Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3 TAB Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3
Approved For Release 2000/08/de)-WiedavA\ds ssro0 1700360003-3 cnths; On the Strategic ’ Potential of ESP By Dr. Roger A. Beaumont I NTEREST IN the military potential. of ESP—extrasensory percep- tion—has grown in recent years. Some of it stems from the search for reliable and jamming-free modes of communication. A popu- lar wave of interest in ESP . stemmed from a boom in the occult and supernatural phenomena in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time when ESP research in Eastern Eu- .Tope and the Soviet Union also attracted popular attention. Claims of success in using ESP in military operations, however, appeared af-. ter the First World War’, In spite of all such assertions, a basic question remains unan- _ swered: does ESP actually work? While many have thought so—and think so—some scientists in the West have feared that the mounting fascination with ESP, in league with the resurgence in the occult. and mysticism, threatens science. itself. Moreover, such nagging ‘doubt about psychic phenomena is Dr. Roger A. Beaumont is a profes- sor of history at Texas A&M Uni- versity and has authored more than 40 articles on military history and strategic studies, as well as three ‘not evident in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The Russians have long recognized that if ESP were an actual effect and could be harnessed, it would have great stra- tegic potential. Are such systems really possi- ble? Many have thought so for some time?. In this respect, it may be useful to look closely at the differences in approach in ESP re- search in the West, on the one hand, and in the Soviet block coun- tries on the other. In the latter, parapsychology is not considered to be a separate research disci- pline. Instead, articles on ‘‘bio- communications’ (telepathy) ap- pear in traditional scientific jour- nals, salted in among what Western scientists view as orthodox re- search. The attention of many in the West was aroused in the 1970s, as Soviet authorities brought a heavy hand down on news cover- _age of ESP research in Russia}, ‘Western Research In the West, psychic research has long been tainted by sensation- alism and some charlatanism. Since the late 19th century, many Approved For Releast?9600/08/08 ; -RDP96-00788 OOH HATSEFOd3E3 the mystical have SIGNAL, JANUARY, 1982 A
sought links with the supernatural through such means as Ouija boards and séances.’ The dramatic and the absurd overtones of the popular culture aspect of ESP has led even the more conservative ele- ments of the popular press to treat ESP as a novelty. Also confusing is the fact that the various types of apparent ESP—telekinesis (the projection of force), telepathy (mental transmission), clairvoy- ance (the sensing of remote images) and precognition (foreknowl- edge)—have been lumped together as related phenomena. Major cen-_ ters of ESP research in the West, at Utrecht, London and Duke Uni- versity, have come under suspicion from many scientists. As a result, -researchers, like J. B. Rhine, re-- cently deceased, have labored to prove an effect. which the Soviets accept and attempt to explain—and ‘control. While the enfolding of ‘‘biocom- munications” within their central- ized research system may reflect Soviet concern that ESP drifts too close to religion, their closing of public access to ESP research might be a parallel to what hap- pened in the United States and FROM We are advancing the state- of-the-art in MILSPEC switch mode power sup- plies with superior poe product features such & as high power density, modular construction, new operating efficiency for complete details. puLAR Powe Nausee i ith a. (an) ) Ef {| Aga PS lA XS) we! MILITARY SPECIFICATION _SWITCH MODE POWER SUPPLIES _ MODULAR POWER SYSTEMS INC. levels, low harmonic current distortion, redundant circuitry, and high MTBF. Cail us today Technology Leader In Britain during World War IJ after work on an atomic bomb began‘. When it was still visible, Russian research seemed to be trying to reconcile individual ESP experi- ence with transmission and recep- tion of low-peer low-frequency electromagnetic waves. similar to the kind used to transmit radio, television and radar signals®. Much of the work on ‘biocommunica- tions’ dealt with the electrical dynamics of organisms, even back in the 1950s, when, in the United States, the idea that animals and lants and individual cells could be influencéd by electromagnetic radi- ation other than heat was rejected in biological research. Soviet Research Since the 1930s, biologists and parapsychologists in the Soviet Union have traced out in ever greater detail a telepathic transmit- ter-receiver ESP model, based on the concept that people with strong abilities as either transmitters or receivers can communicate by sending basic symbols or sensa- tions (but not detailed or precise verbal thoughts or images) at great distance, thus, constituting a “‘cy- High Performance Switch Mode Power Supplies Modular Power Systems, inc. 8900 Shoal Creek Bivd. a zi re Austin, Texas 78758 Ph: (512) 452-8151 q For Release 2000/08/08 : ST Approved For Release 2000/08/08 JaN Autos/dddsR001700360003-3 ‘ berneti¢ system with all its proper- ties’’*—based on very-long-wave transmission. Nevertheless, the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GSE) of 1974 states flatly in the article on ‘“Parapsychology”’ that while ESP is a phenomenon, it is not related to a variant of long-wave electromag- netic transmission. Since the GSE is known to be a vehicle for official policy and is rather Orwellian in nature, the refutation, which con- trasts with much extant in Soviet ESP research, is interesting. While transmission of data over great distances by ESP was exam- ined in the West from the 1920s on, it was rejected at first, since it was in violation of scientific laws which were believed to govern radio transmission and which decreed that there was a falling-off of power relative to the square of the dis- tance between ‘transmitter and re- ceiver. Later, when unexpected Jong-range transmission of weak signals due to atmospheric effects was discovered, a theory of analo- gous enhancement and relay through psi-sensitive individuals of ESP “‘signals’* came to the fore,’ while other research pointed to the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the body®. Research into the biological ef- fects of electromagnetic'waves is, of course, not an exclusive pre- serve of Soviet science. It has been known for almost a century, for . example, that magnetic fields in- duce a sensation of light in the human eye, even in darkness’. In the late 1960s, a Russian-born American physicist noted magnetic resonance eifects in matter con- taining particles with gyromagnetic properties, observing that ‘tabsorp- tion of electromagnetic energy can ‘cause transitions from lower to higher energy Jevels with resulting absorption of radiation and re-ori- entation of the dipoles.’"!© Most recently, a British investigator re- ported a relationship between depth of hypnotic trance and the electrical resistance of the skin.!! While such evidence of overlap between parapsychology and biolo- gy, physics and chemistry falls short of the certainty needed for firm scientific conclusion, the un- certainty poses a problem for de- fense policy makers. It is especially frustrating, considering the history of ESP which is strewn with hoax- es and wishful thinking that even some ‘scientifically-trained para- psychologists have drifted into mis- representation and fudging, as des- perate searches for conclusive re- sults have led to a shaving of A-RDP96-00788RG0 | 70888000 Bubs. Discovery of such SIGNAL, JANUARY, 1982
Approved For Release ooovoeide) NK Gatlands6ser2001700360003-3 o “Perhaps ESP is a not-yet-understood sensitivity to subtle cues, or the brain - function, as a computer processing information subconsciously. Perhaps those who are most sensitive “print out” slightly before or in parallel with distant events, thus appearing to be clairvoyant, but having actually calcu- lated probabilities unconscious -unconsciously.” ly from data gathered along the way—also re Rt hoaxes further discredits a field of investigation under suspicion. As John Beloff, a parapsychologist, has noted, ESP research has **... suffered from its fatal attraction for persons of unbalanced mind who seek in it their personal salvation. Nevertheless, what is to be made ‘out of the evidence that suggests the possibility that there may be something more solid lying behind it?}5 That question makes govern- ‘ment funding of ESP-related re- search, at the worst, a ticking bomb and, at best, a quandary. — Sponsoring such seemingly wild- eyed studies could well explode back in the face of sponsoring agencies, policymakers or re- searchers—-but failure to follow leads might yield great advantages to those less skeptical. Perhaps ESP is a not-yet-under- stood sensitivity to subtle cues, or the brain function, as computer processing information subcon- sciously. Perhaps those who are most sensitive ‘‘print out’’ slightly before or in parallel with distant events, thus appearing to be clair- voyant, but having actually calcu- lated probabilities unconsciously from data gathered along the way— also unconsciously. Are such ran- dom coincidences noticed only un- - der stress, as psychiatrist Carl Jung suggested in his theory of ‘‘syn- chronicity’’? Or is there actually a lining up of electropotential forces in the brain at certain times, creat- ing a low-power long-wave trans- mitter-receiver system of the kind suggested by Kogan? Defense-related Research American defense analysts and policy makers seem to have been hedging their bets in this area for some time. Reports of U.S. de- fense-related ESP research have appeared fairly regularly in the public press over the last quarter of a century. In the 1950s, for exam- ple, news releases and popular fea- tures described the involvement of WestinghousAppabed the Army's Redstone Arsenal in - ESP research. Later, the names of thee Redadse!| 20AG0NS adGbAskRD RY the Rand Corporation and the Insti- tute for Defense Analyses cropped up occasionally. In the early 1960s, there were reports of telepathy be- tween the submarine USS NAUTI- LUS and a shore-based command post—which was denied forthwith by the Navy.'4 In 1973, stories ap- peared describing CIA-sponsored. probing of Soviet and Chinese se- cret installations by individuals with high psi ability.'5 By the mid- 1970s, Stanford Research Institute appeared to be carrying the ball.'6 From time to time, some indica- tions of interest on the part of NASA emerged to public view. Following a call for an experiment in the course of the moonlanding programs in the late 1960s,’” an astronaut, Captain Edgar Mitchell, conducted an experiment using star-cross-wave-square-circle psi’ cards developed at Duke Universi- ty. In six sessions, he “‘transmit- ted’? 25 card images at preset times, while ‘‘recipients’’ recorded their impressions. While the results exceeded statistical probability, they were not overwhelming.!® NASA was quick to disclaim offi- cial sponsorship. Other cases of NASA involve- ment included a communication project funded through Stanford Research Institute, which generat- ed hostile reaction in some scien- tific circles, and a ‘previewing’’ of Jupiter by a well-known psychic researcher.!9 Evidence of interest and re- search, however, does not neces- sarily mean serious acceptance or commitment to programs. James Dougherty pointed out how nations involved in disarmament talks may interject ‘‘jokers’’ or ‘‘riders’’ into otherwise serious and rational pro- posals.to make sure that their op- ponents will not accept them. Those thus maneuvered into the role of rejectors may then seem in the eyes of technically unaware publics to be the foes of peace. A corollary to this is the strategy of mounting shadow programs to and resources—into a dead-end, the essence of Soviet efforts in the field of ‘‘disinformation.”* If Soviet. . research in this area proved to be a : spoof, the diversion of money and people to ESP could lead to the overlooking of other develop- ments, as well as serving as a waste of effort. Such cautions do not erase the tantalizing advantages to be gained in harnessing ESP. Given that such phenomena are based on an ele- ment of reality, the strategic use of ESP raises a further series of ques- tions. Are the alignments of people or conditions only random or occa- sional? Is psi ability a by-product of surrounding electromagnetic ra- .diations, or of solar radiation or induced by terrestrial magnetism? Is it enhanceable through hypno- tism or drugs? Is there means for ‘testing for psi ability? Or for devel- oping it? Can it be jammed? Is the effect simply explainable in terms. of a variation of radio-communica- tions theory? Can ‘“‘information bits,’ or code messages really be transmitted by sending combina- tions of basic sensory images? Is foreknowledge and remote-sensing possible? Is it group enhanceable? ESP and C3 In a parallel vein, the mounting interest in C?-—command, control, communication—reflects concern about the complexities of war in ‘what National Security Advisor Breszinski called the ‘‘nucleotronic age.’’ The situation is made more: critical not only by a rising curve of innovation but also by anxiety about Russian developments in this area. Contradictions in their pub- ‘-lished material do not produce much agreement among Western analysts about where the Soviets are going, but their lines of thought and unorthodox military problem- solving techniques are unique and sometimes strange.2) - And so it is not clear at this point if both sides are really just playing with each other, or if there is some- thing really developing in the realm 01706368B0SBfoofing, deception and camouflage are normal strategies in the conduct of war—and peace. If PRS TERR TERT CT eee etevanes nm lum. on Peon en ee pea ete et eed tae ee One Leet eee ee ee EE RTE EGR ak TE IR ARATE IE PPI AO OIE I