# Princeton’s Conscious Earth?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princeton-s-conscious-earth/214963>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 24, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princeton-s-conscious-earth/214963 "2003-11-24T07:15:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![That\_Insufferable\_Jerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@That\_Insufferable\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Insufferable_Jerk)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princeton-s-conscious-earth/214963/1 "2003-11-24T07:15:31Z")

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[http://noosphere.princeton.edu/](http://noosphere.princeton.edu/)

I ran across this page a few months ago and lost track of it until yesterday. The page talks about random number generators and how they stopped being random around the millennium and 9/11. Normally I would just ignore this but the web site is tide to Princeton ( yes the real one, PBS did a story about this little group doing research on telekinesis and they could actually back it up.) Go down to the “current results” link. The math is a little beyond me but it is interesting none the less. What is this? Has anyone seen something like this before? Is the math valid?

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**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princeton-s-conscious-earth/214963/2 "2003-11-24T08:38:43Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by That Insufferable Jerk… \*  
> \*\*[http://noosphere.princeton.edu/](http://noosphere.princeton.edu/)
> 
> I ran across this page a few months ago and lost track of it until yesterday. The page talks about random number generators and how they stopped being random around the millennium and 9/11. Normally I would just ignore this but the web site is tide to Princeton ( yes the real one, PBS did a story about this little group doing research on telekinesis and they could actually back it up.) Go down to the “current results” link. The math is a little beyond me but it is interesting none the less. What is this? Has anyone seen something like this before? Is the math valid? \*\*

Don’t let the “princeton” and the “edu” in the url fool you. This group of whackos have nothing to do with Princeton University or education.

On their site, they make the pseudoscientific [claim](http://noosphere.princeton.edu/proc_bottom.html)

> [@](#):
>
> We use devices called random event generators (REG) that usually produce a continuous sequence of completely unpredictable numbers which can be recorded in computer files. Experiments have shown that human consciousness can make the string of numbers slightly non-random when people hold intentions to do so, or when there is a special state of coherent group consciousness. The difference is very small, but statistical analysis demonstrates that this correlation of the REG behavior with something about consciousness is real. It is as if our wishes could change the 50/50 odds of a coin flip ever so slightly.

That’s right, they’ve proved telekinesis! Or have they? From [The Skeptic’s Dictionary](http://www.skepdic.com/pear.html) we learn it’s bullshit.

Peace.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princeton-s-conscious-earth/214963/3 "2003-11-24T09:59:47Z")

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[An evening with Dean Radin.](http://www.skepticreport.com/psychics/radin2002.htm)