@dang, this title should be labelled (2002). (This is old news; I first heard about remote viewing projects back then myself.)
The article is hosted at "Columbia.edu" but the underlying publication is an Indian foreign policy strategy journal mirrored there, not from a Columbia.edu university academic. Of note is the biographical footnote on the author who was a retired physicist studying cold fusion among other things:
"Dr. M. Srinivasan was formerly Associate Director, Physics Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. He is an experimental Physicist who has specialized in fast breeder reactor physics and Cold Fusion. Since retirement, he has been studying anomalous phenomena not explainable currently by Science."
It's nice to see some of the specific remote viewing anecdotes in print in a relatively short not overly sensationalistic piece. The whole matter of blinding, double blinding, possible cheating, priming, statistical significance, etc is unfortunately not really addressed in a way that would ameliorate anyone with much skepticism.
Ingo Swann is known for a remote viewing session where he was asked to describe the contents of a sealed envelope placed inside a safe. This experiment took place at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) during the early stages of the remote viewing program.
Swann accurately described the contents of the envelope within the safe, reporting drawings of mountains, a horse, and an individual riding the horse. To the surprise of the researchers, the actual contents matched Swann's descriptions, which he could not physically access or see through conventional means.
This demonstration was part of the initial efforts to test and explore the potential capabilities of remote viewing. It's often cited as a compelling instance showcasing Swann's purported abilities, but like other remote viewing cases, it remains a subject of debate within scientific circles regarding its reliability and reproducibility under controlled conditions.
I guess the fact there isn't a US Army nor Navy nor CIA nor FBI "clairvoyant" corp, or that the US struggled to find Ben Laden for a decade, is proof enough that either this is all bullsh*t, or that it was propaganda to lead the Russians on a wild goose chase (like they seem to do today with reactionless engines - and the Chinese seem to have bitten, hook and sinker).
Were these kinds of experiments double blinded, or were the people who interviewed Swann already aware of the contents? Don’t mentalists do this kind of stuff on the regular?
The Monroe Institute and early pioneers like Jose Silva normalized the method amongst a small group of “Psychonauts” and self improvement hobbyist that were willing to dive deep enough into the unknown to form their own opinions on the topic. I’m not sure that knowing or experiencing the ability actually improves your life but it is an interesting study if you are willing part ways with a well padded and comfortable reality.
David Grusch (UAP whistleblower) seemed to believe this was a legitimate thing on his recent appearance on Joe Rogan. As interested as I am in the UAP phenomena, I just can't seriously believe this is real.
I heard his comments as 'this is a thing the military has studied and taken seriously, and there were real programs with funding towards it' not 'this is a real thing that works'.
To a point - some questions aren't worth testing. Questions like "What if I can eat uranium?" or "What happens if I fill my car's gas tank with water" are costly and avoidable.
Using basic reasoning skills instead of credulous consideration of magical powers seems a reasonable threshold for discarding certain research. I don't need to spend billions of dollars trying to figure out how to cut people in half and put them back together like a magician, even if thousands or even billions of people have "witnessed" such an event.
Science doesn't allow for a rational mechanism that would enable psychic powers like telepathy, seeing the future, and remote viewing without augmenting the brain with a technological interface and machines that captured and transmitted the information. There's simply no room for reasonable experimentation around these types of claims, unless it's psychological in nature; things which are known and provable limit any possible mechanism by which psychic powers can operate.
If you wanted to posit some sort of technological mechanism, then you're getting into simulations, aliens, secret government implants, or other theories that lack plausibility as well.
We'll likely have common BCI augmentations within the next century. Networked human brains will exhibit psychic-like abilities and the potential is amazing, but until that happens, claims about such things are fraudulent, deceptive, or deluded.
I first read about this in the 2007 book, Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind by Elizabeth Mayer. I don't remember what she says about Swann, but the book made a big impression on me at the time, and I bought copies for a couple friends.
gregw2|2 years ago
The article is hosted at "Columbia.edu" but the underlying publication is an Indian foreign policy strategy journal mirrored there, not from a Columbia.edu university academic. Of note is the biographical footnote on the author who was a retired physicist studying cold fusion among other things:
"Dr. M. Srinivasan was formerly Associate Director, Physics Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. He is an experimental Physicist who has specialized in fast breeder reactor physics and Cold Fusion. Since retirement, he has been studying anomalous phenomena not explainable currently by Science."
It's nice to see some of the specific remote viewing anecdotes in print in a relatively short not overly sensationalistic piece. The whole matter of blinding, double blinding, possible cheating, priming, statistical significance, etc is unfortunately not really addressed in a way that would ameliorate anyone with much skepticism.
mistermann|2 years ago
spacebacon|2 years ago
Swann accurately described the contents of the envelope within the safe, reporting drawings of mountains, a horse, and an individual riding the horse. To the surprise of the researchers, the actual contents matched Swann's descriptions, which he could not physically access or see through conventional means.
This demonstration was part of the initial efforts to test and explore the potential capabilities of remote viewing. It's often cited as a compelling instance showcasing Swann's purported abilities, but like other remote viewing cases, it remains a subject of debate within scientific circles regarding its reliability and reproducibility under controlled conditions.
aredox|2 years ago
amanaplanacanal|2 years ago
aredox|2 years ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/consciousness/comments/181s71r/the_...
spacebacon|2 years ago
jiveturkey42|2 years ago
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R0017002...
spacebacon|2 years ago
Bo0kerDeWitt|2 years ago
spacebacon|2 years ago
rngname22|2 years ago
nradov|2 years ago
tetris11|2 years ago
Sometimes you just have to do experiments, even if the outcome isn't wholly known.
electrondood|2 years ago
observationist|2 years ago
Using basic reasoning skills instead of credulous consideration of magical powers seems a reasonable threshold for discarding certain research. I don't need to spend billions of dollars trying to figure out how to cut people in half and put them back together like a magician, even if thousands or even billions of people have "witnessed" such an event.
Science doesn't allow for a rational mechanism that would enable psychic powers like telepathy, seeing the future, and remote viewing without augmenting the brain with a technological interface and machines that captured and transmitted the information. There's simply no room for reasonable experimentation around these types of claims, unless it's psychological in nature; things which are known and provable limit any possible mechanism by which psychic powers can operate.
If you wanted to posit some sort of technological mechanism, then you're getting into simulations, aliens, secret government implants, or other theories that lack plausibility as well.
We'll likely have common BCI augmentations within the next century. Networked human brains will exhibit psychic-like abilities and the potential is amazing, but until that happens, claims about such things are fraudulent, deceptive, or deluded.
genter|2 years ago
getpost|2 years ago
https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Knowing-Science-Skeptic...