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SRI
STUDIES
IN REMOTE
VIEWING:
A PROGRAM REVIEW
For the
past eleven years,
a
small
group headed
by
Dr.
H.
Puthoff
has
sought evidence that would
support the case for extrasensory perception.
In
recent years,
the focus of these
studies
has
centered
on
"remote viewing"
by
subjects claiming
to visualize
the
scene
at
a
point beyond
the field of vision,
and
in many cases,
in
a
remote
part
of the world,
typically not known
to them
by actual
experience.
The
implication of success
in remote viewing,
if
it
exists,
are
revolutionary;
since
as described
to the
review team,
it
is mani-
festly incompatible with currently accepted scientific principles.
Remote view-
ing of future events— "precognition"—evidently violates causality;
real
time
remote viewing clearly requires
a
transmission mechanism other than
any known
process:
electromagnetic,
gravitational,
etc.
The
lack of
a
physical
model
should
not be taken
to preclude the existence
of the capability to
view
a
remote
location.
However,
this
circumstance
has
thus
far limited application
of
the classic methods
of scientific
investiga-
tion
to
less cogent
issues,
such
as controls
for inadvertent cueing,
statistical
evaluation of the
incidence
of positive findings, estimation of false-positive
and false-negative responses,
and
in particular,
the
design of experiments
that
would
limit as
far as possible
intrusion
of extraneous
factors
relating
to
personal
interaction and observer biases.
The evidence
shown
to
us
is
too
impressive
to dismiss
as mere coincidence.
Certain similarities
between
the
SRI
and
Princeton
results,
obtained
in very
different circumstances
by unrelated
investigators,
are particularly compelling.
The Princeton work
is
somewhat more quantitative than
that
at SRI
and
leads
to
an estimate
by
Dr.
R.
Jahn that the
phenomena
he
has observed
could
be
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explained by
a transfer of information above noise
at
a
level
of about one bit
per thousand.
This of course raises
the question
of how much
information
is
required to construct the
impressions gained
by remote viewing,
a question
which
the investigators cannot presently answer.
Therefore,
the review team
feels that remote viewing
is either
real
or due
to
some
sort of experimental
interference from one or
some of the participants;
something one might describe
as
"inadvertent cueing."
Although,
on
the
basis
of our brief exposure
to the
SRI
program, we found
no obvious evidence
of cueing or collusion between
the
viewer and
the experiment monitors.
The briefings
strongly emphasized
the
investigator's ability to train
others
in their techniques.
This
training program has developed over the past
five years through the dedicated participation
of
Mr.
Ingo
Swann.
His diverse
talents
have been devoted
to self-training which
he now feels competent
to
impart
to others.
Approximately
a dozen trainees
have completed
instruction
to
various
levels of claimed competence.
An
important aspect of Swann's
contribu-
tions
relates
to
his dissection
of separate elements
in
the
perceptual
process.
Under
his guidance,
the technique centers
around
the
use
of
a coordinate method
to describe
the
remote
location,
expressed
in degrees of latitude
and
longitude.
It
is
here that any attempt
at
a
rational
understanding of the perceptual
process
is
lost.
Since the significance of the coordinates
so expressed
is
unknown
to the viewer
in most
instances,
it
is
impossible
to understand why
such
a method
should
be translated
in
the viewing process
into
a precise delin-
eation of geographic characteristics of the target
site.
The arbitrariness of
this
approach
has not escaped
the
investigators,
but repeated attempts
to
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elicit
a
rational
basis for this procedure,
or
to
secure definitive
informa-
tion about possible success or failures with other methods
that they may have
tried,
were uniformly unsuccessful.
The
investigators'
attitude was that since
they had found the coordinate method
to work,
they were
not disposed
to query
the mechanistic basis of
its applications,
nor
to
seek
an appraisal
of other
potentially successful
methods.
Mr.
Swann
has distinguished three
phases
in
his
subjective
interpretation
of
his
viewing capabilities.
The
initial
percept appears very rapidly with
a
latency stated
to
be
as
short
as
1/50 of
a
second.
Thereafter,
for
a period
that may persist for several
minutes,
increasing
detail
may be added.
There-
after,
and only after
as much material
has
been added
to
the
initial
percept
as
possible,
is
the
subject encouraged
to examine
his
subjective
image
in
a crit-
ical
way,
or to make
syntheses
or judgments
about
the significance of the
perceived material.
Swann pointed
out that
intrusion of
a judgmental
or inter-
pretive attitude too early
in the building of the percept was generally
destructive,
and
to
be discouraged
in
the course
of training others.
A considerable variety of material
was
presented with photographic backup
in
support of the
validity of the perceptual
method.
Much of this was
highly
impressive.
The data
showed
the effects
of training
on
the success
rate,
which typically reached
a sustained plateau
at
a
level
higher than prior to
training,
both
for groups
of subjects
as
well
as
for
individual
trainees.
What then may
be anticipated
if the program
is continued?
In the absence
of
a
physical
model
for the
perceptual
process,
no predictions
are possible
about higher success
rates
in
larger groups
of viewers concentrating
on
the
same
target,
nor about
the effect
on
success
rates
to
be expected
if the
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technique were extended
to those with
special
intellectual
abilities or
professional
backgrounds.
Exploration of the phenomenon
should not
be restricted to
specific
applications.
Rather,
remote viewing
should
be studied
as
a scientific
research program aimed at establishing
the existence or non-existence
of the
phenomenon.
In
this
way,
a comprehensive
and credible evaluation
of the
phenomenon
should
be available from continuing effort over the next five
to
ten years.
The potential
impact of this phenomenon
is clearly profound.
Therefore,
a mandatory requirement would
be
the existence of independent but
related programs conducted
by others, with
the free exchange of techniques
and
results.
Only through
independent reproducibility can
a phenomenon
so
unconventional
ever become
accepted.
It
is our conclusion that
Dr.
Puthoff's team warrants cautious continued
fiscal
support,
and that the research should
be conducted
as much
as possible
in
an open unclassified mode
so that
its reproducibility and accuracy can
be
independently verified by others.
W.
ROSS ADEY
DONALD
M.
KER
F.
ZACHARIASEN
Malch
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