# The CIA Actually Tried Paraspychology for Spying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590 "2011-02-25T14:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/21 "2011-02-26T08:08:55Z")
I have a friend who was in the army’s remote viewing program back in the 60’s. He’s still under official gag, by the way. They took it seriously, except for the fact that the program’s higher ups had no idea of what it was about and actually hindered the program. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/22 "2011-02-26T15:31:42Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I have a friend who was in the army’s remote viewing program back in the 60’s. He’s still under official gag, by the way. They took it seriously, except for the fact that the program’s higher ups had no idea of what it was about and actually hindered the program. I don;'t suppose he gave a hint as to what the program was really about? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/23 "2011-02-26T15:37:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don;'t suppose he gave a hint as to what the program was really about? Yeah, remote viewing. Really. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/24 "2011-02-26T15:44:22Z")
And the higher-ups didn’t know their remote viewing program was about remote viewing? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/25 "2011-02-26T15:55:44Z")
Of course they did. It was an official (hidden) government program. What I mean is this: Let’s say some (unnamed) agency receives information that the Russians were deeply into a Remote Viewing program, which they were by the way, and I might add, with some success. The US unnamed agency decides to begin their own program, but puts in charge some dimwit career officer who has no idea about 'psychic phenomena". ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/26 "2011-02-26T16:00:30Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I have a friend who was in the army’s remote viewing program back in the 60’s. He’s still under official gag, by the way. They took it seriously, except for the fact that the program’s higher ups had no idea of what it was about and actually hindered the program. Well, it wasn’t MKULTRA, because that had nothing to do with psychic experimentation. Did he happen to mention the name of this project? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/27 "2011-02-26T16:03:33Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > Of course they did. It was an official (hidden) government program. What I mean is this: Let’s say some (unnamed) agency receives information that the Russians were deeply into a Remote Viewing program, which they were by the way, and I might add, with some success. The US unnamed agency decides to begin their own program, but puts in charge some dimwit career officer who has no idea about 'psychic phenomena". Let’s say this thread is posted in General Questions, where we try to get to the facts of the matter whenever possible, not IMHO, where opinions run rampant. Do you have any factual information about what the OP is asking about? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/28 "2011-02-26T16:14:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Let’s say this thread is posted in General Questions, where we try to get to the facts of the matter whenever possible, not IMHO, where opinions run rampant. Do you have any factual information about what the OP is asking about? Only what is termed “hearsay evidence” from a very close friend. Never claimed anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/29 "2011-02-26T16:27:09Z")
[Here is a link that provides some solid information](http://www.skepdic.com/remotevw.html) on the government’s involvement in psychic studies. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/30 "2011-02-27T19:49:46Z")
> [@wei\_ji](#): > > “No, MKULTRA was about torturing subjects without prior consent or information with drugs to find out which drugs would be useful as truth serum, or for chemical “interrogation” (the CIA euphemism for torture).” > > Well, I’m going to disagree slightly with WIKIPEDIA on this one. Give cites and correct the Wikipedia article, then. > [@](#): > > The CIA had found that the technology of the day required the cooperation of the subject to “tune in” to the influence, and that the subconscious quickly detected the intrusion and put up defenses–much like the movie INCEPTION. So a method that doesn’t work - remote hypnosis - is not due to the impossibility of the method, but because the subjects put up defenses like in a stupid and impossible Hollywood movie? Ummmmm, yeah. Or rather, it didn’t work because it’s not a useful method. > [@](#): > > The point is the aim was to influence behavior undetected, not torture. Using chemicals to influence the psychics of people is usually defined as torture outside the US. Doing it to subjects without prior information or consent is illegal, unethical medical experiments and torture outside the US. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/31 "2011-02-27T20:56:05Z")
some such activities in the military are mentioned here [First Earth Battalion - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Earth_Battalion) Anyway, why not? History knows plenty of examples of government leaders consulting witches (Yeltsin doing that in Russia used to be an open secret and a minor scandal btw), and it is only natural that in this day and age the practice were institutionalized with official payscales and government issued guidelines and so on. There is nothing new under the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/32 "2011-02-28T14:48:58Z")
Stephen King’s 1980 novel _Firestarter_ is about a secret U.S. government drug program that tries to develop paranormal abilities in its test subjects, and succeeds. Zany hijinks ensue. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/33 "2011-03-21T10:19:55Z")
FWIW, I was recently speaking to my friend about the topic of this thread and its comments. Please take this as complete hearsay, there is no webpage link to affirm what he has told me and you will soon understand why. Back in the sixties, I will not mention the exact dates of the program, there were agencies of the US government (and of course in the USSR) actively involved in an exploration into Remote Reading, Parallel Worlds and Alternate Dimensions. The reason is that there are obvious military applications. My friend noted that someday, it is going to be prohibited, (personally I do not know how it can be prohibited), to explore and transmit information about said topics due to the aforementioned military applications. Take this information with a grain of salt if you will. Humankind is bent on achieving the most destructive forces possible to assure the wealth, power and domination of the few. Always has been, always will be. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/34 "2011-03-21T11:41:18Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I know it has nothing to do with the subject, and this may sound very strange, but I’ve always wanted to see the three of them in a movie that also involved goats in some way. A propos of nothing, did your vision include felching at any point ? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590/35 "2011-03-21T12:24:56Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > My friend noted that someday, it is going to be prohibited, (personally I do not know how it can be prohibited), to explore and transmit information about said topics due to the aforementioned military applications. > > Take this information with a grain of salt if you will. Since your friend used the common dodge “someday”, my grain of salt will stay safely in the shaker, thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-actually-tried-paraspychology-for-spying/572590.md?page=1)