Libriufo

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 2 Number 2 September 1988
Society for Scientific Exploration

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian; Sarnararatne, Godwin

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

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

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 3 Number 1 1989
Society for Scientific Exploration

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian; Pasricha, Satwant; McClean-Rice, Nicholas

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Invited Essay`
Henry H. BAUER	Arguments Over Anomalies: II. Polemics	1-14
	Abstract: Arguments over different anomalies have common elements. An awareness of those commonalities can be useful in considering the possible reality of a particular anomaly. As in all arguments, beliefs and not facts are at issue; but the participants do not recognize that, and so red henings abound and opponents are not persuaded. Again as in all disputes, the longer the disagreement persists, the more polarized the issue becomes, which further encourages the antagonists to become preoccupied with irrelevancies. Within science, disputes are to some degree constrained by the existence of a widely shared paradigm and by widely accepted conventions, supported by entrenched institutions and by consensus over how and when disputes become settled; but arguments over anomalies are not so constrained: they are messy and may continue long after they-on purely epistemic grounds-"should". Insofar as arguments over anomalies take place in the public domain, they involve not only proponents and opponents but also pundits and an audience; however, a purported pundit may behave more like a disbeliever (or, more rarely, like a proponent). Some features of these arguments result from the fact that the believers are usually amateurs (though they commonly include a few maverick experts in the presumptively relevant fields of mainstream science). Although most of the experts tend to be disbelievers or at least non-believers in a given anomaly, the converse is by no means true-most of the disbelievers have little or no expertise in related areas, and they may not even be particularly knowledgeable about the given anomaly. Typically, both sides claim that the evidence is already conclusive when-virtually by definition-it is evidently not. Believers tend to close ranks, even with quite unwelcome bedfellows, for fear that their subject will seem even less respectable if the existence of frauds or hoaxes or incompetence becomes widely known; and that enhances the tendency for outsiders to view the believers as unanimous on all major points, which is anything but true. Both sides (and also the pundits) typically appeal to the authority of science; and typically they misunderstand the nature of science. Also characteristic of these arguments is ignorance of matters that (but only by hindsight) are highly relevant.

Robert G. JAHN	Anomalies: Analysis and Aesthetics	15-26
	Abstract: In properly allying itself with traditional scientific tenets and procedures, anomalies research also risks encumbrance by scientific stodginess, scientific segregation, and scientific secularity. In particular, the contemporary rejection by established science of its own metaphysical heritage and essence precludes its further evolution into physical and biological domains where consciousness plays demonstrably active roles. Some orderly rapprochement of subjective and objective experience and representation within the scientific paradigm will be required to make it effective in such arenas.

Carlos S. ALVARADO	Trends in the study of Out-of-Body Experiences: An Overview of Developments Since the Nineteenth Century	27-42
	Abstract: -A review of conceptual and research trends in the literature on out-of-body experiences is presented for the period of mid-nineteenth century to 1987. The discussion emphasizes psychological, psychiatric, and parapsychological publications. The material shows recurrent topics, but there are also some differences, particularly regarding more detailed conceptual discussions and a higher frequency of research projects in recent times. Systematic research and testable theories have been presented mainly in the last two decades. This may be related to the revival of interest in cognitive variables and altered states of consciousness in psychology during the same time period.

William BRAUD, Marilyn SCHLITZ	A Methodology for the Objective Study of Transpersonal Imagery	43-63
	Abstract: Abundant methodologies already exist for the study ofpreverbal imagery, in which one's imagery acts upon one's own cellular, biochemical, and physiological activity. This paper reports a new methodology for the objective study of transpersonal imagery, in which one person's imagery may influence the physical reactions of another person. The method involves the instructed generation of specific imagery by one person and the concurrent measurement of psychophysiological changes in another person who is isolated in a distant room to eliminate all conventional sensorimotor communication. Thirteen experiments were conducted using this methodology. A significant relationship was found between the calming or activating imagery of one person and the electrodermal activity of another person who was isolated at a distance (overall z = 4.08, p = .000023, mean effect size = 0.29). Potential artifacts which might account for the results are considered and discounted. The findings demonstrate reliable and relatively robust anomalous interactions between living systems at a distance. The effects may be interpreted as instances of an anomalous "causal" influence by one person directly upon the physiological activity of another person. An alternative interpretation is one of an anomalous informational process, combined with unconscious physiological self-regulation on the part of the influenced person. Additional research is being conducted in an attempt to increase our understanding of the processes involved, as well as to learn the various physical, physiological and psychological factors that may increase or decrease the likelihood of occurrence of the effect

Dean RADIN, Jessica UTTS	Experiments Investigating the Influence of Intention on Random and Pseudorandom Events	65-79
	Abstract: `Eight of 27 experiments using a random event generator provided statistical evidence supporting a claimed correlation between intention and the distribution of random events. Twelve control tests produced results conforming closely to chance expectation.`

Ian STEVENSON, Satwant PASRICHA, Nicholas McCLEAN-RICE	A Case of the Possession Type in India With Evidence of Paranormal Knowledge	81-101
	Abstract: A young married woman, Sumitra, in a village of northern India, apparently died and then revived. After a period of confusion she stated that she was one Shiva who had been murdered in another village. She gave enough details to permit verification of her statements, which corresponded to facts in the life of another young married woman called Shiva. Shiva had lived in a place about 100 km away, and she had died violently there-either by suicide or murder-about two months before Sumitra's apparent death and revival. Subsequently, Sumitra recognized 23 persons (in person or in photographs) known to Shiva. She also showed in several respects new behavior that accorded with Shiva's personality and attainments. For example, Shiva's family were Brahmins (high caste), whereas Sumitra's were Thakurs (second caste); after the change in her personality Sumitra showed Brahmin habits that were strange in her family. Extensive interviews with 53 informants satisfied the investigators that the families concerned had been, as they claimed, completely unknown to each other before the case developed and that Sumitra had had no normal knowledge of the people and events in Shiva's life. The authors conclude that the subject demonstrated knowledge of another person's life obtained paranormally.

Ian STEVENSON, Satwant PASRICHA, Nicholas McCLEAN-RICE	A Case of the Possession Type in India With Evidence of Paranormal Knowledge	81-101
	Abstract: A young married woman, Sumitra, in a village of northern India, apparently died and then revived. After a period of confusion she stated that she was one Shiva who had been murdered in another village. She gave enough details to permit verification of her statements, which corresponded to facts in the life of another young married woman called Shiva. Shiva had lived in a place about 100 km away, and she had died violently there-either by suicide or murder-about two months before Sumitra's apparent death and revival. Subsequently, Sumitra recognized 23 persons (in person or in photographs) known to Shiva. She also showed in several respects new behavior that accorded with Shiva's personality and attainments. For example, Shiva's family were Brahmins (high caste), whereas Sumitra's were Thakurs (second caste); after the change in her personality Sumitra showed Brahmin habits that were strange in her family. Extensive interviews with 53 informants satisfied the investigators that the families concerned had been, as they claimed, completely unknown to each other before the case developed and that Sumitra had had no normal knowledge of the people and events in Shiva's life. The authors conclude that the subject demonstrated knowledge of another person's life obtained paranormally.

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 3 Number 2 September 1989
Society for Scientific Exploration

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

Thomas GOLD	New Ideas in Science	103-112
	Abstract: `The pace of scientific work continues to accelerate, but the question is whether the pace of discovery will continue to accelerate. If we were driving in the wrong direction-in the direction where no new ideas can be accepted-then even if scientific work goes on, the progress would be stifled. This is not to suggest that we are in quite such a disastrous position, but on the other hand, not all is well.`

Richard F. HAINES, Jacques F. VALLÉE	Photo Analysis of an Aerial Disc Over Costa Rica	113-131
	Abstract: n unusual image was photographically recorded by an official mapping aircraft of the Costa Rican government at 08:25 am (EDT) on September 4, 197 1 while flying at 10,000 feet altitude over a body of water known as Lago de Cote. None of the flight crew or photographers saw the object. Second generation negative and positive black and white transparencies were obtained and analyzed by the authors. Both transparencies were photographically enlarged and printed on various contrast papers for purposes of making visual inspections and linear measurements. Computer enhancement showed variations in surface brightness. The preceding frame, taken 20 seconds earlier of the same ground region, did not show the disc. The angular position of the sun was determined for the date, time and location of the event and was found to be consistent with cloud shadow positions but not with the dark regions on the disc. A shadow of the disc could not be found. The oval image measured 4.2 mm on the negative and was enlarged to 41 mm (9.76 X magnification). If the disc was located 10,000 feet away from the camera, its maximum dimension would be 2 10 meters (683 feet). The various analyses failed to identify the image. The same body of water was the site of a visual observation of a partially submerged object on October 25, 1986.

Antonia MILLS	A Replication Study: Three Cases of Children in Northern India Who Are Said to Remember a Previous Life	133-184
	Abstract: This replication of Ian Stevenson's studies of spontaneous cases suggestive of reincarnation presents data from 3 of the 10 cases investigated by the author in northern India during 5 weeks in the summers of 1987 and 1988. The purpose of the study was to see if an independent investigator, following Stevenson's methods, would reach conclusions similar to his. Stevenson reports that the numerous cases in which a child speaks and acts from the point of view of a verifiable but deceased person about whom the child could not have normally known are best explained as cases suggestive of reincarnation. With one possible exception the author was satisfied that the cases she studied were not cases of deceit or self-deceit, although she noted that acceptance of the concept of reincarnation played a part in the diagnosis and unfolding of the case. While in some instances the child said no more than could be presumed to be known by the parents, in other cases the child's accurate and intense identification with someone unknown to the parents indicates something paranormal has taken place.

Dean I. RADIN	Searching for "Signatures" in Anomalous Human-Machine Interaction Data: A Neural Network Approach	185-200
	Abstract: An artificial neural network was used to explore whether unique "signatures" could be found in data collected in experiments studying the effect of intention on the statistical behavior of random number generators. Results showed that a network trained with a back-propagation technique was able to learn to associate 32 different individuals with the data they generated, then successfully transfer that knowledge to new data. It is recommended that similar experiments studying anomalous human-machine interactions should attempt to identify person-specific patterns in data in addition to measuring the magnitude of effects; parallel processing analysis techniques are also recommended.

Ian STEVENSON	A Case of Severe Birth Defects Possibly Due to Cursing	201-212
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 4 Number 1 /1990 - Comments on Stevenson's "A Case of Severe Birth Defects Possibly Due to Cursing"
	Abstract: For centuries it was widely believed that a strong unpleasant shock to a pregnant woman could cause birth defects in her baby. Medical books and journals published numerous cases of this type up to the early decades of the present century. The idea of "maternal impression" gradually lost ground during the 18th and 19th centuries, mainly because it seemed to conflict with the facts of physiology. In cases of "maternal impression," the pregnant mother was usually reported to have viewed someone with a shocking deformity that her baby was said to reproduce. It has also been thought that cursing, verbally inflicted and without a visual stimulus, could produce birth defects. Three cases of this type, one published by a pediatrician in 1960, are briefly reviewed, and then a new case is reported. In both of the modem cases, the commonly recognized etiological factors in birth defects could not be identified.

	`Letter to the Editor`
	Comments on Slanger's Internal Clock	213-219
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 2 Number 2 September/1988 - Evidence for a Short-Period Internal Clock in Humans [Slanger, Tom G.]

	`Book Review`
Henry H. BAUER	The Relativity Question, by Ian McCausland	217-219

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 4 Number 2 1990

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Invited Essay`
Michael D. SWORDS	Using the Study of Anomalies to Enhance Critical Thinking in the Classroom	123-136
	Abstract: n upper-class college seminar-style course for general science credit is described. The primary function of the offering is to elicit higher cognitive thought from the students (analysis, synthesis, evaluation). The student experience from this course indicates not only that they had much to learn as regard to the state of evidence for many of the anomalies (from Psi to UFOs to Cryptozoology to Reincarnation), but that researchers and the "science establishment" are all demonstrating flaws and failures in their approaches to these subjects.

Marsha HANCOCK ADAMS	Some Observations of Electromagnetic Signals Prior to California Earthquakes	137-152
	Abstract: Electromagnetic (EM) signals in the frequency range below 1,000 Hz have been monitored since 198 1 for the purpose of earthquake forecasting. Signal strength increased more than 7 standard deviations above the mean prior to 3 major California Earthquakes; Coalinga (1983), Whittier Narrows ( 1987), and Lorna Prieta ( 1989). The signal increases occurred 10 days to one month prior to the earthquakes. They were continuously elevated until after each earthquake occurred. An effort to forecast time and location of smaller earthquakes in the magnitude 2-4 range is underway. Expert system software has been developed to interpret the EM signals in near real time. The expert system makes forecasts on a daily basis for selected areas in California. A preliminary statistical analysis of recent forecasts appears promising, yielding probabilities of p 1 * or better. On August 7, 1990 another series of strong signals began. They have continued for an unprecedented length of time and are still present at the time of submission of this paper on October 16, 1990.

William H. JEFFERYS	Bayesian Analysis of Random Event Generator Data	153-169
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 2 /1994 - Erratum: Bayesian Analysis of Random Event Generator Data [Jefferys, William H.]
	Abstract: Data from experiments that use random event generators are usually analyzed by classical (frequentist) statistical tests, which summarize the statistical significance of the test statistic as a p-value. However, classical statistical tests are frequently inappropriate to these data, and the resulting p-values can grossly overestimate the significance of the result. Bayesian analysis shows that a small p-value may not provide credible evidence that an anomalous phenomenon exists. An easily applied alternative methodology is described and applied to an example from the literature.


Antonia MILLS	Moslem Cases of the Reincarnation Type in Northern India: A Test of the Hypothesis of Imposed Identification Part I: Analysis of 26 Cases	171-188
	Abstract: The author describes the features of 26 Moslem (or half-Moslem) cases of the reincarnation type in India. In eight of these cases a Moslem child is said to have recalled the life of a Moslem. In seven cases a Moslem child is said to have recalled a life as a Hindu, and in 11 cases a Hindu child is said to have recalled the life of a Moslem (these are referred to as half-Moslem cases). Most Moslems in India do not officially endorse the concept of human earthly reincarnation. In some instances the absence of the doctrine in Islam made Moslems hostile to investigation of the cases. However, the cases are generally very similar to the more common Hindu cases, except that in solved Moslem and half-Moslem cases a higher proportion of previous personalities died violently, and the subjects in the halfMoslem cases showed behavior and (in two instances) birthmarks appropriate for the other religious community. Both Hindu and Moslem parents found it troubling to have a child recall a past life in a different religion. Such cases are unlikely to be the result of subtle clues given the child to adopt an envied identity.
Antonia MILLS	Moslem Cases of the Reincarnation Type in Northern India: A Test of the Hypothesis of Imposed Identification Part II: Reports of Three Cases	189-202
	Abstract: The author describes three cases of the reincarnation type in India in which either the subject or the previous personality (or both) were Moslem. In one case both the child and the person she was said to be were Moslem. In the second case, a Hindu child claimed to be a Moslem. The third case not only remains unsolved (that is, no one was ever found who corresponded to the child's statements), but probably represents a spurious case. In this case or non-case, a Moslem child gave some indication of recalling being a Hindu Brahmin. Moslems do not endorse the concept of reincarnation and, therefore, approach cases skeptically. The cases are presented in some detail so the readers can assess for themselves to what extent the cases represent evidence that something paranormal by Western standards (such as reincarnation) may be taking place.

Michel PARROT	Electromagnetic Disturbances Associated With Earthquakes: An Analysis of Ground-Based and Satellite Data	203-211
	Abstract: Several observations were made of Very Low Frequency (VLF) emissions apparently associated with earthquakes, which were recorded independently at ground-based stations and on satellites. The observations at the Kerguelen station (49"26'S, 70°25'E) were made using magnetic antennae, on April 24 and 25, 1980, during a period when three earthquakes with magnitude Ms > 4.7 took place near the station. Several increases of electromagnetic waves at the time of earthquakes were recorded on the polar-orbiting satellite AUREOL-3. The observations on the geostationary GEOS-2 satellite were made using magnetic and electric antennae during the period 1977- 198 1. Data were analysed for those cases when both intense (M, > 5) earthquakes occurred in the region close to the satellite longitude and the satellite was operating in the VLF mode. A statistical analysis, based on the enhancement of wave intensity at the time of earthquakes and using GEOS2 data, seems to indicate that there is a (possibly indirect) association between seismic activity and some of the VLF emissions observed at the satellite. Ionospheric measurements made from the ground also showed an increase of the critical frequencyfoE, of the sporadic layer Es when earthquakes occurred nearby. Some aspects of the relation between the VLF emissions and the seismic activity are discussed.

C. M. PLEASS, N. Dean DEY	Conditions That Appear to Favor Extrasensory Interactions Between Homo Sapiens and Microbes	213-231
	Abstract: We report laser Doppler studies of the possibility of extrasensory interactions between Homo sapiens and isolated unicellular microbes, and unattended computer-controlled studies of the response of cultures of microbes to the distant sacrifice of clones. From the first series of experiments we find evidence that the focussed attention and intention of a person in nominal physical isolation from a culture of Dunaliella tertiolecta can influence their activity. Averaging of all data from a total of 25 1 trials strongly suggested the rejection of the null hypothesis. However, a subset of 1 18 formal trials conducted with more restrictive protocols were only marginally significant. A second series of experiments used the sacrifice of clones as a distant stimulus. The data appear to show that the marine alga Tetraselrnis suecica reacts dramatically to the sacrifice of cells in a physically isolated aliquot of the same culture if the experimenters are aware of the moment of sacrifice, and excited by the novelty of the experiment. In sharp contrast, only marginally significant results were obtained when the same experiment was run entirely automatically, with the time of the sacrifice defined by random number selection, and the experiment activated by computer command in an empty laboratory. A third series appears to illustrate a difference between the effect of the attention of experimenters and participants in a formal series, and the more highly developed states of excitement and interest which normally characterize pilot trials. In conclusion, we draw attention to the support which our observations provide for an "experimenter effect." Our present working hypothesis is that the result of any experiment is a form of environmental feedback, a complex manifestation of the conscious and subconscious expectations of the experimenter and the participants.

Helmut SCHMIDT	Correlation Between Mental Processes and External Random Events	233-241
	Abstract: `The report reviews the author's early work on the precognition of quantum processes, including changes introduced as safeguards against errors`

Ian STEVENSON	Phobias in Children Who Claim to Remember Previous Lives	243-254
	Abstract: In a series of 387 children who claimed to remember a previous life phobias occurred in 14 1 (36%). The phobias nearly always corresponded to the mode of death in the life of the deceased person the child claimed to remember. They usually manifested between the ages of 2 and 5, and sometimes the child showed the phobia in early infancy before it had begun to speak about a previous life. The phobias did not derive from imitating another member of the family or from any postnatal traumatic experience. They seem to require some paranormal explanation of which, however, reincarnation is only one.

William A. TILLER	A Gas Discharge Device for Investigating Focussed Human Attention	255-271
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 5 Number 2 /1991 - Comments on A Gas Discharge Device for Investigating Focussed Human Attention
	Abstract: A gas discharge cell with dielectric-coated electrodes and -- 1 mm gap was operated at voltages -- several percent below breakdown for the purpose of measuring an effect of focussed human attention on electron microavalanche size in the gas. An enhanced counting rate of supercritical size microavalanches was observed under a well-defined protocol when focussed human attention was active. It was found that humans can either enhance the microavalanche number and size or leave the system unchanged depending upon their mental focus. Here, the device design as well as the effects of various gases, dielectrics, shielding, etc., are discussed.

James W. WARWICK	Radio Emissions From an Earthquake	273-279
	Abstract: -Earlier we associated radio emission preceeding the great Chilean earthquake of 1960 with the quake by virtue of the emission region's size (if its source were the subsequently observed rupture zone) and the required direction of arrival at the observation station in Boulder, Colorado. Through analysis of the power relations between the emission in total power and signal levels in the interferometer, which failed to observe the emission in phase power, it is possible to deduce the least source size, under the plausible assumption that the emissions propagated nearly horizontally. This size is 3.1 degrees; the next larger possible solution for sources at this azimuthal range is 6.2 degrees. For signals arriving from the azimuth of the center of the rupture zone as seen from Boulder, the least source size is 3.47 degrees; a solution of 6.94 degrees is also possible. The total span of the rupture zone in azimuth was 3.5 plus or minus 0.2 degrees. The agreement with the least source size for the azimuth of the rupture zone is excellent and is further evidence for the reality of the association

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Comments on Remote Viewing and Computer Communications-An Experiment	281
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 2 Number 1 /1988 - Remote Viewing and Computer Communications-An Experiment [Vallée, Jacques]
	Comments on Vallee's Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects	282-284
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 4 Number 1 /1990 - Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects [Vallée, Jacques F.]

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 6 Number 3 Autumn 1992
Society for Scientific Exploration

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`SSE News Items`
	Highlights of the 1992 European SSE Meeting	205-211
	Next SSE Meeting	211
	SSE Council Member Radin Work Cited	211

Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	213-216

Illobrand VON LUDWIGER, T. AUERBACH	Heim's Theory of Elementary Particle Structures	217-231
	Abstract: Heim's theory is defined in a 6-dimensional world, in 2 dimensions of which events take place that organize processes in the 3 dimensions of our experience. A very small natural constant, called a "metron", is derived, representing the smallest area that can exist in nature. This leads to the conclusion that space must be composed of a 6-dimensional geometric lattice of very small cells bounded on all sides by metrons. The existence of metrons requires our usual infinitesimal calculus to be replaced by one of finite areas. The unperturbed lattice represents empty vacuum. Local deformations of the lattice indicate the presence of something other than empty space. If the deformation is of the right form and complexity it acquires the property of mass and inertia. Elementary particles are complex dynamical systems of locally confined interacting lattice distortions. Thus, the theory geometricizes the world by viewing it as a huge assemblage of very small geometric deformations of a 6- dimensional lattice in vacuum. The theory also has significant consequences for cosmology

Michael EPSTEIN, Luigi GARLASCHELLI	Better Blood Through Chemistry: A Laboratory Replication of a Miracle	233-246
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 1 Spring/1993 - Comments on Better Blood Through Chemistry
	Abstract: -The recent simulation of the miracle liquefying blood of Saint Januarius is shown to be viable from both historical and scientific standpoints. The history of the holy blood is traced and means and motivation for the simulation are provided. Spectral analysis of the simulated blood, a thixotropic gel of iron hydroxide (FeO(OH)), shows the absorption spectrum to be similar to old blood. Many reported characteristics of the holy blood can be explained by the behavior of a thixotropic gel. Modifications of the preparation procedure are attempted to bring the simulation into agreement with fourteenth century alchemical knowledge. A critical evaluation of previous spectroscopic studies of the miracle blood is presented.


Suitbert ERTEL	The Gauquelin Effect Explained? Comments on Arno Miiller's Hypothesis of Planetary Correlations	247-254
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 4 Number 1 /1990 - Planetary Influences on Human Behavior ("Gauquelin Effect"): Too Absurd for a Scientific Explanation? [Müller, Arno]
	Abstract: Arno Müller's "hypothesis of the planetary klite" (Müller,1990) amended Gauquelin's "midwife hypothesis", which suffered from weaknesses. The approach is a welcome contribution to the persistent problem of how to explain planetary correlations with human births (the Gauquelin effect). However, it is inconsistent with empirical observations: (1)Gauquelin effects are unrelated to character traits. Miiller's hypothesis explains a correlation that does not exist. (2) Sometimes planetary effects decrease with eminence. This is inconsistent with Muller's idea that more eminent as compared to less eminent people should have cultural and biological advantages. (3)Birth frequencies can be infrequent instead of abundant when the planet is rising or culminating. This is inconsistent with Muller's assumption that in prehistorical times the births of children were desired, not avoided, when the divine planet was so placed. (4) The doctrine of planetary heredity-the basic precondition of Muller's hypothesis-is probably invalid. (5) The Gauquelin effect is weakest for Venus. Muller's claim of an impact of planetary appearances on the evolution of the Gauquelin effect would predict the opposite. (6) Muller's model covers only the evolution of conditioning between planetary sensitivity and character traits. It does not explain the evolution of planetary sensitivity prior to such conditioning. Gauquelin's original midwife hypothesis as well as Muller's new version of it could be refuted straightforwardly if further tests showed that the Gauquelin effect occurred undiminished in eminent births induced by obstetric drugs.
Arno MÜLLER	The Gauquelin Effect Explained? A Rejoinder to Ertel's Critique	255-259

A. I. GRIGOR'EV, I. D. GRIGOR'EVA, S. O. SHIRYAEVA	Ball Lightning Penetration into Closed Rooms: 43 Eyewitness Accounts	261-279
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 1 Spring/1994 - Comments on Ball Lightning
	Abstract: `43 Eyewitness Reports on the ability of ball lightning to penetrate into rooms through window glass (very often leaving no holes) and to enter houses through radio and electric sockets are presented.`

Ian STEVENSON	A Series of Possibly Paranormal Recurrent Dreams	281-290
	Abstract: In 1986 Dr. Walter D'Souza, an Indian physician living in the United States, had a series of realistic dreams in which his deceased father, who had been buried in India three years earlier, appeared to be leaving his coffin and trying to communicate something to him. After Dr. D'Souza had had three of these dreams, a letter from India informed his mother that his father's bones had not been adequately disposed of. Dr. D'Souza then believed that his dreams had some connection with the matter of his father's bones. He urged his mother to go to India and attend to the burial, but she and his sister minimized the difficulty, and did not wish to spend money on a journey to India. Dr. D'Souza then had a fourth dream similar to the previous three. He told his family about his dreams and insisted that his mother go to India and attend to the disposition of the bones. She agreed to go and the dreams ceased. It seems unlikely that Dr. D'Souza before he had his dreams had any normal awareness that anything further needed to be done for the proper disposition of his father's bones. Paranormal interpretations of the dreams have plausibility. Attention is drawn to the quality of vividness in dreams as a possible marker of paranormality.

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Comments on Survival or Super-psi?	291
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 2 /1992 - Survival or Super-psi? [Braude, Stephen E.]
	Are Memories of Alien Abductions Recollections of Surgical Experiences?	291-294
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 2 Summer/1993 - Comments on James Wilson's Letter to the Editor

	`Book Review`
Ian STEVENSON	Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method by Henry H. Bauer	295-297

	Erratum	297
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 2 /1992 - Highlights of the Princeton SSE Meeting

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 6 Number 2 1992

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Editorial`
Bernhard HAISCH	Challenge Grant	i-ii

Rhea A. WHITE	Review of Approaches to the Study of Spontaneous Psi Experiences	93-126
	Abstract: -Twelve approaches to the study of spontaneous psi experiences are described: individual case study, case collection, survey, cross-cultural, longitudinal, clinical, psychological, phenomenological, archetypal, folklorist, active imagination, and social constructionist. The review begins with the older and more commonly used approaches. Although all 12 methods have been reported in the literature, the primary ones used thus far in parapsychology are the individual case study, the case collection, the cross cultural, the survey, and to a lesser extent, the clinical. The others have barely been tried, yet if given a fair trial, they might prove to be more useful ways of learning to understand the nature of spontaneous psi experiences than the first three, although the latter will always be useful for different purposes. In general, the more commonly used methods aim at establishing that the experiences occurred as reported and at delimiting the characteristics of the cases and details of their incidence. The lesser used methods are aimed at understanding the personal (and sometimes general) meaning of experiential accounts of psi experiences. Throughout the author has also interjected her own personal views of which approaches are to be preferred at this time, and why.


Stephen E. BRAUDE	Survival or Super-psi?	127-144
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 3 Autumn/1992 - Comments on Survival or Super-psi?
	Abstract: Even the most sophisticated discussions of the evidence for survival underestimate the conceptual difficulties facing the survival hypothesis. Perhaps the major challenge is posed by the rival "super-psi" hypothesis, which most writers fail to confront in its most plausible and potent form. Once the super-psi hypothesis is taken seriously, two major weaknesses in discussions of survival stand out clearly. First, analyses of apparently anomalous knowledge that tend to be fatally superficial in their treatment of subject psychodynamics. And second, analyses of apparently anomalous abilities and skills trade on an impoverished and naive conception of the nature of human abilities.
Ian STEVENSON	Survival or Super-psi: A Reply	145-150
Stephen E. BRAUDE	Reply to Stevenson	151-155

Loftur Reimar GISSURARSON	The Psychokinesis Effect: Geomagnetic Influence, Age and Sex Differences	157-165
	Abstract: Data from 621 experimental sessions carried out in Scotland, United States and Iceland were retrospectively analyzed for a possible connection between psychokinesis (PK) performance and local geomagnetic activity (Kindex). Although the study did not find any significant correlation between geomagnetic activity and overall PK performance, the difference in geomagnetic activity on the day prior to the experimental sessions (split via high and low PK score) was marginally significant (p = .08, 2-T). The compound PK effect in the data base yielded a nonsignificant z-score deviation from MCE of 1.27, with a distribution significantly different from a normal distribution (p=.01, 2-T). Furthermore, males did significantly better than females (p= .04, 2-T), and the youngest subjects did marginally better than the oldest subjects (p = .098,2-T).

Satwant PASRICHA	Are Reincarnation Type Cases Shaped by Parental Guidance? An Empirical Study Concerning the Limits of Parents' Influence on Children	167-180
	Abstract: The author conducted a systematic survey of cases of the reincarnation type in a region of northern India with an estimated population of 861 1 persons. The 91 respondents informed about 19 cases, suggesting a prevalence rate of 2.2 per thousand in this area. In addition to the characteristics of the cases, the author learned about the range and extent of dissemination of information about such cases. Information regarding the occurrence of particular cases traveled a maximum distance of 75 kilometers; in 94% of the cases it never went beyond 25 kilometers. Information about the factual details of cases traveled even shorter distances. Cases occurring within the same family or the same village showed considerable variations in important features, making it unlikely that cases developed later had been modeled on ones occurring earlier.

	`Book Reviews`
Henry H. BAUER	Darwin on Trial by Phillip E. Johnson	181-186
Henry H. BAUER	American Epigraphy at the Crossroads edited by James P. Whittall, Jr.	186-190
Henry H. BAUER	How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich	190-194

	`SSE News Items`
	Highlights of the Princeton SSE Meeting	195-199
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 3 Autumn/1992 - Erratum
	Dinsdale Prize Awarded to Dr. Helmut Schmidt	199-200
	New Book Review Editor	201
	Research Reports Available from Hungarian Academy of Sciences	201

	Erratum	202
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 1 /1992 - Response to Dobyns [Jefferys, William H.]

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 6 Number 4 1992

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`SSE News Items`
	1993 Annual SSE Meeting	299
	Grant to Radin	299
	International Federation for Aerial Anomalies	299-300
	Angela Thompson to Coordinate Foundation Research	300

Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	301-305

Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	307-310
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 4 /1993 - On Biological Transmutation of Elements

Brenda J. DUNNE, Robert G. JAHN	Experiments in Remote Human/Machine Interaction	311-332
	Abstract: Several extensive experimental studies of humanlmachine interactions wherein the human operators and the target machines are separated by distances of up to several thousand miles yield anomalous results comparable in scale and character to those produced under conditions of physical proximity. The output distributions of random binary events produced by a variety of microelectronic random and pseudorandom generators, as well as by a macroscopic random mechanical cascade, display small but replicable and statistically significant mean shifts correlated with the remote operators' pre-stated intentions, and feature cumulative achievement patterns similar to those of the corresponding local experiments. Individual operator effect sizes distribute normally, with the majority of participants contributing to the overall effect. Patterns of specific count populations are also similar to those found in the corresponding local experiments. The insensitivity of the size and details of these results to intervening distance and time adds credence to a large database of precognitive remote perception experiments, and suggests that these two forms of anomaly may draw from similar mechanisms of information exchange between human consciousness and random physical processes.

S. JEFFERS, J. SLOAN	A Low Light Level Diffraction Experiment for Anomalies Research	333-352
	Abstract: Some interpretations of quantum mechanics assert an active role for human consciousness in actualizing the results of measurements on quantum systems. At the same time, some empirical studies have claimed positive results in testing the abilities of human subjects to bias randomly generated events i.e. those governed by Gaussian statistics. Experiments have been conducted using a different probability distribution i.e. the digitally recorded diffracted light intensity from a single slit. This normalized distribution is conventionally interpreted as the probability of locating a photon in a specified location in the observation plane. Human subjects have been invited to attempt to bias this distribution in a prescribed way. The experiment is tightly controlled against any artifacts generating very high data rates with high statistical accuracy. Calibrations show that any displacement of the diffraction pattern relative to the detector of order 1.6 X 10.~ cms should be detectable. Of twenty subjects tested, none has produced a detectable displacement corresponding to this upper limit. Introducti

Ian STEVENSON	A New Look at Maternal Impressions: An Analysis of 50 Published Cases and Reports of Two Recent Examples	353-373
	Abstract: -The idea that a pregnant woman may be so frightened by the sight of some deformity on another person that her baby will be affected by a similar defect is widely believed in most parts of the world today; it was also generally believed in the West until the early years of this century. The skepticism that then developed may have derived from lack of an explanatory principle and not from lack of evidence for a significant correspondence between stimulus and birthmark or birth defect. The present paper summarizes the main features of 50 published cases in which an unusual stimulus to a pregnant woman was followed by the birth of a baby with unusual birthmarks or birth defects that nearly always corresponded closely to the stimulus the pregnant mother had received. Two recent cases that the author investigated are presented. The author concludes that in rare instances maternal impressions may indeed affect gestating babies and cause birth defects. Almost nothing is known about why such effects occur in some pregnancies, but only rarely, or about the implementing processes involved. These may be paranormal.

D. P. Wirth et al.	The Effect of Alternative Healing Therapy on the Regeneration Rate of Salamander Forelimbs	375-390
	Abstract: -The following experiment examined the effect of noncontact therapeutic touch (NCTT) on the regeneration rate of salamander forelimbs surgically amputated through the distal third of the stylopodium. A total of 154 newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, were used and limb regeneration was assessed using two criteria: (1) the time to first finger differentiation, and (2) the time to fourth finger differentiation. The experiment was divided into two sections. For section #I, four NCTT healers worked individually under three separate conditions in a specially designed laboratory. The conditions were: (1) treatment through an opening in the wall, (2) treatment through smoked opaque glass, and (3) treatment through smoked opaque glass and plastic. For section #2, the four individual healers were paired, with each pair working together on a tank of newts situated directly in front of them. The results for section #1 showed that: (I) Healer 1 obtained nonsignificance for all three conditions at both the first and fourth finger differentiation stages, (2) Healer 2 obtained significance for all three conditions at both differentiation stages, (3) Healer 3 obtained significance for condition 1 only at both differentiation stages, and (4) Healer 4 obtained significance for conditions 2 and 3 at both differentiation stages. For section #2, only the pair of Healer 1-Healer 3 obtained significant results (p < .002). The data, therefore, suggest that NCTT may have the potential to accelerate the rate of regeneration of newt forelimbs surgically amputated through the distal third of the humerus

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Darwin on Trial Review	391-395

	`Book Reviews`
Henry H. BAUER	Cold Fusion, The Scientific Fiasco of the Century	395-400

Michael EPSTEIN	Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out-of-the-Body-Experiences	401

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 7 Number 3 1993

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Research and Review Articles`
Michael SCHROTER-KUNHARDT	A Review of Near Death Experiences	219-239
	Abstract: Near death experiences (NDEs) have been reported throughout time in essentially all cultures. The contents of modem NDEs is independent of gender, age, and profession. The frequency of occurrence is estimated to lie between 10 and 50 percent of all near-death situations. This frequency could be higher still, perhaps even 100 percent, were it not for the dreamlike and dissociative character of the experience and the amnesia-prone participation of the temporal lobe causing a clear tendency to forget the NDE. A number of similar elements are common to NDEs, such as an out-of-body experience (OBE) in which the physical body and its surroundings are observed from various external vantage points, often from above. Numerous cases exist in which the reality of the OBE-observation can be independently 'verified, by external conditions, situations, people, objects, etc. Even previously non-religious ND experiencers subsequently show a markedly decreased fear of death and a corresponding increase in belief in life after death. Certain elements of NDE-like experiences can be induced by, for example, electrical stimulation of the right temporal lobe or the use of hallucinogenic substances. It is possible that hallucinogenic transmitters (and endorphins) of the brain itself play a role in the NDE. Nevertheless, there are NDE-elements, such as the frequently reported life-review and certainly the acquisition of external, verifiable information concerning the physical surroundings during the experience, that cannot be explained by physiological causes. Wish-fulfillment, death-denial or other defense mechanisms of the brain are also not adequate explanations. The large body of NDE data now accumulated point to genuine evidence for a non-physical reality and paranormal capacities of the human being.
Bruce MACCABEE	Analysis and Discussion of the May 18, 1992 UFO Sighting in Gulf Breeze, Florida	241-257
	Abstract: A professional TV crew traveled to Gulf Breeze, Florida on two occasions in the spring of 1992 at a time when sightings were occurring on a weekly basis. On each occasion anomalous lights were observed and videotaped passing through the Gulf Breeze skies. This paper reports briefly on the first sighting and concentrates on the analysis of the second sighting when the TV crew used a special "high power" camera. During the second sighting the lights were observed from two locations allowing for triangulation and a subsequent estimate of the spacing between them (about 10 ft). They were moving in an early rectilinear path at a speed exceeding 20 mph before they faded out. A discussion of the hoax hypothesis involving pyrotechnic devices and incandescent light sources is presented. It is shown that the sightings, if not of "real" UFOs, constitute a hoax of considerable ingenuity, expense and persistence. This sighting was just one of about 170 which have occurred in the Gulf Breeze area during 1990-1992.
York H. DOBYNS	Selection Versus Influence in Remote REG Anomalies	259-269
	Abstract: A large body of remote human-machine interaction data has been collected in a protocol structurally similar to that used for experiments in remote perception, with somewhat comparable anomalous results. This suggests that the effects seen in the former could be attributable to a selection or sorting process on a reservoir of unperturbed data, rather than to any remote influence on the machine behavior per se. Fortunately, the statistical consequences of these two modalities are clearly distinguishable within the available empirical data. When properly evaluated by Bayesian hypothesis-comparison methods, the experimental results overwhelmingly favor the direct influence hypothesis over any selection mechanism.
J. W. NIENHUYS	Dutch Investigations of the Gauquelin Mars Effect	271-281
	Abstract: A team of Dutch skeptics have investigated a new explanation for the Mars effect with sports champions of Michel Gauquelin. They conjectured that outstanding sports people might have diurnal and seasonal birth rhythms different from average people and that moreover the short time base of Gauquelin's observations might further enhance these effects. Essentially their findings were negative. Simulations were either not possible because of lack of data or they showed that along these lines an explanation is only possible if very implausible additional assumptions are made. However, it is argued that the Gauquelin data suffer from a bias, namely some artifact of the exploratory phase. The eminence effect of Ertel is shown to be too weak to draw firm conclusions about its existence. It seems plausible that the Gauquelins did not realize that said artifact had to be tightly controlled for

Suitbert ERTEL	Comments on Dutch Investigations of the Gauquelin Mars Effect	283-292
	Abstract: -The first of two Dutch skeptics' attempts at disproving the Mars effect failed (Nienhuys 1993a). Contrary to the Nienhuys view, however, the second pass of the Dutch critics at the Gauquelin claim- an attempt at undermining the validity of his data base- is shown to fail as well. The critics drew apparent support from my previous unearthing of a Gauquelin biasGauquelin had exempted cases from publication (Ertel, 1988). Yet they neglected the fact that any such bias had been neutralized as a result of my pooling of published and unpublished data. Specifically, a significant eminence trend was demonstrated in the unmanufactured total sample in my 1988 report. In addition, Dutch endeavours at rendering the eminence relationship insignificant either failed (even a less sensitive scale with 12 instead of 36 sector division yielded significance) or were illegitimate (splitting up of the entire sample for that purpose violates methodological logic). Thus, the present (fourth) attempt in the history of resistance against the Gauquelin challenge by organized skeptics has added two misses to their record.

	`Invited Essay`
William A. TILLER	What Are Subtle Energies?	293-304
	Abstract: A brief discussion is given of a set of anomalous experimental phenomena that are inexplicable based only on the four accepted forces operating in the physical universe. Possible explanations require defining the existence of subtle energies. Using a quantum mechanical description, the seat of subtle energy functioning is traced to the vacuum state with magnetic vector potential assuming the role of bridge between the subtle energies and physical energies. A brief discussion is given of how we might reliably detect subtle energies and a zeroth order model of the subtle domains as substructure for the vacuum state is given.

	`Columns`
Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	305-310
Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	311-315
j. DOMMANGET	Guest Column: The Comite PARA-European Skeptics Committee	317-321

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Ukraine Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena	323-325
	Comments on Guide to UFO Research	325-326
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 1 Spring/1993 - A Guide to UFO Research [Swords, Michael D.]

	`Book Reviews`
Ian STEVENSON	Beyond Natural Selection by Robert Wesson	327-328
Peter A. STURROCK	First Review of Forbidden Science	328-330
	Review: Jacques VALLÉE,FORBIDDEN SCIENCE - 1992
Keith THOMPSON	Second Review of Forbidden Science	330-333
	Review: Jacques VALLÉE,FORBIDDEN SCIENCE - 1992
Hilary EVANS	Roads to Center Place: A Cultural Atlas of Chaco Canyon and the Anasazi by Kathryn Gabriel	333-335

	`SSE News Items`
	Preliminary Announcement of 1994 SSE Meetings	336
	Abstracts of 1993 SSE Meeting	336

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 7 Number 4 1993

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Research and Review Articles`
Colin S. L. KEAY	Progress in Explaining the Mysterious Sounds Produced by Very Large Meteor Fireballs	337-354
	Abstract: Strange sounds, heard simultaneously with the sighting of brilliant meteor fireballs many tens of kilometers distant, have been an enigma for more than two centuries. The term "electrophonic sounds" is now widely used to describe them and distinguish them from the normal sonic effects heard after the fireball has passed by. A physically viable explanation for meteor fireball electrophonic sounds has been developed and verified by observation and experiment. The history of this neglected branch of meteor science is presented in some detail, drawing attention to the difficulties which stood in the way of a solution until fairly recently. Introducti
Dean I. RADIN	Neural Network Analyses of Consciousness-Related Patterns in Random Sequences	355-373
	Abstract: Researchers investigating the effects of mental intention on the output of random number generators have observed person-unique patterns or "signatures" impressed into the data. A previously reported study used an artificial neural network to analyze the data produced in these experiments and found evidence supporting the signatures hypothesis. The present study again used a neural network to search for patterns, this time using new data and new network configurations. Results of eight analyses confirmed the presence of person-specific signatures. Suggestions for creating practical applications from this phenomenon are outlined.
Sybo A. SCHOUTEN	Applied Parapsychology: Studies of Psychics l and Healers	375-401
	Abstract: Most research in parapsychology is aimed at understanding and controlling paranormal phenomena like telepathy, precognition and psychokinesis. However, in everyday life the practical applications of these phenomena, mainly by psychics and healers, play a more important role. People are generally more interested in the question of how effective these applications are than in scientific explanations of them. They want to know whether they should consult a psychic for a specific problem or what to expect from treatment by a paranormal healer. It is an important aspect of scientific activity to provide society with answers to such questions; answers not based on belief or disbelief in the paranormal but on factual research data. Research with psychics dates back to the last century. Considering the complexity of the problem it is not surprising that it took many years before proper statistical evaluation methods were developed. Based on studies in which the paranormal impressions of psychics were quantitatively evaluated an assessment is given of what happens when clients consult a psychic and of the merit of the impressions on which the psychics base their advice. Compared to psychics, there exists a much larger community of active paranormal healers. Despite this large number, the amount of research carried out on paranormal healing is less than the number of studies done with psychics. However, there are many studies available on complementary medicine in general which provide data relevant for the interpretation of the activities of psychic healers. All these data give an indication for the effectiveness of paranormal healing and of the main variables involved. Two overview studies have been carried out, one on quantitatively evaluated studies with psychics, the other on studies on psychic healing and on complementary medicine. The present paper is a summary and overview of the main results of both studies.
Ian STEVENSON	Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons	403-410
	Abstract: Almost nothing is known about why pigmented birthmarks (moles or nevi) occur in particular locations of the skin. The causes of most birth defects are also unknown. About 35% of children who claim to remember previous lives have birthmarks and/or birth defects that they (or adult informants) attribute to wounds on a person whose life the child remembers. The cases of 210 such children have been investigated. The birthmarks were usually areas of hairless, puckered skin; some were areas of little or no pigmentation (hypopigmented macules); others were areas of increased pigmentation (hyperpigmented nevi). The birth defects were nearly always of rare types. In cases in which a deceased person was identified the details of whose life unmistakably matched the child's statements, a close correspondence was nearly always found between the birthmarks and/or birth defects on the child and the wounds on the deceased person. In 43 of 49 cases in which a medical document (usually a postmortem report) was obtained, it confirmed the correspondence between wounds and birthmarks (or birth defects). There is little evidence that parents and other informants imposed a false identity on the child in order to explain the child's birthmark or birth defect. Some paranormal process seems required to account for at least some of the details of these cases, including the birthmarks and birth defects.

	`Invited Essay`
Robert McCONNELL	The "Enemies" of Parapsychology	417-427
	Abstract: The author regards as "enemies" of parapsychological research (1) those critics who confuse parapsychology with popular superstition, (2) those parapsychologists who know all the pieces of evidence for the reality of psi effects but who lack the capacity to integrate and to evaluate that evidence as a whole, and (3) those professional psychics whose faltering attempts to apply psi for profit give the field a bad name. The author believes that parapsychology's urgent task is to bring mutual understanding between scientists and the public by exploring the obscure but real psi phenomena that give rise to popular superstition. He sees extrasensory perception and psychokinesis as evocable, operationally-defined psi phenomena. However, he rejects as a religious endeavor the search for logical proof of their reality and advocates, instead, a Bayesian summation of countervailing intuitive probabilities. The author rejects blind empiricism as a practical path to the utilization of psi. He offers several speculations regarding future discoveries in parapsychology, three of which are: (1) Healing by self-hypnosis, as opposed to noncontact therapeutic touch, may be normal in an evolutionary sense. (2) Psychoneuroimmunology and psi may play complementary roles. (3) The principal future importance of parapsychology may be to allow scientific understanding of psi processes occurring within the human body.

	`Columns`
Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	429-433
Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	435-438
F. NOEL	Guest Column: Unidentified Atmospheric Phenomena Observed by an Astronomer	439-441

	`Letters to the Editor`
	On Biological Transmutation of Elements	443-447
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 4 /1992 - The Skeptical Perspective [Epstein, Michael]
	Comments on Suitbert Ertel's Puzzling Eminence Might Make Good Sense	447-448
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 2 Summer/1993 - Puzzling Eminence Effects Might Make Good Sense [Ertel, Suitbert]

	`Book Reviews`
Paul ALPER	The Burt Affair by R. B. Johnson and Science, Ideology and the Media: The Cyril Burt Scandal by R. Fletcher	449-451
Paul ALPER	The Left-Hander Syndrome; The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness by Stanley Coren	451-453
Albert E. MOYER	Luna: Myth & Mystery by Kathleen Cain	453-455
James WARWICK	Cross Currents by Robert 0. Becker	455-458
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 4 /1994 - Comments on James Warwick's Book Review of Cross Currents

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 7 Number 1 Spring 1993
Society for Scientific Exploration

Editor: Bernhard M. HAISCH

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Editorial`
Bernhard HAISCH	More is More!	1

	`SSE News Items`
	1993 Annual SSE Meeting	3-4
	SSE President Sturrock Named Honorary Fellow	4
Edwin C. MAY	In Memory of Charles Honorton	4-5
Suitbert ERTEL	In Memory of Michel Gauquelin	5-7

Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	9-13

Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	15-18

Tom VAN FLANDEM	Guest Column: Major Meeting on New Cosmologies	19-22

Paul DEVEREUX	Acculturated Topographical Effects of Shamanic Trance Consciousness in Archaic and Medieval Sacred Landscapes	23-37
	Abstract: Various linear enigmas exist in ancient sacred landscapes worldwide. These include examples of Native American landscape lines, such as the Chacoan "roads", New Mexico, and the Nazca "lines", Peru; Neolithic linear earthworks, called "cursuses", in Britain; stone rows in Europe, Malaysia and elsewhere; temple alignments in Indonesia. There is also the archaeologically heretical idea of "leys" (alignments of ancient sites), put forward by Englishman Alfred Watkins in 1921. Although the ley theory has long been derided by mainstream scholarship, new German and Dutch findings show that there was a medieval tradition of straight "Doodwegen" (death roads) or "Geisterwege" (ghost paths). It seems Watkins may have unwittingly uncovered vestiges of these features. Certainly Watkins had no concept of current "New Age" notions of "energy leylines", which are modem fantasies. It is argued that such medieval features arise out of a deep-seated, universal conceptual complex associating "spirit ways" with straight lines: straight cords and threads in ancient traditional healing practices as well as straight tracks and other ceremonial landscape markings. It is suggested that these ideas have their roots in archaic shamanism, which, throughout Eurasia, influenced later, ceremonial aspects of monarchy. A proto-Indo-European language vestige is cited. Preliminary evidence is presented indicating that the spirit - line association derived from the ecstatic "journey" experienced during the shamanic trance. This gave rise to images of "flying shamans" in tribal societies throughout the world, and, ultimately, to the "magical flight of the sovereign" in proto-state and state societies. It is this "flight of the soul" that seems to have been translated onto ancient sacred landscapes as straight lines, which later became variously acculturated as sacred ways, spirit and fairy paths, roads of the dead or of ghosts, or Royal Routes. The neurological aspects of the so-called out-of-body state, and its possible association with modem psychological epidemics such as "UFO abductions", is alluded to

Gerard L. EBERLEIN	Mainstream Sciences vs. Parasciences: Toward an Old Dualism?	39-48
	Abstract: The Observatory for New Spiritual Movements has been operating at the Technical University of Munich since 1980. It is concerned with the study of cults, New Age ideologies and with the parasciences from anthroposophy to cryptozoology. The parasciences are being analyzed by the science of sciences, i.e., by the philosophy of science, psychology and sociology of science, as well as by the history of science. The following ten hypotheses, characteristics and questions are discussed: (1) Mainstream sciences may make neither monopolistic nor absolutistic claims. (2) The six main criteria of the academic sciences are compared to the six main criteria of the parasciences. (3) The two types of science also differ in their value orientations. (4) Social processes and structures are characteristics of both. (5) What are the characteristic motivations of parascientists? (6) What is the historical background of the mainstream sciences? (7) What are the difference between the metaparadigms of mainstream science and those of the parasciences? (8) What are the social functions of mainstream sciences and parasciences? (9) Do the functions of the parasciences transcend those of mainstream science? (10) What are the characteristic differences between practitioners of mainstream science and the parasciences?

Shigeru MORIYAMA	Existence of Life and Homeostasis in an Attnospheric Environment	49-63
	Abstract: -A geophysiological model is used to show how a regulation of the atmospheric C02 level could counteract the effect of a gradual increase in solar luminosity. In our model, the biosphere and the atmosphere-ocean system exchange carbon through a biological process which includes the internal and mutual antagonism. It is suggested that as soon as the biologically regulated system had appeared on the early earth, the regulatory aspect of the ecosystem would have been fully operational, and thus, that the earth's environment has been maintained in homeostasis for a long time. One model for the temporal variation of the carbon distribution on the earth, which is in agreement with observed carbon isotopic data, is also suggested. An important result is that our ecosystem left a completely biologically controllable state some six hundred million years ago, and that the current trend is toward destruction of the ecosystem on the earth

Michael D. SWORDS	A Guide to UFO Research	65-87
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 3 /1993 - Comments on Guide to UFO Research
	Abstract: `-The very natural query of the interested intellectual: what should 1 read to understand the status of the UFO Phenomenon?, has no simple answer. This review article briefly examines the characteristics of the "UFO Problem" and relates those characteristics to the problem of ignorance in the academic community. An "inside look" at the appropriate library for the "working UFOlogist" is then explored.`

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Comments on Better Blood Through Chemistry	89-94
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 3 Autumn/1992 - Better Blood Through Chemistry: A Laboratory Replication of a Miracle [Epstein, Michael & Garlaschelli, Luigi]
	Super-psi or Reincarnation?	94-95

	`Book Reviews`
Ian STEVENSON	The Meaning of Evolution: The Morphological Construction and Ideological Reconstruction of Darwin's Theory	97-99
Bradley C CANON	Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception?	99-104
	Review: Jacques VALLÉE,REVELATIONS - 1991
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 2 Summer/1993 - Vallee Comments on Book Review "Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception"

	SOCIETY FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION POSITION PAPER

Journal of Scientific Exploration
A Publication of the Society for Scientific Exploration
Volume 8 Number 1 Spring 1994
Society for Scientific Exploration

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

Peter A. STURROCK	Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 1	1-45
	Serie: Volume 8 Number 1 Spring/1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 1 Volume 8 Number 2 /1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 2 Volume 8 Number 3 /1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 3
	Abstract: `Refereed journals, to which scientists turn for their reliable information, carry virtually no information on the UFO problem. Does this imply that scientists have no views and no thoughts on the subject, or that all scientists consider it insignificant? Does it imply that scientists have no reports to submit comparable with UFO reports published in newspapers and popular books? The purpose of this 1977 survey of American astronomers was to answer these questions.`

Jacques F. VALLÉE	Anatomy of a Hoax: The Philadelphia Experiment Fifty Years Later	47-71
	Abstract: The "Philadelphia Experiment" concerns the allegedly paranormal disappearance of a Navy destroyer from the docks of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the late Summer of 1943, followed by disclosures of official contact with extraterrestrial powers. Claims made by purported witnesses of this supposedly secret Navy test directed by Albert Einstein have been repeatedly found to be fraudulent. The author has now interviewed a man who served on a companion ship to the destroyer in question, and who was on the scene the night of its supposed disappearance, which he is able to explain in minute detail. Yet the features of the story are such that it survives in the UFO literature and that it is now being revived under a novel form for the benefit of a new generation of readers. Using this incident as a model of a successful hoax, the present article extracts thirteen parameters that have been instrumental in its remarkable survival over the last fifty years; it compares the features of this fabrication to other questionable episodes of UFO lore; finally, it attempts to draw up a list of suitable measures for their detection, challenge and ultimate exposure.

Larry DOSSEY	Healing and the Mind: Is There a Dark Side?	73-90
	Abstract: Although intra- and interpersonal intluences have long been acknowledged in medical science to affect an individual's health both positively and negatively, the impact of non-local, transpersonal influences are generally denied in contemporary medical science. The present paper examines anecdotal, ethnographic, anthropological, clinical, and experimental evidence suggesting that non-local, transpersonal influences may exist, and that these may exert a negative and even fatal impact on human health. The possible relationship of these negative influences to scientific findings in other anomalous areas, such as the studies in humanlmachine interaction at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Laboratory, are discussed. The author concludes that the evidence favoring the existence of non-local, negative, transpersonal influences is considerable, and that the implications for medical research and clinical practice are profound.


Vicente-Juan BALLESTER OLMOS	Alleged Experiences Inside UFOs: An Analysis of Abduction Reports	91-105
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 2 /1994 - Comments on "Alleged Experiences Inside UFOs" Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 3 /1994 - Response to Ballester-Olmos Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 3 /1994 - Response to Ballester-Olmos
	Abstract: Six well-documented UFO abductions reported in Spain are reviewed. Investigation reveals them to be the result of hoax, delusion or psychosis. On a global scale, the annual distribution of abductions plotted according to year of report shows clusters associated with media-related triggers. Abduction narratives seem to proceed from internal sources, representing non-physical experiences of psychological origin inspired by publicized material, plus a significant number of hoaxes. A danger exists that the abduction syndrome may get out of hand.
David M. JACOBS	Response to Juan Ballester Olmos	107-109

Russell TARG	What I See When I Close My Eyes	111-118
	Abstract: After two decades of parapsychological research, my purpose in writing this essay is to encourage researchers who are interested in understanding psychic phenomena to look for ways to have ESP experiences themselves. In no other field do experienced and thoughtful researchers set up observational experiments, and then ask inexperienced or randomly chosen passersby to look through the microscope and report what they see. I will describe here some of the things that I have seen. I am a good visualizer. When I close my eyes I usually see reasonably sharp and clear pictures. The bad news is that the images that I see with my eyes open are not much sharper or clearer, although they are much more stable. I would like to share my thoughts about psi perceptions, from the point of view of a legally blind researcher. What that means in my case is that my corrected visual resolution is ten percent of that of a person with normal vision.

Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	119-123

Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	125-128

Peter A. STURROCK	Guest Column: Activity Since the American Astronomical Society UFO Survey	129-134

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Comments on "A Review of Near-Death Experiences"	135
	Comments on Ball Lightning	135-137
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 6 Number 3 Autumn/1992 - Ball Lightning Penetration into Closed Rooms: 43 Eyewitness Accounts [Grigor'ev, A. I.; Grigor'eva, I. D.; Shiryaeva, S. O.]

	`Book Reviews`
Henry H. BAUER	Big Foot Prints: A Scientific Inquiry into the Reality of Sasquatch by Grover S. Krantz	139-141
	Review: Grover S. KRANTZ,BIG FOOT-PRINTS - 1992
Henry H. BAUER	Striking the Mother Lode in Science: The Importance of Age, Place, and Time by Paula E. Stephan and Sharon G. Levin	141-143
Ian STEVENSON	Cellular Aspects of Pattern Formation: The Problem of Assembly by G. W. Grimes and K. J. Aufderheide	144-145
James WILSON	The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer by James Randi	145-146
	Review: James RANDI,THE MASK OF NOSTRADAMUS - 1993

	`SSE News Items`
	Major Physics Article Published By SSE Members	147
	SSE Member Alexander Receives National Recognition for New Technologies	147-148
	A New Director Position for SSE Councilor Radin	148
	Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration	149-150
	Second Euro-SSE Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration August 24 - 26,1994	151-152

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 8 Number 3 1994

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

Bernhard HAISCH	Editorial	307-308

Peter A. STURROCK	Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 3	309-346
	Serie: Volume 8 Number 1 Spring/1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 1 Volume 8 Number 2 /1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 2 Volume 8 Number 3 /1994 Report on a Survey of the Membership of the American Astronomical Society Concerning the UFO Problem: Part 3
	Abstract: `Refereed journals, to which scientists turn for their reliable information, carry virtually no information on the UFO problem. Does this imply that scientists have no views and no thoughts on the subject, or that all scientists consider it insignificant? Does it imply that scientists have no reports to submit comparable with UFO reports published in newspapers and popular books? The purpose of this survey was to answer these questions.`

Bruce MACCABEE	Strong Magnetic Field Detected Following a Sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object	347-365
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 9 Number 2 /1995 - Comments on Magnetic Field Detection Associated with a UFO
	Abstract: Following the brief sighting of an unidentified flying object in Gulf Breeze, Florida in September 1992, investigators made an area search using a fluxgate gradient magnetometer and found a strong magnetic field gradient, indicative of a strong source of magnetic field, which appeared to be at or above the tops of some trees near a small pond. Three circles of depressed grass were found in the bottom of the shallow pond. This paper discusses the sighting, the area search, the circles and the field gradient measurements. An estimate of the field strength is presented and compared with magnetic effects associated with other sightings.


Daniel P. WIRTH, Barbara J. MITCHELL	Complementary Healing Therapy for Patients With Type I Diabetes Mellitus	367-377
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 4 /1994 - Further Comments on the Unreliability of Home Blood Glucose Monitors
	Abstract: The effect of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch (NCTT) therapy and Intercessory Prayer (IP) on patient determined insulin dosage was examined in an exploratory pilot study which utilized a randomized, double-blind, within subject, crossover design. Sixteen type I diabetes mellitus patients were examined and treated daily by NCTT and IP healers for a duration of two weeks. Each patient underwent two separate sessions-one in the treatment condition and one in the control condition-with the patients crossing over to the opposite condition for the second session. The results indicated that while 11 of the 16 patients (69%) in the treatment group showed a reduction in insulin dose levels as compared to the control group, the difference in insulin dosage did not reach significance. It is suggested that various methodological considerations may have been important contributing factors in the nonsignificant results obtained including: (1) the utilization of insulin dose instead of objectively measured laboratory blood glucose values as the dependent variable, (2) the four foot distance and mirrored glass barrier between healer and patient, (3) the short duration for treatment and control sessions, (4) the experimental instructions advising patients to adjust their caloric intake and expenditure prior to adjusting their insulin dose, and (5) the use of healthy longterm IDDM patients with a stable insulin dose who did not exhibit any diabetic sequelae.
Ian STEVENSON	Response to Wirth et al.	379-380

Erlendur HARALDSSON, Joop M. HOUTKOOPER	Report on an Indian Swami Claiming to Materialize Objects: The Value and Limitations of Field Observations	381-397
	Abstract: In India there are frequent and widely accepted claims of materializations of objects or substances which are usually associated with the activities of religious persons, such as Hindu swamis, and are sometimes reported to occur during religious ceremonies. Such claims, if substantiated, could have a major influence on the development of the studies of anomalous phenomena. This report describes an attempt to investigate the claims concerning a little known swami, Gyatri Swami. The difficulties involved in working in a religious setting are described in order to demonstrate the limitations to which this sort of research is subject. Conclusions are left as much as possible to the reader, because these claims frequently warrant no clearcut verdict. However, in the case of Gyatri Swami we reached a negative conclusion regarding his claims.

	`Columns`
Topher COOPER	Anomalous Propagation	399-402
Michael EPSTEIN	The Skeptical Perspective	403-406

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Response to Ballester-Olmos	407
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 1 Spring/1994 - Alleged Experiences Inside UFOs: An Analysis of Abduction Reports [Ballester Olmos, Vicente-Juan]
	Response to Ballester-Olmos	407
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 1 Spring/1994 - Alleged Experiences Inside UFOs: An Analysis of Abduction Reports [Ballester Olmos, Vicente-Juan]

	`Book Reviews`
James W. DEARDORFF	Anomalous Experiences & Trauma: Current Theoretical, Research and Clinical Perspectives edited by Rima E. Laibow et al.	409-411
	Review: Rima E. LAIBOW, Robert N. SOLLOD, John P. WILSON,ANOMALOUS EXPERIENCES AND TRAUMA: Current Theoretical, Reserch and Clinical Perspectives - 1992
Hilary EVANS	The Case for Astrology by John Anthony West	411-415
John PALMER	Parapsychology: A Concise History by John Beloff	415-419
Henry H. BAUER	Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature by William R. Corliss	419-420
	Review: William R. CORLISS,SCIENCE FRONTIERS: Some Anomalies and Curioities of Nature - 1994
Ian STEVENSON	Immortality edited by Paul Edwards	420-422
Angela THOMPSON	The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime by Arthur Lyons and Marcello Truzzi -	422-423
Angela THOMPSON	Many Lives, Many Masters & Through Time Into Healing by Brian L. Weiss	423-424

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 8 Number 4 1994

Name: Stevenson, Ian

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Research Articles`
Pierre GUÉRIN	A Scientific Analysis of Four Photographs of a Flying Disk Near Lac Chauvet (France)	447-469
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 9 Number 2 /1995 - Comment on McMinnville UFO Photos
	Abstract: `A series of four photographs of a disk-shaped object apparently flying in the sky was physically analyzed. Certain details led us to develop a mathematical model of the supposed trajectory. The model was validated by measurements on the photographs, which demonstrated that the disk was distant from the camera, flying along a straight and horizontal trajectory, and was not a fabrication`
R. D. Nelson et al.	A Linear Pendulum Experiment: Effects of Operator Intention on Damping Rate	471-489
	Abstract: An attractive pendulum consisting of a two-inch crystal ball suspended on a fused silica rod is the focus of an experiment to measure possible effects of conscious intention on an analog physical system. The pendulum is enclosed in a clear acrylic box, and provided with a computer controlled mechanical system to release it from the same starting height in repeated runs. A high speed binary counter registers interruptions of photodiode beams, to measure velocities at the nadir of the pendulum arc with microsecond accuracy. In runs of 100 swings, taking about three minutes, operators attempt to keep swings high, i.e. to decrease the damping rate (HI); to reduce swing amplitude, i.e. to increase the damping rate (LO); or to take an undisturbed baseline (BL). Over a total of 1545 sets, generated by 42 operators, the HI - LO difference is significant in the direction of intention for five individuals, and the difference between intention and baseline runs is significant and positive for five other operators. The overall HI - LO difference is reduced to non-significance by strong negative performances from several operators, four of whom have comparably large scores in the direction opposite to intention. Analysis of variance reveals significant internal structure in the database (main effects F,, ,,= 2.845, p = .025). Subset comparisons indicate that male operators tend to score higher than females, and that randomly instructed trials tend toward higher scores than volitional trials, especially for male operators. Trials generated with the operator in a remote location have a larger effect size than the local trials. While direct comparisons are not straightforward, it appears that effects of operator intention on the pendulum damping rate may be similar in magnitude and style to those in other humanlmachine interaction experiments. Although this result fails to support an experimental hypothesis that the analog nature of the pendulum experiment would engender larger effect sizes, it does confirm a basic similarity of consciousness effects across experiments using fundamentally different physical systems.
P. A. STURROCK	Applied Scientific Inference	491-508
	Abstract: The purpose of this article is to use the principles of scientific inference to provide guidance in evaluating complicated issues such as those raised by the study of anomalous phenomena. Specifically, the article presents a formalism (a "protocol") for organizing and combining the many judgments that must be made in the scientific evaluation of the relevant hypotheses. All judgments are to be expressed as probabilities, and the rules for combining probabilities are derived from Bayes' theorem. Setting up a problem in a manner that permits such an analysis can be helpful in imposing a structure and discipline upon the analysis, and also in exposing relevant questions that might otherwise have remained hidden. Furthermore, the introduction of probabilities makes it possible to put on a sound numerical basis such assertions as "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." One finds that extraordinary evidence can be built up from many (but not very many) items of unspectacular evidence, provided the items are truly independent. The proposed procedure permits a clear separation between a statement of initial prejudice and an evaluation of the significance of considered evidence. However, it would be even better to set out explicitly the considerations on which the prejudice is based, and to view those considerations as part of the evidence to be evaluated. The procedure also draws a clear separation between the roles and judgments of data analysts (who assign probabilities to specified statements, based on the evidence), and those of theorists (who assign probabilities to the same statements, based in turn on the considered hypotheses). In order to reach a consensus on any topic, it is recommended that probability estimates be made by teams of experts, all team-members being presented with the same data but acting independently, and procedures are proposed by which individual estimates may be combined to yield a consensus estimate.

	`Essay`
John BELOFF	The Mind-Brain Problem	509-522
	Abstract: `The mind-brain problem, which is still with us, raises the question as to whether the mind is no more than the idle side-effect of our brain processes or whether the mind can, in some degree, influence behavior. Here we rehearse the arguments on both sides plus some desperate recent attempts to eliminate mind altogether.`

Dean I. RADIN	Guest Column: On Complexity and Pragmatism	523-533

	`Letters to the Editor`
	Comments on James Warwick's Book Review of Cross Currents	535-538
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 7 Number 4 /1993 - Cross Currents by Robert 0. Becker [Warwick, James]
	Further Comments on the Unreliability of Home Blood Glucose Monitors	538-539
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 8 Number 3 /1994 - Complementary Healing Therapy for Patients With Type I Diabetes Mellitus [Wirth, Daniel P. & Mitchell, Barbara J.] Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 9 Number 1 /1995 - Erratum

	`Book Reviews`
Michael C. IBISON	The Interrelationship Between Mind and Matter edited by B. Rubik	541-545
Theodore ROCKWELL	The Interrelationship Between Mind and Matter edited by B. Rubik	545-546
Emily Williams COOK	A History of Hypnotism by A. Gauld	546-553
Angela THOMPSON	The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Intervention by R. E. Fowler	554
	Review: Raymond E. FOWLER,THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTIONS - 1993
Henry H. BAUER	Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science by P. R. Gross and N. Levitt	555-563
Stuart EDELSTEIN	Perilous Knowledge: The Human Genome Project and Its Implications by T. Wilkie	563-565
Lori Anne NEALE	The Body, Self-Cultivation, and Ki-Energy by Y. Yuasa	565-568

Roger NELSON	The Second Euro-SSE Conference	569

	`Abstracts of the Second Euro-SSE Conference`
Robert MORRIS	Investigating Anomalies in Human-Machine Interaction	570
Jessica UTTS	Decision Augmentation Theory: Can Precognition Explain PK Data	570-571
Walter VON LUCADOU	Psychological Correlates of Experimental Human-Machine Anomalies: Influence, Selection, or What?	571
Zoltan VASSY	Correlation without Causation: on the Nature of Parapsychological Phenomena	571-572
B. E. P. CLEMENT	Conceptual Modeling in the Temporal Domain	572
Harold ASPDEN	The Experimental Pathway to New Sources of Energy	572-573
Harold E. PUTHOFF	On the Feasibility of Converting Vacuum Electromagnetic Energy to a Useful Form	573-574
Bernhard HAISCH	Zero-Point Field, Inertia, and Mach's Principle	574
Roger NELSON	Anomalous Interactions: Intention, Information, and Consciousness	574-575
S. JEFFERS, J. SLOAN	The Double-Slit Experiment as a Potentially Sensitive Detector of Anomalous Effects	575
Euan J. SQUIRES	The Implication of Quantum Theory for an Understanding of Consciousness	575-576
Jacques BENVENISTE	The Transfer of Specific Molecular Signals by Electromagnetic Means, and Its Consequences in Biology and Medicine	576
L. PYATNITSKY	Consciousness Influence on Water Structure	576-577
Zbignew WOLKOWSKI	Recent Advances in the Phoron Concept: An Attempt to Decrease the Incompleteness of Scientific Exploration	576-577
Roeland VAN WIJK	Understanding the Benefits of Subharmful Doses of Toxicants	577-578
Zoltan DIENES	Tests of Sheldrake's Claim of Morphic Resonance	578
Suitbert ERTEL	The Maharishi Effect in Transcendental Meditation: Fancy or Fact?	578-579
Archie E. ROY	The Great Crop Circle Mystery	579
Robin ALLEN	Science, Pseudoscience, and the Crop Circle Phenomenon	579-580
Léon BRENIG	Remote Sensing: A Tool for UFOLOGY	580
Paul DEVEREUX	"Earth Lights": History and Latest Developments Concerning Research into Anomalous Light Phenomena	580-581
George EGELY	Ball Lightning: The Last Enigma of the Atmosphere?	581
Erling STRAND	Project Hessdalen-A Field Investigation of an Unknown Atmospheric Light Phenomenon	581-582
Susan J. HOWAT, Deborah L. DELANOY, Robert L. MORRIS	Remote Staring Detection and Personality Correlates	582
Deborah L. DELANOY, Sunita SAH	Cognitive and Physiological PSI Responses to Remote Positive and Neutral Emotional States	581-582
	Comparison of the SenderINo Sender Conditions Using an Automated Ganzfeld System	583-584
Ian STEVENSON	Six Modem Apparitional Experiences	584
Peter A. STURROCK	The Role of Heresies in Scientific Research	584-585

	`SSE News`
	Odier Research Foundation Publishes Bulletin	587
	14th Annual Meeting: Announcement and Call for Papers	588

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume 17 Number 2 2003

Name: Stevenson, Ian; Haraldsson, Erlendur

CONTENTS

Author	Title	Pag

	`Obituary`
Ron WESTRUM	Marcello Truzzi (1935-2003)	197-200

	Editorial	201-205

	`Research Articles`
Brenda J. DUNNE, Robert G. JAHN	Information and Uncertainty in Remote Perception Research	207-241
	Abstract: This article has four purposes: 1) to present for the first time in archival form all results of some 25 years of remote perception research at this laboratory; 2) to describe all of the analytical scoring methods developed over the course of this program to quantify the amount of anomalous information acquired in the experiments; 3) to display a remarkable anti-correlation between the objective specificity of those methods and the anomalous yield of the experiments; and 4) to discuss the phenomenological and pragmatic implications of this complementarity. The formal database comprises 653 experimental trials performed over several phases of investigation.The scoring methods involve various arrays of descriptor queries that can be addressed to both the physical targets and the percipients’ description thereof, the responses to which provide the basisfor numerical evaluation and statistical assessment of the degree of anomalous information acquired. Twenty-four such recipes have been employed, with queries posed in binary, ternary, quaternary, and ten-level distributive formats. Thus treated, the database yields a composite z-score against chance of 5.418 ( p 5 3 3 102 8 , one-tailed). Numerous subsidiary analyses agree that these overall results are not significantly affected by any of the secondary protocol parameters tested, or by variations in descriptor effectiveness, possible participant response biases, target distance from the percipient, or time interval between perception effort and agent target visitation. However, over the course of the program there has been a striking diminution of the anomalous yield that appears to be associated with the participants’ growing attention to, and dependence upon, the progressively more detailed descriptor formats and with the corresponding reduction in the content of the accompanying free-response transcripts. The possibility that increased emphasis on objective quantification of the phenomenon somehow may have inhibited its inherently subjective expression is explored in several contexts, ranging from contemporary signal processing technologies to ancient divination traditions. An intrinsic complementarity is suggested between the analytical and intuitive aspects of the remote perception process that, like its more familiar counterpart in quantum science, brings with it an inescapable uncertainty that limits the extent to which such anomalous effects can be simultaneously produced and evaluated.
Harald ATMANSPACHER, Robert G. JAHN	Problems of Reproducibility in Complex Mind-Matter Systems	243-270
	Abstract: Systems exhibiting relationshipsbetween mental states and material states, briefly mind-matter systems, offer epistemological and methodological problems exceeding those of systems involving mental states or material states alone. Some of these problems can be addressed by proceeding from standard first-order approaches to more sophisticated second-order approaches. These can illuminate questions of reference and validity, and their ramifications for the topic of reproducibility. For various situations in complex systems it is shown that second-order approaches need to be employed. Considering mindmatter systems as generalized complex systems provides some guidelines for analyzing the problem of reproducibility in such systems from a novel perspective.
Marie-Catherine MOUSSEAU	Parapsychology: Science or Pseudo-Science?	271-282
	Abstract: Do paranormal or parapsychological investigations meet the criteria often said to characterize pseudo-science? Mainstream and non-mainstream research is compared through content analysis of selected samples of mainstream journals from several fields and of non-mainstream (‘‘fringe’’) journals. Oral communication processes were studied at an annual meeting of the Parapsychological Association. Though certain quantitative differences were noted, qualitative distinctions were not found that could justify classification of parapsychology as pseudo-science. To warrant that, other criteria to define science would need to be established
Ian STEVENSON, Erlendur HARALDSSON	The Similarity of Features of Reincarnation Type Cases over Many Years: A Third Study	283-289
	Abstract: `The principal features of two series of cases suggestive of reincarnation in Lebanon were compared. The series were investigated about a generation apart by two different investigators.In three important features, the two series were closely similar; in other features they were not similar, probably because of differences in the thoroughness of investigation in the two series.`
Montague KEEN	Communicating with the Dead: The Evidence Ignored. Why Paul Kurtz is Wrong	291-299
	Abstract: A far-ranging attack on the evidence for the paranormal in general, and the case for post-mortem survival of intelligence in particular, was published in 2000 by Professor Paul Kurtz in the Skeptical Inquirer, organ of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Reluctance of its Editor to fulfil an undertaking to publish a response has prompted this more extensive review of the deficiencies in his argument. It points in particular to areas which Kurtz either ignores entirely or misrepresents, notably in the extensive literature relating to early mediumistic communications whose paranormality has yet to be undermined by any objective examination; some of the early examples of cross-correspondences; book tests with Mrs. Osborne Leonard; and the Edgar Vandy case as an illustration of the unscientificmanner in which skepticsseek to mislead readers. Finally there is a summary of more recent statistically measurable research into veridical communications from gifted mediums.

G. E. Schwartz et al.	Purported Anomalous Perception in a Highly Skilled Individual: Observations, Interpretations, Compassion	301-316
	Abstract: The purported ability of a seventeen-year-old female, investigated for seven years in China, to perceive information without using visual and kinesthetic cues, was studied. In one experiment, five letters from A to Z and five numbers from 0 to 100 were randomly selected by computer, written on small sheets of paper and individually folded and placed in a sealed envelope. The folded stimuli were removed one by one and placed into a cloth bag that was opaque to light; the bag was tied below the participant’s right elbow. The participant was accurate for all ten trials. In a second experiment, three video cameras carefully monitored the participant’s hand movements; in addition, both ends of the folded papers were sealed with clear tape. Careful analysis of the clear tape and the videotapesrevealed evidence of practiced deception.Data were also collected from a 25-year-old graduate student and a 7-year-old child not employing a cloth bag. Their data suggest that deception is not necessarily involved in all cases of purported anomalous perception.

	`Field Research Report`
Robert H. RINES, Frank M. DOUGHERTY	Proof Positive-Loch Ness Was an Ancient Arm of the Sea	317-323
	Abstract: For the first time, indisputablemarine deposits have been recovered from Loch Ness. Recovered clam shells have been reproducibly dated by the radio-carbon ( 14C) method to about 12,800 years before present (BP), which correspondsto the end of the last glaciation.Hitherto, this oceanic incursion has been doubted or denied by many observers. Such a period of marine incursion is crucially demanded by the hypothesis that the Loch Ness ‘‘monsters’’ are or were a reproducing population of creatures too large to move in and out of the loch under current conditions. Even more remarkably, aminoacid racemization indicates an age of about 125,000 years for some of the deposits, corresponding to the previous interglacial period. If the latter dating withstands further investigation, current beliefs about the chronology of glaciation and land-andsea-level changes at and around Loch Ness will have to be modified.

	`Erratum`
James HOURAN, Kevin D. RANDLE	Erratum to Houran and Randle (2002)	325-326
	`Related:` Journal of Scientific Exploration Volume 16 Number 1 /2002 - A Message in a Bottle: Confounds in Deciphering the Ramey Memo from the Roswell UFO Case [Houran, James & Randle, Kevin D.]

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