◆ SpookStack

Memorandum to Mr. Tamm Re: EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION 63-4036 ; The principal lines of investigation in parapsychology are directed for the most part in studying—“supernormal cognition," that is knowledge shown by a "“percipient" (receiver) of matter concerning which he has no natural means of knowing. These include guch debatable phenomenon as: telepathy, supernormal knowledge derived from anothers mind; clairvoyance, all manifestations of supernormal knowledge, not in the mind of another person, without the intermediary of sensory information; and, precognition, supernormal knowledge of future events that can neither be percieved sensorily, inferred rationally or brought about deliberately. Because these modes of perception arise spontaneously from life experiences of certain persons only, the elimination of fraud, collusion and other sources of error are uncontrolled and uncontrollable. The devising of objective experimental techniques to establish reality of these mental phenomena presents difficulties not met in accepted psychological research. Laboratory experiments have been made as follows: Clairvoyance Tests: A special ESP card deck of five cards each of five different symbols is used (cross, circle, star, wavy lines and a square). The probability for correct guesses of cards is five in twenty-five. If subject consistently averages above one in five, results are not explainable by mere chance, (1) Open Matching Test: One ESP card of each symbol placed face up in a row. Complete ESP deck is shuffled. Before top card is dealt, subject decides which symbol matches symbol on top card of deck. Top card is then dealt and placed below guessed symbol, and so on through the deck, (2) Blind Matching Test: Like above except five key cards are face down during test. (3) Single Card Calling Test: Subject guesses symbol on top card of shuffled ESP pack, and so on through the deck, (4) Pack Calling Test: Subject makes twenty-five consecutive calls, directed at a shuffled but unbroken ESP deck. Success at these tests that is, consistent averages above one in five, allegedly’ demonstrates capacity of subject to have supernormal knowledge concerning the ESP symbols in a shuffled deck.