or ne ap- 1x ter its m 10t —_ rApproved Forde leasei2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700690002-4 quisition and seemed determined to ban “claims of the paranormal.” The author states that blind faith in one’s own belicf leads to underestimating the quality of the proponent and the complexity. of the subject under discus- sion. This explains the unfair treatment of the French psychologist/statistician, Michel Gauquelin. Hoebens and other skeptics who supported the investigation of Gau- quelin feared that the Committee was a lost cause: All moderates would probably Icave and turn their backs on the crusaders. Fortunately, this year (1984) a “Reappraisal” took place through internal and external pressure. It seems to the author that they have learned their lesson from this affair. He praises the new evolution which aims at cooperation between skeptics and critical para- psychologists as allies in the fight against irrationalism. - D.D. 02441. Dumalin, Daniel. Spierlezen: “The show must goon...." Psi-Forum, 1984, 1(1), 25-29. 1 ref The human automatic reflexes are used in a number of mentalistic tricks and can give the layman the impres- sion of a paranormal feat. In a few recent TV programs this method was used by people who claimed to be psychics. In our home town (Ghent, Belgium), a man is still performing this act under the guise of telepathy. This article shows under what form and in what way human reflexes can be used to give people the impression that one is gifted with psychic abilities. - D.D. 02442.. Martens, Ronny. Randi’s Project Alpha. Psi- Forum, 1984, 2(1), 30-35. 2 ref The history of parapsychology is heavily marked by fraud and poorly controlled experiments. This article re- views an experiment by Randi (Project Alpha) to test cur- rent parapsychological research standards. Unfortunately, Randi’s experiment shows that things have not improved through the years. His two hypotheses: (1) that the availability of money does not necessarily improve research standards and (2) that scientists are in a very bad position to uncover subject fraud, were confirmed. The author con- cludes (a) that Randi’s experiment urges the paranormal investigator to reconsider his position and research, and (b) both the researcher and the skeptic should strive towards a meaningful dialogue and cooperation. - DA 02443. Zorab, George. Poltergelist-syndrome. - Psi- Forum, 1984, 1(2), 66-81. 7 refs The author traces the origin of the term “poltergeist" and the history of the phenomena, This is illustrated with well-known cases between the years 1450-1968. The author States that now, after 50 years, i¢ has become clear that there is no difference between local (haunting) and per- sonal (poltergeist) hauntings. In both cases the same phenomena can occur. He concludes that the paranormal is dominated by the living and there is no need for super- natural entities. - DA 02444. Gondry, Dirk. 250 years: Franz A. Mesmer. Psi-Forum, 1984, 1(2), 86-82. 13 refs The career of Mesmer is placed in its historical con- text. The author shows that the ideas of Mesmer were not original, but can be placed next to the works of other authors as carly as 450 B.C. His idea of animal magnetism and his life seem to have been influenced by several per- sons such as M. Hell, Count de Gebelin, and Matia- Theresia Paradis. After his downfall his ideas were taken up by several persons such as Dri«E. Perkins (US.) and de Puységur (France). - DA 25 02445. Martens, Ronny. Observational theories: Part LL. ’ Psi-Forum, 1984, 1(2), 108-117. 7 refs The author introduces the reader to the new observa- tional theories within the field of parapsychology. These theories are based on quantum physics, which shares some elements with paranormal phenomena. The reader is provided with an introduction to quantum physics upon which two of the three most developed theories are elaborated. - DA TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR PARAPSYCHOLOGIE 02446. Tenhacff, W.H.C. Spontaneous clairvoyance. Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie, 1932/1933, 5, 62-79. Tenhaeff notes that since 1929 many people have written to him about clairvoyant experiences, which were mostly of a precognitive nature. A drawback was that none of the cases was told to other people so that they could be corroborated. He presents 10 of the cases. - G.Z. 02447. Koster, H.E. Aspects of the occult. Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie, 1934, 6, 24-26. Serious investigators of the occult, ie, the paranor- mal, have observed several times that the manifesting en- tities at seances are not able to see what is happening in the seance room. This fact applies especially to those scances where table-tilting, planchette-writing, and other such phenomena take place. The Dutch spiritualist, Mr. de Fremery, during a seance asked the manifesting entity if it knew what the persons attending the seance were doing. The answer was, “You are busy washing the dishes.” The answer was given by the table knocking with one of its legs on the floor. Mr. Koster writes that he himself once put that same question to the entity that was present at the seance he was attending. The answer was, “You are doing the washing with a washingboard.” For a long time Mr. Koster thought about this queer kind of sight of the spirits but failed to find any explana- tion. Some years later, when staying in Java, he believed he had the explanation. In Java he had himself mag- netized. When he fell into a kind of magnetic sleep, he suddenly found that his sight has become quite different. It is his opinion that a deceased person is in the same situation as a living person in a magnetized trance. Al- tered perceptions occur in both situations. - G.Z. 02448, Dietz, PA. Experiments concerning the homing of dogs. Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie, 1934, 6, 86- 92. These experiments took place in the South of Ger- many in the neighborhood of Munich. Three dogs were tested. The transport of a dog was done in such a way that i¢ could not see where it was going. They were taken to a place about 6 miles from their home, in the middle of woods and hills. According to the experimenters the dogs found their way home not by using their senses, but by a capacity of orientation which migrating birds also possess. - G.Z. 02449. Tenhaeff, W.ILC. Dr. G. van Rijnberg and parapsychology. Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie, 1934, 6, 123-129. Professor van Rijnberg, who for many years was the editor of a prominent Dutch medical journal, was inter- ested in spiritualism and ali things mystical. He was one of the very few Dutch people who attended seances with the famous medium Eusapia Palladino. He published what he observed at these seances in a Dutch periodical under Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700690002-4