The article is hosted at "Columbia.edu" but the underlying publication is an Indian foreign policy strategy journal mirrored there, not from a Columbia.edu university academic. Of note is the biographical footnote on the author who was a retired physicist studying cold fusion among other things:
"Dr. M. Srinivasan was formerly Associate Director, Physics Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. He is an experimental Physicist who has specialized in fast breeder reactor physics and Cold Fusion. Since retirement, he has been studying anomalous phenomena not explainable currently by Science."
It's nice to see some of the specific remote viewing anecdotes in print in a relatively short not overly sensationalistic piece. The whole matter of blinding, double blinding, possible cheating, priming, statistical significance, etc is unfortunately not really addressed in a way that would ameliorate anyone with much skepticism.
Swann accurately described the contents of the envelope within the safe, reporting drawings of mountains, a horse, and an individual riding the horse. To the surprise of the researchers, the actual contents matched Swann's descriptions, which he could not physically access or see through conventional means.
This demonstration was part of the initial efforts to test and explore the potential capabilities of remote viewing. It's often cited as a compelling instance showcasing Swann's purported abilities, but like other remote viewing cases, it remains a subject of debate within scientific circles regarding its reliability and reproducibility under controlled conditions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/consciousness/comments/181s71r/the_...
Which comment specifically should I read to have a better informed view of the particular study I recalled here?
I closed the book on remote viewing decades ago as it’s not something I can personally replicate but will still entertain the conversation and argue for either side until it is conclusive.
As it happens, the rings of Jupiter are very far out from the planet.
His description was nothing but rank generalities and bet hedging. Ice crystals in Jupiter's atmosphere were already predicted to be there, and him describing them as "bands of crystals, maybe like rings of Saturn" is bet-hedging at its worst. He made an educated guess that ice crystals appear in bands, and gave a carefully crafted sentence that could be interpreted as "right" regardless of whether actual rings were found. Rings found? Then pay attention to the "...like rings of Saturn..." part. No rings found? Then pay attention to the "...Very close within the atmosphere..." part. Regardless of which way it goes, try to convince people your meaningless declaration means something after the fact.
Ingo Swann is the worst sort of fraud."
https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/hvryx/need_help_de...
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R0017002...
Sometimes you just have to do experiments, even if the outcome isn't wholly known.
Using basic reasoning skills instead of credulous consideration of magical powers seems a reasonable threshold for discarding certain research. I don't need to spend billions of dollars trying to figure out how to cut people in half and put them back together like a magician, even if thousands or even billions of people have "witnessed" such an event.
Science doesn't allow for a rational mechanism that would enable psychic powers like telepathy, seeing the future, and remote viewing without augmenting the brain with a technological interface and machines that captured and transmitted the information. There's simply no room for reasonable experimentation around these types of claims, unless it's psychological in nature; things which are known and provable limit any possible mechanism by which psychic powers can operate.
If you wanted to posit some sort of technological mechanism, then you're getting into simulations, aliens, secret government implants, or other theories that lack plausibility as well.
We'll likely have common BCI augmentations within the next century. Networked human brains will exhibit psychic-like abilities and the potential is amazing, but until that happens, claims about such things are fraudulent, deceptive, or deluded.
Yet. Keep in mind that everyone thought getting sick was magic until germs were discovered, we used to be completely unaware of electromagnetism, etc. etc.
> If you wanted to posit some sort of technological mechanism, then you're getting into simulations, aliens, secret government implants, or other theories that lack plausibility as well.
This isn't a statement made in good faith, you're pre-poisoning the well with a slippery slope.
There appears to be ample scientific evidence that at least some future events already exist. Check out _Time Loops_ by Eric Wargo for a good summary.
I’m not sure how you would reproduce those results, though.
https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Knowing-Science-Skeptic...
