly magical infoxma- tion propagation. I feel certain that your readers can conceive of many possible alter- native conventional channels. Both electronics engineers and magicians, for example, will be at no loss to suggest many. It is comforting to know that the Editor and Reviewers of the PROCHIDINGS recommended publication of this preposterous ma- terial. At least they are open-minded -which is a good thing. But then, too much open-mindedness is a holp, in the head, ly 2 rff3 Rep by Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Ta We would like to comment on the points raised in Harmon's letter in response to our article. In his introductory remarks, Harmon makes a reference to "less for- mal" experiments. It is important to state at the outset that there were no such experiments. In every experimental series, from the Costa Rica pilot study to the verification study with visiting government scientists, and resolution study with technology targets, a rigid formal protocol was followed. This required that the experimenter with the subject always be kept ignorant of the chosen target and that the analysis (judging) of the experiment be done in a blind fashion by an individual who did not know which response was associated with which target. Harmon suggests that the reader. of our paper must accept on faith that there was no conventional communication channel from the target site to the subject, since "no controls are cited, no safeguards are de. scribed, no neutral watchdogs are mentioned." In fact, if Harmon will examine p. 335, he will find that the entire experiment had multiple controls, safeguards, and watchdogs every step along the way. With regard to control over target selection at the beginning of the experiment: Before the experimental series began, the Director of the In- formation Science and Engineering Division, not otherwise associated with the e -xpariment, established the set of locations as the target pool which remained known only to him. The target locations were printed on cards sealed in envelopes and. kept in the SRI Division office safe. They were available only with the personal assistance of the Division Director who issued a single random-number selected target card that constituted the traveling orders for that experiment .... The experimenter remaining with the subject at SRI was kept ignorant of both the particular target and the target pool so as to eliminate the possibility of cueing, overt or subliminal.... When it came to the departure of the target team, an experimenter plus one to three "watchdogs" assigned by SRI management were handed the travel orders, left SRI, got into an automobile, opened the orders, and then proceeded to the site indicated. As stated in the paper, "The target demarcation team, consisting of two to four SRI experimenters, then proceeded by automobile directly to the target without any communication with the subject or experimenter remain- ing behind." We find it remarkable for Harmon to read that the target demarcation team consisted of two to four experimenters, and yet argue that perhaps theywere not vigilant with regard to the possibility that one of their members might try to communicate back to the sub- ject. In addition, numerous of these experiments were observed by visiting government scientists, outside consultants, SRI management, etc. The roles of the two main experimenters were often reversed as to who remained with the subject and who accompanied the outbound team. The composition of the outbound team was changed, and many times did not include either of the main experimenters. In short, as stated on p. 335: At all times, we and others responsible for the overall program took measures to prevent sensory leakage and subliminal cueing and to prevent deception, whether intentional or unintentional. To ensure evaluations independent of belief structures of both experimenters and judges, all experiments were carried out under a protocol ... in which target selection at the beginning of ex- 2Manuscript received April 9, 1976. 3 1-1. E. Puthoff and R. Targ are with The Electronics and Bioengineer- ing Laboratory, Stanford Research institute, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 41260- Approved For Releasp,,ZP01/03/26: ClA-RDP96-q97ATffWPWAW, 7107UST 1976 periments and blind judging of results at the end of experiments @vere handled independently of the researchers engaged in carry- ing out the experiments. %0@ Harmon goes on to comment that "this was not a true double-blind experiment as claimed, since at least one of the researchers had a priori knowledge of the presumed occult data." This is in error. Neither the experimenter with the subject nor the judge who evaluated the data, the two individuals in principle capable of affecting the outcome, had any knowledge of the true correspondences, and thus the experiment was double blind. The fact that experimenters sent to the target site knew where they were is irrelevant, since they did not have any oppor- tunity to interact with subjects or judges. With regard to the mechanisms involved in remote viewing, Harmon states, "We are asked to believe that no conceivable communication channel existed between 'transmitter' and 'receiver' other than by some exotic attenuationless seemingly magical information propagation." We wish to indicate to Harmon that the two mechanisms discussed by the authors, extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic propaga- tion and quantum correlation, though they may seem exotic and mag- ical to him, are well understood phenomena in the engineering and scientific community, both theoretically and experimentally. Finally, as we indicated in some detail on pp. 340-343, the watchdog aspect was carried to the extreme, by having visiting government scien- tists who were interested in observing our experimental protocols be subjects themselves in an effort to detect whether chicanery was in- volved. In the process of trying to account for their own good results on the basis of other than paranormal functionuig, they expressed con- cem that perhaps the experimenter might be cueing them subliminally. This was countered by eliminating the inbound experimenter and hav- ing the visitor remain alone in the lab throughout the duration of the experiment. They then conjectured that perhaps after the experiment they were being taken to a place that sounded like their description even though that may not have been the place where the outboQ experimenters had gone. This was countered by having the outbound experimenters make a tape while at the site and turning it over to the subject-critic at the same time that he turned over his own tape de- scribing the remote scene. In such fashion every criticism was met. Thus, although Harmon suggests that "both electronics engineers and magicians" will be at no loss to suggest many possible alternative con- ventional channels, we find that, to the contrary, both electronics engineers and professional magicians, who have consulted on this project have in fact not found any viable alternative to fault -the SRI experiments. We therefore consider it important to continue data collection and to encourage others -to do likewise. Further Comments 4 by Leon D. Harmon I was delighted to see the nature of Puthoff and Targ's response to my letter. The only rebuttal needed is to invite the reader to examine the articleand both letters with we and then to judge whether or,not my criticisms were responded to. A similar example of nonresponsive obfuscation by these gentlemen can be found on pages 6 and 8 of Svientific American for February 1976. I tried on two separate occasions to get permission from them to visit and we for myself, preferably with a neutral but hard-nosed observa- tion team of my choice. The requests were met with point-blank re- fuaL Tch! Further Replys by Harold E. Puthoffand Russell Targ We agree with Harmon that. it is very desirable that interested readers examine with care the article and letters to which he refers, and come to their own conclusions with regard to the points he raises., We understand Harmon's desire to visit SRI to "see for himself' ex- periments in progress. As we are sure Harmon can appreciate, he is one of more than fifty who have made similar requests in the past year. We have therefore out of necessity limited such observation to contract monitors and their consultants, potential sponsors, and researchers in- volved in serious attempts at replication of our work. 'Manuscript received April 15, 1976. 'Manuscript received April 21, 1976. If Harmon is genuinely interested in determining whether the experi- ment works as reported, we would suggest that lie try the experiment himself under his own conditions as many others have done. Such inde- pendent observations are much to be preferred, if for no other reason than on the issue that an experiment that is not replicable from lab to lab would be more of an art than a science. However, as we have in- dicated in our response to Harmon's first letter, it is the robustness and independence of environment or subject -that characterizes this particu- lar experiment. Therefore, although a demonstration at SRI would be satisfying to Mr. Harmon and to those who know and trust him, we think it would be a mistake for the field. That kind of experiment is basically to provide testimony, but science goes forward on the basis of independent experimentation and replication, not testimony. Adaptive Monopulse Beamforming LLOYD J. GRIFFITHS Abstract-A new receive-array adaptive beamformer configuration is presented. The array output signal consists of the difference between a conventionally weighted beam and an adaptive beam that is constrained to have a spatial null in the direction of interesL Adaptation then pro- vides minimum total array output power. Adaptive receiving arrays have been extensively discussed in the literature [ 1 ] - [41 and have been shown to provide significant interfer- ence rejection properties. In most of these systems, the arrival direc- tion and/or temporal properties of the signal of interest are assumed to be known a priori. If the specification of these properties is inaccurate, the actual desired signal may be treated as interference by the adaptive beamformer and thus may be rejected to some degree by the processor. For this reason, practical adaptive beamformers are generally operated in parallel with a conventionally formed array output which has fixed prespecified mainlobe and sidelobe, characteristics. Comparisons be- tween the adapted and conventional outputs can then be conducted to ensure that the desired signal-to-noise and interference ratio is indeed being enhanced by the adaptive beamformer. The array processor suggested in this letter incorporates a conven- tionally weighted beam as an integral part of the total. bea informing structure, as depicted in Fig. 1. In this figure, Z is used to denote the K-dimensional vector of received array-element signals and G is a. fixed prefilter, which ensures that the system is steered in the direction of interest. Thus G is either a set of bulk time delays (for broad-hand sys- tems) or a network of phase shifters (for narrow-band arrays), which ensures that the desired signal portion of the K-dimensional vector X is in phase at all components. Equivalently, for a digital beamformer, X(k) = s(k)l + N(k) where s (k) is the kth sample of the desired signal, I is a constant vector of ones, and N(k) is the sampled vector of noise and interference terms. The adapted beam output signal yA (k) is formed using a system of tapped delay lines, one for each received component, as discussed in [11-[31. For a system with L taps per delay line, yA(k) may be ex- pressed as L-1 T YA(k) X (k - 1) WA 1(k) (2) 1-0 where T denotes transpose and WA 1(k) is the Ith column of dela y-line coefficients employed at the kth sampling instant. A conventional out- put ye(k) is formed using a vector of fixed coefficients WC, which are applied to the input data after a suitable delay, corresponding to the midpoint of the delay lines in the adaptive processor. Thus yC(k) = XT(k - n) WC (3) where n = (L - 1)/2 when L is odd and n = L12 or (L/2) - 1 when L is even. Manuscript received January 19, J 976. The author is with the Department. of Electrical Engineering, Univer- sity of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80302.. Approved For Release 2001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7 Approved For Release g001/03/26 : CIA-RDP96-00787WO200080007-7 w A PERCEPTUAL CHANNEL FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER OVER KILOMETER DISTANCES: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND RECENT RESEARCH H. E. Puthoff and R. Targ Copyright C 1976 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. Annals No. 603PRO04 Approved For Release 2001/03/26: CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0200080007-7