A^TO^^P d9e fe^^S^%£^l^®R96-00787R000200190002-0

SGI I

Santa Barbara, California

January 27, 1975

The following brief summary presents some conclusions and

observations derived from an independent, and somewhat critical,
months* Theses
study of extrasensory perception over the past several
opinions are based upon study of the literature, material presented
Foundation in August
at the Geneva Conference of the" Parapsychology-
Targ at SRI as.
1974 and, in particular, the work of Puthoff and
reflected in their, publications as well as their oral presentation
in Washington. First some' general observations and recommendations
in this area are presented, then a brief comment on the SRI work,
and finally some" remarks about practical applications.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. A large body of reliable- experimental evidence points to the

inescapable" conclusion that extrasensory perception does exist
1

as a real phenomenon, albeit characterized by rarity and

lack
of reliability. It appears as a low-capacity, high-noise
information channel exhibiting data rates orders of magnitude
less than normal perceptive processes. Almost by definition
extra— sensory perception must involve: in an essential way
the
operation of the human mind.

2‘. Thera exists no satisfactory theoretical understanding of

many,
these phenomena. Present theories, of which there are.
content
are both speculative and unsubstantiated. They range in
from, the physical through the psychological to the metaphysical.
One theory- that of the French physicist, Costa de" Beauregara-
offers the possibility of interpreting psi phenomena within
a- modest extension of established
physical theory, but in general
these efforts appear 'premature. At this stage of knowledge .

the most meaningful basic research consists of a search for

correlates- physical, physiological, and psychological- to
which the phenomena may be quantitatively related. Guidance
must consist of general ideas wnich are not dependent upon
possibly overspecific theoretical assumptions*

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3. All the experimental evidence to date is consistent with the

assumption that paranormal perception behaves as an information
channel in the conventional sense of information theory. The
information theoretic approach to investigation in this'area
has probably not been adequately exploited but offers definite
possibilities of aiding understanding as well as practical
advantages. The success of enhancement techniques such as
redundancy, majority vote, etc. is indicative of the efficacy
even simple applications of information theory in parapsychological

a. Information theory in itself makes no assumptions of

specific
mechanism, but contains a body of concepts ( bit rate, redundancy
’
equivocation, etc.) by which experimental results may be
quantitatively presented and analysed.. Moreover these quantities
have direct meaning in terms of applications.
b. Although problems of coding are of central concern in
information
theory, it is innately an input—output theory. Experiments can
be devised to measure Information rates in comparatively
unstructured
situations, independently of coding assumption's,
c. The very low information rates ( 0.01 to 6.1 bits/sec
) measured
in extrasensory perception may explain the failure: to detect
physical energy or correlated physical variables associated 'with
the phenomena. A signal lower in strength than thermal noise and
only detectable through its high redundancy would exhibit a similar
low rate- of information transmission. Physical energy less than
thermal noise would be yery difficult to. detect.

4. The complete ESiP channel may or may not involve a detecthblo

phys ical link, but it most certainly does involve a psychological
)
b_pne i_J~Xl though difficult to quantify there do app^^o~^^st~some
genuine psychological correlates of paranormal perception. Rather
than detail these, mention is made of only one aspect which seems
especially significant, namely the striking similarity between
many psychological features of paranormal perception and normal,
though subliminal perception. Clearly this suggests that similar
processes may be operative in both cases and that studies of
subliminal perception below the -conscious threshold may be of
relevance to the psychological part of paranormal perception.

Ihe physiological correlates of extrasensory perception which have

been measured are autonomic responses and therefore- somewhat related
to emotional responses. Variations of EEG alpha rhythm, galvanic
skin resistance and blood capillary volume have all been Identified
in. relation to extrasensory activity. Ther e is some experimental
evidence for believing that these physiological responses may be

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more sensitive indicators of paranormal

communication than
consciously controlled responses. Presumably
a large part
of the noise in the paranormal channel
originates by the
interfering effect of conscious processes, and
measurement
of autonomic responses could short circuit a
noisy part of
the channel. Also the physiological
responses themselves
are directly accessible to physical, instead
of only
J psychological
F J
measurement.

THE RESEARCH AT STANFORD RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The work at SRI, using gifted individuals, has

acheived some
v7
convincing and striking demonstrations of the existence
of paranormal
perception, and has demonstrated perhaps less
.
convincingly the
possible existence of psychokinetic influences
upon sophisticated
physicai instrumentation. The careful and systematic
use- of sensory
shielding m these experiments has excluded a large class
of gross
physical correlates of paranormal perception. The work has been
less successful in, showing unambiguous
relations of inhibition or
enhancement between paranormal performance and
possible physical
p ysiological, and psychological conditions. The enhancement '

used was selection of special individuals either method

through prior
reputation or through preliminary screening. Thus
the approach was
one of enhancement, through selectivity rather
(or inhibition) by deliberate manipulation
than enhancement
of variables. This research A
h fetish
.
/j 5
‘*i/
—_
A,

T.
-

produced some information,., measurement of alteration

e'f '
f
of alpha rhythm
amplitude and measurement of neurological profiles,
relevant to the /

question of correlates but was not aimed primarily

In this direction
e contribution to fundamental understanding
was a minor part of
i15 P r °duced manifestations of extrasensory
perception
sufficiently sharp and clear cut to justify serious
consideration of
possible applications.

A. separate point is that the high apparent

bit rate of information
transmission implied by successful replication of

f l6d d c i P tions
S to replicate
sked n f ^
W be illusory.
drawings or recital
In no case was the percipient
or descrioe unfamiliar or unknown objects. A
low
w w^r e
J*
tr;Lg r detailed stored associations
f?
have high information content.
which in themselves

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

No matter how gifted the paragnost existing

Ignorance of -the basis
of paranormal phenomena together with the capricious
and unreliable
nature of the channel dictate that information derived
from this source
can never stand alone and must be used with
caution. Extrasensoiy

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•
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its
information should a t be s supplement normal information or guide
Even such limited
collection, but should never serve in place of it.
much more detailed
use of this information channel would seeulfco require'
A certain bare ^minimum
investigation of its character and limitations.
establish
'

required to
of understanding, or at least experience, is
information theoretic
confidence. Exoerimental tests guided by a thorough
closest coupling with
analysis, as alluded to earlier, offer the
quantifying the capabilities
applications and the best prospect of usefully
of this information channel.

'/

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