Anomalous cognition (AC) - aka ESP/remote viewing - is defined as the acquisition of information from points distant in space-time which are inaccessible by human sensory systems. From 1975 to 1995, Edwin May was a scientist and then programme director for the U.S. government's psychic espionage programme, known as STAR GATE. With the closing of this programme, research has continued at the Laboratories for Fundamental Research, in Palo Alto. The STAR GATE and subsequent programmes included applied and basic research in the areas of methodology and analysis, neurophysiological studies, personnel assessment and selection, operations research, the physics of AC, and psychokinesis. The conclusions from this 35 year research effort can be summarised as (1) ESP exists; (2) the gradient of Shannon entropy is the key factor influencing information transfer; (3) because of the innate nature of the ability, the phenomenon so far resists training for excellence (and replication studies will not yield results), and (4) evidence for psychokinesis (PK) is questionable. This book presents the state-of-the-art, with 26 key papers on research methods, physiological research, decision augmentation theory, Entropy, other research, and research challenges.

During the Cold War, the U.S. government began testing paranormal claims under laboratory conditions in hopes of realizing intelligence applications for psychic phenomena. Thus began the project known as Star Gate––the largest in the history of parapsychological research, it received more than $20 million in funding and continued into the mid–1990s. This project archive includes all available documents generated by research contractor SRI International, and those provided by government officials. Volume 4 focuses on selections from a vast body of U.S. Government documents that present a multifaceted view of its support of Star Gate. These materials show that the project was briefed to the President, Vice President, agency directors and Secretaries of the Armed Services, and other senior officials. The fact that the program ran for so many years, and that there were many returning end users, is offered as evidence of the utility of psi, and hence of its very existence.

In response to the threats during the Cold War, the CIA took cautious first steps to determine whether the claims of psychics could be verified under laboratory conditions, and to see if the obvious intelligence value could be realized. Thus began a program now known as Star Gate—the largest funded research program in the history of psi research. Supported mainly by the DIA and USAMRDC, this formerly classified, $20M program proved successful enough to outlive the Cold War and beyond (1972–1995). The Archives include all available documents generated by SRI International and Science Applications International Corporation and the activity provided by Government officials. Psychokinesis (PK) is an atypical ability to affect the physical or biological world only through mental means, i.e., mind over matter. A belief in this phenomenon has been part of the human condition since ancient times. The U.S. Government’s interest in PK was, in part, based upon intelligence reports from the former Soviet Union that made fantastical claims about its existence and its military applications. The lure of possible defensive or offensive weapons, or thought-controlled switches drove the Star Gate funding for PK. This volume describes PK on random number generators and a few, but expensive, experiments searching for large scale changes in biological and physical systems resulting from PK.

Scholars from around the world collaborate to explain the history of parapsychology, the study of extrasensory perception (ESP), and the arguments of skeptics and supporters in this fascinating collection. This two-volume set introduces ESP—also known as anomalous cognition—and psychokinesis, addressing the history, research, philosophy, and scientific theories surrounding the phenomena. With contributions from leading research scientists from within the field of parapsychology and other areas of study, this reference addresses the fundamental questions that the evidence of ESP evokes; examines parapsychology research from all over the world; and explores the controversies, skepticism, and contemporary criticism disparaging the field. Written for a multidisciplinary audience ranging from physicists to psychologists to lay persons, the volumes present the scientific validity of the field. Volume 1 addresses the historical, philosophical, skeptical, and research viewpoints; volume 2 lays out the current theories on ESP. Chapters reveal how strict scientific protocols and state-of-the-art technologies enable scientists—at sites such as Harvard and Cornell universities to their international counterparts in Amsterdam, Austria, and Asia—to pinpoint and investigate ESP abilities. Appendices include a glossary of key terms in parapsychology, ESP research protocol, ESP research organizations, skeptic associations, and recommended reading.