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ECHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR!
Tuesday, June 29; 1978
Kremlin to allow conference on parapsychology
By Paul Wohl
Special to The Christian Science Monitor
Another rampart of Soviet conservatism has fallen. The
! . tudy of the subconscious, psychoanalysis, and parapsychology
o longer are taboo in the Soviet Union. .
4
A large international conference on psychic phenomena has
been called by the Georgian Academy of Sciences for Septem
ber, 1978.
About a hundred specialists from the United States, France,
'taly, Great Britain, West Germany, and Austria have been in-
.cted. Their list reads like a select Who's Who of Freudian and ".
i
Analysis
Jungian psychoanalysis, which the Soviets until recently con -.
demned as "Jewish psychology". and an attempt at "policing
of the soul."
Some 60 Westerners are reported to have accepted the in.
vitation. Among them, the dissident French Communist . and .
onetime member of the French party's central committee,
Louis Althusser.
Yet only last year Edward K. Na'umov, the best-known
Soviet. psychic researcher, disappeared in disgrace and ex-
periments in psychokinetics were halted. The correspondent .
: of the Los Angeles Times, Robert C. Toth, was arrested and a
25-page memorandum on Soviet experiments in the field,
which he had received from a Soviet biologist, confiscated.
Once again parapsychology was branded as "anti-socialist,
·
idealistic fiction," a description given it in the 1956 edition of
the Soviet encyclopedia.
Now, like cybernetics, which under Stalin and in the imme-
diate post-Stalin era was denounced as a bourgeois fraud, psy-
-chic research seems to have been salvaged by the realistic-
minded Soviet military.
For many years the Soviet military has made experiments
with thought control and related phenomena which did not fit
in with the findings of the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov.
whose conditioned reflex theory was the only psychological .
theory recognized by the official ideology.
Just as in the case of cybernetics, the military was undis
mayed by ideological dogmatism. Experiments with telepath
have been carried on secretly in Russia for half a century
There exists in Lvov in Galicia an institute of strategic psych!
studies. The III-famed Srbsky Institute, of Leningrad, which be
came more widely Known in the West through its force
"treatment" of allegedly psychopathic dissidents, has an ix
stitute of forensic psychiatry which studies the subconscious.
After it had been reported that the U.S. Navy had ex
perimented with thought transmission and psychokinesis, Kon
somolskaya Pravda published an article in 1966 about two e:
periments in thought transmission between Moscow and di.
tant Novosibibirsk.
The following year Mr. Na'umov obtained the authorizatic
\ to convene an international gathering of parapsychologists :
Moscow. Little came of it, however. Mr. Na'umov's activitit
were increasingly restricted. In 1974 he was sentenced to tw
years of forced labor. His eclipse did not last long.
.
In a letter from Moscow dated Dec. 6, 1974, he informe
Western associates that he "was going to continue [his] r.
search activities. . . . Any new idea demands a lot of effort
be pushed through."
Now at last Mr. Na'umov's efforts have obtained a modicu
of recognition. Although it is unlikely that Mr. Na'umov will !
allowed to attend the seminar on problems of the subconscio
in Tbilisi, the fact that an international gathering has be
called by the Academy of Sciences of Georgia is proof that t!
Soviets attribute importance to the subconscious and seek
coordinate their research with that of the West.
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It's
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No EM detected
in ESP study
Extrasensory phenomena may repre-
sent nothing more than a bag of conjurer's
tricks, but attempts to explain such
phenomena can turn into a bag of worms.
As soon as scientists and magician con-
sultants explain away some alleged psy-
chic phenomenon, another one appears. E.
Balanovski and J.G. Taylor of King's Col-
lege, London, take a different approach.
Instead of trying to explain what ESP is,
they attempt to show what it is not. They
have deduced that electromagnetic (EM)
radiation "is the only known force that
could conceivably be involved," and after
three years of testing they report in the
Nov. 2 NATURE "no abnormal EM signals
during the occurrence of supposed ESP
phenomena."
Attempts to link EM and ESP go back at
least 45 years, but Balanovski and Taylor
say that the various tests were uncon-
firmed, lacking in statistical significance
or excluded some portion of the EM spec-
trum. For their own work they used 14
types of EM detectors, covering a wide
range of frequencies, together with two
videotape cameras, one to keep a con-
tinuous record of subjects' performances,
the other to record the readouts of the
detectors.
Five phenomena were investigated:
psychokinesis (movement of objects
without physical contact), metal bending,
psychic healing, dowsing and telepathy. In
all tests, all subjects always claimed to be
in a good psychic state.
One test of psychokinesis involved at-
tempts to rotate a needle suspended from
a thread inside a clear cylinder. Subjects
were allowed to move their hands and
wrists back and forth around the cylinder
about 5 cm from it. In 12 sessions the sub-
jects produced a 60° average rotation of
the needle, but when an antistatic oint-
ment was rubbed on the cylinder the
phenomenon vanished, indicating, say the
researchers, "that the effect was due to
charge induced on the needle from the
outside surface of the cylinder." Videotape
analysis showed the subjects inadver-
tently touching the cylinder, and further
tests showed that the amount of rotation
was correlated to the amount of charge on
the surface of the cylinder. Other investi-
gations of alleged psychokinesis were
similarly explained, and no abnormal EM
radiation was found to be involved.
The metal benders (68 subjects, 268
trials) were unable to perform their magic
while the video machines were on, but
when they performed under less rigid
conditions "they sometimes were appar-
ently successful." Metal bending occurred
(paperclips, spoons, and so on), but no
unusual EM emissions from the subjects'
bodies were detected over the entire spec-
trum. Therefore, say the researchers, EM
which occurred only under relaxed condi-
tions.
Tests of psychic healing (laying on of
hands) involved attempts to detect EM
coming from the "healer" as well as "pa-
tients" ability to detect EM radiation. Re-
sults were negative on both counts. The
researchers conclude that faith healing
can be explained by a "purely (albeit com-
plex) psychological effect of the healer on
the patient."
Dowsing (a sudden flicking of a rod or
rotation of a pendulum when the dowser
reaches a place where an object being
dowsed is supposedly located) was ex-
plained as "muscular twitches brought
about by subconscious mental activity."
The EM radiation emitted was the same as
background levels observed before and
after each dowsing session.
All attempts at telepathy (mind reading)
were unsuccessful, and no EM signals
other than background were observed.
In
conclusion:
Faith
healing,
psychokinesis and dowsing were ex-
plained in normal scientific terms, tele-
pathy was not demonstrated and metal
bending was not observed under con-
trolled conditions. And throughout the
experimentation there was a consistent
lack of any unusual type of EM radiation.
HEAO-2 launched
The first High Energy Astronomy Ob-
servatory satellite, HEAO-1, was sent aloft
on Aug. 12, 1977, to search the sky for the
X-ray sources that comprise one of the
newest branches of astronomy. Still at
work, it is believed by now to have
catalogued as many as 1,500. This week, on
Nov. 13, HEAO-2 was launched to take de-
tailed looks at the targets its predecessor
found. The 3,150-kilogram satellite, 5.8 me-
ters long, consists of a central telescope
with five instruments mounted around it
to take wide-angle or high-resolution im-
ages and to measure broad-band spectra
or individual spectral lines. While HEAO-1
tumbles slowly end over end (at about two
revolutions per hour) in orbit for its sur-
veying mission, HEAO-2 can be aimed at
selected targets to position its telescope,
which has a resolution of 1 to 2 seconds of
arc. In 1979, NASA plans to launch HEAO-3,
last in the series, to survey cosmic-ray and
gamma-ray sources, and the agency hopes
later to fly an aimable gamma-ray obser-
vatory satellite.
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64
Nature Vol. 276 2 November 1978
including grain flows and turbidity currents, and entrained to
more distal sectors of the basin that the pebble-rich sediment.
Other examples of pebble-rich deposits prograding above
finer-grained, deep-water units on basin margins are recognised
in the Carpathians (see Kamenica zone of Czechoslovakia dis-
cussed by Marschalko17). Most of the world's mobile belts,
including the Alps18, Apennines19, Ouachitas2º, Andes 13.21,
Appalachians12, California22,23, and New Zealand14, also dis-
play resedimented mass-emplaced conglomeratic series that
were deposited on slopes and in some cases displaced to lower
gradient base-of-slope, including fan and basin plain, environ-
ments. Possible modern analogues of deep water Bucegi type
pebble-rich deposits emplaced by mass-flow processes are noted
in canyons10,24, on broad sectors of the slope25, and in basin
plains distant from source and coastal sectors26.
..
Our interpretation of the Bucegi requires the rapid evolution
of the structural-physiographic configuration and relief of the
emerging hinterland west of the Albanian basin. Thus, the rapid
transition from marine turbidite-rich to gravel series does not
necessitate a marked change from deep to shallow water basin
configuration as implied by the 2,000 m of conglomerate in the
molasse model, but may reflect the importance of a newly
developed fluvially-drained source adjoining the submarine
margin. An examination of the pebble and boulder beds similar
to the Bucegi that crop out west of the study area such as the
younger Cretaceous and Palaeogene series of the Olt, Olanesti,
and Vilsan River valleys (Fig. 1c) would be useful in refining the
palaeogeographic reconstruction of this sector of the Carpa-
thians.
We thank the US and Romanian National Academies of
Sciences for arranging the exchange visits (1973, 1976) in
Romania and D. Jipa, N. Mihailescu, N. Panin, and M. Sandu-
lescu of the Romanian Geological Institute for valuable dis-
cussions. B.H. thanks the University of Maine summer
faculty research fund for support in 1973. The paper was
reviewed by B. C. Burchfiel, L. R. Contescu, M. A. Hampton
and H. G. Reading.
DANIEL JEAN STANLEY
Division of Sedimentology, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20560
and
Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Maine at Orono,
Orono, Maine 04473
BRADFORD A. HALL
Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Maine at Orono, Orono, Maine 04473
Received 19 May; accepted 6 September 1978.
1. Patrulius, D., Dimitrescu, R. & Gherasi, N. Carte Géologique 28. Brasov (Institut Géolo-
gique, Bucarest, 1968).
2. Burchfiel, B. C. & Bleahu, M. Geol. Soc. Am. Sp. Pap. 158, 1-82 (1976).
3. Mihailescu, N., Panin, N., Jipa, D. & Contescu, L. Geol. Studies Res. Romanian Acad. Sci.
12, 231-236 (1967).
4. Contescu, L. R. Geol. Rdsch. 56, 241-262 (1967).
5. Mihailescu, N. Acta geol. Acad. Scient. Hungaricac 15, 197-205 (1971).
6, Contescu, L. R. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 58, 2436-2476 (1974).
7. Patrulius, D., Stefanescu, M., Popa, E. & Popescu, I. Guide to Excursion 50AC, Romania
(Int. Geol. Cong. Prague, 1968).
8. Hampton, M. A. J. Sed. Petrol. 45, 834-844 (1975).
9. Chamberlain, T. K. Papers in Maring Geology (ed. Miller, R. L.) 42-64 (Macmillan, New
York, 1964).
10. Stanley, D. J. Mar. Geol 16, M1-M8 (1974).
11. Davies, I. C. & Walker, R. G. J. Sed. Petrol, 44, 1200-1216 (1974).
12. Walker, R. G. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 86, 737-784 (1975).
13. Winn, Jr, R. D. & Dott, Jr, R. H. Geology 5, 41-44 (1977).
14. Carter, R. M. & Norris. R. J. Sediment. Geol. 18, 289-319 (1977).
15. Middleton, G. V. & Hampton, M. A. Marine Sediment Transport and Environmental
Management (eds Stanley, D. J. & Swift, D. J. P.) 197-218 (Wiley, New York, 1976).
16. Stanley, D. J. & Unrug, R. Recognition of Ancient Sedimentary Environments (eds Rigby, J.
K. & Hamblin, W. K.) 287-340 (Soc. Econ. Paleont. Mineral. Sp. Publ. 16, Tulsa, 1972).
17. Marschalko, R. Carpathian Balkan Geol. Assoc. Proc. 10th Congr. 113-122 (1973).
18. Hendry. H. E. Sedimentology 18, 277-292 (1972).
19. Ricci Lucchi, F. Giorn. Geol., Ann. Museo Geol. Bologna 36, 1-47 (1969).
20. Shideler, G, L. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 54, 789-806 (1970).
21. Scott, K. M. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 50, 72-107 (1966).
22. Fisher, R. V. J. Sed. Petrol. 41, 916 -927 (1971).
21. Lowe, D. R. J. Sed. Petrol. 42, 89 -101 (1972).
24. Shepard, F. P. & Dill, R. F. Submarine Canyons and Other Sea Valleys (Rand MoNaly.
Chicago, 1966).
25. Embley, R. W. Geology 4, 371-374 (1976).
26. Griggs, G. B., Kulm, L. D., Waters, A. C. & Fowler, G. A. J. Geol. 78, 611-619 (1970).
Can electromagnetism account
for extra-sensory phenomena?
OUR investigations of various
alleged
extra-sensory
phenomena (ESP) over the past three years are reported here, in
particular psychokinesis, metal-bending, psychic healing and
dowsing. One of our aims was to search for unusual elec-
tromagnetic (EM) radiation emitted by subjects while they were
achieving or trying to achieve the phenomena. The quest for EM
concomitants of ESP is based on our deduction that it is the only
known force that could conceivably be involved (ref. 1 and
J.G.T. and E. Balanovski, unpublished). Inlooking for EM signals
emitted by people during alleged ESP events we are therefore
testing the reality of the corresponding phenomena. There
might be no paranormal phenomena at all, so that a search for
abnormal EM effects would automatically fail. If we assume that
the present evidence for ESP is not firm either way, then its EM
characteristics are highly relevant to resolving that problem. If
no EM signal were found, this would question the reality of the
phenomena whereas suitably strong EM signals would support
the claim that ESP effects were occurring. This can be quantified
if the sensitivity of subjects to incoming EM radiation is ascer-
tained; for example, sensitivity at least down to the levels of any
paranormal emission from others would be necessary for tele-
pathy to occur. We find no abnormal EM signals during the
occurrence of supposed ESP phenomena.
Earlier work on EM signals related to ESP has been
inconclusive. Cazzamali2 proposed an EM explanation of tele-
pathy by means of waves of 10 cm-1 m in wavelength, and he
claimed to have detected such emission. These results were
never confirmed. Vasiliev3 concluded that telepathy could not
be explained by electromagnetism. A critical review of his work
shows lack of statistical significance in his results, thus leaving
the EM explanation still open. Various other tests4 have been
put forward to contradict the EM explanation of ESP, but they
all exclude some portion of the EM spectrum. It seemed appro-
priate for us to use suitably sensitive detectors to clarify the
position of the EM hypothesis in ESP phenomena.
We used EM detectors covering a wide range of frequencies
(Table 1) together with two video-tape cameras, one to keep a
continuous record of the subjects' performance and the other to
keep a permanent record of the visual readout of some of the
detectors. The EM detectors consisted of various antennae with
amplifiers producing either a visual display or a written record.
For frequencies below 1 MHz both skin electrodes, usually
taped to the palm or the wrist of the subject's hands, and wire
antennae within 1 m of the subjects, were used. For frequencies
in the range of 1 MHz-20 GHz (detectors P2) two loop antennae
were used7, one for frequencies below 500 MHz and the other
for the upper range. Each antenna was placed against the palm
of the subject's hand. For the microwave radiometers 72 and T3
horn antennae were used directly on the subject's body. The two
crystal detectors P4 (60-90 GHz and 90-140 GHz) had narrow
slits which allowed emission for the subject's fingertips or palms
to be measured by direct contact. Background signals above the
noise levels of the detectors were picked up in various situations.
In d.c .- 1 MHz range (detectors E1, E2, E3 and P3) various
external signals correlated with transient electric field dis-
turbances produced by passing vehicles were noted at least 10
times above the noise level. In the 1 MHz-120 GHz range (on
detectors P1, P2, P3, PA, T1, T2, T3, and T4) no signals above
noise levels (of 5 dB) were noted other than various narrow and
assignable TV and radio stations (with clear and expected shape
under high resolution Fourier analysis) and the expected human
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C) Macmillan Journals Ltd 1978

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Nature Vol. 276 2 November 1978
65
black body emissions. This was detected (on detectors T1, T2, T3
and T4) with a noise level of 0.5 K. A similar level of sensitivity
occurred for Ts in the infrared range. H1 was sensitive to 1 nT,
and T6 responded to a 10 W UV source.
The outputs were recorded either on strip chart recorders,
tape recorders or direct photographs of the detector recording
screen (oscilloscope, frequency analyser). The resulting records
were then examined visually. Only if an abnormal signal had
occurred which was above the noise level and not explicable in
terms of external interference or natural human body EM
emission, would more detailed signal analysis have been
justified.
Because several detectors were spectrum analysers (see Table
1) we have obtained an upper limit to the power level radiated at
various frequencies by a person allegedly performing ESP. We
have only investigated integrated power levels, as enough power
has to be radiated before a signal can achieve its desired effect,
whatever modulation the signal may have. In all tests reported
the subjects always claimed that they were in a good 'psychic'
state. Thus our measurements can be taken as demonstrating the
nature of human EM emission during so-called psychic activity.
Despite that, we were unable to detect any abnormal EM
emission from any of the subjects involved in the following tests.
Psychokinesis is the alleged phenomenon whereby a person is
able to achieve movements of objects without physical contact.
(1) Needle-rotation (two subjects, two controls, 92 trials): a
needle was suspended by an extra-fine nylon thread inside a
clear perspex cylinder which was clamped securely to a rigid
bench. Movement was achieved by the subjects moving their
hands and wrists back and forth around the cylinder at about
5 cm from it. In each of the 12 sessions the subjects produced a
60° average rotation of the needle, sometimes up to 200°. The
rotation built up gradually over the first half-hour of each
sessions, and consisted of the needle rotating with the position of
the subject's hands near the cylinder. The needle swung back to
its equilibrium positions as the subject's hands moved back from
the cylinder. Rotation was achieved both by the subjects and the
control subjects.
We established that a rotation of 50° was produced by a
potential of 2 mV with respect to earth at frequencies d.c .-
1 MHz. For up to 60° rotation, measurements on two subjects,
by means of skin electrodes (the subjects being earthed)
indicated a skin potential of only 0.2 mV. We concluded that the
rotation could not be caused by E or H fields from d.c .- 1 MHz
produced by the subject's body. When an anti-static ointment
was rubbed over the surface of the cylinder, the whole
phenomenon vanished, indicating that the effect was due to
charge induced on the needle from the outer surface of the
cylinder. Analysis of the VTR of the events showed the subjects
inadvertently touching the surface of the cylinder in their
attempts to move the needle. Further tests showed that the
amount of rotation produced was directly correlated to the
amount of charge on the outer surface of the cylinder.
(2) Rotation of a straw inside a glass dome (one subject, eight
trials): a piece of drinking straw cut in a T shape was fixed onto a
light plastic disk and placed on top of a glass of water, full to the
brim, enclosed inside a large glass dome (70 cm across). Rota-
tion occurred, up to 20° over 7 s, with the subject sitting quietly,
not bringing her hands near the dome. No abnormal levels of
EM radiation from the subject were detected.
After half an hour, a mist developed on the wall of the dome
further away from the subject, due to condensation of the water
from the glass. This was traced to the heat from an electric fire
located behind the subject. With the electric fire turned off no
rotation occurred. Calculation of the convection current inside
the dome with the fire on showed that it was more than sufficient
to have caused rotation.
(3) Compass-needle rotation (two subjects, 36 trials): rota-
tion of a compass-needle occurred when the subjects moved
their hands back and forth, at a distance of 5-10 cm from the
compass case.
EM detection from the subject's body showed no abnormal
signals. The amount of rotation was found to decrease with
increasing distance between the compass and the subject's body
according to the inverse square law. It also decreased when steel
sheets were placed between the subject and the compass needle.
This indicates an electrostatic origin for the rotation.
Metal-bending (68 subjects, 268 trials): claims of metal-
bending can be divided into two groups:
(1) contact bending, that is by stroking; and (2) bending at a
distance.
Our experiments were carried out under four separate sets of
conditions; in all cases remote EM detectors were present.
(1) A subject was asked to stroke a piece of metal of a length
of up to 15 cm. The strip was securely attached to the top of a
GPO balance and could only be touched on its upper surface. A
video-tape camera recorded the strip, the finger stroking it and
the pressure applied at all times. A clock showing the second
hand was also included in the picture to assure continuity. (2)
Electromyograph (EMG) sensors were placed on the subject's
forearms, and a continuous picture of the dials of both EMG
boxes was obtained with the VTR, thus giving a permanent
record of the pressure applied by the subject. (3) A room with a
one-way viewing system3,6 was used (these tests were done in
collaboration with H. Collins, Bath University); the subjects
were informed of the one-way system beforehand, the video-
Table 1 The sensitivity and time constants of the various detectors used in the tests as a function of frequency
Detector
Description of antenna and display used
Frequency
range
Sensitivity
Resolution
time
constant
E
Skin electrodes or wire antennae connected to CRT display
d.c .- 1 MHz
10-4 V cm-1
1 μς
E2
Skin electrodes or wire antennae connected to CRT display
d.c .- 1 MHz
10-2 V cm-1
1 ps
E
Electrometer connected to 10 cm2 metal plate -- 20 cm from subject
d.c .- 1 MHz
10-4 V cm-1
1 ps
H1
Magnetometer and probe
d.c .- 1 kHz
10-5 G
1 ms
P1
Loop antenna and crystal detector-50 cm from subject
d.c .- 1,250 MHz
1 V cm"
1 ns
P2
Loop antenna connected to broad band frequency analyser
1 MHz-20 GHz
10-3 Vcm 1
1 ns
P3
Skin electrodes connected to frequency analyser
d.c .- 1,250 MHz
10-3 V cm
1 ps
P4
Crystal detectors (in contact with subject's hands) connected to
microwave detector
60-140 GHZ
1 V cm 1
1 ps
1.4 GHZ
1 K
2 s
Ta
Horn antenna (contact with body) connected to microwave radiometer
15 GHZ
0.5 K
0.5 s
T3
Horn antenna (contact with body) connected to microwave radiometer
19 GHz
0.1K
0.33 s
TA
Thermocouple and electronic thermometer
3 × 103-3 x 105 GHZ
0.1K
Ts
Ge probe and chopper 1 m from subject (IR detector)
3 × 103-3 x 103 GHZ
0.5 K
--
T.
UV detector
0.2-0.35 μHz
0.1 s
-1
-1
Loop antenna connected to microwave radiometer
The sensitivities were obtained directly by calibration using known external sources, and were evaluated for signals about 2 s.d. above the noise
level. The time constants were as specified by the manufacturers. No detector was used at a distance greater than I m from the subject.
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Nature Vol. 276 2 November 1978
tape camera was placed on one side of the one-way mirror, while
the subject sat on the other side and attempted bending. The
GPO balance or the EMGs were used together with this set-up.
(4) A more relaxed environment in which neither EMGs nor
VTR were used was the only condition in which success was
claimed.
Background levels were measured on all the detectors (E1,
E3, H1, P1, P4, T1) before and after tests and were as expected in
the various environments. No signals above background were
observed at any time in the whole frequency range d.c .- y rays.
In the lower frequency end of the spectrum about 180 trials were
made with each detector, only 15 or so trials were effected at the
higher frequencies.
No metal bending at all was obtained under the stricter
protocols (1), (2), or (3) but only under the more relaxed
environment of (4). This might be related to the psychological
stress presented by the more restrictive regimes, as some of the
subjects remarked. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and
tested them also in their more accustomed setting, where they
sometimes were apparently successful. We still obtained no EM
signal, although at certain times in the more relaxed conditions
(4) metal bending occurred (of paperclips, spoons, prepared
strips and so on). Each of these successes took several seconds to
minutes to occur.
Attempts were made to cause bending of a strip of metal or
plastic, by feeding EM energy into the strip. A Paradynamics
10 GHz X-band microwave source was used (50 kW peak
power, 0.6 or 2.1 pas pulse, variable p.r.f. with external modula-
tion). Strips of various metals, plastic and various crystals were
irradiated, and vibration of the specimens was observed at the
modulation frequency in agreement with surface acoustic wave
generation"
19. Strips of Al (length 63.4 cm), Cu (length
39.8 cm) and brass (length 51.6 cm) cut to these lengths appro-
priate to the internal modulation, showed resonance effects (at
1-3 KHz) when inserted in the waveguide of the X-band source.
Although energy was thus absorbed in the strips, no bending
ever occurred.
The results show that no unusual EM emission from the
subject's body was observed over the entire spectrum. If there
had been low frequency signals they could not account for the
phenomenon as first, their focusing power is very poor, second,
the energy transfer is inefficient, and third, the signal levels
observed are too low by a factor of about 109 to explain the
effect. The best candidate would be the microwave range 1-
5 GHz; at these frequencies the focusing power is good and the
energy transfer can be efficient for the generation of surface
acoustic waves as the skin depth in metals at these frequencies is
negligible. But no microwave emission higher than the black-
body radiation at the human body temperature was ever detec-
ted. Microwave radiation emitted by the body corresponds to a
power level of 10-14 W. Therefore, EM radiation cannot explain
the above-mentioned metal-bending cases which only occurred
in the relaxed conditions (4).
Psychic healing (six subjects, >12 trials for each detector): by
'psychic healing' we only mean 'laying on of hands' and not the
more dubious psychic 'surgery'. Healers claim cures of terminal
cancer and other illnesses apparently inaccessible to standard
medical practice. Sensations of heat and cold are said to occur
during laying-on of hands. Such sensations have been claimed
both by the healer and by the patient.
No unusual EM radiation was observed in the range d.c .-
140 GHz during 'healing'. The protocol was to attempt detec-
tion of enhanced EM levels from the subjects both when the
patient was present and when being allegedly healed at a
distance. Two video-tape cameras were also used. Detector T4
was used as a broad-band infrared detector both for emission
and sensitivity of the body to this radiation. This allowed us to
investigate whether the sensations of cold or heat experienced
by the healer or the patient could be correlated to actual
decrease or increase of surface skin temperature in the subjects.
cold) the patient was undergoing, and what the healer was
attempting (hcat or cold). At no time were the temperature
readings indicated to the healer or to the patient.
The sequences recorded (typically over 10-20 min) show that
the healers had no clear control over the temperature of their
hands. Nor were the patient's sensations in any way correlated
with surface skin temperature. These sensations cannot be
accounted for by subcutaneous heating, as this would involve
radiation transfer in the MW or RF ranges; neither was ever
observed.
Tests on human sensitivity to low levels of EM radiation (five
subjects, two controls): a subject was seated in a room with
either a loop antenna (lower frequency range) or a horn antenna
(higher range) placed 50 cm from him. The source was in an
adjoining room to avoid visual or auditory cueing, conscious or
unconscious. The sources used were a tuneable RF source in the
range 220-950 MHz with a power output of 1 mW and a
tuneable MW source (both pulsed and CW) in the range 6-
17 GHz with a power level of 5 mW. The switching on or off of
the source was randomised by tossing a coin. The level of success
according to chance was therefore 0.5. The subject was then
asked to attempt to sense the source being on or off. The results
showed that both control and test subjects achieved results not
significantly different from chance. This insensitivity to low level
EM radiation did not warrant further trials.
Dowsing: we investigated two dowsers for the possibility of
EM emission where the 'dowsing reaction' occurred and for
their sensitivity to EM radiation (active and passive radar-like
type of mechanism). This 'dowsing reaction' is a sudden 'flicking'
(up or down) of the rod or rotation of the pendulum when the
dowser reaches a certain place at which the object being dowsed
for is supposedly located.
During a positive dowsing reaction the EM radiation emitted
by either subject from 1 MHz to 22.4 GHz was no different from
background levels measured in the detectors before starting or
finishing each session.
Telepathy-distant-viewing: telepathy can be defined as the
ability of a subject to perceive another subject's thoughts. It
involves the transmission of information between a sender and a
receiver in a non-verbal fashion, We only investigated
integrated power levels, as enough power has to be radiated
before a signal can achieve its desired effect, whatever modula-
tion the signal may have. We investigated three subjects who
claimed telepathic abilities and one who claimed distant-viewing
abilities, in which a subject is supposed to describe accurately a
remote site without his being physically there. No EM signals
other than background noise were observed on E1, E3 and H3.
Nor did the tests show evidence of the subjects being successful
in telepathic transmissions.
We have tried to detect EM signals emitted by people, and in
particular the Fourier spectrum of such signals, to test the reality
of ESP phenomena. In particular, we have investigated many
different subjects attempting to achieve ESP phenomena, but
have failed to detect any unusual EM radiation. The absence of
effects on UV detectors or photographic films completed the
study of the higher range of the electromagnetic spectrum. We
also investigated human sensitivity to low levels of EM radiation
over a restricted range of frequencies and found no indication of
humans being sensitive to those EM fields. Dowsers, who
claimed sensitivity to magnetic fields, down to 10-5 G, were also
tested and found insensitive to the presence of 100 G.
It is possible to conceive transmission of EM energy from one
person to another or of emission by one person in a manner
undetectable by the apparatus we have used. This would have
been so if very brief pulses of EM energy were used in such
signalling with times less than the response time of the cor-
responding apparatus at the frequency used. There are no
known mechanisms in the body able to produce such signals at
the power levels required to produce the effects. We have also
found that humans are insensitive to low levels of EM. A
possible mechanism for such signalling is therefore clearly ruled
lenathy, distant-viewing and psychic healing. The EM
The procedure was to measure the temperature of the healer's
hands as a Astavetripor Reresse 2000/08/07: CIA RDP96-00787R000500280005-4
1

67
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Nature Vol. 276 2 November 1978
levels emitted to achieve metal bending (in the microwave range
to achieve the desired focusing) are joules1, and there is no
known mechanism in the body to achieve a peak power output of
GW; it is difficult to suppose that this would be possible without
severe tissue damage.
We can distinguish four different categories of effects from
our investigations: (1) the effect occurred but it could be
explained in normal scientific terms (psychokinesis); (2) the
effect occurred and could have been paranormal (dowsing, faith
healing); (3) the effect occurred in less than perfect conditions
(some metal bending trials); (4) the effect did not occur (other
metal bending trials, telepathy, distant-viewing). The consistent
absence of any unusual EM radiations associated with
phenomena in all the above categories, in which all the subjects
always claimed to be in a good psychic state, causes us to
question the paranormal nature of those in categories (2) and
(3), because we contend1 that EM is the only known force that
could have been involved in the phenomenon. We therefore
conclude that phenomena of category (2) have their natural
explanation, dowsing as muscular twitches brought about by
subconscious mental activity, faith healing as the purely (albeit
complex) psychological effect of the healer on the patient; in
particular, metal bending does not come into this category
(category (2)) in the cases we have investigated.
We thank the Sedwood Trust for financial support, all our
subjects for their patience, and many colleagues for the loan of
the equipment.
E. BALANOVSKI
J. G. TAYLOR
Department of Mathematics,
King's College, London WC2, UK
Received 11 May 1977: accepted 20 June 1978.
1. Taylor, J. G. Superminds (Macmillan, London, 1975).
2. Cazzamali, F. G. Psichiat. Neurol. 1, 1 (1933) and refs therein.
3. Vsililev, L. L. Experiments in Distant Influence (ed. Gregory. A.) (Wildwood House,
London, 1976).
4. Puthoff, H1. & Targ, R. Nature 252, 602-607 (1974).
5. Collins, H. & Pamplin, B. Nature 257, 8 (1975).
6. Taylor, J. G. Nature 254, 472 (1975).
7. Enander, B. & Larson, K. Research Reports Trita - Tet 7505, 7506, 7701, Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm, 1976 and 1977).
8. White, R. M. J. appl. Phys. 34, 3559-3567 (1963).
9. Foster, K. R. & Finch, E. D. Science 185, 256 -258, (1974).
10. Lin, J. C. J. microwave Pow. 11, 295-298 (1976).
Newly discovered fossil
hominid skull from
the Afar depression, Ethiopia
DURING a palacontological, archaeological and geological
survey in the Awash River Valley, Ethiopia, members of the Rift
Valley Research Mission in Ethiopia (RVRME) recovered
much of the facial skeleton and neurocranium of an early
hominid. The specimen, which we describe here, is one of the
best preserved and most complete of its kind yet discovered in
Africa and is unique in its close association with stone tools.
The site of the discovery, Bodo D'Ar, is situated in north-
western Hararghe Province (Fig. 1). Hominid material was first
discovered at the site in autumn 1976. Field work completed by
March 1978 has produced abundant faunal and archaeological
material associated with the hominid specimen. The fauna and
associated artefacts are derived from layer B of the Upper Bodo
Beds (J.E.K. et al., unpublished). The presence of many hippo-
potamus remains, including several skeletons, associated with
stone tools, suggests that this was a site at which carcasses were
butchered by early hominids. Further archaeological investiga-
tions, to be carried out in the near future, should elucidate the
nature of this association in more detail (W. Singleton, P.
Larson, H. Mosca, F. Wendorf, unpublished). The palaeon-
tological and archaeological evidence is consistent with a Middle
Pleistocene (0.7-0.125 Myr BP) age for the hominid-bearing
deposits (J.E.K. et al., unpublished).
The specimen was discovered after weathering out of the
surface of the Upper Bodo sand unit. This consists of 5.5-
6.0 m of horizontal grey conglomerate and sand and contains
many mammalian fossils and artefacts. Virtually all the artefacts
are made from basalt. Two large pieces of the facial skeleton
were found 11 m apart by Alemeyehu Asfaw, P. Whitehead
and C. Wood. The first piece to be discovered consisted of
the lower part of the facial skeleton. This fragment had been
broken from the upper face along a line running across the
middle of the left orbit and through the nasion. It included the
facial skeleton below the midpoint of the orbits, together with
most of the palate. The second fragment included the upper half
of the left orbit, most of the right orbit, the anterior part of the
frontal bone, and the basicranium from the pterygomaxillary
fissure to the basion. As the fit of these two pieces along the line
of breakage is perfect, there is no doubt as to the proper
alignment of the face and the cranial vault.
Forty-six smaller skull fragments were collected from the area
immediately surrounding the two major fragments in 1976 and a
further 30 picces were found by sieving the area in 1978. Of this
total, 41 were subsequently pieced together and fitted to the
facial-frontal fragment. All fragments are in direct contact with
each other and thus we have little doubt that the shape of the
reconstructed cranium accurately reflects the true contours of
the cranial vault.
The specimen consists of an almost complete face and partial
neurocranium and includes most of the frontal bone, both nasal
bones, the left zygomatic bone except for the temporal process,
the left maxilla and part of the right maxilla, the sphenoid bone
and portions of the left temporal bone, left and right parietal
bones, and occipital of the right side. The orbits, the nasal cavity,
the anterior part of the endocranial cavity and part of the cranial
base are still encrusted with a hard matrix of sandy micro-
conglomerate. Many of the more delicate bones such as the
lacrimals, ethmoids and lesser wing of the sphenoid are present
within the matrix (Figs 2-4).
Much of the basicranium anterior to the basion is present,
including the left mandibular fossa and articular eminence, the
basioccipital and the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
Foramina for the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve
(foramen ovale), the middle meningeal artery (foramen
spinosum) and the internal carotid artery (carotid canal) are
visible. About two-thirds of the palate is preserved and the
roots or alveoli of all the maxillary dentition, except for P4-M3
on the right side, are present but no crowns of teeth are
preserved. Posterior to the right fourth premolar the maxilla
has been broken away revealing a large, matrix-filled maxillary
sinus.
The skull is large and ruggedly built and the face is notably
large and robust. The nasal root is broad, the supraorbital ridges
are thick and the zygomatic bonc is deep and heavily con-
structed. The supraorbital ridges are arched and separated by a
prominent glabellar region, rather than forming a continuous
bony shelf; they are approximately 17-18 mm thick at the
midpoint of the orbital rim, thicker than the average for the
Choukoutien Homo erectus sample (15.5 mm) and at the high
end of the range for Javan Homo erectus and the Solo skulls1.2,
but somewhat less than the Broken Hill specimen (about
21 mm). The total breadth across the supraorbital torus
(139 mm) is greater than that of any of the Javan fossils (110-
126 mm), being more comparable to that of the Broken Hill
specimen (141 mm). The interorbital breadth at the maxillo-
frontale is great (34.5 mm) and the piriform aperture broad and
low. The nasals are moderately prominent in norma lateralis.
being comparable to those of the Broken Hill specimen.
Approved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RDP96-00787R000500280005-4
0028-0836/78/0276 -- 0067$01.00
@ Macmillan Journals Ltd 1978

SGtt
Secret Russian Test Proves
Mental Telepathy Does Exist
Top Soviet scientists claim they have proven beyond a
doubt that mental telepathy exists.
A startling secret report and photographs smuggled out of Russia by
ENQUIRER editors docu-
ment the incredible break-
through and give fascinating
details of the experiments
that led the researchers to
their conclusion.
Western experts - told about.
the experiments - hailed them
as "astonishing," "sensational"
and "startling."
They also concluded that the
Russians may be well on their
way to communicating tele-
phatically with cosmonauts in ducted at the Research Institute| laboratory 15 minutes after the
space. And they warned that if
the Soviets master telepathic
communication, it could be
used for military purposes.
"This research is startling --
this is a whole new range of
experiments,'
declared
Dr.
John Gschwendtner, professor
of physics at Dowling College in
Oakdale, N.Y.
Dr. Gerry Cupchik, professor
of psychology at Scarborough
College, University of Toronto,
marveled: "It has sensational
implications."
In experiments carried out
between 1975 and 1977, Russian
researchers killed rats with
drugs. Then, with electrodes on
to the rats' brains, they re-
'" corded brain activity stimu-
lated when a psychic projected
= thoughts at the dead animal,
"There is no doubt that the
emotions of the psychic were
carried telepathically to the
" brain of the dead rat," declared
"leading Soviet parapsychologist
Eduard Naumov, who analyzed
~ the secret report that The EN-
QUIRER had obtained from an-
other source.
"This is proof that telepath-
; ic communication has been
achieved."
The experiments were con-
PRINTOUT of brain waves of a live rat.
AFTER DEATH rat's brain waves show no activity (left), but show graphic disturbances
(right) when a psychic directs thoughts at the dead animal's brain.
of Psycho-Neurology at Khar-
kov University in the Soviet Un-
ion. The researchers attached
each rat's brain to electrodes
from an electroencephalograph
(EEG), a machine that records
brain wave activity.
Each rat was placed in a
chamber screened off to pre-
vent any type of outside in-
terference, including electrical.
Then the rat was killed.
A psychic would enter the
SOVIET EXPERT Eduard
Naumov: "This proves tele-
pathic communication has
been achieved."
rat's brain activity has ceased
altogether - evidence that a
creature is clinically dead.
When a psychic directed his
thoughts and emotions at the
dead rat, the EEG recorded re-
newed electrical activity in the
rat's brain, according to the as-
tounding Soviet report.
Naumov detailed one of the
experiments.
"Within one minute of the
psychic trying to direct his emo-
tions at the rat, the rat's brain
showed a response on the EEG.
He laughed and the rat's brain
reacted. Then the psychic did
mental arithmetic and the rat's
brain again reacted.
"The dead rat registered re-
action to the psychic's emotions
for three minutes. All the while,
there was no physical response
from the rat."
The report on the experiment
- published in Russia for offi-
cial use only - were obtained
by The ENQUIRER on the con-
dition that the source not be re-
vealed because he feared re-
taliation from the KGB, the So-
viet secret police agency.
The source said he believed
the free world should know
about the secret experiments.
He said they could "surely be
considered a military secret."
and added, "it is essential that
your scientists learn about our
experiments and draw their
conclusions."
Even the report itself dra-
matically concludes: "The re-
searchers believe that their dis-
covery will have important ap-
plications in space flight com-
munications."
Physics professor Gschwen-
dtner warned: "If a nation were
to master the use of telepathy,
there could be many applica-
tions. It could be used to send
supersecret messages to bat-
tlefield commanders instant-
ly."
Dr. Ernest Harrell, a psy-
chologist who lectures in para-
psychology at North Texas
State University, added:
"The Russians do a lot of tele-
pathic research and it's ex-
tremely likely that they are at-
tempting to make cosmonaut
contact. The implications are
obviously huge.'
And Dr. James C. Logan, a
psychologist who lectures in
parapsychology at Rockhurst
College in Kansas City, Mo., en-
thused: "Those (scientists) in
Russia are very sophisticated.
It's astounding!"
- WILLIAM DICK & HENRY GRIS
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-
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transmission is used.
It is sufficien
to press a button, and an electric
motor adjusts the driver's seat to
make it more comfortable for him ..
There are special safety devices.
The reliability of the brake system
is insured by two independent lines,
each of which acts simultaneously to
brake the front wheels and one of the
rear. A warning light signals the
failure of a line.
(A photograph is given showing the
GAZ-14 "Chayka". )
*
-K
*
Author:
Sergeyev, G., Doctor of
Technical Sciences
Title :
BIOPLASMOGRAPH INSTRUMENT FOR
STUDIES IN PSYCHOENERGETICS
Primary source :
September 4-
10, 1978, No. 36 (964), p. 12, cols.
1-2
Abstract:
The author responds to a
question submitted by a reader asking
if an instrument exists which can
determine whether a person possesses
an electrical potential, or 'biofield. '
The author begins his response with a
description of a unique capability he
has witnessed in some individuals to
mentally create a 'spatial tunnel
effect, ' which he says is analogous
to electromagnetic phenomena in radio
engineering.
He relates examples of
this capability which he has observed.
In one, it is claimed that a woman
mentally projected geometric figures
with photographic paper wrapped around
her head, and the figures appeared on
the paper when it was subsequently
developed.
The author reports that increased
biofield intensity and magnetic eddies
can be detected around such individ-
uals, and they can be registered by
a special instrument called a bio-
plasmograph. The primary feature of
this .instrument is said to be a solid
disk made of an organic substance
containing cholesterylacetate, a
powdery substance which is a liquid
crystal. This substance is said to
be extremely sensitive to changes in
its environment, registering very
weak interactions of any fields, and
also magnetic eddies. The author
notes that magnetic eddies possess
real kinetic energy, and that they
can be caused by individuals who can
mentally
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(continued next column)
2
effect. Although the energy of magnetic
eddies is quite weak, the author
observes that this energy can be
amplified with the aid of modern
radio devices.
In addition to applications in
psychoenergetic studies, the author
notes that the bioplasmograph is also
very sensitive to gravitational anoma-
lies and is therefore useful to geolo-
gists. It can also be used as a
stimulator for heart functions, because
it enters into resonance with heart
biorhythms. By carrying a cholestery-
lacetate plate in a pocket, it is said
that a person can sustain active heart
functions.
*
*
*
Title :
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON
INSTRUMENT BUILDING FOR SPACE RESEARCH
Primary source :
Sovetskaya Kirgiziya,
September 2, 1978, No. 203 (15178),
p. 1, cols. 4-6
Extract: The second international
seminar of socialist countries,
"Scientific space instrument building",
opened on September 1, in Frunze. It
was organized by the USSR Academy of
Sciences, the Council on International
Cooperation in the Area of the Research
and Use of Outer Space "Interkosmos",
and the Institute of Space Research.
Scientists and specialists from
Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany,
Poland, the USSR and Czechoslovakia
are taking part in the work of the
forum.
More than 100 papers and reports
will be heart on methods and principles .
for developing scientific instruments,
methods and means for scientific exper-
iments on spacecraft, and others.
The seminar will last six days.
*
*
*
Author :
Talyzin, N. V., USSR Minister
of Communications
Title :
THE NATIONWIDE DATA TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM
Primary source :
Ekonomicheskaya gazeta,
September, 1978, No. 36, p. 7, cols. 1-4
Abstract: The article continues a
series based on materials of the second
all-Union conference on use of computers
and computerized systems.
The author
gives a lengthy discussion of the
organization of the Nationwide Data
Transmission System (OGSPD), * which
*See also the Daily SNAP, June 29, 1978,
p. 3, col. 1
(continued next page)

proved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RDP96-00787R000500280005-4.
10 Part VII-Sun, Mar. 2, 1980
Los Angeles Times
China Scientists Forecast
Big Future in ESP Studies
BELJING (UPI)-Chinese scien-
tists have been baffled by studies of
children who can "see" objects hidden
"> in boxes, read Chinese characters
: tucked under their armpits and iden-
tify colors without using their eyes,
according to reports.
"Using today's scientific knowl-
edge, we still cannot explain this kind
of phenomenon," the Chinese scienti-
fic magazine Nature said in an article ·
on such children.
Beijing Radio reported that a scien-
tific meeting was held recently in
Shanghai on extrasensory perception
experiments with 14 unusual children.
They showed an ability to sense .
"colors and "read" single Chinese
- characters with their ears, armpits,
noses and stomachs.
Some could identify colors of pieces
of paper hidden in envelopes or boxes
by sniffing the containers.
They showed a high success rate at
identifying Chinese ideographs writ-
ten on pieces of paper concealed in
boxes or envelopes, the broadcast
said.
: "Although modern science has
developed to today's level, our'
knowledge of the human body is still
not enough. Much of the phenomena
of human life cannot be explained to-
day," Nature magazine said.
The magazine reported two sisters
from Beijing, Wang Bing, 11, and
Wang Giang, 13, could identify Chi-
nese characters written on slips of
paper by tucking the paper into their
armpits.
When one girl perceived a charac-
ter through the method, the other had
only to touch her sister to find out
what the paper said.
The girls told scientists that the
shapes and colors of the objects,
: which they did not see with their
eyes, simply appeared in their minds.
The report said both girls suffered.
from poor eyesight.
A recent edition of the Guangming
Daily newspaper said the cases of the
unusual children were being studied
by an air force doctor. He theorized
their hands and ears might be capable
of transmitting and receiving radar-
like waves, but could find no accepta-
ble explanation.
In a speech at the Shanghai meet-
ing, Nature's editor, He Tongin, said
the children raise many questions in
biology and medicine.
"These talents must be researched
because they are an important new
" discovery," he said. "This topic has a
big future and will increase our .
knowledge of the human body."
CHISHOLM
Continued from 9th Page
through Oklahoma pass close to :
documented Chisholm route and ;
confused in various accounts of
famous path's origin.
But Moran says he knows the ‘
swer. The Abilene Trail, used on c
tle drives, ran west of the Chisho
Stage Road followed the Chishe
but came after it, he said.
Why did early territorial pione
change the trail's name from Ct.
holm to Stage Road ?..
"It had become the stage road;
one you stood on to catch the stag
Moran said. "That's simple."
Documentors of Oklahoma hist-
have trouble mapping the Chish
Trail, passing from Kansas into Oh
homa and eventually into Te:
Maps show it anywhere from a l
. parallel to U.S. Highway 81 thror
central Oklahoma to distant lines
either side.
Muriel : Wright, writing for
Robinson
Soring Home
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Approved For Release 2000/08/07 ; CIA-RDP96-00787R00050028000504's metaphor, and the historian's in-
SCIENCE
Coincidence: paranormal event
or just the luck of the throw?
Things that happen at the same time have a special
relationship to each other; researchers ask why
By Elaine Kendall
M
ost of us live on such familiar terms
with the idea of coincidence that we
think of it in offhand catch phrases and
react to it with stock responses. We describe
coincidence as funny, fantastic, weird, or
bizarre; dismiss it as "mere," "only," or
"lucky"; use it for small talk. Of all the
paranormal phenomena, coincidence re-
mains the least controversial and the easiest
to accept. It's not as intimidating as pre-
cognition, as unsettling as déjà vu, or a
nuisance like psychokinesis. Coincidence is
just a capricious old friend, amusing but
undependable. responsible for "I was just
about to phone," "Imagine meeting you
here." and "How odd that three new books
about Napoleon were published this week."
On any sliding scale of extrasensory per-
ception. coincidence would rate no more
than a comfortable two or three. Whenever
it's startling or dramatic enough to discon-
cert us, we explain away our unease by the
laws of chance and probability, which are
elastic enough to accommodate the most
unwieldly circumstances. The odds may be
a million to one; but odds are odds, and
it's reassuring to know that they're there,
keeping the world in bounds and in per-
spective. We don't consider ourselves in an
altered state of consciousness every time we
run into a classmate at the movies, win the
daily double, or miss the plane with en-
gine trouble. We call it chance and let it
go at that.
Coincidence functions so unpredictably
that it could never draw the crowds that
come to see demonstrations of levitation or
psychic healing. Because it has no charis-
matic gurus and makes no special claims
or promises, the popular literature on New
Frontiers of Mind tends to slight it.
Coincidence doesn't televise as well as key
bending or even dowsing. It's not as titil-
lating as UFO's nor as pretty as Kirlian
photography.
Coincidence supplies the novelist's plot,
evitability, the theologian's miracle. the
artist's inspiration, the statesman's manifest
destiny, and the philosopher's unity. Very
often, it's also responsible for the scientist's
success, and that may be why science orga-
nizes to fight back.
Coincidence is, in fact, the most protean
of all phenomena, changing shape and form
to operate on every level of existence, ap-
pearing in such elaborate masquerade that
it often goes unrecognized. We could hard-
ly manage without it.
Explicit information about coincidence
seems curiously skimpy and dated, and even
the newest books about paranormal ex-
perience depend rather heavily on incidents
reported a half-century ago. There was a
flurry of interest at about the time that the
Titanic sank, and a great many people re-
membered feeling chills as the ship went
down; but equally dramatic and verifiable
examples have seemed increasingly rare
ever since. Coincidence seemed to decline in
direct proportion to transatlantic boat
travel.
Train wrecks also produced some fine
examples of coincidence, but cars and
planes have not added much to our knowl-
edge. Danger alone is not enough. Co-
incidence seems to require an element of
romance to function well. The most re-
markable examples have always seemed to
pertain to disaster and death, which may
partially explain why investigation has
lagged in favor of cheerier topics. More-
over, people tend quite naturally to attrib-
ute happy and fortuitous occurrences to
their own worthy efforts, instead of to out-
side forces. As a result, the Society for Psy-
chical Research hears much more about
unpleasant ones. The official records are full
of intimations of assassination, earthquake.
fire, and flood, but the routine synchronicity
that constantly bends our lives is hardly
noted at all. And that may be just as well.
There's so much of it around that selectivity
is essential to keep the topic interesting.
Because coincidence is still the nearest
thing we have to a universal phenomenon,
it has engaged the attention of some ex-
tremely notable minds, but usually privately
and generally with inconclusive results. Un-
til very recently, however, these informal
experiments were carried on rather quietly.
among congenial friends, but now the sub-
ject is no longer confined to parlors.
In February 1974, Professor John
Wheeler, the eminent nuclear physicist,
lecturing a group of his colleagues at Ox-
ford, said that "there may be no such thing
as 'the glittering central mechanism of the
universe.' Not machinery but magic may
be the better description of the treasure
that is waiting." Such a statement would
have been unthinkable fifty years ago.
Even in an area like psychiatry, where an
exploration and understanding of how
coincidence works would seem most re-
warding, the Establishment attitude has
continued to be somewhat aloof. "There's
a divinity that shapes our ends./Rough-
hew them how we will" is fine drama but
poor therapy. In the 1950s, when Carl
Jung published his thoughtful essay on
synchronicity and its effect upon person-
ality development, other psychiatrists were
curiously unresponsive to this phase of his
work. Their attitude was adamant, but
understandable.
(Continued on page 274)
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VOGUE, October, 1978
268

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COINCIDENCE
(Continued from page 268)
for irresponsible behavior of all kinds. Adultery, for instance, would
be difficult if not impossible without it. Moreover, coincidence
does tend to boggle the mind and to resist interpretation, thus
making the work of the psychotherapist even more tedious than it
already is. Perverse, tricky, and intriguing, coincidence reduces the
most carefully constructed and logical argument to a shambles.
The speculative sciences find it hard to tame; the exact sciences
cannot be blamed for wanting it to go away.
The greatest single trouble with coincidence has always been the
fact that it cannot be produced upon demand. Because accounts of
coincidental happenings are invariably what scholars disparagingly
call anecdotal, the whole topic suffers from a competitive disadvan-
tage. Anecdotal evidence, no matter how persuasive, is difficult to
duplicate and verify but very easy to exaggerate. It leaves the seri-
ous intellectual community cold. Coincidence, therefore, has always
had an anomalous place in research; and, until very recently, it has
remained there, an embarrassment and a menace to almost every-
one concerned. The parapsychologists were welcome to it, and
it became theirs by default.
Now, reconsidered as another kind of causal event. coincidence
is suddenly attracting a fair share of attention from the more ortho-
dox scientists as well. New tests and more imaginative experiments
are luring it out of its corner. Physicists and mathematicians, who
routinely deal in imperceptible aspects of the universe. have always
known that coincidence could not be ignored or dismissed, though
not all of them were eager to admit it. Philosophers and psycholo-
gists have become more receptive than before; and there is con-
stant experimentation in all these fields, controlled and cautious
attempts to excavate what Arthur Koestler calls The Roots of Co-
incidence.
At UCLA, Thelma Moss, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the Neuro-
psychiatric Institute conducted a variety of tests that show that
"coincidence" can be encouraged if one provides the proper condi-
tions. Emotion, for example, seems to be a definite factor in its
occurrence. If one person attempts to guess the subject matter of
a picture that another person is being shown, his chances of being
right seem best when the scene is violent or tragic, only fair when
it's pleasant or even sensual, and merely average when it's bland.
And if the two people participating in the experiment are related
in some way, they seem to be significantly more adept at this exer-
cise than total strangers. Somewhat inadvertently, this particular
project also seemed to prove that bad news travels fast. just as
millions of ordinary people have always suspected it did.
Ongoing research, with more dramatic implications, is currently
being performed at SRI , International in Menlo Park, California.
by Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff, Ph.D., both physicists with
impressive academic credentials and solid backgrounds in traditional
scientific research.
Targ and Puthoff have been producing coincidence more or less
on order since 1974, and have documented their results in their
book Mind-Reach (Delacorte). The Targ-Puthoff trials are hard to
classify exactly, since they cross the arbitrary boundaries that have
always separated coincidence from its more eccentric relations-
telepathy, clairvoyance, and that most troublesome connection of
all, the out-of-body experience. Mind-Reach deals with what its au-
thors prefer to call "remote viewing," but the elements of coinci-
dence are strong and the family resemblance is unmistakable.
Remote viewing, a nice neutral term for an astonishing blend of
phenomena, works this way. The subject is comfortably established
in a soundproof, electrically shielded room and given a set of map
coordinates indicating a specific place on the globe. Any area will
do, as long as an adequate description of it is available and can be
verified. The location is chosen at random. The subject then draws
a sketch of the site, indicating as best he can its significant features-
its outline, buildings, bodies of water-whatever comes to mind.
Remote viewing is not telepathy, because telepathy is mind to mind:
nor is it clairvoyance, which is mind to event. It comes closer to
something that has been extravagantly called "astral travel," but
that sounds too bizarre for what has become a normal everyday
exercise for a group of normal everyday people.
The remote viewers are getting the facts right; not always exactly.
but generally in the essential particulars, putting rivers, lakes, trees.
hills, structures, and roadways in the proper places and more or less
in proportion, and often including such specific details as window
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coincidence? Probably by something very like it but more re-
liable. Photographs of the actual sites taken at a later date and
(Continued on page 276)
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COINCIDENCE
(Continued from page 274)
reproduced in the book next to the drawings show startling
correspondences.
Targ and Puthoff have now tested more than fifty people, and
they maintain that the majority of their subjects have been able to
accomplish the assignment. Skeptics are no worse at it than true
believers; and, although some subjects are far more adept than
others, no one has failed entirely. Distance seems to make little
difference in accuracy or the lack of it. A school building in the
neighborhood is no easier to reproduce than an airport in Central
America or an island in the South Pacific.
The experiments have been continually escalating in difficulty
with no decrease in efficiency. Some participants have even been
taken undersea in a submarine where their perceptual abilities seem
to function as well as in the lounge chairs at Menlo Park. Most
people seem to improve with practice, getting more proficient at
this curious job just as they might get better at backhand volleys or
Beethoven sonatas.
The boredom that usually afflicts such research projects has not
been a problem with this one. Remote viewers, once aware of their
new ability, seem delighted to exercise it. One veteran of the Stan-
ford experiments, a Los Angeles photographer, has offered to assist
a team of archaeologists; and the buried ruins are turning up where
she says they will be, thereby saving a great deal of time, trouble,
backbreaking labor, and foundation money. A forthcoming book
by Stephan Schwartz, The Secret Vaults of Time (Grosset & Dun-
lap), shows that archaeologists have long made use of such special
help, though the information has not been generally bruited about
until the recent surge of interest in such matters. If this particular
strain of coincidence could be tamed, directed, and applied, its
implications would be enormous. So far, none of the remote viewers
has reported locating an oil field or a uranium mine, but the poten-
tial is there.
Russell Targ provided an elementary demonstration of remote
viewing by asking me to describe an object on his desk. At that
point, I had neither met him, been to his office, nor yet talked to
any of the subjects. The only connection between my office in
Santa Monica and his in Menlo Park was the Pacific Telephone
Company line, which works no better than its counterparts else-
where and often not as well. "Describe what I'm looking at," he said.
"Color, size, kind. Draw it. Don't try to read my mind."
"Something natural," I said. "Not manufactured. No particular
color-maybe beige or grey. Neutral. Not completely round but
no sharp corners."
"Not bad," Targ said. "I've got a quartz globe on a rectangular
stand on a tan blotter." Pens, pencils, a typewriter, pictures, books.
or the phone itself would have been more logical guesses and easy
outs. I could have chosen them, but I didn't.
It has since occurred to me that Russell Targ may have a table
piled with so many objects of every description that it could be
impossible to miss; but, then again, he may not. Scientists usually
prefer an uncluttered work surface, and though one correct guess
is surely coincidence, it's also a score of 100 percent.
All of us, of course, have learned to exploit coincidence to some
extent. We give it other and more acceptable names-opportunity.
accident, hard work, talent, even faith-because we need to feel
responsible for our lives. But suppose, for a moment, that we could
train ourselves not just to take advantage of these happy conjunc-
tions when they happen but to generate them? The Mind-Reach
subjects have apparently made considerable progress in this direc-
tion, within a relatively short time and without interfering with
their other duties or obligations.
In Janus (Random House), his newest book of speculative es-
says, Arthur Koestler maintains that the human brain is a "luxury
organ," one "developed in advance of the needs of its possessor."
Koestler derived that notion from Alfred Russell Wallace. the man
who developed a theory of evolution by natural selection in the
same year that Charles Darwin proposed his, an intellectual feat
that remains one of the greatest intellectual coincidences of all time.
The brain has not changed at all since we were loping around in
the primeval ooze, though the uses to which we have put it have
expanded significantly. According to Koestler, the Cro-Magnon
crouching in his cave chipping stone and bludgeoning game already
possessed the incredible organ that would eventually put men on
moon. He had, however, no notion of its possibilities. Little by
0197,000590280005-4nia of marvelous hits and horrendous
misses, centuries of successful trial and ghastly error, he learned.
A little. There is no reason to believe that we have yet made every
one of the possible connections. None at all.

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