@dang, this title should be labelled (2002). (This is old news; I first heard about remote viewing projects back then myself.)<p>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:<p>"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."<p>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.
Ingo Swann is known for a remote viewing session where he was asked to describe the contents of a sealed envelope placed inside a safe. This experiment took place at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) during the early stages of the remote viewing program.<p>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.<p>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.
The CIA is well aware of out-of-body experiences and remote viewing<p><a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700210016-5.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R0017002...</a>
David Grusch (UAP whistleblower) seemed to believe this was a legitimate thing on his recent appearance on Joe Rogan. As interested as I am in the UAP phenomena, I just can't seriously believe this is real.
I quite like that they were willing to try, even if it was a waste of resources.<p>Sometimes you just have to do experiments, even if the outcome isn't wholly known.
I first read about this in the 2007 book, Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind by Elizabeth Mayer. I don't remember what she says about Swann, but the book made a big impression on me at the time, and I bought copies for a couple friends.<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Knowing-Science-Skepticism-Inexplicable/dp/0553382233" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Knowing-Science-Skeptic...</a>