APPENDIX I, EXPERIMENTS - URI GELLER AT SRI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00791R000100480003-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 32
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 12, 2000
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: August 4, 1973
• Content Type: PAPER

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APPENDIX I
EXPERIMENTS - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973
OBEJCTIVE
The objective of this group of experimental sessions was to
verify Geller's apparent paranormal perception under carefully
controlled conditions with the goal of understanding the physical
and psychological variables underlying such ability.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
In each of the eight days of this experimental period picture-
drawing experiments were carried out. In these experiments Geller was
separated from the target material either by an electrically isolated
shielded room or by the isolation provided by having the targets drawn
on the East Coast. As a result of Geller's success in this experimental
period, we consider that he has demonstrated his paranormal perceptual
ability in a convincing and unambiguous manner.
Saturday, August 4. Two drawing experiments were conducted this day.
In both of these, Geller was closeted in an opaque, acoustically and
electrically shielded room. This room is the double-walled shielded
room used for EEG research in the Life Sciences Division of SRI. It
Is locked by means of an inner and outer, each of which is secured with
a refrigerator-type locking mechanism, as shown Figure1.1.
The two drawings used in this experiment were selected by randomly
opening a large college dictionary and selecting the first word which
could reasonably be drawn. The first word obtained in this manner was
"fuse" and the object drawn was a firecracker (Fig. 1.2.). All target
selection and picture drawing was done with Geller already in the
shielded room. Geller was notified via intercom when the target pic-
ture was drawn and taped to the wall outside his enclosure.
His almost immediate response was that he saw "a cylinder with
noise coming out of it". (He was continuously monitored by a one-way
audio circuit.) His drawing representing his response to the target
was a drum, along with a number of other cylindrical-looking objects.
(Figs. 1.3. amd 1.4.)
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Experiments - Uri Geller August 4-11, 1973
The second word selected was "bunch", and the target was a bunch
of grapes. Geller's immediate response was that he saw "drops of water
coming out of the picture." He then talked about "purple circles".
Finally, he said that he was quite sure that he had the picture. His
drawing was indeed a bunch of grapes. Both the target picture and
Geller's rendition had 24 grapes in the bunch, as shown in Figs. 1.5.
qnd 1.6.
In this work the target picture is never discussed by the ex-
perimenters after the picture is drawn or brought near the shielded
room. The intercom operates only from the inside of the room to the
outside, except when the push-to-talk switch is depressed on the out-
side of the room. In our detailed examination of the shielded room
and the protocol used in these experiments no sensory leakage has been
found, nor has any defect in the protocol been brought to our attention.
Sunday, August 5. Geller is locked in the shielded room with one
experimenter outside as a monitor while the target is drawn in the
other experimenter's office about a half mile away. The target select-
ed from the dictionary was an outline drawing of a man. which evolved
through the drawing process into a devil with a trident (Fig. 1. 7.).
To start the experiment, Puthoff, who was with Geller, called Targ,
who was with the drawing. Geller spent almost a half-hour working
on the drawing before "passing', as he felt unable to get the drawing.
We include his efforts nonetheless for the insight into the process
that they provide.
His drawings (Figs. 1.8-1.10) were as follows: 1) "Moses'
Tablets" i.e., Ten Commandments; 2) apple with a worm coming out of
It, a snake was in the same picture, and the Tablets symbolism of
the first drawing; 3) composite picture with the Ten Commandments on
top of the world and the trident on the outside, along with a neatly
drawn leaf. One is led to speculate that the Biblical representation
in these three drawings is perhaps associational material triggered
by the target. The inability on Geller's part to draw the devil may
be culturally induced.
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Experiments - Uri Geller August 4-11, 1973
With regard to the target picture, Geller did draw the trident
from the target picture, but he did not draw the man who was holding
it. From this it seems clear that Geller does not simply copy lines
from the target picture, but rather he apparently performs some men-
tal processing before drawing them.
The second target picture was drawn by an experimenter while he
was inside the shielded room with Geller outside the room with another
experimenter. In this case the target (Fig.l. 11) was a representa-
tion of the solar system. His immmediate verbal reaction before
drawing was one of "space". Geller's drawn response to the target while
outside the room (Fig.l. 12) coincides well with the target drawing.
The block in the center of Geller's picture, according to his state-
ment, was his afterthought suggested by the movie 2001 and was drawn
as an addition just before comparing target with response.
Monday, August 6. The experiment to be done this day was. a pure
clairvoyance task, A picture was drawn by a scientist outside of the
usual experimental group. The picture was locked in the shielded room
before Geller's arrival at SRI. Geller was then led by the experi-
menters to the shielded room, and asked to draw the picture inside the
room. He drew a number of pictures, all of which he rejected as not
being applicable. He said that he got no clear impression and passed.
The target was a rabbit, and 'nothing Geller drew in any way resembled
a rabbit. It should be added that the picture was drawn by a scientist
of whom Geller is not fond, and Geller asked at the outset if this was
the case. The experimenters said that this was not the case, since
they did not know who had drawn the picture. Geller felt vindicated
to some extent when he found out that his initial guess as to the artist
had been correct.
Tuesday, August 7. This day two target pictures were attempted with
Geller in the shielded room. He was connected to an EEG apparatus to
allow measurement of his brain waves at the time that he was attempt-
ing to perceive a hidden picture. The two target pictures were a tree
and an envelope. He experienced difficulty, did not make a drawing
that corresponded to either drawing, and passed. Also, he found it
very difficult to hold adequately still to make good EEG records. The
same skeptical experimenter who drew the rabbit was the EEG operator
on this second unsuccessful day.
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Experiments.- Uri Geller August 4-11, 1973
Wednesday, August 8. Three targets
this day's work. In the first, the
door of the laboratory in which the
addition to the inner double doors)
were drawn during the course of
experimenters closed the outer
shielded room is located (in
and worked in an adjoining room.
The target picture in this case was a camel. Geller felt unsure
and passcd, but his drawing was a horse. (See Figs.l. 13
and 1. 14)
room
(Fig
with
know
The experimenters then returned to the room outside the shielded
and drew the second picture which was the Golden Gate Bridge
1. 15). Geller inside the shielded room drew some curved lines
some squares underneath. (Fig. 1. 16) He said that he didn't
what the picture was and passed.
The third picture was a flying sea gull. Geller said almost
immediately that he saw a flying swan over a hill. He drew several
birds and said that he was sure that his drawing was correct, which
it was. (Figs. 1.17 and 1. 18)
In these experiments conducted with this shielded room, six '
day's work was done. Good results were obtained on the four days
when there was no openly skeptical observer (except the experimenters
whom Geller has /earned to accept).
Thursday, August 9. We moved the experiments to a new shielded room
from the Life Science to the Engineering building in order to make use
of the computer facilities available there.
After Geller was secured in a shielded room about 150 feet down
the hall and around a corner from the computer room and placed under
continuous monitoring, a picture was drawn on the face of the TV
screen driven by the computer's graphics program. The picture was
a kite. Shortly after Geller was notified that the picture had been
drawn, he had the computer room called to determine if the target
picture was a geometric picture or an object. We told him that it
was an object, by talking to an intermediary, who was ignorant of
the target picture. Geller's first drawing in this case was a square
with the diagonals drawn in. He then also drew some triangular air-
planes and. passed. His first drawing was a good representation of
the actual target picture. (Figs. 1. 19 and 1. 20)
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Experiments - Uri Geller August 4-11, 1973
Friday, August 10. Two pictures were drawn and stored in the computer
memory so that no visible evidence was available in the computer room
after the picture was drawn.
The first picture was a church. The picture was drawn and stored
in the memory of the computer. Geller's responses are shown in the
? attached collection of drawings. It is clear that both of his attempts
have some elements in common with the target drawing, but he had no
idea that it was a church and he passed. (Figs. 1. 21 - 1. 23)
The second target picture was stored on the face of the TV tube
with the intensity turned off so that no picture was visible with the
room lights turned on. Geller immediately drew an arrow under a rounded
brick and then drew another arrow inside a suitcase. We consider the
arrow in the suitcase similar to the target, which was an arrow through
a heart. (Figs. 1. 24 - 1. 26)
These latter two experiments admit of at least two hypotheses
which will requite further work to differentiate: (1) perception of
information stored in the computer, or (2) perception of mental con-
tents, since there were several people in the computer room, all of
whom knew the nature of the target that was stored.
A long distance telepathy experiment was also done on Friday.
An East Coast scientist was called and asked to draw a simple re-
presentational object for Geller to copy. Following the experiment
he indicated that he drew two peaked mountains with a sun in the upper
right. Geller drew two arches side by side with a circle in the
upper right. Geller's picture also had a train-like object running
through it. We consider this to be suggestive of communication but
not conclusive. We do not have the East Coast original.
Saturday, August 11. A lengthy long distance experiment was performed
with another East Coast scientist. In this case the man chose to draw
a cross-sectional view of the brain. (In retrospect we consider this
to be an exceptionally difficult target since Geller would not recog-
nize the drawing even if successful.) Geller began by writing down
the words "medical," "organic," and "living" on the top of his paper.
Later he wrote the words "aviation" and "architecture". He made two
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Experiments - Uri Geller August 4-11, 1973
drawings, one of which was complex and indescribable. The second did
somewhat resemble an anatomical cross-section. These responses are
being sent to the originator for comparison.
These experiments as presented complete the description of the
work of August 4-11, 1973, with a perceptual information channel of
unknown character and non-negligible signal-to-noise ratio.
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