This is the second post of an objective short series on "Operation Star Gate, U.S Intelligence and Psychic Spies" written by D. Trull, the Enigma Editor, ParaScope. In this section, she writes about the testing of Psychic Abilities.
1. Testing Psychic Abilities of SG Operatives
The most recent series of remote viewing experiments by U.S. intelligence agencies was a Defense Intelligence Agency program codenamed "Star Gate," which was instituted in the 1990s.
As part of a decision in 1995 to declassify its research in parapsychology, the CIA commissioned an outside organization, the American Institutes for Research, to determine whether remote viewing is a viable intelligence option.
AIR filed its report, "An Evaluation of Remote Viewing: Research and Applications," in September, 1995.
The report summarizes the history and methods of Star Gate and its predecessors, followed by independent reviews from two experts on parapsychology, Dr. Jessica Utts and Dr. Raymond Hyman.
The reviewers focus on two of the three primary objectives of the Star Gate program: "Research and Development" (conducting studies to improve remote viewing for intelligence gathering) and Operations," (using remote viewing against foreign targets). A third objective, "Foreign Assessment" -- which investigated any possible remote viewing capabilities of foreign powers -- was outside the scope of the study.
Testing Methodology
The bulk of the testing was conducted on a "beacon and viewer" basis. A person acting as the sender, or "beacon," traveled to a remote location or examined a photograph or other object. In isolation, a remote viewer attempted to describe, through visual descriptions and drawings, the beacon's physical surroundings or what he was observing. In most instances, the beacons were simply looking at photographs from National Geographic.
With the data collected, a judge compared the viewer's descriptions to what the beacon was observing, and determined whether reasonably correct "hits" have been made. The number of recorded hits was matched against the number that could occur by random chance, providing a quantified measure of the remote viewer's success.
The AIR report also examines the results of a different testing technique called the "ganzfeld" method. In a ganzfeld experiment, the viewer enters a trance-like altered mental state, unlike the standard remote viewing method, whose viewers remain fully conscious and alert. Unlike the "beacon and viewer" method, ganzfeld viewers evaluate the end results themselves, without a third-party judge.
Another sort of test dealt with the topic of "remote observation." Citing the folk belief that it is possible to feel that one is being watched, these studies tested whether a person's physiology changed appreciably when a distant, hidden observer alternately looked at them and looked away.
Obviously, if it were actually possible for a remote agent to manipulate a subject's body chemistry, the implications for applications against a nation's enemies go far beyond mere information gathering.
Next: Star Gate analysis from Dr. Jessica Utts, who concludes that remote viewing "is possible and has been demonstrated."
