View source for Remote viewing

{{pp-protect|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Pseudoscientific concept}}
{{Distinguish|Remote sensing|Remote desktop software}}
{{Infobox
| title   = Remote viewing
| image   = 
| caption = 
| label1  = Claims
| data1   = The alleged paranormal ability to perceive a remote or hidden subject without support of the [[sense]]s.<ref name="Blom">Blom, Jan. (2009). ''A Dictionary of Hallucinations''. Springer. p. 451. {{ISBN|978-1-4419-1222-0}}</ref>
| label2  = Related scientific disciplines
| data2   = 
| label3  = Year proposed
| data3   = 1970
| label4  = Original proponents
| data4   = [[Russell Targ]] and [[Harold E. Puthoff|Harold Puthoff]]
| label5  = Subsequent proponents
| data5   = [[Ingo Swann]], [[Joseph McMoneagle]], [[Courtney Brown (researcher)|Courtney Brown]]
| label6  = Notable proponents
| data6   = 
}}{{Paranormal}}
[[File:Russell Targ, physicist.jpg|thumb|Physicist [[Russell Targ]]]]

'''Remote viewing''' ('''RV''') is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind.<ref name="Blom"/> There is no scientific evidence that remote viewing exists, and the topic of remote viewing is generally regarded as [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="Alcock 1981">[[James Alcock|Alcock, James]]. (1981). ''Parapsychology-Science Or Magic?: A Psychological Perspective''. Pergamon Press. pp. 164–179. {{ISBN|978-0-0802-5773-0}}</ref><ref name="Gilovich 19932">[[Thomas Gilovich|Gilovich, Thomas]] (1993). ''How We Know What Isn't So: Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life''. Free Press. pp. 166–173. {{ISBN|978-0-0291-1706-4}}</ref><ref name="Marks 2000">[[David Marks (psychologist)|Marks, David]]; Kammann, Richard. (2000). ''[[The Psychology of the Psychic]]''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-5739-2798-8}}</ref><ref name="wiseman_one2">{{cite journal |last1=Wiseman |first1=R |last2=Milton |first2=J |year=1999 |title=Experiment One of the SAIC Remote Viewing Program: A critical reevaluation |url=http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/SAICcrit.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Parapsychology]] |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=297–308 |access-date=2008-06-26}}* Obtained from  [http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/papers.html listing of research papers on Wiseman's website]</ref><ref name="Gardner20002">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Martin |title=Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience |publisher=W.W. Norton |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-3933-2238-5 |location=New York |pages=60–67 |author-link=Martin Gardner}}</ref><ref name="Paranormal. Prometheus Books p. 1362">{{cite book |last=Hines |first=Terence |title=Pseudoscience and the Paranormal |date=2003 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=1-5739-2979-4 |page=136 |author-link=Terence Hines}}</ref> A remote viewer is expected to give information about an object, event, person, or location hidden from physical view and separated at some distance.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Zusne, Leonard |title=Anomalistic psychology: a study of magical thinking |author2=Jones, Warren |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |year=1989 |isbn=0-8058-0508-7 |pages=167}}</ref> Physicists [[Russell Targ]] and [[Harold Puthoff]], [[parapsychology]] researchers at [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI), are generally credited with coining the term "remote viewing" to distinguish it from the closely related concept of [[clairvoyance]].<ref name="Frazier">Kendrick Frazier. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=i2Nm8OyXpyQC&pg=PA94 Science Confronts the Paranormal]''. Prometheus Books, Publishers; {{ISBN|978-1-6159-2619-0}}. pp. 94–.</ref><ref name="jordan">{{citation |title= Remotely Viewed? The Charlie Jordan Case|author=Joe Nickell|author-link=Joe Nickell|date=March 2001|work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/remotely_viewed_the_charlie_jordan_case/}}</ref> According to Targ, the term was first suggested by [[Ingo Swann]] in December 1971 during an experiment at the [[American Society for Psychical Research]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite book |last=Targ |first=Russell |date=2012 |title=The Reality of ESP: A Physicist's Proof of Psychic Abilities |publisher=Quest Books |pages=4, 14, 23 |isbn=978-0-8356-0884-8}}</ref>

Remote viewing experiments have historically lacked proper [[Scientific control|controls]] and [[repeatability]].

The idea of remote viewing received renewed attention in the 1990s upon the [[declassification]] of documents related to the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]], a $20 million research program sponsored by the [[U.S. government]] that attempted to determine potential military applications of [[psychic]] phenomena. The program ran from 1975 to 1995 and ended after evaluators concluded that remote viewers consistently failed to produce actionable intelligence information.

==History==

===Early background===

In early [[occult]] and [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualist]] literature, remote viewing was known as [[wikt:telesthesia|telesthesia]] and traveling clairvoyance. [[Rosemary Ellen Guiley|Rosemary Guiley]] described it as "seeing remote or hidden objects clairvoyantly with the inner eye, or in alleged [[Out-of-body experience|out-of-body]] travel."<ref>{{cite book |author-link= Rosemary Ellen Guiley |last= Guiley |first= Rosemary |date= 1991 |title= Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience |publisher= Harper |location= San Francisco |page= [https://archive.org/details/harpersencyclope00guil/page/507 507] |isbn=978-0-0625-0366-4 |url= https://archive.org/details/harpersencyclope00guil/page/507 }}</ref>

The study of psychic phenomena by major scientists started in the mid-nineteenth century. Early researchers included [[Michael Faraday]], [[Alfred Russel Wallace]], [[Rufus Osgood Mason]], and [[William Crookes]]. Their work predominantly involved carrying out focused experimental tests on individuals thought to be psychically gifted. Reports of apparently successful tests were met with much skepticism from the scientific community.<ref>{{cite book |author-link= Ray Hyman |last= Hyman |first= Ray |date= 1985 |chapter= A Critical Historical Overview of Parapsychology |editor-link= Paul Kurtz |editor-last= Kurtz |editor-first= Paul |title= A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology |publisher= Prometheus Books |pages= 3–96 |isbn=0-8797-5300-5}}</ref>

In the 1930s, [[Joseph Banks Rhine|J. B. Rhine]] expanded the study of paranormal performance into larger populations by using standard experimental protocols with unselected human subjects. But, as with the earlier studies, Rhine was reluctant to publicize this work too early because of the fear of criticism from mainstream scientists.<ref name=hyman86>{{cite journal |last= Hyman |first= R |title= Parapsychological research: A tutorial review and critical appraisal |journal= Proceedings of the IEEE |volume= 74 |issue= 6 |pages= 823–849 |date= June 1986 |doi=10.1109/proc.1986.13557|s2cid= 39889367 }}</ref>

Paranormal studies remained a fringe area of scientific exploration. However, by the 1960s, the prevailing [[counterculture]] attitudes were sympathetic to paranormal ideas. The emergence of what is termed "[[New Age]]" thinking and the popularity of the [[human potential movement|Human Potential Movement]] provoked a mini-renaissance that renewed public interest in [[consciousness]] studies and psychic phenomena. It also helped to make financial support more available for research into such topics.<ref name=sci181>{{cite journal |last= Wade |first=N |title= Psychical research: The incredible in search of credibility |journal= Science |volume= 181 |date= July 13, 1973 |issue=4095 |pages= 138–143 |doi=10.1126/science.181.4095.138 |pmid= 17746612|bibcode=1973Sci...181..138W }}</ref>

In the early 1970s, [[Harold E. Puthoff|Harold Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] joined the Electronics and Bioengineering Laboratory at Stanford Research Institute (SRI, now [[SRI International]]), where they initiated [[Parapsychology research at SRI|studies of the paranormal]] that were, at first, supported with private funding from the [[Parapsychology Foundation]] and the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]].<ref>{{cite book|title=How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival|first1=David|last1=Kaiser|year=2011|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|pages= 69–71|isbn=978-0-3930-7636-3}}</ref>

In the late 1970s, the physicists [[John G. Taylor|John Taylor]] and Eduardo Balanovski tested the psychic [[Matthew Manning]] in remote viewing, and the results proved "completely unsuccessful".<ref>{{cite book |author-link= John G. Taylor |last= Taylor |first= John |date=1980 |title= Science and the Supernatural: An Investigation of Paranormal Phenomena Including Psychic Healing, Clairvoyance, Telepathy, and Precognition by a Distinguished Physicist and Mathematician |publisher= Temple Smith |page= 83 |isbn=0-8511-7191-5}}</ref>

One of the early experiments, lauded by proponents as having improved the methodology of remote viewing testing and raising future experimental standards, was criticized as leaking information to the participants by inadvertently leaving clues.<ref name="wiseman_may">{{cite journal | journal = [[Journal of Parapsychology]] | url = http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/SAICreply.pdf | title = Experiment one of the SAIC remote viewing program: A critical re-evaluation. A reply to May. |last1=Wiseman |first1= R  |last2=Milton |first2= J | pages = 3–14 | issue = 1 | volume = 63 | year = 1999 | access-date = 2008-06-26 }}<br />* Obtained from  [http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/papers.html listing of research papers on Wiseman's website]</ref> Some later experiments had negative results when these clues were eliminated.{{refn|group=n|name="Randi Encyclopedia"|From ''[[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural]]'' by [[James Randi]]: "The data of Puthoff and Targ were reexamined by the other researchers, and it was found that their students were able to solve the locations without use of any psychic powers, using only the clues that had inadvertently been included in the Puthoff and Targ transcripts."<ref name="randi_encyclopedia">{{cite Encyclopedia of Claims |title=Remote Viewing |first-letter=R |access-date=26 January 2022 }}</ref>}}

The viewers' advice in the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]] was always so unclear and non-detailed that it has never been used in any intelligence operation.<ref name="jordan"/>{{refn|group=n|name="Eval of RV"}}<ref name="Time" /> In a 2005 interview with [[GQ|''GQ'' magazine]], former president [[Jimmy Carter]] recalled a time during his presidency when the administration was searching for a small twin-engine plane that had gone down somewhere in Africa.  According to Carter's recollection, the director of the CIA told him that the plane had been located by a woman in California who claimed to be a psychic medium.   Carter recalled he responded to the claim "with skepticism", saying "Whether it was just a gross coincidence or... I don't know."<ref>{{Cite web | title=The Gospel According to Jimmy {{!}} GQ | url=https://www.gq.com/story/jimmy-carter-ted-kennedy-ufo-republicans | access-date=2025-08-28 | website=www.gq.com}}</ref>

===Decline and termination===

In the early 1990s, the [[Military Intelligence Board]], chaired by [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] chief [[Harry E. Soyster]], appointed Army Colonel William Johnson to manage the remote viewing unit and evaluate its objective usefulness. Funding dissipated in late 1994, and the program declined. The project was transferred from DIA to the [[CIA]] in 1995.

In 1995, the CIA hired the [[American Institutes for Research]] (AIR) to perform a retrospective evaluation of the results generated by the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]]. Reviewers included [[Ray Hyman]] and [[Jessica Utts]]. Utts maintained that there had been a [[statistically significant]] positive effect,<ref>{{citation |mode= cs1 |url= http://anson.ucdavis.edu/~utts/air2.html |title= An assessment of the evidence for psychic functioning |first= Jessica |last= Utts |date= 1995 |archive-date= 13 May 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080513174112/http://anson.ucdavis.edu/~utts/air2.html }}</ref> with some subjects scoring 5–15% above chance.{{refn|group=n|name="Eval of RV"}} Hyman argued that Utts' conclusion that ESP had been proven to exist "is premature, to say the least."<ref name=HymanAbstract>{{cite journal |last=Hyman |first=Ray |title=Evaluation of a program on anomalous mental phenomena |journal= Journal of Society for Scientific Exploration |volume= 10 |issue= 1 |page= Article 2 |publisher=Society for Scientific Exploration |url=http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v10n1a2.php |access-date=2008-06-24 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080603202608/http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v10n1a2.php |archive-date = June 3, 2008}}</ref> Hyman said the findings had yet to be replicated independently, and that more investigation would be necessary to "legitimately claim the existence of paranormal functioning".<ref name=HymanAbstract /> Based upon both of their studies, which recommended a higher level of critical research and tighter controls, the CIA terminated the $20 million project in 1995.<ref name="Time">{{cite news |magazine= Time |date= 11 December 1995 |page= 45 |url=https://time.com/archive/6728288/the-vision-thing/ |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070209085903/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983829,00.html |archive-date= February 9, 2007 |title= The vision thing |first= Douglas |last= Waller }}</ref> ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' magazine stated in 1995 that three full-time psychics were still working on a $500,000-a-year budget at [[Fort Meade]], [[Maryland]], which would soon be closed.<ref name="Time" />

The AIR report concluded that no usable intelligence data was produced in the program.{{refn|group=n|name="Eval of RV"}} David Goslin of the American Institute for Research said, "There's no documented evidence it had any value to the intelligence community".<ref name="Time" />

===PEAR's Remote Perception program===

Beginning in the late 1970s, the [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab]] (PEAR) carried out extensive research on remote viewing. By 1989, it had conducted 336 formal trials, reporting a composite [[z-score]] of 6.355, with a corresponding [[p-value]] of {{val|1.04e-10}}.<ref name=hansen>{{cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=George P. |last2=Utts |first2=Jessica |last3=Markwick |first3=Betty |date=June 1992 |title=Critique of the PEAR remote-viewing experiments |url=http://www.tricksterbook.com/ArticlesOnline/PEARCritique.pdf |journal=Journal of Parapsychology |volume=56}}</ref>  In a 1992 critique of these results, Hansen, Utts and Markwick concluded "The PEAR remote-viewing experiments depart from commonly accepted criteria for formal research in science. In fact, they are undoubtedly some of the poorest quality ESP experiments published in many years."<ref name=hansen/> The lab responded that "none of the stated complaints compromises the PEAR experimental protocols or analytical methods" and reaffirmed their results.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dobyns |first1=Y.H. |last2=Dunne |first2=B.J. |last3=Jahn |first3=R.G. |last4=Nelson |first4=R.D. |date=June 1992 |title=Response to Hansen, Utts, and Markwick |url=http://icrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/1992-response-hansen-utts-markwick.pdf |journal=Journal of Parapsychology |volume=56}}</ref>

Following Utts' emphasis on replication and Hyman's challenge on interlaboratory consistency in the AIR report, PEAR conducted several hundred trials to see if they could replicate the [[Science Applications International Corporation|SAIC]] and SRI experiments. They created an analytical judgment methodology to replace the human judging process criticized in past experiments, and they released a report in 1996. They felt the results of the experiments were consistent with the SRI experiments.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_10_1_nelson.pdf |journal= [[Journal of Scientific Exploration]] |publisher= [[Society for Scientific Exploration]] |volume= 10 |issue= 1 |pages= 109–110 |year= 1996 |title= Precognitive remote perception: Replication of remote viewing |first1= RD |last1= Nelson |first2= BJ |last2= Dunne |first3= YH |last3= Dobyns |first4= RG |last4= Jahn |access-date= 2008-06-02 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100107161704/http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_10_1_nelson.pdf |archive-date= 2010-01-07 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2020}} However, statistical flaws have been proposed by others in the parapsychological community and within the general scientific community.<ref name="Jeffers2006">{{cite journal |url= http://www.csicop.org/si/show/pear_proposition_fact_or_fallacy/ |title= The PEAR proposition: Fact or fallacy? |publisher= [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] |journal= [[Skeptical Inquirer]] |first= Stanley |last= Jeffers |date= May–June 2006 |access-date= 2014-01-24 |volume= 30 |issue= 3 |archive-date= 2014-02-01 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140201122738/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/pear_proposition_fact_or_fallacy/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Scientific reception==
A variety of scientific studies on remote viewing have been conducted. Early experiments produced positive results, but they had invalidating flaws.<ref name="Marks 2000"/> None of the more recent experiments have shown positive results when conducted under [[Scientific control|properly controlled conditions]].<ref name="jordan" />{{refn|group=n|name="Eval of RV"}}<ref name="Time" />{{refn|group=n|name="Randi Encyclopedia"}}<ref name="uk_research">{{cite web |title= Remote Viewing |publisher= UK's Ministry of Defence |page= 94 (page 50 in second pdf) |orig-year=June 2002, disclosed in 2007|date=23 February 2007 |url= http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FreedomOfInformation/DisclosureLog/SearchDisclosureLog/RemoteViewing.htm |archive-url= http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FreedomOfInformation/DisclosureLog/SearchDisclosureLog/RemoteViewing.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 26 October 2012 }}</ref> This lack of successful experiments has led the mainstream scientific community to reject remote viewing, based upon the absence of an evidence base, the lack of a theory which would explain remote viewing, and the lack of experimental techniques which can provide reliably positive results.<ref name="Alcock 1981"/><ref name="Gilovich 19932"/><ref name="Marks 2000"/><ref name="wiseman_one">{{cite journal | journal = [[Journal of Parapsychology]] | url = http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/SAICcrit.pdf | title = Experiment One of the SAIC Remote Viewing Program: A critical reevaluation |last1=Wiseman |first1= R  |last2= Milton |first2= J  | pages = 297–308 | issue = 4 | volume = 62 | year = 1999 | access-date = 2008-06-26 }}<br />* Obtained from  [http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/papers.html listing of research papers on Wiseman's website]</ref>

Science writers [[Gary L. Bennett|Gary Bennett]], [[Martin Gardner]], [[Michael Shermer]] and professor of neurology [[Terence Hines]] describe the topic of remote viewing as [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="Gardner2000">{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Gardner|title=Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience|pages=60–67|year=2000|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|isbn=978-0-3933-2238-5}}</ref><ref name="Paranormal. Prometheus Books p. 136">{{cite book |author-link= Terence Hines |last= Hines |first= Terence |date=2003 |title= Pseudoscience and the Paranormal |publisher= Prometheus Books |page= 136 |isbn=1-5739-2979-4}}</ref><ref name="heretical">{{cite book |chapter-url = http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1994/PV1994_4003.pdf |chapter = Heretical science – Beyond the boundaries of pathological science |title = Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, 29th, Monterey, CA, Aug 7–11, 1994, Technical Papers. Pt. 3 (A94-31838 10–44) |last = Bennett |first = Gary L. |publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |location = Washington, DC |year = 1994 |pages = 1207–1212 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111213192032/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1994/PV1994_4003.pdf |archive-date = 2011-12-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-link= Michael Shermer |last= Shermer |first= Michael |chapter= Science and Pseudoscience |editor1-link= Massimo Pigliucci |editor1-last= Pigliucci |editor1-first= Massimo |editor2-link= Maarten Boudry |editor2-last= Boudry |editor2-first= Maarten |date= 2013 |title= Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem |publisher= University Of Chicago Press |page= 206 |isbn=978-0-2260-5196-3}}</ref>

[[C. E. M. Hansel]], who evaluated the remote viewing experiments of parapsychologists such as Puthoff, Targ, John B. Bisha, and Brenda J. Dunne, noted that there was a lack of controls, and precautions were not taken to rule out the possibility of fraud. He concluded the experimental design was inadequately reported and "too loosely controlled to serve any useful function."<ref>{{cite book |author-link= C. E. M. Hansel |last= Hansel |first= C. E. M |date= 1989 |title= The Search for Psychic Power |publisher= Prometheus Books |pages= 160–166 |isbn=0-8797-5516-4}}</ref>

The psychologist [[Ray Hyman]] says that, even if the results from remote viewing experiments were reproduced under specified conditions, they would still not be a conclusive demonstration of the existence of psychic functioning. He blames this on the reliance on a negative outcome—the claims on ESP are based on the results of experiments not being explained by normal means. He says that the experiments lack a positive theory that guides as to what to control on them and what to ignore, and that "Parapsychologists have not come close to (having a positive theory) as yet".{{refn|group=n|[[Ray Hyman]] wrote in an article in ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'': "Because even if Utts and her colleagues are correct and we were to find that we could reproduce the findings under specified conditions, this would still be a far cry from concluding that psychic functioning has been demonstrated. This is because the current claim is based entirely upon a negative outcome—the sole basis for arguing for ESP is that extra-chance results can be obtained that apparently cannot be explained by normal means. But an infinite variety of normal possibilities exist and it is not clear than one can control for all of them in a single experiment. You need a positive theory to guide you as to what needs to be controlled, and what can be ignored. Parapsychologists have not come close to this as yet."<ref name="hyman claims v reality">{{cite news |last= Hyman |first= Ray |author-link= Ray Hyman |url= http://www.csicop.org/si/show/evidence_for_psychic_functioning_claims_vs._reality |title= The evidence for psychic functioning: Claims vs. reality |magazine= [[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date= March–April 1996}}</ref>}}

Hyman also says that the amount and quality of the experiments on RV are far too low to convince the scientific community to "abandon its fundamental ideas about causality, time, and other principles" due to its findings still not being replicated successfully under scrutiny.{{refn|group=n|[[Ray Hyman|Hyman]] also says in the ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' article: "What seems clear is that the scientific community is not going to abandon its fundamental ideas about causality, time, and other principles on the basis of a handful of experiments whose findings have yet to be shown to be replicable and lawful."<ref name="hyman claims v reality"/>}}

[[Martin Gardner]] has written that the founding researcher Harold Puthoff was an active Scientologist before his work at Stanford University, which influenced his research at SRI. In 1970, the [[Church of Scientology]] published a [[Notary|notarized]] letter that Puthoff had written while he was conducting research on remote viewing at Stanford. The letter read, in part: "Although critics viewing the system [[Scientology]] from the outside may form the impression that Scientology is just another of many quasi-educational quasi-religious 'schemes,' it is in fact a highly sophistical and highly technological system more characteristic of modern corporate planning and applied technology".<ref name="Gardner2000"/> Among some of the ideas that Puthoff supported regarding remote viewing was the claim in the 1908 book ''[[Occult Chemistry]]'' that two followers of [[Madame Blavatsky]], founder of [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|theosophy]], were able to remote-view the inner structure of [[atom]]s.<ref name="Gardner2000"/>

[[Michael Shermer]] investigated remote viewing experiments and discovered a problem with the target selection list. According to Shermer, with the [[Sketch (drawing)|sketches]], only a handful of designs are usually used, such as lines and curves, which could depict any object and be interpreted as a "hit". Shermer has also written about [[Confirmation bias|confirmation]] and [[hindsight bias]]es that have occurred in remote viewing experiments.<ref>[[Michael Shermer|Shermer, Michael]]. (2001). ''The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense''. Oxford University Press. pp. 8–10. {{ISBN|978-0-1980-3272-4}}.</ref>

Various [[Scientific skepticism|skeptic organization]]s have conducted experiments for remote viewing and other alleged paranormal abilities, with no positive results under properly controlled conditions.<ref name="Marks 2000"/>

===Sensory cues===

The psychologists [[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]] and Richard Kammann attempted to replicate Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff's remote viewing experiments<ref name=":0" /> that were carried out in the 1970s at the [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]]. In a series of 35 studies, they could not replicate the results, so they investigated the procedure of the original experiments. Marks and Kammann discovered that the notes given to the judges in Targ and Puthoff's experiments contained clues as to which order they were carried out, such as referring to yesterday's two targets or having the session date written at the top of the page. They concluded that these clues were the reason for the experiment's high hit rates.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marks | first1 = David | author-link = David Marks (psychologist) | last2 = Kammann | first2 = Richard | year = 1978 | title = Information transmission in remote viewing experiments | journal = Nature | volume = 274 | issue = 5672 | pages = 680–681 | doi=10.1038/274680a0 | bibcode = 1978Natur.274..680M| s2cid = 4249968 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marks | first1 = David | author-link = David Marks (psychologist) | year = 1981 | title = Sensory cues invalidate remote viewing experiments | journal = Nature | volume = 292 | issue = 5819 | page = 177 | doi=10.1038/292177a0 | pmid = 7242682 | bibcode = 1981Natur.292..177M| s2cid = 4326382 | doi-access = free }}</ref> According to [[Terence Hines]]:

{{blockquote|Examination of the few actual transcripts published by Targ and Puthoff show that just such clues were present. To find out if the unpublished transcripts contained cues, Marks and Kammann wrote to Targ and Puthoff requesting copies. It is almost unheard of for a scientist to refuse to provide his data for independent examination when asked, but Targ and Puthoff consistently refused to allow Marks and Kammann to see copies of the transcripts. Marks and Kammann were, however, able to obtain copies of the transcripts from the judge who used them. The transcripts were found to contain a wealth of cues.<ref>[[Terence Hines|Hines, Terence]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 135. {{ISBN|1-5739-2979-4}}</ref>}}

[[Thomas Gilovich]] has written:

{{blockquote|Most of the material in the transcripts consists of the honest attempts by the percipients to describe their impressions. However, the transcripts also contained considerable extraneous material that could aid a judge in matching them to the correct targets. In particular, there were numerous references to dates, times and sites previously visited that would enable the judge to place the transcripts in proper sequence... Astonishingly, the judges in the Targ-Puthoff experiments were given a list of target sites in the exact order in which they were used in the tests!<ref name="Gilovich 19932"/>}}

According to Marks, when the cues were eliminated the results fell to a chance level.<ref name="Marks 2000"/> Marks achieved 100 percent accuracy using cues alone, without visiting any of the sites himself.{{refn|group=n|Martin Bridgstock wrote in ''Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal'': "The explanation used by Marks and Kammann clearly involves the use of [[Occam's razor]]. Marks and Kammann argued that the 'cues' – clues to the order in which sites had been visited—provided sufficient information for the results, without any recourse to extrasensory perception. Indeed Marks himself was able to achieve 100 percent accuracy in allocating some transcripts to sites without visiting any of the sites himself, purely on the ground basis of the cues. From Occam's razor, it follows that if a straightforward natural explanation exists, there is no need for the spectacular paranormal explanation: Targ and Puthoff's claims are not justified".<ref>{{cite book |first= Martin |last= Bridgstock |year= 2009 |title= Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and the Paranormal |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |page= 106 |isbn=978-0-5217-5893-2}}</ref>}} [[James Randi]] has written that controlled tests by several other researchers, eliminating several sources of cueing and extraneous evidence present in the original tests, produced negative results. Students also solved Puthoff and Targ's locations from the clues in the transcripts.<ref name= "randi_encyclopedia"/>

Marks and Kamman concluded: "Until remote viewing can be confirmed in conditions which prevent sensory cueing the conclusions of Targ and Puthoff remain an unsubstantiated hypothesis."<ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel|Hansel, C. E. M]]. (1980). ''ESP and Parapsychology: A Critical Reevaluation''. Prometheus Books. p. 293</ref> In 1980, [[Charles Tart]] claimed that a rejudging of the transcripts from one of Targ and Puthoff's experiments revealed an above-chance result.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tart | first1 = Charles | author-link = Charles Tart | author-link2 = Harold E. Puthoff | author-link3 = Russell Targ | last2 = Puthoff | first2 = Harold | last3 = Targ | first3 = Russell | year = 1980 | title = Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments | journal = Nature | volume = 284 | issue = 5752 | page = 191 | doi=10.1038/284191a0 | pmid = 7360248 | bibcode = 1980Natur.284..191T| doi-access = free }}</ref> Targ and Puthoff again refused to provide copies of the transcripts and it was not until July 1985 that they were made available for study when it was discovered they still contained [[sensory cue]]s.<ref name="Paranormal. Prometheus Books p. 136"/> Marks and Christopher Scott (1986) wrote, "Considering the importance for the remote viewing hypothesis of adequate cue removal, Tart's failure to perform this basic task seems beyond comprehension. As previously concluded, remote viewing has not been demonstrated in the experiments conducted by Puthoff and Targ, only the repeated failure of the investigators to remove sensory cues."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marks | first1 = David | author-link = David Marks (psychologist) | last2 = Scott | first2 = Christopher | year = 1986 | title = Remote Viewing Exposed | journal = Nature | volume = 319 | issue = 6053 | page = 444 | doi=10.1038/319444a0 | pmid = 3945330 | bibcode = 1986Natur.319..444M| doi-access = free }}</ref>

The information from the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]] remote viewing sessions was vague and included irrelevant and erroneous data. The project was never useful in any intelligence operation, and it was suspected that the project managers, in some cases, changed the reports so they would fit background cues.{{refn|group=n|name="Eval of RV"|Mumford, Rose and Goslin wrote, in ''An Evaluation of Remote Viewing: Research and Applications'': "remote viewings have never provided an adequate basis for 'actionable' intelligence operations{{snd}}that is, information sufficiently valuable or compelling so that action was taken as a result (...) a large amount of irrelevant, erroneous information is provided and little agreement is observed among viewers' reports. (...) remote viewers and project managers reported that remote viewing reports were changed to make them consistent with known background cues. While this was appropriate in that situation, it makes it impossible to interpret the role of the paranormal phenomena independently. Also, it raises some doubts about some well-publicized cases of dramatic hits, which, if taken at face value, could not easily be attributed to background cues. In at least some of these cases, there is reason to suspect, based on both subsequent investigations and the viewers' statement that reports had been "changed" by previous program managers, that substantially more background information was available than one might at first assume."<ref name="psiland">{{cite book |last1= Mumford |first1= Michael D. |last2= Rose |first2= Andrew M. |last3= Goslin |first3= David A. |title= An Evaluation of Remote Viewing: Research and Applications |url= http://www.lfr.org/lfr/csl/library/airreport.pdf |date= 29 September 1995 |publisher= [[American Institutes for Research]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170113100257/http://www.lfr.org/lfr/csl/library/AirReport.pdf |archive-date= 13 January 2017 }}</ref>}}

Marks in his book ''[[The Psychology of the Psychic]]'' (2000) discussed the flaws in the Stargate Project in detail.<ref name="Marks 2">[[David Marks (psychologist)|Marks, David]]. (2000). ''[[The Psychology of the Psychic]]'' (2nd Edition). Prometheus Books. pp. 71–96. {{ISBN|1-5739-2798-8}}</ref> He wrote that the experiments had several flaws. The possibility of cues or [[sensory leakage]] was not ruled out, the experiments were not independently [[Reproducibility|replicated]], and some of the experiments were conducted in secret, making [[peer review]] impossible. He further noted that the judge, [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Edwin May]], was also the [[principal investigator]] for the project, risking a significant conflict of interest. Marks concluded the project was nothing more than a "subjective delusion", and after two decades of research, it had failed to provide any scientific evidence for remote viewing.<ref name="Marks 2"/>

Professor [[Richard Wiseman]], a psychologist at the [[University of Hertfordshire]], and a fellow of the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSI) has pointed out several problems with one of the early experiments at SAIC, including information leakage. However, he indicated the importance of its process-oriented approach and of its refining of remote viewing methodology, which meant that researchers replicating their work could avoid these problems.<ref name="wiseman_one" /> Wiseman later insisted there were multiple opportunities for participants in that experiment to be influenced by cues and that these cues can affect the results when they appear.<ref name="wiseman_may" />

==Selected study participants==
* [[Courtney Brown (researcher)|Courtney Brown]], political scientist and founder of the Farsight Institute{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
* [[Uri Geller]], the subject of a study by Targ and Puthoff at Stanford Research Institute<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/251602a0 | last1 = Targ | first1 = R | last2 = Puthoff | first2 = H | title = Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding | journal = Nature | volume = 251 | issue = 5476 | pages = 602–607 | year = 1974 | pmid = 4423858 | bibcode = 1974Natur.251..602T| s2cid = 4152651 }}</ref>
* [[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]], a critic of remote viewing, after finding sensory cues and editing in the original transcripts generated by Targ and Puthoff at Stanford Research Institute in the 1970s{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
* [[Joseph McMoneagle]], an early remote viewer<ref>{{cite book |author-link= Joseph McMoneagle |first= Joseph |last= McMoneagle |title= Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time, and Space Through Remote Viewing |publisher= Hampton Roads |date= 1997}}</ref> See: [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]]
* [[Pat Price (remote viewer)|Pat Price]], an early remote viewer{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
* [[Ingo Swann]], a research participant in remote viewing<ref>{{cite book |title= Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability |first1= Russell |last1= Targ |first2= Harold |last2=Puthoff |publisher= Dell |date= 1977}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Astral projection]]
* [[Bilocation]]
* [[Body of light]]
* [[Divination]]
* [[Edgar Cayce]]
* [[Extrasensory perception]]
* [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]
* [[Lucid dreaming]]
* [[Parapsychology research at SRI]]
* [[Project MKUltra]]
* [[Scrying]]
* [[Suspect Zero|''Suspect Zero'' (film)]]
* [[The Men Who Stare at Goats (film)|''The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (film)]]
* [[Third eye]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1= Alcock |first1= James E. |last2= Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance: Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences Education: [[United States National Research Council|National Research Council]] (NRC) |author-link= James Alcock |title= Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques, Background Papers (Complete Set)|publisher= [[National Academies Press]] |chapter= Part VI. Parapsychological Techniques |year= 1988 |location= Washington, DC |doi= 10.17226/778 |isbn= 978-0-3090-7810-8 |ref= {{SfnRef|Alcock|1988}} |url= http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=778&page=601}}
* [[Courtney Brown (researcher)|Brown, Courtney]]. (2005). ''Remote Viewing: The Science and Theory of Nonphysical Perception''. Farsight Press. {{ISBN|0-9766-7621-4}}
* [[Henry Gordon (magician)|Gordon, Henry]]. (1988). ''Extrasensory Deception: ESP, Psychics, Shirley MacLaine, Ghosts, UFOs''. Macmillan of Canada. {{ISBN|0-7715-9539-5}}
* [[Joseph McMoneagle|McMoneagle, Joseph]]. (2002). ''The Stargate Chronicles: Memoirs of a Psychic Spy''. Hampton Roads. {{ISBN|1-5717-4225-5}}
* [[James Randi|Randi, James]]. (1982). ''[[Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions]]''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|0-8797-5198-3}}

*Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as of 2021, the CIA reading room has included declassified documents: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/search/site/Remote%20viewing

==External links==
* [https://skepdic.com/remotevw.html Remote viewing] – [[Skeptic's Dictionary]]
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{{New Age Movement}}

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[[Category:Remote viewing| ]]
[[Category:1971 neologisms]]
[[Category:New Age practices]]
[[Category:Psychic powers]]
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