In the other thread, now in multiple pages I have proposed a test of the phenomenon of Remote Viewing. I intend to participate, and offer my own services as Interim Judge. For this position I must be acceptable to all participants as an honest examiner, and fair executor of an entirely open process for installing the final team of test participants, observers, and jurists. I will also be the implementing authority on the appointment of the three judges.
If there are other prospective Interim Judges, please post here, so you can be considered. (note: the final Judges will be chosen by the two teams of participants, and observers, and the entire testing team must accept the third Judge as an neutral, and honest person.)
After the Judges are selected, I will step down in favor of their authority for the actual conduct of the test. For the test we will also need a group of volunteers willing to continue their participation over an extended period. Those wishing to become members of the Proponant test team must decide for themselves how their teams are organized, and what actions they will take. Those decisions must then be submitted to the Judges for consideration by the entire testing team. The Skeptic test team will have the responsibility of maintaining all copies of information submitted by the Proponent team, in reasonably secure conditions, and strict chain of custody records indicating the exact time when those items came into the Skeptic team’s possession. No one but Judges and Jurists may see those documents until after the final judgment has been made, at which time all such documents will be published and placed in the Public Domain.
The skeptic team may submit objects for consideration by the final judges to be included in the target database. Such objects must meet these criteria, and those other criteria later to be decided by the team as a whole committee, before any test procedures begin:
The viewing target must be a person, place or object, or an event of simple momentary duration and singular location. (The Kennedy Assassination, but not the Hundred Years War. The Wedding of Princess Diana, but not the Continental Congress.) If possible, a photo (or other graphic representation of good quality) of the event, or thing should be obtained, and two copies made. The object designation must include a reasonable time designation, such as a date, or possibly a date and time, to the hour, or even to the minute, if such is significant to the event. (One small step for a man . . .) The names of as many people as can be provided, if they are in the picture. The location pictured, as precisely as it can be designated, for instance “the southeast corner of Thirteenth and H streets, NW Washington DC.” “My dad’s farm” would not be acceptable, unless the address was included. Objects that are not fixed in location should be in pictures cropped to minimize the inclusion of non-target details. (Show the artist’s conception of Pioneer Ten; not Pioneer Ten, in the assembly building prior to launch.)
Famous objects, people or events are not required, or excluded, but indistinguishable events or objects are not encouraged. (One traffic jam is much like another, and the precise location is hard to differentiate even with an eye witness view.) Distinctive, but little known events are encouraged, if clear representations are available, but not if only descriptive information reveals the distinction. (The murder of Czar Nicholas cannot be distinctly represented, but the photo of the unnamed young Pashtun woman from Afghanistan who was on the cover of National Geographic is certainly acceptable.)
A rose is a rose is a rose. Hannoverians notwithstanding, we are not going to play varietal horticulture trivia. The Royal Standard of the ruling house of Medieval Saxony is a flag. Calling it a flag is certainly a correct identification. The Judges and the Observers will list an ascending order of identification, by detail. And example would be: A flag. A flower. A lotus blossom. A white lotus blossom against a red background. A drawing of a white lotus blossom against a red background. The flag of Hong Kong.
In other cases the list might look like this. People. A crowd of people. An angry crowd. An angry crowd inside a large building. An angry crowd inside a building, with policemen. A man shoots another man in front of a crowd with policemen inside a large building. Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald in the parking garage in front of the Dallas Police. This is an example that would also have a very precise date and time, since that knowledge is easily available from the context.
Do not send your photos in to anyone yet. But do consider them for now, and perhaps obtain good copies for later. A large number of photos in the data pool will provide a much more reliable source of test objects for our experiment. Proponent testers or observers are not eligible to submit photos, and are encouraged not to make specific suggestions as to objects. (Examples of categories of objects that are, or are not suitable are allowed, in this discussion, of course.) Any test object specifically mentioned here is automatically disqualified. Eventually all test objects will be prepared for a double blind test procedure, by participants of the Skeptic test team, under observation by the Judges.
I should stop here, and await responses, in case this is entirely my own pipe dream. Persons interested should designate their position on the subject in their posts, and make clear the limit of their willingness to participate. I am a Skeptical Participant. I shall make no decisions on the final judgment, unless asked to do so as a skeptical Jurist, or the Skeptical Judge. I will make determinations on the stated agreements of the participants until permanent Judges are appointed.
Anyone else want to play?
Tris
“Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.” ~ Thomas Jefferson ~