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III
SRI
INVESTIGATIONS
OF REMOTE VIEWING
Experimentation
in remote viewing began during studies
carried out
to
investigate
the abilities
of
a New York artist,
Mr.
Ingo
Swann,
when
he expressed
the
opinion
that
the
insights
gained during experiments
at
SRI
had strengthened his ability (verified in other research before he joined the SRI
program)
to view remote
locations
[54].
To
test Mr.
Swann’s
assertion,
a pilot
study was
set
up
in which
a
series
of
targets
from around
the
globe were
supplied
by
SRI personnel
to
the experimenters
on
a double-
blind
basis.
Mr.
Swann’s
apparent
ability
to describe
correctly
details of buildings,
roads,
bridges,
and
the
like
indicated
that
it may
be possible
for
a
subject by means
of mental
imagery
to access and describe
randomly chosen geographical
sites
located several miles
from
the
subject’s
position and demarcated
by
some appropriate means.
Therefore,
we
set up
a
research program
to
test
the
remote viewing hypothesis under rigidly con-
trolled
scientific
conditions.
In carrying out
this program,
we concentrated on what we
considered
to
be
our principal respons ibility-- to resolve under unambiguous
conditions
the basic
issue
of whether
or not
this
class
of paranormal perception phe-
nomenon exists.
At all
times,
we
and others
responsible
for
the
overall
program took measures
to prevent
sensory
leakage
and
subliminal cueing
and
to prevent deception,
whether intentional
or unintentional.
To ensure
evaluations
independent of belief structures of both experimenters
and
judges,
all experiments were
carried out under
a
protocol,
described
below,
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in Which
target
selection at
the
beginning of experiments
and blind judg-
ing of results
at
the end
of experiments were handled
independently of
the researchers engaged
in carrying out
the experiments.
Six subjects,
designated
SI
through
S6,
were chosen
for
the
study:
Three were
considered
as
gifted
or experienced
subjects
(SI
through
S3),
and
three
were
considered
as
learners
(S4 through
S6)
.
The
a
prioiri dichotomy between gifted and learners was based
on
the experi-
enced
group having been successful
in other
studies conducted before
this
progjram and
the
learners
group being
inexperienced with regard
to para-
normal
experimentation.
The
study consisted
of
a
series
of double-blind
tests with
local
targets
in
the
San Francisco Bay Area
so
that
several
independent
judges
could visit
the
sites
to establish documentation.
The protocol was
to
closet
the
subject with an experimenter at
SRI and at an agreed-on
time
to obtain
from
the
subject
a description of an undisclosed,
remote
site
being visited
by
a
target
team.
In each of
the
experiments,
one
of
the
six program subjects
served
as
remote-viewing subject,
and
SRI
experimen-
ters
served
as
a
target demarcation team at
the
remote
location chosen
in
a doUble-blind protocol
as
follows.
In each experiment,
SRI management randomly
chose
a
target
location
from
a
list of
targets within
a
30-minute
driving
time
from SRI;
the
tar-
get
location selected was
kept blind
to
subject
and experimenters.
The
target pool consisted of more
than
100 target
locations chosen from
a
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target-rich environment.
(Before
the experimental
series
began,
the Direc-
tor of
the Information
Science
and Engineering Division,
not otherwise
associated with
the
experiment,
established
the
set of
locations
as
the
target pool which remained known only to him.
The target locations were printed
on cards sealed in envelopes and kept in
the SRI Division office
safe.
They
were available only with
the personal assistance
of
the Division Director
who
issued
a
single random-number
selected
target
card
that constituted
the
traveling orders
for
that experiment.)
In detail:
To
begin the experiment,
the
subject was
closeted with
an experimenter at
SRI
to wait
30 minutes
before beginning
a narrative
description of
the remote
location.
A
second experimenter
then obtained
from
the Division Director
a
target location from
a
set of
traveling orders
previously prepared
and randomized by
the Director and kept under his
con-
trol.
The
target demarcation
team,
consisting of
two
to
four
SRI
experi-
menters,
then proceeded by automobile
directly
to
the
target without
any
communication with
the
subject
or experimenter remaining behind.
The
ex-
perimenter remaining with
the
subject
at SRI was kept
ignorant
of both
the
particular
target and
the
target pool
so
as
to eliminate
the possibility
of cueing
(overt
or
subliminal)
and
to allow him freedom in questioning
the
subject
to clarify his descriptions.
The demarcation
team remained
at
the
target
site
for an agreed-on 15-minute period
following
the
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minutes allotted
for travel.*
During
the observation period,
the
remote
viewing
subject was
asked
to describe his
impressions
of
the
target
site
into
a
tape recorder
and
to make
any drawings
he
thought appropriate.
An
informal comparison was
then made when
the demarcation
team returned,
and
the
subject was
taken
to
the
site
to provide
feedback.
A.
Subject
SI:
Experienced
To
begin
the
series,
Mr.
Pat
Price,
a
former California police
com-
mis$ioner and city councilman,
participated
as
a
subject
in nine
experi-
ments,
In general,
Price’s ability
to describe correctly buildings,
docks,
roads,
gardens,
and
the
like,
including
structural materials,
color,
am-
ambience,
and activity— often in great detail— indicated
the functioning
of
aj remote perceptual
ability,
A
Hoover Tower
target,
for example,
was
recqgnized and named
by
name.
Nonetheless,
in general,
the descriptions
contained
inaccuracies
as well
as
correct
statements.
A typical example
is
indicated
by
the
subject’s drawing
shown
in Figure
in which he cor-
rectly described
a park-like
area containing
two pools
of water:
one
rectangular,
x
ft
(actual dimensions
x
100
ft);
the other
circu-
lar,
diameter
120
ft
(actual diameter
110
ft)
He
incorrectly indicated
the function,
however,
as water
filtration rather
than recreational
swim-
mingj.
(We often observe essentially correct descriptions
of basic
elements
*
The
first
subject
(SI)
was
allowed
30 minutes
for his
descriptions,
but
it was
found
that he
fatigued
and had
little
comment after
the
first
minutes.
The viewing
time
therefore was reduced
to
15 minutes
for
sub-
jects
S2 through
S6.
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(a)
City
map
of
target
location,
(b)
Drawing
by
Price
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and patterns
coupled with
incomplete
or erroneous analysis
of
function.)
As
can
be
seen
from his
drawing,
he also
included
some
elements,
such
as
the
tanks
shown
in
the upper
right,
that
are
not present at
the
target
site.
We also
note
an apparent
left-right
reversal,
often observed
in
paranormal perception experiments.
To obtain
a numerical evaluation of
the accuracy of
the
remote view-
ing experiment,
the experimental results were
subjected
to
independent
judging on
a blind basis by an SRI research analyst not otherwise
associ-
ated with
the
research.
The
subject’s
response
packets,
which contained
the| nine
typed unedited transcripts of
the
tape-recorded narratives along
with any associated drawings,
were unlabeled and presented
in random order.
While standing
at: each
target
location,
visited
in
turn,
the
judge was
re-
quired
to blind rank order
the nine packets
on
a
scale
to
(best
to
worpt match).
The
statistic
of
interest
is
the
sum of
ranks assigned
to
the
targe t-associa ted
transcripts,
lower values
indicating better matches.
For nine
targets,
the
sum of ranks
could range
from nine
to eighty-one.
The probability
that
a
given
sum of ranks
s
or
less will occur by chance
is
given by
[55]
Prob
(» or
less) = ^ E E ^
i=n x=o
'
'
whefe
s
= obtained
sum of ranks,
N
= number of assignable
ranks,
n =
num-
ber
of occasions on which rankings were made,
and
i
takes on values
from
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zero
to
the largest positive integer
k in
(i-n)/N.
(Table
is
a
table
to
enable easy application of
the above
formula
to
those cases
in which N=n.)
The
sum in
this
case,
which included
seven direct hits
out of
the
nine,
was
(see Table
2),
a result
significant
at
p
=
2,9
x
^
by exact
calculation.
In Experiments
3,
4,
and
through
9,
the
subject was
secured
in
a
double-walled,
copper-screen Faraday
cage.
The Faraday cage provides
120
dB attenuation
for plane wave radio
frequency radiation over
a
range
of
15 kHz
to
GHz.
For magnetic
fields,
the attenuation
is
68 dB at
15 kHz
and decreases
to
dB
at
60 Hz.
The
results of rank order judging
(Table
2)
indicate
that
the
use
of Faraday cage electrical shielding does
not
prevent high quality descriptions
from being obtained.
As
a backup
judging procedure,
a panel of
five additional SRI
scien-
tists
not otherwise associated with
the research were asked simply
to
blind match
the unedited
typed
transcripts
(with associated drawings)
gen-
erated
by
the
remote viewer against
the
nine
target
locations which
they
independently visited
in
turn.
The
transcripts were unlabeled
and pre-
sented
in random order.
A correct match consisted
of
a
transcript of
a
given date being matched
to
the
target
of
that date.
Instead of
the
ex-
pected number of
1 match each per
judge,
the number of correct matches
obtained
by
the
five judges was
7,
6,
5,
3,
and
3,
respectively.
Thus,
rather
than
the expected
total
number of
correct matches
from the
judges,
such matches were obtained.
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TABLE
Distribution
of Rankings Assigned
to Transcripts Associated
with Each Target Location
for Experienced Subject Price
(SI)
Target Location
Distance
(km )
Rank of
Associated
Transcript
Hoover Tower,
Stanford
3.4
i
Baylands Nature Preserve,
Palo Alto
6.4
i
Radio
telescope,
Portola Valley
6.4
i
Marina,
Redwood City
i
Bridge
toll plaza,
Fremont
14.5
Drive-in theater,
Palo Alto
5.1
Arts and Crafts
Plaza,
Menlo Park
1.9
Catholic Church,
Portola Valley
8.5
Swimming pool complex,
Palo Alto
3.4
Total
sum of ranks
(p=2.
x 1CT b
)
.
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I
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B.
Subject
S4:
Learner
This experiment was designed
to
be
a replication of our previous
experiment with Price,
the
first replication attempted.
The
subject
for
this experiment was Mrs.
Hella Hammid,
a
gifted professional photographer.
She was
selected
for
this
series
on
the basis of her successful performance
as
a percipient
in
the EEG experiment described earlier.
Outside of
that
interaction,
she had no previous experience with apparent paranormal
func-
tioning.
At
the
time
we began working with Mrs.
Hammid,
she had
no strong
feelings about
the
likelihood of her ability
to
succeed
in
this
task.
This was
in contrast
to both Ingo
Swann who had come
to our
laboratory
fresh
from
a
lengthy and apparently successful
series of experiments
with Dr.
Gertrude Schmeidler
at City College
of New York
[56]
and Pat
Pricp who
felt
that he
used his
remote viewing ability
in his everyday
life.
In comparison with
the
latter
two,
many people
are more
influenced
by their environment and are
reluctant under public
scrutiny
to attempt
activities
that are generally
thought
to
be
impossible.
Society often
provides
inhibition and negative
feedback
to
the
individual who might
otherwise have explored his own nonregular perceptual
ability.
We all
share
an historical
tradition of "the
stoning of prophets and
the burning
of witches"
and,
in more modern
times,
the hospitalization of
those who
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claim
to perceive
things
that
the majority do
not admit
to
seeing.
There-
fore,
in addition
to maintaining scientific
rigor,
one of our primary
tasks
as researchers
is
to provide
an environment
in which
the
subject
feels
safe
to explore
the possibility of paranormal perception.
With
a
new subject,
we also
try
to
stress
the nonuniqueness of
the ability be-
cause
from our experience paranormal
functioning appears
to
be
a
latent
ability
that all
subjects
can articulate
to
some
degree.
Because
of
Mrs.
Hammid's
artistic
background,
she was capable
of
drawing and describing visual
images
that
she
could not
identify
in any
cognitive
or analytic
sense.
When
the
target demarcation team went
to
a
target
location which was
a pedestrian overpass,
the
subject
said
that
she
saw
f, a kind of trough up
in
the air,” which
she
indicated
in the upper
part of her drawing
in Figure
4.
She went on
to explain that "If you stand
where
they are
standing you will
see
something
like
this,"
indicating
the
nested
squares
at
the bottom of Figure
4.
As
it
turned
out,
a
judge
stand-
ing where
she
indicated would have
a view closely resembling what
she had
drawn,
as
can be
seen from the accompanying photographs
of
the
target
loca-
tion.
It needs
to
be emphasized,
however,
that judges
did
not have
access
to
our photographs
of
the
site,
used here
for
illustrative
purposes
only,
but rather
they proceeded
to each of
the
target
locations
by
list.
In another experiment,
the
subject described seeing "an open barnlike
structure with
a pitched roof."
She
also
saw
a "kind of
slatted
side
to
the
structure making light and dark bars on
the wall."
Her drawing and
a
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SA-3 183-5
FIGURE
SUBJECT HAMMID
(S4) DRAWING, DESCRIBED AS "SOME KIND OF DIAGONAL
TROUGH UP
IN THE AIR"
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photograph of
the associated bicycle
shed
target are
shown in Figure
5.
(Subjects
are encouraged
to make drawings
of anything they visualize and
associate with
the
remote
location because drawings
they make
are
in gen-
eral more accurate
than their verbal description.)
As
in
the original
series with Price,
the results
of
the nine-
experiment
series were
submitted
for
independent judging on
a blind basis
by an SRI research analyst not otherwise associated with
the
research.
While at each target
location,
visited
in
turn,
the
judge was required
to
blind rank order
the
nine unedited
typed manuscripts of
the
tape-recorded
narratives,
along with any associated drawings
generated
by
the
remote
viewer,
on
a
scale
to
(best
to worst match).
The
sum of
ranks as-
signed
to
the
target-associated
transcripts
in
this
case was
13,
a result
significant
at
p
=
1.8
x
^
by exact calculation
(see Table
1 and dis-
cussion),
and included
five direct hits and
four
second ranks
(Table
3).
Again,
as
a backup judging procedure,
a panel of
five additional
judges
not
otherwise
associated
with
the research were asked simply
to blind match
the unedited
typed transcripts and associated drawings
generated by
the remote viewer,
against
the nine
target locations which
they independently visited
in
turn.
A correct match consisted of
a
tran-
script of
a given date
being matched
to
the
target of
that date.
Instead
of
the expected number of
1 match each per judge,
the
number of correct
matches obtained by
the
five
judges was
5,
3,
3,
2,
and
2,
respectively.
Thus,
rather
than
the expected
total
number of
5 correct matches
from
the
judges,
such matches were obtained.
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BICYCLE SHED TARGET
DETAIL OF BICYCLE SHED
FIGURE
SUBJECT HAMMID
(S4) RESPONSE TO BICYCLE SHED TARGET DESCRIBED
AS AN OPEN "BARN-LIKE BUILDING" WITH "SLATS ON THE SIDES" AND A
"PITCHED ROOF"
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' TABLE
Distribution of Rankings Assigned
to Transcripts Associated
with Each Target Location
for Learner
Subject Hammid
(S4)
Target Location
Distance
(km)
Rank of
Associated
Transcript
Methodist Church,
Palo Alto
1.9
i
Ness Auditorium, Menlo Park
0.2
i
Merry-go-round,
Palo Alto
3.4
i
Parking garage. Mountain View
8.1
SRI
International Courtyard,
Menlo Park
0.2
Bicycle
shed,
Menlo Park
0.1
Railroad trestle bridge,
Palo Alto
1.3
Pumpkin patch, Menlo Park
1.3
Pedestrian overpass,
Palo Alto
5.0
Total
sum of
ranks
(p=l. 8X10-6
)
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I
I
II
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C.
Subjects
S2 and
S3:
Experienced
Having completed
a
series of
18 remote -viewing experiments,
9 each with
experienced subject
SI
(Price)
and learner
S4
(Hammid)
,
additional replica-
tion experiments,
four with each
subject,
were carried out with experienced
subjects
S2
(Elgin)
and S3
(Swann)
and
learners
S5 and
S6.
To place
the
judging on
a basis comparable
to
that used with
SI
and
S4,
the
four
tran-
scripts each of experienced
subjects
S2 and
S3 were combined
into
a
group
of eight
for rank order judging
to
be compared with
the similarly combined
results of
the
learners
S5 and
S6.
The
series with
S2
(Elgin,
an
SRI research analyst)
provided
a
further
example of
the dichotomy between verbal
and drawing responses,
(As with
medical
literature,
case histories often are more
illuminating than
the
summary of results.)
The
experiment described here was
the
third
conducted
with
this
subject*
It was
a demonstration experiment
for
a
government
visitor who had heard of our work and wanted
to evaluate our experimental
protocol.
In
the
laboratory,
the
subject,
holding
a
bearing compass
at arm’s
length,
began
the experiment by
indicating
the direction of
the
target
demarcation team correctly
to within
five
degrees.
(In all
four experi-
ments with
this
subject,
he
has
always
beep within
ten degrees
of
the
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