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SRI
STANFORD RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Menlo Park, California 94025 . U.S.A.
Progress Report No. 4
Covering the Period 1 August to 1 October 1974
Stanford Research Institute Project 3183
PERCEPTUAL AUGMENTATION TECHNIQUES
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by
:
Harold E. Puthoff
Russell Targ
Electronics and Bioengineering Laboratory
CLIENT PRIVATE
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I OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the program is to determine the characteristics of
those perceptual modalities through which individuals obtain information
about their environment, wherein such information is not presented to
any known sense.
The program is divided into two categories of investigation of
approximately equal effort, applied research and basic research. The
purpose of the applied research effort is to explore experimentally
the potential for applications of perceptual abilities of interest,
with special attention given to accuracy and reliability. The purpose
of the basic research effort is to identify the characteristics of
individuals possessing such abilities, and to identify neurophysiological
correlates and basic mechanisms involved in such functioning.
II PROGRESS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD
A.
Applied Research
1. Remote Viewing
As discussed in previous reports, the remote-viewing channel
through which individuals obtain information about their environment
appears to be a relatively well-developed stable channel in certain of
our subjects. As will be seen below, for example, the channel appears
to be of sufficiently high data rate that a knowledgeable analyst could
discriminate among possible alternative technologies on the basis of
descriptions provided by remote viewing of technical apparatus.
Given the observed degree of stability of the phenomena, a
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lengthy series of experiments were carried out in which certain variables
were manipulated in order to test various hypotheses. These consisted of
(a) the measurement of physiological correlates during remote viewing;
(b) the effects of manipulating the feedback variable over the range
1) mid-testing feedback via walkie talkie, 2) delayed post-experiment
feedback, 3) no feedback, the latter providing a test which permitted
rejection of the hypothesis that apparent remote viewing was simply
precognition of feedback data; (c) determination of whether resolution
and discrimination on the order of technical laboratory equipments was
possible, verified unambiguously in the affirmative.
(a) Local Targets with Mid-Experiment Interrogation and
Feedback (Training Series)
In this series of training experiments, designed to give
immediate data to experimenters and subject, a subject is asked to take
part in a remote viewing experiment under the following conditions.
The subject and two experimenters (one of whom was R.T.) are
in a first floor laboratory in building 30 at SRI. A second experimenter
(H.P. ) leaves the area and proceeds to a remote location of his choosing.
None of the experimenters with the subject know of the remote target
location. H.P. and R.T. are in two-way radio communication via walkie-
talkie, (a) to provide the experimenter at the target location real-time
data and (b) to give the subject immediate feedback after he has made
his assessment of the target. By this means the subject is given an
opportunity to learn to separate real from imagined images. We stress
that this is not to be considered a demonstration-of-ability test, but
rather a training step. In these experiments we also monitor physiological
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correlates, as discussed in Section B.3. Following is a description and
summary of the seven experiments of this type that were carried out. The
first five experiments were carried out with Subject S-4, the last two
with Subject S-3.
1) For the first experiment in the series, the remote experi-
menter was standing on a small bridge over a stream passing through a
gully. The subject described a hill with a small amount of vegetation
on the top, and some gray shingles, like a roof, over water, an almost
error-free description of the location. Although there was no corrective
feedback, the subject's narration was elicited by the remote experimenter
via questions, and therefore it would be difficult to quantify the amount
of remote viewing present given the possibility of unknown cueing.
2) The remote experimenter was standing in the middle of a bed
of purple iridescent flowers surrounded by a bright green hedge. Before
there was any radio contact the subject said that her main perception was
of "iridescent blue and lush green vegetation". This is judged to have
enough commonality to be considered a reasonable match.
3) The remote experimenter had gone to a kiosk bulletin board
in the shape of a wooden cylindrical tower with a brown wooden roof. The
structure is about 15 feet tall. The subject's first words, before radio
communication was established, were: "He could be near a grey wooden
tower with a brown roof." This was considered a direct hit and the subject
was told that this was the case. The subject went on to describe correctly
the roof around the tower as sloping but she incorrectly described the
tower as square. The small-size perspective was not observed by the subject.
4) The experimenter was standing on the edge of a concrete
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waterway made up of several zigzag elements. It is a decorative watercourse
through a park. The subject's first comments are of a "strong zigzag".
With a question from the remote experimenter as to its orientation (i.e.,
whether horizontal or vertical), her description evolves into a "zigzag
water channel with concrete sides". We are confident that the feedback
she received in this case by questioning could not have conveyed this
information.
5) The remote experimenter stood next to a large oak tree. In
his immediate forward field of view was a large circular brick wall sur-
rounding a plaza area containing a fountain. The subject's first comments
prior to radio feedback comprised a description of large trees and a
brick elliptical wall that was nonfunctional. The subject was then given
feedback that the primary things to be seen from that location were in
fact a large tree and a circular brick enclosure.
6) The remote experimenter went to the top of a 100 foot wooden
tower on which was mounted radar equipment. The tower is painted yellow
and has a wooden wall enclosing the top. By and large, much of the
material volunteered by the subject does relate to the target location.
For example, he eventually described it as a yellow tower before either
the color or the tower were mentioned, although the height was not
cognized. As the first in a training series on local viewing for this
subject there was considerable radio communication and therefore although
remote viewing was in evidence, no clear judgment can be made as to quality.
7) The remote experimenter in this experiment walked through
a blacktop parking lot past a blue construction building, entered a park
along a footpath through the grass, and then stood next to a fountain.
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The subject described the above material essentially without feedback or
radio contact. As a single narrative, he told of first seeing blackness
which he identified as an asphalt parking lot behind the experimenter, and
told that there was a blue building nearby. When this was confirmed, the
subject went on to describe a white footpath through grass and entry into
a depressed area. The subject then asked if the area was a fountain,
which was confirmed. This latter performance is indicative of the most
successful perceptions that we have seen from this subject.
We stress again that this particular series, involving as it
does mid-experiment questioning and feedback, is to be considered a
training series to provide subject and experimenter alike means whereby
various aspects of the phenomena may be examined in detail.
sufficient descriptive elements were given before feedback to indicate
unambiguously a functioning ability. For a summary of pre-feedback
identifications, see Table 1. Since these experiments were carried out
with monitoring of physiological correlates, it was established that
such monitoring is not intrusive.
Nevertheless,
r
Real-time observation of the remote site under conditions of
real-time subject interrogation leads to the following best-effort
qualitative interpretation: Remote viewing generally does not provide
an integrated visual impression of an entire scene in the sense of direct
visual observation. Rather, the subject provides an overall impressionistic
gestalt together with individual salient elements, a response similar to
that obtained under conditions of tachistoscopic viewing. Remote viewing
is, however, generally (for experienced subjects) at a level sufficient
to permit discrimination among known alternatives on the part of an analyst.
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TABLE 1
SUMMARY OF REMOTE VIEWING EXPERIMENTS
WITH MID-EXPERIMENT QUESTIONING AND FEEDBACK
Target Location
Subject Description Before
Any Feedback Given
1. Embankment with bridge and stream
2. Iridescent purple flower bed
surrounded by bright green
hedge
Hill with vegetation at top only
Iridescent blues and greens, like
feathers.
3. 15 foot tall cylindrical wooden
kiosk with a brown metal roof
Grey tower with a brown roof
4. Zigzag water channel with concrete
sides
Strong zigzag shape
5. Large oak tree next to brick
enclosure
6. 100 foot wooden radar tower
7. Blue building and circular
fountain
Large chestnut tree and non-
functional brick wall.
Stone wall taller than experimenter
Blue building and circular fountain
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(b) Variable Feedback Study
In this second series of eight experiments, the variable manip-
ulated was the type of feedback that was given to the subject. The
feedback covered the range (a) immediate feedback via walkie-talkie as
before, (b) subject taken to the remote site after the experiment, (c)
no feedback given whatsoever.
In this latter case the subject was not
even told whether or not she was correct.
One aspect of the examination of the effect of feedback was to test
a hypothesis proposed by Dr. Gerald Feinberg who had witnessed some of
our early remote viewing experiments. A paper of his entitled, "Precognition --
Remembrance of Things Future", is included as Appendix A. His theory,
briefly stated, proposed that since the subject eventually gets to
perceive directly the target location with this normal senses, he might
in principle gain access to that information by reading his own mind
precognitively. The physical basis for this would be the electromagnetic
advanced potential wave carrying his future memory backward in time, thus
allowing it to be "remembered" before it took place. Although this
summary does not do justice to the theory, it is clear that the way to
test such a theory is to withhold data entirely from the subject as to
the nature of the target location.
With the two goals of testing the Feinberg hypothesis and measuring
the overall effects of feedback, we arranged that walkie-talkie feedback,
delayed (post-experiment) feedback and no-feedback experiments were ran-
domly intermixed. The protocol for all experiments involved one of the
experimenters leaving the subject with the other experimenter in the
SRI laboratory.
The traveling experimenter would be allowed fifteen
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minutes to arrive at his target location. He would then pay close attention
to his surroundings for ten minutes, after which he would return to SRI.
In the first five experiments, H. P. was the outbound experimenter, in the
last three experiments the experimenter roles were reversed with R.T. as
the outbound experimenter. The entire set of experiments were carried
out with Subject S-4.
1) The formal courtyard of SRI's International Building, about 20 x 20
meters surrounded on four sides by two-story concrete buildings, served
as the first target. In the center of the courtyard is a presently inactive
fountain and small trees planted in rows. During the experiment, the
outbound experimenter (H.P.) stood in that fountain. There was no mid-
test feedback, only post-experiment feedback.
The main descriptive elements of the subject pertained to a formal
garden with a little dry fountain in the middle. Other elements that
the subject described were a wrought iron fence, a trough leading to the
fountain, and the experimenter climbing steps. In addition to the above
correct descriptions, the subject also described a blue sign and railroad
tracks behind a fence. These latter elements are not present at the site.
The formal garden ambience is clearly a correct gestalt of
the place and would allow for easy discrimination from the other target
locations that follow. Except for the two incorrect data noted above,
the rest of the description was basically coherent and accurate.
2) The target location was a 30-foot long trailer used by SRI to
house its mobile radio transmitter. Puthoff walked back and forth outside
this stainless steel trailer for the ten minutes of the experiment.
In
our estimation the subject gave a nondefinitive set of impressions
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which were too general to be considered as specifically related to the
designated target. No feedback was given either during our following
the experiment.
3) A bicycle shed behind SRI's building 30, brightly lit by sun
shining on translucent white plastic walls, comprised the third target.
The outbound experimenter (H.P.) sat on a bicycle.
The subject's main description detailed how brilliantly the place
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was lit with no shade. The descriptions which followed dealt with con-
verging metal spokes. Her impression was that the metal spokes divided
the space of a circular area rimmed by some other material. She submitted
a drawing showing a stick figure representing the experimenter (H.P.)
standing on one of the spokes of an eight spoked wheel, about a man's
height in diameter. Since the content of her ten minute description dealt
with the elements brightness and metal spokes, the inaccuracy is to be
found in the scale of the description, and of course her omission of the
fact that the spoked wheel belonged to a bicycle. As in the previous
experiment, no feedback was provided to the subject either during or
following the experiment.
4) The fourth target was a wooden bulletin board kiosk, used earlier
as a target, about half a mile from SRI. It is a cylinder about fifteen
feet high with a conical roof having a three foot overhang. Mid-test
communication via walkie-talkie permitted questions to be asked by the
remote experimenter, and post-experiment feedback was also given.
As in experiment two, nothing in the subject's description would
allow one to identify the target. Feelings of anxiety were expressed
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along with a request to terminate that location as a target because of
"fear of a primal force and danger". A purely speculative point could
be made concerning the fact that while at the target location the experi-
menter spent his time reading an announcement of a meeting about Viet-
namese children mained during the war. A separate test series would be
required to test such a hypothesis.
5) The remote experimenter went to a rectangular concrete platform
containing three cylindrical fire hydrants.
He balanced himself as he
walked on the wooden 2x2 header bordering the concrete pad. Mid-test
communication and post-experiment feedback were given. The subject's
first impression prior to any communication was that the experimenter was
tightrope walking on a long narrow ledge out in the open, as, for example,
on the top of a wall. Following confirmation of the tightrope aspect,
the subject volunteered a description of metal tubes bisecting the masonry.
The correspondences to basic elements are manifold, including
description of experimenter activity, and there are no incorrect data.
In our estimation the essentially null mid-experiment feedback could not
in this case have provided the data obtained by the subject.
6) The target site in this experiment was a children's playground
about 4 miles from SRI.
The outbound experimenter, R. T. in this case,
spent the ten minute experimental period riding on a small merry-go-round
in a sand box.
The subject describes R. T. as riding on something that leaves
a wake, although not necessarily in water, e.g., it could be in the air.
She sees sand or mud, and the "vehicle" he is riding on is described as
curved and looks like chrome (correct). He is also described as being in
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movement the whole time, happy, joyful, etc. She also claimed to see an
axle, but could not give any details.
Although the merry-go-round as a gestalt was not recognized,
the ambience of the place was well conveyed by the subject's descriptions.
There was feedback to the subject only the day following the experiment.
7) The seventh target was an auditorium at SRI with a flood-lit
stage and red carpets throughout. The outbound experimenter was R.T ..
The subject's description was of a patterned carpet in a large
well-lit room. The subject saw a scalloped design covering this interior
space, in reds and maroons, and submitted a drawing which matched well
the array of seat backs.
She correctly described the experimenter as
leaving the brightly lit area (stage) after five minutes and moving to a
second area in the room.
This was the first indoor target area we have used with this
subject.
We consider her description excellent both with regard to structure
and ambience, though again the significance was not cognized. Post-
experiment feedback was given.
8) A church in Palo Alto served as the final target in the series.
It is a tall, modern, very elegant building.
The subject's first comments are of a tall august lofty building
that must be a library or a church, very solemn. She describes a cross
or kite at the end of the solemn hall. The outside is correctly described
as gray masonry with cutouts for windows.
The remote experimenter (R.T.)
is correctly described as leaving the building by a concrete passageway.
We consider this to be the best match of the series with respect to
structure, ambience, and activity of remote experimenter. No feedback
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was given either during or following the experiment.
In this series of eight experiments, summarized in Table 2, three
feedback protocols were employed. They included the use of a walkie-
talkie communication during the experiment, feedback after the termina-
tion of the experiment, and no feedback at all.
Since mid-test communi-
cation was used in some of these experiments, this series was not intended
as a demonstration-of-ability test, but rather as a training series with
a secondary goal of determining whether feedback to the subject is a
necessary component of the remote viewing phenomenon.
The detailed tape recorded transcript of experiment number 8, the
church, is one of the more accurate and complete descriptions we have
ever obtained from a remote viewing experiment.
In this case the subject
was given no feedback whatsoever as to the nature of the target or the
correctness of her description.
We conclude from this experiment, and
supporting evidence from the spoked wheel drawing from experiment 2, that
a channel of significant capacity exists between a subject and a remote
location even in the absence of feedback.
Furthermore, from our analysis
of the data and conversations with the subject, it appears that the exis-
tence of mid-experiment communications is more of a disturbance than a
help to the subject in establishing rapport with the remote experimenter.
Finally, the roles of R.T. and H.P. as interrogator and outbound
experimenter were interchanged for some experiments with no observable
difference, indicating that the remote-viewing phenomenon is not strongly
personality dependent.
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TABLE 2
SUMMARY OF VARIABLE FEEDBACK EXPERIMENTS
Remote Site
Type of
Feedback
Evaluation
1. SRI landscaped court
yard
Post-exp.
Described correctly as a
formal garden with dry
fountain
2. Radio trailer
None
No relation to target
3. Bicycle shed
None
Correctly described bright
area and drew wheel with
metal spokes; size perspective
lacking
4. Wooden Kiosk
mid-test
No relation to target (see
text)
5. Concrete platform
mid-test
Accurately described target
and experimenter's activity
6. Merry-go-round
post-exp.
(1 day)
Had experimenter in moving
vehicle which couldn't be
identified
7. Auditorium
post-exp.
Correctly described large
indoor area, brightly lit,
with red rug
8. Church
None
Tall solemn, august building,
church or library
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(c) Technology Series
In this section we describe a series of experiments designed to
measure the approximate resolution capability of the remote viewing
phenomenon. We have established in other work that a high data rate
channel exists between a remote viewing subject and a distant site.
In this work we investigate the amount of specific detail that a subject
is able to obtain concerning a remote and unfamiliar scene.
Just prior to these experiments we had carried out experiments with
subjects S-3 and S-4 to measure the physiological correlates of remote
viewing and to test feedback hypotheses. One of the observations that
we made at the conclusion of that work was that the quality, accuracy, and
coherence of the descriptions provided by both these subjects appeared
to be improving. We therefore asked them to participate in this series
of technology experiments in which they would attempt to describe
laboratory equipment of the type with which they may not be familiar.
As is now standard in our protocol, they were asked simply to describe
what they saw rather than name the object. There were four experiments
in this series, and the subjects were successful in obtaining significant
information in all cases.
In the first three experiments one experimenter left the subject
with a second experimenter blind to the target and by random protocol
selected a piece of apparatus with which to interact, located in a part
of SRI where the subject had not been previously. The experimenter then
used the equipment in the appropriate manner for ten minutes, after which
he returned to the laboratory. The subject was asked both to describe the
apparatus and to submit drawings.
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big box painted matt black in the center of a large room. The front of
the box was said to have a glass porthole like a washing machine with
blue light coming out of it. She described the experimenter as looking
at that light and using switches located under the porthole to do something
with the machine.
The description was sufficiently accurate that a technically-
oriented analyst might reasonably be expected to identify the target from
among a restricted range of possibilities. As is often observed, the
basic elements are described correctly while the analytical significance
is not cognized.
3) Target Number Three consisted of a drill press in a machine shop.
The target was a seven-foot-high, belt-driven drill press, which was used
by the outbound experimenter (R.T.) to drill holes in a piece of wood for
the ten-minute experimental period.
The subject described the object as being a man-sized machine
with wheels, gears, and some sort of conveyer belt. She drew a picture
of a belt operating between a pair of pulleys. She also described an
"anchor or umbrella" which she drew as a hub with four spokes, at the
end of each of which was a knob.
This resembles accurately the handle
which is used to raise and lower the drill. She also drew a vertically-
oriented graph, which is in fact on the front of the machine to indicate
depth of drill motion. The three drawings together with her verbal
description contain many elements that in our estimation would allow an
analyst to assess correctly the nature of the machine, given a restricted
class of possibilities.
These three targets were described by Subject S-4. Her only input
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information was that the experimenters would make use of some laboratory
equipment at SRI. It is clear that the three descriptions are differentiated
from each other, and that varying amounts of technically correct information
was obtained and recorded by the subject.
4) An abacus in a day/date/clock pedestal served as target number 4.
The target is shown in Figure 1. The target object for this experiment
was purchased on the day of the experiment in New York City for the purpose
of measuring the resolution of Subject S-3 in the remote viewing situation.
After the abacus was purchased, the subject was called and asked to take
part in a remote viewing experiment in our hotel room.
Unlike the usual protocol, in this experiment both experimenters
knew the description of the target object. We therefore had pre-recorded
the entire experimental preamble for the subject which had been carefully
checked in advance for unintentional verbal cueing.
Pre-recorded Preamble:
"Hal and I have brought a present for you. We wandered around
New York this morning and we bought an object. This object is of the type
that one interacts with, and Hal will use it for its normal purpose. Today
is Friday, September 27, 1974. As in all our remote viewing experiments,
we'd like to ask you to describe the object as you see it rather than
attempting to give the object a name."
Shortly after the subject entered the hotel room, one experimenter
(H.P.) took a large locked suitcase containing the target into the wash
room. He locked the door and removed the abacus from the suitcase. He
then quietly moved the wooden balls back and forth on their wires. We
had verified in setting up the experiment that this action was inaudible.
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The instruction tape was played to the subject by the other
experimenter (R.T.), and all subsequent interactions between himself and
the subject were recorded.
The subject produced within one minute an outline drawing
(Figure 2(I}) which he said was "it", although he didn't know what "it"
was. (The large purplish-silver object corresponds well with the interior
of the suitcase. )
...
The experimenter then asked the subject for more detail. A second
drawing (Figure 2(II)) was produced by the subject who described the object
as a "game box with little balls". He felt that that was all he could do
and handed in his second drawing. We then terminated the experiment
and showed him the target object. The entire experiment took place in
approximately five minutes total time.
Considering the high strangeness of the target object, and the
essentially total lack of restriction on the possibilities at the outset
as far as the subject was concerned, it appears that the correlation of the
subject's drawings and description with the target constitute a highly
significant result.
The results of the four-experiment technology series are summarized
in Table 3.
These four experiments clearly indicate that the remote
viewing channel can be used to obtain information about mechanical and
technical apparatus, in addition to the geographical and architectural
information which had been obtained in our experiments previously. In
these present experiments the subjects were not technically oriented
as to the possible types of targets that might be encountered. We do
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compass
dial
polished
purplish-silver?
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Figure 2. Subject responses (I)
and (II) to abacus/clock target
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Table. 3
SUMMARY OF REMOTE VIEWING TECHNOLOGY SERIES
Target
Subject Responses
1. Link Trainer flight simulator
Experimenter crowded into very small
space. Gray diffuse light. Experimenter
described as doing something with
both hands.
2. 23" Video Monitor with keyboard
Big black box in center of room.
Glass porthole with blue light. Switches
underneath porthole.
3. Drill press
Man-size machine with belt and pulley.
Spoked handle, vertical graph.
4. Abacus
Game box with balls. Drew six tracks
with balls in them and a circular
pattern below.
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not at this time know whether their ignorance of the possible target pool
is a help or a hindrance to their descriptions.
We plan to continue working with this type of target material to gain
further information as to the resolution capability of various subjects
in this perceptual area.
(d) Project Atlas Remote Viewing
A second remote-viewing experiment has been carried out on a client-
designated target of interest, a European R&D test facility.
The subject
for this experiment (S-3) was given map coordinates in degrees and minutes
and told only that the target was a technical facility. The subject's
response follows. A map accompanying the description is shown in Figure 3.
"First view taken at 11.00 a.m., EST (27 Aug 74)
The given coordinates gave a view of a rather flat environment
composed of what looked like sand dunes covered intermittently
with a scrubby grass.
The wind was blowing, and the view was
at night (approx. 12 hours difference).
The view was hovering over a road running NNW, and there could
be seen a fence to the right, and beyond that a series of rec-
tangular buildings in rows.
There appeared to be a network of
roads and lots of wire fences. A strange orange circular plat-
form could be seen, but not identified as to purpose. There
appeared to be tall towers in the distance, and around one
tower-like structure there were a lot of lights and activity.
Second view taken at 12.25 a.m., EST (28 Aug 74).
Again, the wind was blowing.
The sun was reflecting off the
ground, and it seemed dusty.
There appeared to be huge fenced
perimeters (steel fencing?).
There are hills or mountains to
the south, and also some high-power voltage lines. There is
a marsh (?) to the NNW.
Comment: Tiredness at the second viewing seemed to inhibit
mobility in the view. Also, due to the complexity of the structures
at the site, it is difficult to progress without some form of
feedback. It is possible that the coordinates suffice to locate
tThe first experiment was carried out with Subject S-1.
22
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:
:
:
1

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Map one (night view )
sucrier or
Marsh
N
Towers
light tower?
(dark now)
Rectangular
Buildings
Somating
Hill
dad end
aseriesla
pipes
Fena
Roads
Start
lights F
orange
platform
3
' Some trees
Houses.
2
1
.
Figure 3.
Drawing of Project Atlas
site submitted by Subject S-3
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has a
tower
also
thisone
lighted.
water
Channel
0
(approx 1 mile)
This looks
like a
refinery (factory)
0

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the perception at the general site, but that preciseness as to
artificial structures, especially in a complicated area, will
have to have some additional orientation sequence.
MAP 1 follows."
***
Evaluation of the data by the client is underway.
B.
Basic Research
In addition to the testing of individuals under conditions which
yield data indicating the feasibility of the application of paranormal
abilities to operational needs, fifty percent of the effort is devoted
to identification of measurable characteristics possessed by gifted
individuals, identification of neurophysiological correlates which relate
to paranormal activities, and identification of the nature of paranormal
phenomena.
1.
Criteria for the Determination of Gifted Individuals
(a) Remote Viewing of Natural Targets
Data continues to be taken on the remote viewing phenomena.
As this report goes to press, Subjects 4 and 6 have completed the required
series of nine sites, and the results will be judged and included in the
following report.
(b) Line Drawings
The line drawing series has yet to be completed on all subjects.
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:
.. ..... ..
4

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(c) Four-State Electronic Random Stimulus Generator
As discussed in detail in Progress Report #3, the determination
of the state of a four-state electronic random stimulus generator comprises
one of the three screening tests. The target is in the form of one of
four art slides chosen randomly (p = 1/4) by an electronic random gener-
ator. The generator does not indicate its choice until the subject
indicates his choice to the machine by pressing a button. As soon as
the subject indicates his choice, the target slide is illuminated to
provide visual feedback as to the correctness or incorrectness of his
choice. Until that time both subject and experimenter remain ignorant
of the machine's choice, so the experiment is of the double-blind type.
The machine choice, subject choice, cumulative trial number, and cumulative
hit number are recorded automatically on a printer.
For the purpose of screening, each subject is required to complete
100 25-trial runs (i.e., a total of 2500 trials). Since Progress Report
#3, an additional subject (S-4) has completed the required number of runs.
The machine screening data now stands as shown in Table 4.
Table 4
SCREENING DATA: FOUR-STATE ELECTRONIC RANDOM STIMULUS GENERATOR
Subject
Mean Score/100 Trials
Over 2500 Trials
Binomial
Probability
1
25.76
0.22
2
29.36
3 x 10-7
4
25.76
0.22
6
25.40
0.33
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2.
Identification of Measurable Characteristics Possessed by Gifted
Subjects
Medical and Psychological Evaluation
The medical and psychological evaluation of program participants is
continuing at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic under coordination of Dr.
Robert Armbruster, Director of the Department of Environmental Medicine.
The work is close to being completed, as indicated in Table 5 and 6.
The raw data for subjects 2, 3, and 6 are included in Appendices 2, 3,
and 4. Summarized data and interpretation will follow at program
completion.
26
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€
.
1
2
3
A
5
6
MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Table 5
L
Personnel #1 - 3, subjects; #4 - 6, learners/controls;
7, 8, experimenters.
1. General Physical Examination
Complete medical
Family history
2.
Laboratory Examinations
SMA-12 panel blood chemistries
Protein electrophoresis
Blood lipid profile
Urinalyses
Serology
Blood type and factor
Pulmonary function screening
Electrocardiogram 12-lead
3.
Neurological Examination
Comprehensive
Electroencephalogram, sleeping and routine
4.
Audiometric Examination
Comprehensive
Bekesy bone conduction
Speech discrimination
Impedance bridge test
5.
Opthalmologist Examination
Comprehensive
Card testing
Peripheral field test
Muscle test
Dilation funduscope
Indirect opthalmoscopic and fundus examination
6. Special Visual Examinations
Electroretinogram (Stanford Med.)
Dark adaptation test (Stanford Med.)
Visual contrast sensitivity (SRI)
7. EMI Brain Scan
Stanford Medical Center
SRI
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#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
27
Scheduled -
Neurological Examination
Audiometric Examination
Opthalmologist Examination
Special Visual Examinations
EMI Brain Scan
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learners
Personnel (subjects,
controls, experimenters)
General Physical Examination
Laboratory Examinations
+Completed
Palo Alto Medical Clinic
7

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Table 6
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION
Personnel #1 - 3, subjects;
#4 - 6 learners/controls; #7 - 8, experimenters.
1
2
3
$
5
6
1
8
9
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
SRI
Palo Alto Medical Clinic
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28
Personnel (subjects, learners,
controls, experimenters )
In-depth interview
W.A.I.S.
M.M.P.I.
Benton Visual Memory Test,
Wechsler Memory Scale
T.A.T. and Rorschach
Bender Gestalt Test
Luscher color test
Strong Aptitude/Values Test
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3.
Identification of Neurophysiological Correlates Which Relates
to Paranormal Activities
As part of the program to determine whether physiological correlates
can be used as an indicator of paranormal functioning, measurements are
obtained during a random selection of remote viewing experiments. In these
experiments the subject is connected to physiological recording instruments
and a four-channel polygraph.
Baseline and experimental measures of the
following observables are made:
1) Galvanic skin response (GSR) is
recorded using finger electrodes taped in place on second and fourth
fingers; 2) Blood volume/pulse height is recorded using a reflected-light
plethysmograph; 3) Unfiltered EEG is recorded from the right occipital
region; 4) Percent-time in alpha (8-12 Hz) is recorded on the fourth
channel. The alpha filter is a sharp cut-off digital type with essentially
zero-pass outside the prescribed bandpass limits.
During the course of an experiment the subject is asked to describe
his perceptions as to the nature of the remote target. His comments are
tape recorded and noted on the polygraph, along with the time.
A corre-
lation is then attempted between those descriptions which are found to
be uniquely correct and accurate, and the corresponding sections of
polygraph recording. Of the correlates being monitored, the one which seems
the most promising is the unfiltered EEG.
In our preliminary analysis
of the data it appears that there is often an overall reduction in Esu
power in the twenty-second period just before a subject renders a correct
description.
Subsequent to this observation, we have learned that Janet
Mitchell at the American Society for Psychical Research made very similar
detailed observations in her studies with Subject 3, also in remote viewing
experiments.
Considerable data remain to be analyzed, and completion is
targeted for the next reporting period.
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4.
Identification of the Nature of Paranormal Phenomena and Energy
(a)
23rd Annual International Conference -- Quantum Physics and
Parapsychology, Geneva, Switzerland, August 26-27, 1974
A major input to the researchers Puthoff and Targ during the reporting
period was afforded by attendance at a closed working conference sponsored
by Parapsychology Foundation, Inc., New York.
The conference was set up
to provide discussion on the identification of the nature of paranormal
phenomena and energy. The attendees and their affiliations are given
in Table 7,
along with the titles of the papers presented. A significant
outcome of the papers (and discussions which followed) was that data
concerning paranormal processes are not in violation of but rather are
commensurate with the basic principles of information theory and quantum
processes. It was considered that this conclusion could be drawn even
though the precise mechanisms still elude specification.
A conservative summary of the conceptualizations involved includes
the following:
(1) Researchers in the area of psychokinesis appear to be plagued
by results whose amplitudes have a signal-to-noise ratio near unity, re-
gardless of the process or mechanism involved. A number of observations
indicate that rather than simple perversity, what is being articulated
is a coherence phenomenon involving partial mobilitation of system noise,
and thus the magnitude constraint. That is, when a subject is asked to
interact with an experimental setup, one often first observes a reduction
in noise followed by a signal, as if the components of the noise spectrum
had been brought into phase coherence.
(Such an interpretation does not
30
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Table 7
Program, 23rd Annual International Conference -- Quantum Physics
and Parapsychology, Geneva, Switzerland, August 26-27, 1974
"Foundations of Paraphysical and Parapsychological Phenomena," Evan Harris
Walker, Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland, U.S.A.
"Precognition -- A Memory of Things Future?" Gerald Feinberg, Columbia
University, New York, U.S.A.
"Parapsychology, Quantum Logic and Information Theory," C.T.K. Chari, Madras
Christian College, Madras, India (read by Harold Puthoff).
"Quantum Paradoxes and Aristotle's Twofold Information Concept," O. Costa
de Beauregard, Institut Henri Poincare, Paris, France.
"Life and Quantum Physics," V.A. Firsoff, Royal Astronomical Society,
London, England.
"Physics, Entropy, and Psychokinesis," Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ,
Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California
U.S.A.
"Remote Viewing of Natural Targets," Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff,
Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California U.S.A.
"Parapsychology as an Analytico-Deductive Science," J.H.M. Whiteman,
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
"A Logically Consistent Model of a World with Psi Interaction, " Helmut
Schmidt, The Institute for Parapsychology, Durham, North Carolina,
U.S.A.
"Connections Between Events in the Context of the Combinatorial Model for
a Quantum Process," Ted Bastin, Cambridge Language Research Unit, Cambridge,
England.
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necessarily deny the possibility of large macroscopic effects. )
The subject thus appears to act as a local negentropic source.
If true, it may be more advantageous as a practical matter to work with
extremely noisy systems, rather than with highly constrained or organized
systems, in order to maximize possible effects due to the introduction
of order.
(2) Paranormal phenomena often appear to be more the result of
coincidence than the effect of a well-defined cause. Again, rather than
being the result of the perversity of nature, the observed goal-oriented
synchronicity may indicate that physical systems are more easily manipu-
lated at the global level of boundary conditions and constraints rather
.
than at the level of mechanism. Thus, the apparency that a giver. desired .
result can be explained away by a coincidental but "natural" event needs
to be explored more fully. Unexpected but natural causes may be the
effect of a series of causal links, outside the defined experimental
boundaries but representing an unforseen line of least resistance.
At
worst, such causal links may in fact be unobservable in the sense of the
hidden variables concept in quantum theory, but nevertheless, act as
instruments of the will.
(3) Paranormal phenomena appear to be intrinsically spontaneous;
i.e., it is difficult to evoke paranormal phenomena "on cue", with the
result that the phenomena are often considered to be not under good control,
and therefore not amenable to controlled experimentation.
This difficulty
is so pronounced that it is likely that we are observing some macroscopic
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analog of a quantum transition, an event similarly unpredictable in time
except as a probability function. If the analogy is correct, experimenta-
tion in this area simply needs to be treated in the manner of, for example,
weak photon experiments.
(4) Possibly related to item (3), the more closely one attempts
to observe paranormal phenomena, the less likely one is to see them, a
factor considered by many to support hypotheses of poor observation, fraud,
etc. To a sophisticated observer, however, simple dismissal does not
stand up under scrutiny. Invoking again the idea of a macroscopic analog
of a quantum transition, we may, as observers of delicate phenomena, be
witness to observer effects generally associated with the uncertainty
principle. Paradoxically, from the subject's viewpoint, the production
of the phenomena may also be an observer effect, perturbing as it does
the expected behavior of a system. In this model the scrutiny of para-
normal phenomena under laboratory conditions could in principle be considered
to be collective phenomena involving interfering observer effects in a
manner known to occur at the microscopic quantum level.
(5) Finally, it appears to be useful as a guiding principle to
recognize that all of the phenomena dealt with in macroscopic psycho-
energetics are totally permissible at the microscopic level within the
framework of physics as presently understood. It is simply that time
reversibility, tunneling through barriers, simultaneous multiple-state
occupation, etc., are generally unobservable as gross macroscopic phenomena
for statistical reasons only, as codified in the concept of increasing
disorder (entropy). Therefore, it may be appropriate to consider an
individual with paranormal abilities primarily as a source of ordering
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phenomena of sufficient magnitude so as to restructure the otherwise random
statistics of the macroscopic environment.
(b)
Precognition Model
As discussed in Section II A.1. (b), an hypothesis which required
consideration was the possibility that apparent paranormal perception was
instead precognition of post-experiment feedback, an hypothesis easier
to justify within accepted paradigms of electromagnetic theory. (See
Appendix I.) Therefore, the experiments of Section II A.1. (b) were carried
out with the testing of that hypothesis as a basic research objective.
By task, that experiment is part of Program II (Basic Research), but is
presented in Section II to preserve the chronology of experimentation.
As indicated in the summary, the results obtained in that series are deemed
sufficient to permit rejection of the precognition hypothesis.
(c) Information Theoretic Approach to the Use of Paranormal Channels
Independent of the mechanisms which may be involved in psychoenergetic
phenomena, observation of the phenomena implies the existence of information
channels in the information-theoretic sense. Since such channels are
amenable to analysis on the basis of information-theoretic techniques,
headway can be made in determining channel characteristics such as bit
rate, independent of a well-defined underlying theory (in the sense that
thermodynamic concepts can be applied to the analysis of systems independent
of underlying mechanisms). To indicate the utility of such an approach,
we consider the following substudy.
Experimentation in the areas of remote viewing and the determination
of the state of a four-state electronic random stimulus generator have
yielded results at levels of statistical significance p <10-6.
As good
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as such results are from the standpoint of statistical significance, the
information channel is imperfect, containing noise along with the signal.
When one considers how best to utilize 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."
1
We consider
here the implementation of such a technique as a means of utilizing a
noisy channel of the paranormal type as a practical communication system.
A prototype experiment employing such techniques has proven successful.
2
The approach presented here constitutes both a pedagogical vehicle for
the elucidation of the characteristics of the paranormal channel, and a
developmental program potentially resulting in a communication channel
of utilitarian value.
For our purposes we shall consider a message to consist of a sequence
of alphabet characters, each character represented by a 5-bit code as
shown in Table 7." Each binary digit to be sent through the channel is
to be encoded to combat channel noise, i.e., is to have added to it
additional redundancy bits.
Efficient coding requires a compromise between the desire to maximize
reliability and the desire to minimize redundancy.
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. 3
The adaptation of such a procedure to paranormal
communication channels was considered first by Taetzsch."
The sequential
"Taking into account the uneven distribution of letter frequencies in
English text, this code is chosen such that 0 and 1 have equal probability.
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Table 7
5-Bit Code for Alphanumeric Characters*
E
00000
Y
01000
T
11111
G, J
10111
N
00001
W
01001
R
11110
V
10110
I
00010
B
01010
0
11101
Ø
10101
A
00011
1
01011
S, X,Z
11100
2
10100
D
00100
3
01100
H
11011
4
10011
L
00101
5
01101
C, K, Q
11010
6
10010
F
00110
7
01110
P
11001
8
10001
U
00111
9
01111
M
11000
.
10000
*Alphabet characters listed in order of decreasing frequency
in English text. See, for example, A. Sinkov, Elementary
Cryptanalysis -- A Mathematical Approach, Random House (1968).
36
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H

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method gives a rule of procedure for making one of three possible decisions
following the receipt of each bit:
(1) accept "1" as the bit being trans-
lated, (2) reject "1" as the bit being transmitted (i.e., accept "0", or
(3) continue transmission of the bit under consideration.
The sequential
sampling procedure differs from fixed-length coding in that the number of
bits required per message bit is not fixed prior to transmission, but
depends on the results accumulated with each transmission.
The primary
advantage of the sequential sampling procedure as compared with other
methods is that, on the average, fewer bits per decision are required for
an equivalent degree of reliability.
Use of the sequential sampling procedure requires the specification
of four parameters, 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 possibilities (0,1). Therefore, from the standpoint of the receiver
the probability of correctly identifying the bit being transmitted is
p = 0.5 due to chance alone. An operative psi (paranormal) factor could
then be expected to alter the probability of correct identification to
a value p = 0.5 + v, where the parameter y satisfies 0 < |v|<0.5. (y may
be positive or negative depending on whether the paranormal channel results
in so-called psi-hitting or psi-missing.)
To indicate the design procedure, let us conservatively assume a base-
line psi parameter v = 0.1 and design a communication system on this basis.
The four parameters requiring specification in the sequential sampling pro-
cedure are:
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1)
q1, the acceptable level of fraction misses for receipt of a given.
binary digit, say "1". For V = 0.1, q = 1 - p = 0.4;
2)
q2, the unacceptable level of fraction misses for receipt of a
given binary digit, say "1", indicating receipt of the alternative
digit, say "0". For v = 0.1 and the symmetrical binary channel
under consideration, we take q = 1 - q, = 0.6;
3)
a, the probability of rejecting a correct identification (Type I
error). We shall take o = 0.01.
4)
, the probability of accepting an incorrect identification (Type II
error). We shall take $ = 0.01.
With the parameters thus specified, the sequential sampling procedure pro-
vides for construction of a decision graph as shown in Figure 4. ' A cumulative
record of receiver-generated responses to the target bit is compiled until
either the upper or lower limit line is reached, at which point a decision
is made to accept "o" or "1" as the bit being transmitted.
Channel reliability (probability of correctly determining message being
transmitted) as a function of operative psi parameter | is plotted in Figure 5.
As observed, the sequential sampling procedure can result in 90% or greater
reliability with psi parameters on the order of a few percent. Figure 6 in-
dicates the average number of trials required to come to a decision on a given
message bit, a number which falls off rapidly as a function of increasing psi
parameter v.
Implementation of the sequential sampling procedure requires the trans-
mission of a message coded in binary digits. Therefore, the target space
must consist of dichotomous elements, e.g, white and green cards as used in
the experiments by Ryzl. 2
In order to eliminate the deleterious aspects of repetition, and in order
to take advantage of the observed tendency to recognize basic target elements
even in the absence of comprehending the gestalt, the message information
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is coded in the form of projected slides viewed by the sender.
Each slide
represents one or the other group of dichotomized elements shown in Table
8 dependong on whether a "0" or "1" is to be sent. Based on receiver
description detail, up to five bits may be transmitted per slide in
accordance with the five dichotomies listed in Table 8.
In operation, a slide sequence corresponding to the target bit (0
or 1) is sent and the cumulative entries made as shown in Figure 4 (with
up to five entries per slide) until a decision is made to accept either
a "1" or "0" as the bit being transmitted. At a prearranged time the
next slide sequence is begun, etc., until the entire message has been
received.
From the results obtained in such an experiment, the channel bit
rate can be ascertained for the system configuration under consideration.
Furthermore, bit rates for other degrees of reliability (i.e., for other
q1, q2, a and B) can be estimated by construction of other decision curves
over the same data base, and thus provide a measure of the bit rate per
degree of reliability. The procedures described here thus constitute a
basis for specification of the characteristics of a paranormal channel
under well-defined conditions, and provide for a determination of the
feasibility of such a channel for communication purposes.
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Table 8
Dichotomized Target Slides
"0"
"1"
black and white
color
indoor
outdoor
objects
people
stillness
motion
artificial
natural
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Figure 4
SEQUENTIAL SAMPLING PROCEDURE
q1 = 0.4, q2 = 0.6, a = 0.01, 8 = 0.01
CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF MATCHES AGAINST
"1" TARGET MESSAGE SEQUENCE
50
40
30
DECISION 1
Accept "1" as
the Bit Being
Transmitted
DECISION 3
Continue
20
Transmission
10
DECISION 2
Accept "O" as
the Bit Being
Transmitted
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
NUMBER OF TRIALS
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Figure 5
OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC CURVE
FOR SEQUENTIAL SAMPLING PROCEDURE
q1 = 0.4, q2 = 0.6, a = 0.01, 0 = 0.01
1.0
RELIABILITY (probability of correctly
determining message being transmitted)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
+0.4 +0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4
v (psi parameter)
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Figure 6
AVERAGE SAMPLE NUMBER FOR
SEQUENTIAL SAMPLING PROCEDURE
q1 = 0.4, q2 = 0.6, a = 0.01, 8 = 0.01
140
AVERAGE NUMBER OF TRIALS
BEFORE A DECISION IS OBTAINED
120
100
80
.
60
40
20
0
+0.4
+0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
v (psi parameter) .
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REFERENCES
1. C. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication,
Univ. of Illinois Press, Urbana, I11. 1949.
2. M. Ryzl, "A Model of Parapsychological Communication," Jour. of
Parapsychology 30, No. 1, p. 18, March, 1966.
3. P. Hoel, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 2nd Edition, p. 27,
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1954.
4. R. Taetzsch, "Design of a Psi Communications System," Intern'1. Jour.
of Parapsychology 4, No. 1, p. 35, Winter, 1962.
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APPENDIX 1
CPYRGHT
PRECOGNITION - A MEMORY OF THINGS FUTURE ?
G. Feinberg
Department of Physics
Columbia University, New York, N. Y. 10027
To be presented at the Conference on Quantum Physics and Parapsychology
Geneva, Switzerland, August 26-27, 1974
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2.
CPYRGHT
theories is quite different than the above picture would suggest. Instead of forbidding
precognition from happening, these theories typically have sufficient symmetry to sug-
gest that phenomena akin to precognition should occur in a manner qualita .. vely,
although not necessarily quantitatively, similar to the occurrence of retrocognition.
Indeed, phenomena involving a reversed time order of cause and effect are generally
excluded from consideration on the ground that they have not been observed, rather
then because the theory forbids them. This exclusion itself introduces an element of
asymmetry into the physical theories, which some physicists have felt was improper,
or required further explanation.
2
Thus, if such phenomena indeed occur, no change
in the fundamental equations of physics would be needed to describe them. Only a
change in the solutions used. would be necessary.
The details of these aspects of physics relevent to this possibility will be
given below. However, it is worth noting first that the occurrence of physical effects
that propagate backwards in time may be related to precognition very indirectly. To
see this, we note that the information about the past that is available to any person
at a given time does not mainly consist of his sense data at that instant. Indeed, we
usually do not think of sense data as giving information about the past, although
strictly speaking it is the past we are observing, because of the finite time required
for any known type of signals to propagate across space. Instead, our information about
the past comes either from inferences we make from these observations, or through the
poorly understood process we call memory, through which we can bring into our pres-
ent awareness observations thar we, or others, have made in the past, and which have
somehow been stored in our brains.
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3.
CPYRGHT
A plausible analogy between information about the past and future would
suggest that if information about the future is available to a person at all, the main
source of it might well be observations that he or others will make in the future, and
which will then be stored in his brain. It might be expected that whatever the mecha-
nism of precognition, it could work more easily upon the future state of the percipi -
ents own brain than on the world outside. In other words, I am suggesting that pre-
cognition, if it exists, is basically a remembrance of things future, an analogy to
memory, rather than a perception of future events, an analogy to sense perceptions
of the very recent past. This suggestion has at least the merit of being fairly easy to
test through simple experiments, or perhaps even through a careful literature search.
I shall spell out below some of the simple consequences of this model for precogni-
tion, and how to test it. If it is correct, it would not directly indicate the physical
mechanism for precognition, any more than the existence of memory indicates its
physical mechanism. However, if it does turn out that memory can operate into the
future as well as into the past, it would suggest that the symmetry of physical laws
mentioned above is involved, and that physicists have been premature in discarding
those solutions to their equations that describe reversed time order of cause and
effect.
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CPYRGHT
H. Time Symmetry of the Equations of Physics
The equations that describe the evolution in time of physical phenomena
have a rather simple form according to relativity theory. A typical example, which
illustrates the main points, is the wave equation in one space dimension, whose form
is .:
2
ax
Q
2
-
C
00
2
= p(x, +)
(1)
where c is the velocity at which the waves move through space. In this equation,
Ø represents the amplitude of some wave phenomenon, and p a material source for
the wave. For instance, Ø might represent an electric field strength, and p the
distribution of charge or current that produces the field. In a physical application of
.. this equation, we would take p to be a prescribed function of space and time, and
use the equation to calculate Ø for all values of x and t . The values obtained
for Ø will depend on the value of p , but in a rather complex way. However, gen-
erally speaking, a change in p at one point in space and time, will lead to a change
in Ø at many points in space and time, in a way prescribed by the equation. A human
being, or an instrument, sensitive to the value of Ø in some region of space-time will
therefore receive different impulses depending on the value of p in other regions of
space-time, and hence will know something about what is happening in those other
regions. Clearly, the relation between p and Ø is a critical factor in determining
what regions of space-time are accessible to a particular observer through measurement
or sensing of the value of Ø at his location.
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CPYRGHT
5.
Because equation (1) is a second order partial differential equation in the
time, it has in general two sets of solutions. The particular form of equation (1) is
such that one set can be obtained from the other set by the change of + into -t ,
in both Ø and in p . We can study the character of these solutions by considering
the simple case in which p is a transient disturbance, such as a light bulb that is
turned on and off in a short period of time, and is limited to a small region of space.
We shall call the point at which p is localized x, to . The solutions for this case
can then be described as follows. One solution, called retarded, has Ø = 0 for all
times earlier than to , everywhere in space. For times after + ,
Ø is non-zero
at the points
x
= x t ct . This corresponds to the generation of two pulses
of radiation, each travelling outward from the source point at velocity c . An ob-
server at a distance d from the point
x
would detect this radiation at a time t ,
later than t by d/c , the time taken for the radiation to travel the distance d .
This retarded solution is the one generally chosen to represent the physical phenomena
described by the wave equation.
The other solution, obtained from the retarded solution by letting t + -t ,
is known as the advanced solution. It has the property that Ø = 0 for t later than
+
, everywhere in space. For t earlier than t , 0 is non-zero at the points
O
xfx # ct . This solution may be interpreted either as two pulses of radiation
travelling outwards from the source, but backwards in time, or as two pulses coming
from spatial infinity, but forwards in time, to meet at the source at t . With either
interpretation of the advanced solution, there is associated with the disturbance at
, effects at times earlier than to , rather than later than t , as for the retarded
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6.
CPYRGHT
solution. An observer at a distance d from the point x would detect the radiation
corresponding to the advanced solution at a time t, earlier than t by d/c . In
the case of an electromagnetic wave, travelling at the speed of light, this time is
usually very short. When d corresponds to a distance of a few meters, d/c is about
1/100 of a microsecond, so that the advanced notice of a disturbance available in
this way would not be very useful. If one considers waves propagating more slowly,
such as sound waves, the advanced notice would be somewhat longer, but still too
short to be directly useful for precognition. However, indirect effects of advanced
waves are more promising, and will be discussed below.
Whatever use we could make of advanced waves, we must first ask whether they
actually occur in the world, as against occurring as mathematical solutions to equa-
tions. The general solution to equation (1) is a linear combination of the retarded
and advanced solutions, with unknown coefficients. As mentioned above, physicists
have usually, although not always,~ supposed that the coefficient of the advanced
solution is zero, and only the retarded one is present. The reason for this is that ad-
vanced effects do not appear to occur, at least within some range of accuracy. The
evidence for this is simple. If there were advanced effects comparable in size to re-
tarded ones, many bizarre astronomical phenomena would be observed. For example,
two images would be seen of a planet, or other astronomical objects, displaced by
the distance that the object moves in twice the time it takes light to go from the ob-
ject to earth. For the planet Mars, these images would be displaced by more than
the planets apparent diameter, and would have been easily detected. Another exam-
ple is that phenomena that occur at a well defined time at the place of origin, such
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7.
CPYRGHT
as eruption of a solar prominence , would appear to occur twice in the same spot,
once corresponding to the arrival of the advanced wave, and then later corresponding
to the arrival of the retarded wave. Since these phenomena have not been reported by
astronomers, we may conclude that advanced waves are not as strongly produced as
retarded waves.
However, this does not imply that they are not produced at all. Conceivably,
the ratio of strength of advanced and retarded waves is quite small, but not zero.
This would not necessarily make the advanced waves useless for precognition, but
would rather imply that precognition would not be as effective as ordinary percep-
tion, or as memory of the past, a conclusion for which there is ample evidence. Ex-
periments to detect a relatively small amount of advanced light wave are not hard
to imagine, and I have suggested some, that may soon be carried out by Prof. Riley
Newman of the University of California. In the simplest such experiment, a light
source is turned on at a time that is very sharply defined, say to within 10
within 10-9 secon
A detector is placed at a distance of 10 meters from the source. The detector will
ordinarily indicate the presence of the retarded wave after about 3x 10-8
seconds
have passed, corresponding to the transit time of the light over the 10 meters. If
an advanced wave is also present, the detector would react to it at a time 3x 10-0
seconds before the light is turned on, and this time is large enough that the ad-
vanced and retarded signals are easily distinguished. The consequence of not turn-
ing on the light after the advanced signal is detected is left to the reader to con-
sider. Professor Newman believes that an advanced wave of intensity as little as
one part in 10
19
of the retarded wave could be detect
I in this way , so we should
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8.
CPYRGHT
soon know if advanced electromagnetic waves occur. Advanced solutions for other
kinds of wave motion, such as sound can be treated by similar mathematics. How-
ever, since these motions generally involve a real medium through which the wave
moves, such as the atmosphere, it is unclear whether the interpretation would be the
same. No experimental evidence about such advanced solutions is known to me.
.
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9.
CPYRGHT
III. A Model for Precognition
In the following, I shall outline a very speculative model for precognition
that relies on advanced waves. The model is qualitative rather than quantitative,
because it involves workings of the brain, where detailed physical information is
unavailable. Yet I believe that model is sufficiently precise that it can easily be
tested, providing that precognition can be demonstrated at all.
We assume that when some sensory input reaches the brain, an oscillatory
variation of some internal patterns in the brain occurs, which is specific to the input.
This oscillation persists for some period of time in at least part of the brain. When
the person involved remembers the stimulus, what has happened is that the stored
oscillatory pattern has influenced another part of the brain, bringing the memory
into consciousness, or at least into something accessible to consciousness. Those
familiar with the literature on memory will recognize that I have given a very sketchy
description of one model for short term memory. There is some indication that long
term memory involves rather different mechanisms.
Suppose now that the oscillatory pattern set up by an external stimulus has
not only a retarded part, which propagates forward in time, but also an advanced
part, propagating backwards in time. Although we do not know what equations this
pattern would satisfy, it is not implausible that these equations are sufficiently
similar to Eq. (1) that both types of solution exist. As in the case of light waves,
the relative amounts of the two that are involved in an actual situation is not de-
termined by the equation, and must be decided by experiment. I shall assume that
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10.
CPYRGHT
the advanced part is non-zero, but presumably smaller than the retarded part, since
precognition in practice is not a very effective way of getting information. Since
the retarded part of the oscillation, which in this model allows memory of the past
to occur, is known to persist for at least some time, without great attenuation, it is
possible but not certain, that the advanced oscillation would be able to propagate
for a corresponding time into the past before the stimulus occurs. So at least over
this period of time, by a process similar to memory of the past, it could be possible
for the advanced pattern to be brought into consciousness, so that the person involved
would "remember" the future stimulus connected with the advanced pattern.
This in brief outline is the model for precognition that I wish to consider.
There are several qualitative features of this model that can be simply recognized.
1). One can only "remember" things that one will eventually sense, or learn about
through someone else's report. At least this is the case if one disregards the possibil-
ity of extrasensory information to be obtained at a later time and rememberd by this
mechanism at an earlier time. While this neglect may not be entirely justified, it
would seem a useful working hypothesis, since, in any event, the amount of informa-
tion obtained by extrasensory means is small compared to the other sources I am con-
sidering.
2). If the retarded oscillatory pattern is correlated with short term memory, and if
the latter has a relatively short term of operation, then we will expect that the ad-
vanced pattern would also have a similarly short range into the past. This would imply
that precognition would be effective only for events in the not very distant future,
perhaps on the scale of hours. Within this time period, precognition would be expected
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CPYRGHT
5). If we omit from consideration the precognitive "chains" discussed under 2) above,
it should not be possible for anyone to precognize about any event that will occur
after that persons death, since no sensory input about that event could ever reach his
brain. This conclusion is independent of the length of time that the advanced pattern
can propagate into the past. It is consistent with one old legend to the effect that
prophets cannot foretell their own death, but inconsistent with other legends. Of
course, even if it is true that precognition cannot be used to foresee ones own death,
other explanations are available to account for this, and it is therefore not a pre-
diction very specific to the present model.
These properties that precognition should satisfy according to this model
suggest a number of experimental tests of the validity of the model. Several of these
tests will be discussed in the next section.
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13.
CPYRGHT
IV. Tests of the Future Memory Model of Precognition
In order for a model or explanation of any phenomena to have any value, it
must be possible to confront it with experimental tests, or to make new observations
of the phenomena about which the model makes specific predictions. This is not
hard to do for the "future memory" model of precognition, provided always that we
have fairly definite evidence that precognition is occurring in a specific instance.
The simplest aspect of the model to test is probably the prediction that a
percipient can precognize only those things he will eventually know through ordinary
perception. In order to test this prediction, one might first make a search of the
literature on precognition to see whether accurate predictions have been made under
conditions that preclude the obtaining of the information by the percipient at anytime
after the prediction was made. If this turns out to be the case, it would be evidence
against the model.
A more convincing test would involve an experiment designed for the purpose.
The simplest version of this might be a precognition test in which the results are not
ever revealed to the subject. A slightly more sophisticated version would involve a
randomized decision pattern for revealing the data a fixed time after the trial. A
comparison of the rate of success when the data are revealed as against those in which
they are not could indicate the validity or invalidity of the model even if the level
of precognition was low.
A possible objection to such experiments is that it is difficult to ensure that
the object will never have access to the data at any future time. However, if point
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14.
CPYRGHT
2) above is correct, information obtained long after the trial has taken place would
be useless, because of the decay of the advanced pattern at times long before it is
established. A test of this point can also be carried out along the lines described
above, if it is found that the basic effect exists. To do this, it would be necessary to
give information about the data to the percipient at various time intervals after the
trial, and investigate how the success rate of precognition would vary with this time
delay. If the model is correct, there should be a dependence on time delay that is
similar to the dependence of short term memory on the time lapse after the initiating
stimulus. I am assuming here that there is no precognitive equivalent for long term
memory, as the latter appears to involve a kind of static chemical storage, rather than
0
an oscillating pattern in the brain. If this assumption were wrong, the particular test
just described would give negative results, and precognition would be possible of any
event up to the death of the percipient. This possibility, while it should be kept in
mind, seems less likely to me.
Another testable aspect of the model is that the success rate of precognition
should not depend on the spatial location, or any other physical attributes of the
event being precognized. This could be tested by varying such attributes of the tar-
get, but keeping the information about it eventually furnished to the percipient, and
the time advance, constant. Under these conditions the success rate would not be ex-
pected to vary, even if the target is at astronomical distances, or is extremely well
shielded. These properties are in qualitative agreement with some anecdoted reports
of precognition.
Finally, if the model is correct, we would expect precognitive ability to vary
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15.
CPYRGHT
greatly from person to person, just as short term memory does. In fact, it is possible
that the same people that have good short term memories would also be good at pre-
cognition, although that connection is not definite. Nevertheless, it would be worth
testing people with good memories for precognitive abilities. Furthermore, it should
be possible to improve precognitive ability by using the techniques that are used to
improve short term memory. Probably, these techniques would improve the accessibil-
ity of the advanced pattern to the conscious mind, rather than affecting the absolute
amount of advanced pattern generated by the event. The latter amount is probably
determined by the basic laws by which the brain operates, and not subject to altera-
tion by training.
I believe that if a series of experiments of the type described is carried out
with a subject who has real precognitive ability, it would definitely decide whether
the memory model of precognition is valid. Perhaps what is even more important,
such experiments would furnish much new information about precognition, which would
be useful in any case, even if the model should prove wrong.
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16.
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CPYRGHT
V. Conclusions and Discussion
Since I believe in a materialist description of natural phenomena, including
those involving human beings, I believe that if advanced effects occur in the human
brain, they must occur elsewhere in the world, since brains are made of the same kind
of matter as other objects are. It therefore appears plausible to me that if the future
memory model of precognition is valid, that it should also be possible to detect ad-
vanced effects outside of the human brain, perhaps in the type of experiment that Dr.
Newman plans to carry out. Conversely, if his experiments gave a positive result,
showing that advanced effects do occur, it would lead more credence to the idea that
they are what is involved in precognition. Even if the advanced effects are very
small compared with the retarded ones, this would not rule out their playing a role in
brain processes, provided that they are larger than the "noise" background. It would
be interesting to estimate how small the ratio of advanced to retarded effects could
be in the brain, and still have the advanced effects be useful; but I have not tried to
do this.
Physicists have sometimes raised the objection that any occurrence of ad-
vanced effects in nature would lead to unavoidable paradoxes, and causal anomalies.
Careful analysis of this question has not substantiated this claim,
2
but the question
is not completely closed. However, it should be recognized that if such problems
exist, they would also occur just from the existence of precognition, whatever the
physical interpretation of the phenomenon. The analyses that have been carried out
of possible causal anomalies due to advanced effects could usefully be applied to the
precognition directly, rather than to its physical interpretation. I believe that the
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CPYRGHT
limited accuracy of precognition, and especially the impossibility of knowing whether
a given precognition will turn out to be accurate until after the event has occurred,
eliminate the possibility of such causal anomalies, but it would be worthwhile to carry
the analysis through.
Finally, it would be interesting to follow up on a suggestion that is sometimes
made, and investigate the extent to which all valid reports of extrasensory perception
can be explained in terms of ordinary perception, combined with precognition. My
impression is that many such reports can be so explained, but I do not know if they
all can be. If it were possible to do so, this would mark a substantial advance in our
understanding of these phenomena, and in linking them to other aspects of the physical
world that we know better.
---..
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CPYRGHT
References
See for example, J. B. Rhine, The Reach of the Mind , (William Sloane
Associates, New York, 1947).
For example, R. P. Feynman and J. A. Wheeler, Review of Modern Physics,
17, 157 (1945).
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APPENDIX 2
Medical Evaluation (Raw Data)
Subject 2
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SGFOIA3
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APPENDIX 3
Medical Evaluation (Raw Data)
1
Subject 3
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APPENDIX 4
Medical Evaluation (Raw Data)
Subject 6
-
:
:
:
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