fc
£
7;
£
i
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.
Identification of Measurable Characteristics
Possessed by Gifted
Sub j ects
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.
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Lout t.n t
Mi/! in.
V. j
L
f i 1
o° o° o° o° o° o°
o° o° 0° o° o° o°
Scheduled
O o
<3—Completed
Complete medical
Family history
Laboratory Examinations
SMA-12 panel blood chemistries
Protein electrophoresis
Blood lipid profile
‘ 1
: 2
0° 0° oo q q G°
o
o
0°
Urinalyses
Serology
Blood type
and
factor
Pulmonary function screening
Electrocardiogram 12-lead
3.
Neurological Examination
o
o
o
o
o
o
Q
©
©
0°
,3
o o
o
o
o
o
c>
O
o
o
Comprehensive
Electroencephalogram,
sleeping
4.
Audiometric Examination
Comprehensive
Bekesy bone
conduction
Speech discrimination
Impedance bridge
test
o
o
o
o
oo
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
-5
o
o
o
o
oo
o
o
o
o SI
-‘6
o
o
o°
o
o
o
o
o
G
o
o
routine
.
Opthalmologist Examination
Comprehensive
Card testing
Peripheral
field test
Muscle
test
Dilation funduscope
Indirect opthalmoscopic and fundus examination
.
Special Visual Examinations
Electroretinogram
(Stanford Med.)
Dark adaptation
test
(Stanford Med.)
Visual contrast sensitivity
(SRI)
7.
EMI Brain Scan
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U
Palo Alto Medical Clinic
Stanford Medical Center
O
SRI
o
o
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Table
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION
Personnel #1-3,
subjects;
rr4
-
learners/controls
;
#7
-
8,
experimenters.
%
'b
!>v
<
/^y
/
Cj Sy
S
XXvx
Jy
/ /
*o y ,*> y
y e
XX XX
//
<$• /
4 /jr
XXX <XVXXX/V
/// ////////
? XX
X X
X
rP X X X
„
xx
x x
s»*x
x /Xxy
. xx
<x x xx.x x xx
O
O
©
O
Q O G°
o
c
©° 0°
O
o
Sail
o o o®
--xO
©
©omo° o°
Q
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
O u
o
o
o°nH o°
o
o
OJVJ
-
Vxx
Palo Alto Medical Clinic
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•
Identification
of Neurophysiological
Correlates Which Relate^
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 ref lected-light
pleth^smograph;
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 Euw
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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•
Identification of
the Nature
of Paranormal Phenomena dnd 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
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Table
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 Puthof f )
.
"Quantum Paradoxes and Aristotle's Twofold Information Concept,"
0.
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 Puthof f
and Russell Targ,
Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park,
California
U.S.A.
"Remote Viewing of Natural Targets," Russell Targ and Harold Puthof f,
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.
It
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
give.', desired
l
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;
t
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,
ana
tnerefore 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.
(A)
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
ao
as
to restructure
the otherwise random
statistics
of
the macroscopic environment.
(b)
Precognition Model
As discussed
in Section
II A.l.(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.l.(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 psyclioenergetic
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 determine::!
of
the state
of
a four-state electronic random stimulus generator have
yielded results
at
levels
of
statistical significance p<10
.
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
o'f redundancy as
a means
of coding
a message
to combat
the
effects
of
a noisy channel.
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.^
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
.
x
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.^
The adaptac^on 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
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
11101
10101
A
00011
01011
s,x,'z
11100
10100
D
00100
01100
H
11011
10011
L
00101
01101
C,K,Q
11010
10010
F
00110
OHIO
P
11001
10001
U
00111
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)
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decisions
g
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 +
ip
,
where
the parameter
ip satisfies 0<
] ip
| < 0 . 5 .
(ip 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
4'^ = 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)
q^,tho acceptable
level
of fraction misses
for receipt
of
a given
binary digit,
say
"l"
.
For
i!r
=
0.1,
q
=
-
p = 0.4;
b
2)
q^,
the unacceptable
level
of fraction misses for receipt
of
a
given binary digit,
say
"l",
indicating receipt
of the alternative
digit,
say "o"
.
For
\!'
= 0.1 and
the
symmetrical binary
channel
under consideration,
we
take
q
=
- q, =0.6;
3)
a,
the probability
of rejecting a correct identification
(Type
I
error).
We shall take
cv = 0.01.
4)
0,
the probability
of accepting an incorrect identification
(Type
II
error).
We
shall
take
0 = 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
"0" or "l"
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
As observed,
the sequential sampling
procedure can result
in 90% or greater
reliability with psi parameters
on the
order of
a few percent.
Figure
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
\]t
.
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. ^
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
(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
q^,
q 2
»
cl and
8)
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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I
f
Approved For Release 2000/08/1 0
: CIA-RDP96-00787R0001 001 30001 -8
I
Table
Dichotomized Target Slides
"0"
It 1
lack and white
color
indoor
outdoor
objects
people
stillness
motion
artificial
natural
Approved For Release 2000/08/10
: CIA-RBB96-00787R000100130001-8
CUMULATIVE
NUMBER
OF
MATCHES
AGAINS
"1"
TARGET
MESSAGE
SEQUENCE
Approved For Release 2000/08/10
: CIA-RDP96-00787R000100130001-8
,
Figure
SEQUENTIAL SAMPLING PROCEDURE
qj
=
0.4,
q 2
=
0.6, a =
0.01, 0 =
0.01
' 60
NUMBER OF TRIALS
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APPENDIX
Medical Evaluation
(Raw Data)
Subject
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Medical
t’j? tHliDIX
Evaluation
(Raw Data)
Subject
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