Status of ESP Research

“STATUS OF ESP RESEARCH”

Typed in caps, centred, on the same line as the ruled control-number box at the right margin. The typing on page 1 runs noticeably skewed - the lines slope down to the left relative to the page edge, and the release stamps at top and bottom sit square, so the skew is in the original typing or in the photocopy, not in the rendering. - page 1 is not a blank release sheet and carries no printed page number of its own.

“ORD # 4282-74”

The box is a plain rectangle ruled in ink. 'ORD' reads as small printed or stamped capitals; the '#' and the digits '4282-74' are hand-inked in a cursive hand, sloping upward. The final character of '74' has a trailing stroke that runs into the right rule of the box; I read it as 4 but the stroke makes it slightly ambiguous. - no other report, contract, job or serial number appears anywhere in the file, and this box is the only place the string ORD occurs; the pages nowhere say what ORD stands for.

“ESP and general psychic research has been of interest and at times a concern to funding and operating agencies, both public and private. The potential contributions of this research has been most difficult to assess because the investigations have not always been conducted under appropriate and carefully monitored conditions nor have they received the type of funding that other social science areas have found available. Thus the ESP community tends to be more private, inbred, and difficult to evaluate.”

The heading above this paragraph is 'Introduction', typed and underscored. 'has been most difficult' follows 'contributions' as printed - the number disagreement is the document's. The final 't' of 'conducted' at the end of the fifth line is blotted with excess ink and reads as a filled-in mark; the word is otherwise plainly 'conducted'.

“This investigator has had the opportunity since 1961 to become reasonably well acquainted with major ESP Centers and researchers. This opportunity resulted from his position with a foundation willing to offer funding and advice to the ESP field. He has served as formal and informal consultant to such people as J.B. Rhine and his Institute in Durham, North Carolina (formerly Parapsychological Laboratory, Duke University); to Gaither Pratt of the University of Virginia, and to others.”

'J.B. Rhine' is printed with no space after the first period, as transcribed. 'Gaither Pratt' is printed with no initials. - the author is never named on any page of this file; he is referred to only as 'this investigator' and 'he', and the foundation he says he worked for is not named either.

“He has attended the national and international meetings of the Parapsychological Association as a member in good standing for over 10 years. His interest in the ESP and psychic phenomena areas has been that of an observer not as an advocate nor a debunker. This philosophical position has been well known to the parapsychological researchers, thus has posed no threat to them personally or professionally. He holds therefore, a unique relationship to evaluate the trends in this field.”

The comma placement in 'He holds therefore, a unique relationship' is as printed. This paragraph runs to the bottom of the typed area; nothing follows it on page 1 but the release stamp.

“Study Objectives To determine the status of ESP and psychic phenomena research and studies and to evaluate potential application of published and private findings.”

The heading is typed and underscored. The paragraph is a sentence fragment with no subject, as printed. Printed page number '-2-' appears centred at the foot of the typed area, clear of the release stamp.

“The general area of psychic phenomena gained tentative acceptance in the late 60s and early 70s and its investigators have been able to publish in more journals of other disciplines than in the past. Previously their reports were principally restricted to journals of parapsychology and psychic phenomena. In addition, parapsychology is now a division of the AAAS and some articles have appeared in their publication Science. Articles have appeared in the public press such as Newsweek, Time, and other magazines describing the research efforts of such prestigeful groups as Stanford Research Institute on the psychic phenomena. The Department of Defense publicly commented on such research studies and attempted to evaluate to some degree the application of such findings. Unfortunately such critiques have been limited to only a few research efforts in the general field.”

'Science', 'Newsweek' and 'Time' are each underscored in the original where they name publications; the underscoring is not reproduced in this transcription. 'prestigeful' is printed as transcribed. Note for name-checking: the page prints 'Stanford Research Institute' in full, not an abbreviation.

“It is suggested in this proposal that a more systematic review be made not only by examination of published research but by interviews with researchers in the field. Potential insights of such individuals would give us much more understanding and comprehensive knowledge of this field than just published reports. It is anticipated that this investigator, with his history as an observer in the field, would have good access to such populations.”

This is the sentence on which the identification of the document as a proposal rests - it is the paper's own word for itself. The word 'inter-' is hyphenated across a line break in the original at 'interviews'; I have closed the hyphen here. The two paragraphs are separated by a paragraph break in the original, marked above with a blank line - they are not run together.

“Such a review written would be more objective, less dramatic than those [page break] written by the news media for popular consumption. It could identify potential areas for future research emphasis and replication. A systematic investigation of psychic phenomena research would also identify potentially productive research personnel entering the field.”

The sentence straddles the page break; '[page break]' marks where page 2 ends and page 3 begins - the first clause is the last line of pdf page 2, the rest is the opening of pdf page 3. The two halves are NOT silently joined. - the printed page number at the foot of pdf page 3 is struck through by the release stamp, which prints 'CIA-RDP96' directly over it; a digit is partly visible behind the letters 'DP' but I will not infer it, so printed_page is null here and on the following page-3 passages.

“It is important that such a review be done without either threatening research personnel nor raising their hopes for more ‘respectable’ funding than they have been able to find in the past. Obviously such a review should help eliminate some of the myths associated with this devilishly attractive and yet disappointing area of investigation. At the same time potentially important leads regardless of their approaches or implications could be carefully evaluated.”

'either ... nor' is as printed. The quotation marks around respectable are the document's own, typed as straight double quotes.

“Approach Such a study must be conducted at a reasonably personal but objective level. It must be low-key* but thorough. (1) a literature survey of domestic and selected foreign sources should be examined and recorded as an annotated bibliography; (2) interviews with both domestic and foreign investigators should be conducted to identify important ongoing projects; (3) major meetings of parapsychological association and other associations should be attended and reported; (4) appropriate visits should be arranged to examine procedures and methodologies being used by ESP and psychic phenomena investigators; (5) a report of these findings should be submitted at the end of the project.”

The heading is typed and underscored. The asterisk after 'low-key' is typed as a raised superscript and keys the footnote at the foot of the same page. 'parapsychological association' is lower-case and singular in item (3), as printed. - the numbered items give no period of performance, no cost, no staffing and no delivery date beyond 'the end of the project'; nothing in this file states how long the work would take or what it would cost.

“*A recent article in the New York Times (20 August 1974) best illustrates the need for the low key and personal approach. The story discusses the exposure of Dr. Levy, a well respected parapsychologist as a data manipulator. In few ‘scientific fields’ is this type of event a reasonably common experience. Only through personal contact and trust can any hopefully effective study be made of these phenomena avoiding the morass of personal enthusiam and lifetime commitment.”

'New York Times' is underscored in the original. 'enthusiam' is printed as transcribed - the final 's' of enthusiasm is absent on the page; I have not corrected it. The footnote is set in tighter line spacing than the body text and separated from it by a short typed rule. This footnote carries the only calendar date printed anywhere in the file. The person is named only as 'Dr. Levy', with no forename or initials; I make no identification. The characterisation is a professional-conduct allegation reported in the press, not medical or private information, so it is transcribed as printed rather than excluded, but a later reader should note it is the document's assertion about a named individual and is quoted here only as the document's own words.

“Contributions of the Study The value of the study generally appear in the text above. Its principal contribution explicitly would be the status report and an objective evaluation of where the investigators in the ESP and psychic phenomena area have been, where they are now, and what is predicted to be general trends in the future. These findings obviously would apply to potential utilization of such research for practical application by a variety of public and private organizations.”

'The value of the study generally appear' is as printed - the verb is not inflected; I have not corrected it. The heading is typed and underscored. This paragraph is the entirety of the typed matter on the last page: the remaining roughly two-thirds of the sheet is blank apart from a single faint stray ink stroke near the centre of the page and the release stamp at the foot. Printed page number '-4-' appears centred at the foot of the typed area, clear of the stamp. - the document ends here with no signature, no typed name, no initials, no date line, no attachment list and no distribution list; nothing follows the last sentence.

“Approved For Release 2000/08/10 : CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090013-9”

This same line is printed twice on each of the four pages, at the top and at the bottom, in a modern sans-serif face quite unlike the typewriter face of the document body - it is a stamp applied at release, not part of the original paper. On pages 2, 3 and 4 a small dark blot overlays the word 'Release' and another overlays the digits '200' in the accession number; on page 3 the stamp also overlays the document's own printed page number. - this stamp is the only place in the file where any agency name appears; no agency, office or contractor is named in the typed text of the document itself.