Can geomagnetic activity affect telepathy? (Michael Persinger)

[WSEN]

I know, telepathy hasn't been proven and I'm a skeptic on the matter as well. However, Michael Persinger posited a theory:

In 1974 Michael Persinger proposed that extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves may be able to carry telepathic and clairvoyant information.

Here is the Research article I'm talking about:

http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_10_4_krippner.pdf

These are his other publications regarding ESP. Notice that he remains strong in his theory from 1975 to 1993 (See Below). His recent lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9l6VPpDublg#t=248 (I have set the URL at the time he speaks about telepathic experiences and low geomagnetic storms). So we can probably say that until now, he hasn't changed his mind about it.

If you have any articles you need further examining, it can all be downloaded here. https://neurocogconsultants.app.box.com/s/l9f7tld3yjny4b00eqbq

What I find it alluring is that he, along with Stanley Krippner, suggests that it is true.

Why has nobody tried to replicate his data?

They tried replicating his 'God Helmet'and it came out to be a miserable fail. Why does nobody bother to try his theory out, along with his Techtonic Strain Theory?

From Wikipedia (Michael Persinger)

Persinger has also come to public attention due to his 1975 Tectonic Strain Theory (TST) of how geophysical variables may correlate with sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or Marian apparitions. Persinger argued that strain within the Earth's crust near seismic faults produces intense electromagnetic (EM) fields, creating bodies of light that some interpret as glowing UFOs or The Virgin Mary. Alternatively, he argued that the EM fields generate hallucinations in the temporal lobe, based on images from popular culture, of alien craft, beings, communications, or creatures.

In the UK, Paul Devereux advocates a variant geophysical theory similar to TST, the Earthlights theory. However, unlike Persinger, Devereaux generally restricts such effects to the immediate vicinity of a fault line. Devereux's approach also differs from Persinger's in holding triboluminescence rather than piezoelectricity as the "more likely candidate" for the production of naturally occurring UFOs. Devereux doesn't advocate, as in Persinger's TST, that the phenomenon might create hallucinations of UFO encounters in people, instead proposing an even more radical hypothesis: that earthlights may possess intelligence and even have the ability to read witness' thoughts.[18]

Persinger's claims regarding the effects of environmental geomagnetic activity on paranormal experiences have not been independently replicated and, like his findings regarding the God helmet, may simply be explained by the suggestibility of participants.[3]

Do many theories (in general) never get tested? It just then remains a hypothesis doesnt it? If a PHD (Persinger) creates and holds onto a theory for 40 years, and is the crux of most of his arguments, and he is established in the field, shouldn't it receive some attention to replicate it? I am talking about both his theory about his Techtonic Strain Theory and his Geomagnetic ESP theory.

What I do find alluring is that he posits his theory about Telepathy in 1974, which coincides with Stanley Krippner's release of his book about Dream Telepathy

1974 - Dream Telepathy: Experiments in Nocturnal ESP (with Montague Ullman and Alan Vaughan). (Macmillan) - From Wikipedia (Stanley Krippner).

It means that Persinger tried to data mine the data that correlated with his newly formed hypothesis (back in 1974). That's why you realise that after Krippner's experiments have been done, Persinger looks for patterns. Maybe he is not counting the Misses (fails) of when telepathy was successful and geomagnetic fields were high. Which would mean that he could make excuses as to why it didn't work, because of other variables that could have gone into play. I know that correlation does not imply causation and other variables could induce the non successiveness of his theory (by either being psi hits on high geomagnetic storm days/low to no hits on low geogmagetic storm days), which would make it very complicated indeed. I know that PSI CAN NOT a material phenomena, if it ever was true, because it defies all the laws of physics and neuroscience, which would mean his ELF theory AND his Low Geogmagnetic Storm Theory would be meaningless since then, it would have to do with the physical world and materialism, I just find it really so difficult to understand his psychology. Maybe he is right? I have no grasp of quantum mechanics but from what I have read, it really cannot be applied to the macro world. So am I correct as to say that his recent research (on the youtube video, that he's demonstrated telepathy and he uses quantum mechanics), and quantum mechanics, cannot be unified together? Because, he's talking about the apparent successes depending on geomagnetic storms (can this affect the quantum mechanics part in any way?) and he's talking about ELF waves carrying telepathic information (1974) which has nothing to do with quantum mechanics? (Or is he adding quantum mechanics now, as seen in the lecture, to his telepathy theory, because his 1974 theory without Quantum Mechanics didn't work?)

He possibly can't be lying. He truly believes in his stuff and that's why he would keep researching and hold onto his theory for this long. If he KNOWS that his theory is false, then why would he keep researching and publishing the same theory? I just cannot understand his psychology. Sure, if you invested 30 years into it, then you would hold onto your beliefs (as you have your time and ego attatched to it as you sweat blood and tears doing meticulous research, and, the longer you have your beliefs, the longer you have your beliefs, the less likely you are to get rid of them. I personally know a lot about belief systems), but wouldn't you know that you're wrong, if you're wrong, and let it go? I mean, he's continuously kept his theory and researched it and published it, adding new data. Thus it must mean he is correct! Unless he has brain damage. I can understand if it becomes unfalsifiable and thus he believes in this theory, but this is SO falsifiable. You can test it and even ordinary people like you can me can test it so easily and it wouldn't be costly at all. Just look at the PSI Hit dates/times and see if it has any positive correlation with low/no geomagnetic storms! In fact, you don't even have to look at the previous data that was already done, like he did, scientists can start anew and get the worlds best remote viewers who worked in stargate (Thus knowing that we are talking with 'real' psychics here, since there are so many fakes and, if we were to pick some from the general public, they could just be fakers, but with stargate, you know that they had to be really good, consistently, in order to have gotten into the CIA's Stargate program in the first place).

Even if he does show that his theory is true, and that telepathy is proven (like in his lecture and in Discovery Channel's 'Through the Wormhole' Do we have a sixth sense?

(Do have a look, it takes 6 minutes to watch.

http://vimeo.com/26137313 Start from minute 18

http://vimeo.com/26137313 Start from the beginning till minute 5), will he even get a chance to be noticed in the scientific mainstream and respectable scientific journals? Because of Darrel Bem's research about precognition got published in the Mainstream Scientific Journals, the reputation for that journal got heavily damaged. I doubt that future studies in ESP, no matter how good, will be taken seriously. There has been 150 years of research into this field and nothing of significance has been proven. How will he ever prove his point even if he did discover telepathy? (Ok, not 100% but, in line with his geomagnetic theories, with statistical meaning).

So I know it's a long post but if you could answer some or all of my questions, that'd be great.

Thanks

Selected Publications:

Persinger, M. A. (1993). Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXI. Differential contribution of geomagnetic activity to paranormal experiences concerning death and crisis: an alternative to the ESP hypothesis. Perceptual and Motor Skills Apr; 76(2): 555-62.

Persinger, M. A. (1993). Paranormal and religious beliefs may be mediated differentially by subcortical and cortical phenomenological processes of the temporal (limbic) lobes. Perceptual and Motor Skills. Feb; 76(1): 247-51.

Persinger, M.A. (1975). Geophysical models for parapsychological experiences. Psychoenergetic Systems, 1, 63-74.

Persinger, M.A. (1976). The problems of human verbal behaviour: The final reference for measuring ostensible PSI phenomena. The Journal of Research in PSI Phenomena, 1,72-90.

Persinger, M.A. (1979). ELF field mediation in spontaneous PSI events: direct information transfer or conditioned elicitation? Psychoenergetic Systems, 3, 155-169.

Persinger, M.A. (1979). Behaviouristic descriptions of paranormal behaviors. Psychoenergetic Systems, 3, 229-242.

Persinger, M.A. (1983). Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: a general hypothesis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 57, 1255-1262.

Persinger, M.A. (1984). Propensity to report paranormal experiences is correlated with temporal lobe signs. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 59, 583-586.

Persinger, M.A. (1985). Geophysical variables and behavior: XXII. The tectonogenic strain continuum of unusual events. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 59-65.

Schaut, G.B., & Persinger, M.A. (1985). Subjective telepathic experiences, geomagnetic activity and the ELF hypothesis: Part I. Data analyses. PSI Research, 4(1), 4-20.

Persinger, M.A. (1985). Geophysical variables and human behavior: Intense paranormal experiences occur during days of quiet, global, geomagnetic activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61, 320-322.

Persinger, M.A., & Valliant, P.M. (1985). Temporal lobe signs and reports of subjective paranormal experiences in a normal population: a replication. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 903-909.

Persinger, M.A. (1985). Subjective telepathic experiences, geomagnetic activity and the ELF hypothesis: Part II. Stimulus features and neural detection. PSI Research, 4(2), 4-23.

Gearhart, L., & Persinger, M.A. (1986). Geophysical variables and human behavior. Onsets of historical and contemporary poltergeist episodes occurred with sudden increases in geomagnetic activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, 463-466.

Persinger, M.A., & Cameron, R.A. (1986). Earth faults in some poltergeist-like cases? Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 80, 49-73.

Persinger, M.A. (1987). Spontaneous telepathic experiences from Phantasms of the Living and low global geomagnetic activity. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 81, 23-36.

Makarec, K., & Persinger, M.A. (1987). Geophysical variables and behavior: XLII. Negative correlation between accuracy of card-guessing and geomagnetic activity: A case study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 105-106.

Lewicki, D.R., Schaut, G.H., & Persinger, M.A. (1987). Geophysical variables and behavior: XLIV. Days of subjective precognitive experiences and the days before the actual events display correlated geomagnetic activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 173-174.

Persinger, M.A., & Schaut, G.B. (1988). Geomagnetic factors in subjective telepathic, precognitive and postmortem experiences. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 82, 217-235.

Arango, M.A., & Persinger, M.A. (1988). Geophysical variables and behavior: LII. Decreased geomagnetic activity and spontaneous telepathic experiences from the Sidgwick collection. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 67, 907-910.

Persinger, M.A., & Krippner, S. (1989). Experimental dream telepathy, clairvoyance and geomagnetic activity. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 83, 101-116.

Persinger, M.A. (1989). Modern neuroscience and near-death experiences: expectancies and implications. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 7, 233-239.

Persinger, M.A., & Fisher, S.D. (1990). Elevated, specific temporal lobe signs in a population engaged in psychic studies. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 817-818.

Berger, R.E., & Persinger, M.A. (1991). Geophysical variables and behavior: LXVII. Quieter annual geomagnetic activity and larger effect size for experimental PSI (ESP) studies over six decades. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 73, 1219-1223.

Persinger, M.A. (1993). Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXI. Differential contribution of geomagnetic activity to paranormal experiences concerning death and crisis: An alternative to the ESP hypothesis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 555-562.

Persinger, M.A. (1995). Out-of-body-like experiences are more probable in people with elevated complex partial epileptic-like signs during periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity: a nonlinear effect. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 563-569.

[John Cuthber]

Have you noticed that many of those reports are in journals that are intrinsically biassed?

Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research,

PSI Research

and

Psychoenergetic Systems

Wouldn't exist if there was no such thing as "paranormal" behaviour.

So they are logically bound to publish stuff that supports it, regardless of the quality of the work..

 

None of the reports is published in a reputable mainstream journal

Why not?

If this stuff were real, it would be a massively important discovery in a huge number of fields from electronics to economics and physics to psychology.

 

Why isn't it in "proper" journals?

[Enthalpy]

Geomagnetic activity makes faint fields, easy to reproduce or exceed in a lab. Why rely on Nature to check a possible correlation?

 

And: before I understood that telepathy apparatus interpret pictures of the brain's activity obtained by a radar or maybe a lidar, I had supposed they read the electric or magnetic fields created by the brains, like an EEG does but at a distance - despite I couldn't figure how to obtain the necessary sensitivity.

 

In response, I built and carried on me two jammers, one electric and the other magnetic, made as good as possible: truly random, tri-axial, covering all frequencies of an EEG and more, 80dB (for E) and 210dB (for B) stronger than the brain's fields - and they did not prevent telepathy (while a hat of space blanket does, apparently).

 

Since these jammers were also much stronger than Earth's fields, they should also have blocked telepathy if, according to Persinger, it were a natural capability (I don't think so) sensitive to Earth's fields.

[Endy0816]

The logic doesn't really hold up. There is a lot of contradictory pseudoscience out there that people have clung to for their entire lives.

 

Time invested doesn't make something true or not.

[iNow]

In addition to the valid criticisms above, it's never a good sign when such an important argument rests so firmly on a single author. It looks each of your over 20 citations are from Persinger (which doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong, only that they have yet to be supported or reproduced by others).

With that said, we know that geomagnetic fields effect the behavior of animals like lobster and birds and others, and it might even have a small minor influence on human neurophysiology at times, but that's a long way away from telepathy (which is a very specific phenomenon and claim).

[EdEarl]

We know we feel emotionally, touch, hear, see, and sense temperature; there is no question about it; everyone does it. If people were telepathic, everyone would know. Some people look for things that do not exist.

[WSEN]

No, perhaps I should have made it clear.

Those other references are NOT for the article I am talking about. Those are his other publications that I got from http://archived.parapsych.org/psiexplorer/michaelpersinger.htm. If you had a look at the main article which I was talking about,

http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_10_4_krippner.pdf, You would see that it is

 

Berger, R. E., & Persinger, M. A. (1991). Geophysical variables and behavior: LXVII. Quieter

annual geomagnetic activity and larger effect size for experimental psi (ESP) studies over six

decades. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 73, 12 19.

Churchill, D. R., Persinger, M. A., & Thomas, A. W. (1994). Geophysical variables and behavior:

LXXVII. Increased geomagnetic activity and decreased pleasantness of spontaneous narra-

tives for percipients but not for agents. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79,387.

Edge, H. L., Morris, R. L., Palmer, J., & Rush, J. H. (1986). Foundations of Parapsychology.

London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Gurney, E., Myers, E W. H., & Podmore, F. (1886). Phantasms of the Living (2 vols.). London:

Trubner.

Krippner, S., & Ullman, M. (1970). Telepathy and dreams: A controlled experiment with electro-

encephalogram-electro-oculogram monitoring. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 15 1,

394.

Mayaud, P. M. (1 973). A hundred-year series of geomagnetic data 1868- 1967. IAGA Bulletin No.

33.

Murphy, M. (1992). The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Future Evolution of Human

Nature. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

Persinger, M. A. (1987). Spontaneous telepathic experiences from phantasms of the living and

low global geomagnetic activity. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 8 1,

23.

Persinger, M. A. (1988). Increased geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of bereavement hallu-

cinations: Evidence of melatonin-mediated microseizuring in the temporal lobe? Neuro-

science Letters, 88,27 1.

Persinger, M. A. (1989). Psi phenomena and temporal lobe activity: The geomagnetic factor. In

L. A. Henkel & R. E. Berger (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, 1988, 121. Metuchen, NJ:

Scarecrow Press.

Persinger, M. A. (1993). Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXI. Differential contributions of

geomagnetic activity to paranormal experiences concerning death and crisis: An alternative to

the ESP hypothesis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76,555.

Persinger, M. A., & Krippner, S. (1989). Dream ESP experiments and geomagnetic activity.

Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 83, 101.

Persinger, M. A., & Schaut, G. B. (1988). Geomagnetic factors in subjective telepathic, precogni-

tive, and postmortem experiences. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research,

82,217. Dreams and Distant Target Material 493

Randall, W., & Randall, S. (1991). The solar wind and hallucinations - a possible relation due to

magnetic disturbances. Bioelectromagnetics, 12,67.

Rao, K. R., & Palmer, J. (1987). The anomaly calledpsi: Recent research and criticism. Behav-

ioral and Brain Sciences, 10,539.

Rhine, L. E. (1977). Research methods with spontaneous cases. In B. B. Wolman (Ed.), Hand-

book of Parapsychology, 59. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Schaut, G. B., & Persinger, M. A. (1985). Subjective telepathic experiences, geomagnetic activity

and the ELF hypothesis. Part I. Data analysis. Psi Research 4, 1,4.

Spottiswoode, S. J. P. (1991). Geomagnetic activity and anomalous cognition: A preliminary re-

port of new evidence. Subtle Energies, 1,9 1.

Ullman, M., & Krippner, S. (1 969). An experimental approach to dreams and telepathy: 11. A re-

port of three studies. American Journal of Psychiatry 126, 1282.

Ullman, M., & Krippner, S. (1970). A laboratory approach to the nocturnal dimension of paranor-

mal experience: Report of a confirmatory study using the REM monitoring technique. Biolog-

ical Psychiatry, 1,259.

Ullman, M., & Krippner, S., with Vaughan, A. (1989). Dream Telepathy: Experiments in Noctur-

nal ESP. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Wilkinson, H., & Gauld, A. (1993). Geomagnetism and anomalous experiences, 1868-1980. Pro-

ceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 57,275.

[John Cuthber]

Before you can talk meaningfully about what might affect telepathy, you need to show that telepathy is real.

Nobody ever has.

If you can, I suggest you go here first and pick up a million dollars.

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

 

Unless you can prove that telepathy exists, you are not doing science and you are wasting our time.

[iNow]

Said another way, this question is similar to asking what mechanism unicorns use to fly. Until you can demonstrate the existence of unicorns and also demonstrate that it is capable of flight, speculating about the mechanism they use to fly is a waste of time. Along similar lines, until you demonstrate telepathy exists (which people have been trying to do for decades and decades and decades and have consistently failed to achieve)... well, you get the picture.

[hoola]

I have imagined a process that could underly some aspects of human life that seems original....that concerns telepathy and other odd psychological artifacts. I propose that consciousness or "heighted awareness" is a defacto "fifth force" manifest upon on the local universe. I say that the force acts not as a new force, but within the bounds of affecting the basic "real" forces. Since the effects are (usually) transient and not well understood, no formal parameter structure is allowed, and vary from individual to individual. This is why such psi experiments will remain unprovable, other than beating the odds on certain tests on certain days by certain individuals. This is an extrapolation of the heisenberg observer affecting the experiment principle, as thinking is basically an experiment, and our perception gives a pos/neg feedback loop to alter reality so as change our observations subtly from what is actually there. While this all takes place in our heads, it is still under the rubric of "information as reality" idea. So, to say that something is "only in my head" and doesn't affect any observed phenomena, is largely true, but not always, depending on the individual mind in question. From this, I further see that geomagnetic activity is too weak to affect any possible psi artifact. The psi feature of advance intelligence is largely a form of self-hypnosis, and more affected by normal human conditions such as room temperature, stress levels, even biorithms (mood). It would be more likely, in my scenario, that the mind would affect the geomagnetic force, that than the other way around...edd

Edited February 4, 2014 by imatfaal
per below message

[hoola]

can't edit spelling mistake on previous post as edit button is missing. I meant to say in last sentence, .... that the mind would affect the geomagnetic force, than the other way around.....edd (I thought the edit feature lasted more than 1 day..?)

Edited February 4, 2014 by hoola

[imatfaal]

can't edit spelling mistake on previous post as edit button is missing. I meant to say in last sentence, .... that the mind would affect the geomagnetic force, than the other way around.....edd (I thought the edit feature lasted more than 1 day..?)

 

The fact is that the forum software didn't merge your two consecutive posts either - I guess the limit is 24 hours, although I had suspected it was longer. I have changed your post for you.