|
| Bernhard M. HAISCH | Editorial | 91-92 |
|
| | Invited Assay |
| Richard C. HENRY | UFOs and NASA | 93-142 |
| | Abstract: In 1977 President Carter's Science Advisor recommended that a
small panel of inquiry be formed by NASA to see if there had been any new
significant findings on UFOs since the US Air Force-sponsored investigation of UFOs ("Condon Report") a decade earlier. Five months later,
NASA responded to that recommendation by proposing "to take no steps
to establish a research activity in this area or to convene a symposium on
the subject." This article offers a partial inside look at how that decision
was made at NASA. |
| Yewant TERZIAN | The Nature of Time | 143-154 |
| | Abstract: One of the most fundamental concepts in our experience of
existence is the flow of time-continuously from the past to the future. Yet,
the basic nature of time as part of the description of the universe is not
understood at all. The conservation laws of physics seem to be time-symmetrical, every detailed action could occur in reverse, which argues that the
concept of the passage of time is not needed in nature. Yet, that time flows
in one direction remains part of our experience. Can time stop? Can we
influence the future? Can we influence the past? The historical and thermodynamic arrows of time are discussed and several enigmas and contradictions about the nature of time are revealed. The concept of "entropy" and
its relation to the universe as a whole is explored.
The fundamental changes of our notions of a uniformly flowing time,
made by Albert Einstein in his Special and General Theories of Relativity
are pointed out, and several "paradoxes" and "anomalous" examples are
described.
The nature of time and its relation to the Big-Bang cosmology is discussed, and the question "What was before the Big-Bang" is addressed. |
|
| Brenda J. DUNNE, Roger D. NELSON, Robert G. JAHN | Operator-Related Anomalies in a Random Mechanical Cascade | 155-179 |
| | Abstract: Experiments with a "Random Mechanical Cascade" (RMC)
apparatus have yielded anomalous results correlated with pre-stated intentions of human operators. Based upon a common statistical demonstration
device, this machine allows 9000 polystyrene balls to drop through a matrix
of 330 pegs, scattering them into 19 collecting bins with a population
distribution that is approximately Gaussian. As the balls enter the bins,
exact counts are accumulated photoelectrically, displayed as feedback for
the operator, and recorded on-line. Operators attempt to shift the mean of
the developing distributions to the right or left, relative to a concurrently
generated baseline distribution. Of the 25 operators who have completed
one or more experimental series with this device, four have achieved anomalous separations of their right and left efforts, and two others have displayed significant separations of either their right or left efforts from their
baselines. The overall mean difference of right versus left efforts concatenated across the total data base of 87 series (3393 runs), has a probability
against chance of < with 15% of the individual series significant at p
< .05, and 63% conforming to the intended directions.
The concatenated results display a stark and curious asymmetry, in that
virtually all of the right vs. left separation is provided by the left vs. baseline
separation. This pattern also appears in the data of several individual operators, and is not attributable to any known physical asymmetry in the
experimental system. In addition to the systematic asymmetric deviation of
the distribution means, cumulative excesses in the variances of the left and
right distributions relative to baseline are also observed, progressing to
statistical probabilities of .003 in the left efforts, but only .2 in the right.
More detailed study of the individual bin population patterns reveals that
while most of the bins contribute to the overall mean shifts and variance
changes, those on the outer portions are more influential than those near
the center.
Operator achievements tend to compound marginally but systematically
in cumulative deviation patterns characteristic of the particular individuals
and, in several cases, similar to those produced by the same operators in
microelectronic Random Event Generator (REG) experiments. Within
these characteristic patterns of achievement, some operators also show
sensitivities to secondary experimental parameters, such as instructed vs.
volitional establishment of the intended directions, or the presence or absence of feedback displays. Other successful operators seem insensitive to such options.
Two major protocol variations have been explored, one employing remote operators, the other, multiple operators. In the former, operators with
well-established performance in local experiments attempt to influence the
bin distributions from remote locations up to several thousand miles from
the laboratory. Significant results are again obtained that are quite similar
to those of the local experiments, with the exception that the overall right
and left distribution variances are smaller than those of the baseline. In the
multiple operator experiments, early results show little resemblance to
those achieved by the participating individuals alone. |
|
| Richard G. DOUGLAS | Archaeological Anomalies in the Bahamas | 181-201 |
| | Abstract: Controversial claims have been made for the presence of anomalous underwater archaeological sites in the Bahamas by a number of investigators. The proponents emphasize extraordinary explanations for the
anomalies and tend to bypass the scientific journals in favor of popular
presentations with little scientific rigor. The skeptics debunk selected
claims for some of the sites, do not adequately address the prominent
anomalous aspects, and attempt to fit explanations with which they disagree into a general category of cult archaeology. This paper reviews the
work of the proponents and skeptics, discusses some of the reasons why
they are unable to reach agreement, and addresses the relevance of the
controversy to the response of the archaeological community to extraordinary claims. |
|
| Tom G. SLANGER | Evidence for a Short-Period Internal Clock in Humans | 203-216 |
| | Related:
Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 3 Number 2 September/1989 - Comments on Slanger's Internal Clock
| |
| | Abstract: The concept of an internal clock in humans and animals has
had many supporters and detractors over the years. In this article, we
demonstrate the apparent existence of an extremely precise time sense in
humans, but the process is not related to conscious estimates of the passage
of time. Instead, the experiments indicate that there is a mechanism, operating below the level of consciousness, that, with occasional feedback, can
keep track of clock time. The precision of the system is quite extraordinary;
the observations are consistent with synchronization between the internal
timekeeper and clock time to within an averaged value of one part in 10 4. |
|
| Ian STEVENSON, Godwin SARNARARATNE | Three New Cases of the Reincarnation Type in Sri Lanka With Written Records Made Before Verifications | 217-238 |
| | Abstract: Three new cases in Sri Lanka of children who claim to remember previous lives were identified before the statements made by the
children subjects of the cases had been verified. The authors made a written
record of what the child said and then located a family corresponding to the
child's statements. Although none of the children stated the name of the
deceased person whose life the child seemed to remember, they all furnished details that, taken together, were sufficiently specific to identify one
particular person as the only person corresponding to the child's statements. Careful inquiries about the possibilities for the normal communication of information from one family to the other before the case developed
provide no evidence of such communication and make it seem almost
impossible that it could have occurred. The written records of exactly what
the child said about the previous life make it possible to exclude distortion
of memories of the child's statements on the part of informants after the
two families concerned have met. The children seem to have shown paranormal knowledge about deceased persons who were previously completely
unknown to their families. |
|
| | Letters to the Editor |
| | Comment on Beloff's Parapsychology: The Continuing Impasse | 239-240 |
| | Related:
Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 1 Number 2 June/1988 - Parapsychology: The Continuing Impasse [Beloff, John]
| |
|
| | Book Review |
| Bernhard M. EFAISCH | Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation, by Ian Stevenson | 241-244 |
