Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Margins of Reality
Margins of Reality
Margins of Reality
The main thesis of ‘Margins of Reality’ is the argument that consciousness has the ability
to bias probabilistic systems. It discusses scientific research in much detail, reflects on remote
viewing, and interweaves the quantum system as a mechanism to explain such phenomena. The
Section I of the book seeks to prove the consciousness of human beings in creating the
distribution. Religious ritual, artistic endeavors, rhetoric and literary works, and every other form
influences to acquire ‘divine’ knowledge to affect the course of events or to transcend them is the
vector discussed. It should be noted that the perception of reality is a generic anomaly in a
deterministic paradigm. Practical benefits in daily life, the desire to satisfy spiritual needs, and
intellectual curiosity about the supernatural can be defined as mysticism. Shamanism, and its
eventual evolution into organized religion, has been the primary method of communion with the
supernatural, and what could be loosely described as ‘God’. Needless to say, this yearning for
1
Mysticism and science, contrary to popular belief, are thoroughly intertwined. In recent
examples, Bohr, Bohm, Einstein, de Broglie, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, etc. have been considered
the greatest minds in science, and all were thoroughly interested in the mystical. Pythagoras,
Newton, Plato and others were likewise. Any inquiry throughout history into the nature of
consciousness has been seeped in mysticism. Newton himself spent at least half his scientific
endeavors on topics as diverse as alchemy and the final Revelation in the Bible.
The first rigorous scientific study of anomalous consciousness phenomena began in the
late 19th century, when the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and the American Society of
Psychical Research (ASPR) were founded. In the late 1920’s, the first successful effort to bring
psychic research into academia began with William McDougall of Harvard and Duke University.
McDougall appointed J.B. and Louisa Rhine to scientifically assess the scientific validity of
psychical phenomena. They coined the term “parapsychology” and gave the Greek letter psi (Ψ)
to represent this new term. They discovered two major categories of effect over the course of
their research, I. “extrasensory perception” (ESP), the ability to acquire information inaccessible
by known sensory channels, and II. “psychokinesis” (PK), the ability to influence objects or
processes in ways not identified by known physical means. Over the course of their research,
Rhine concluded that the subjects lacked conscious control over any psi phenomena, and
concluded that psi phenomena is widespread, even a “specific human ability” inherent in us all.
Usually, their research was conducted with the role of dice, as well as a deck of 25 cards, each
displaying one of five entoptic images; a circle, cross, three horizontal wavy lines, a square, and
a five pointed star. Over the course of their experiments, astonishing results were recorded.
Perhaps the greatest example is recorded in C.G. Jung’s “On Synchronicity”, where he tells of a
Rhine experiment which was a double-blind experiment in which the experimenter was separated
2
by a screen from the subject, who would attempt to guess which card was drawn as the
experimenter turned it up. The cards were shuffled by an apparatus independent of the
experimenter. Each subject tried to guess the correct cards 800 times. The average result
recorded 6.5 hits per 25 cards, odds of 1: 250,000. One young man was even able to guess all 25
that distance was absolutely not a factor in the results of these experiments. Since the Rhine
experiments, a strong correlation has been established between psychic performance and cognate
cooperation vs. competition, and introversion versus extroversion. To quote J.B. Rhine, “When
psi capacities transcend space and time ever so slightly or infrequently, they are revealing
fundamental properties of the human mind as a whole. This capacity to intersect with the
physical world through ESP and PK is thus a function of the total personality, not of an
In opposition to the results of psychic experimental results, critics note ten major
objections to explain away the results: 1) demonstrable fraud in collecting and reporting data, 2)
selective treatment of data, suppression of negative results, improper statistical methods, and
inconsistency within the prevailing scientific paradigm, 10) incompatibility with personal belief
systems or common sense. Undeniably, one or another of the first three objections has occurred
3
throughout the history of psychic research. This can be explained in general by a lack of
resources endowed into this field of research, for other “classical” branches of science with far
more applicable (i.e., profitable) means are favored ahead of it. In addition, only quite recently
have sufficiently sophisticated equipment, data-processing techniques, and physical models have
come into existence. These far more advanced technological methods of conducting these
experiments have led to progress in the field of psychic research. Objections 4-8 must be
examined from a dichotic view. Specifically do those characteristics invalidate the results, or do
they really illuminate the basic nature of the phenomena? Factors currently beyond experimental
control may answer this question, as does the possibility of quantum-level phenomena occurring
on a macroscopic scale which manifests themselves with only fractional probability on any given
occasion. Precise diagnostic equipment and the ability for computers to accumulate extremely
large data bases and thus allowing systematic trends to occur beyond the basic statistical static
trend. The evasiveness of the occurrence of psychic phenomena under critically controlled
scientific experiments may bring to light a number of consciousness abilities. Art, music,
literature, philosophy, and romantic courtship are usually not facilitated by rigid constrains
doubt that such creative achievement could occur in a sterile or hostile environment. Thus, either
psychic research as a whole is invalid or all the important parameters acting upon the phenomena
have not been accepted in the theories. The final two criticisms can be rejected on the basis of the
Section II of the book deals with the development of a program to directly address the
role of consciousness in the creation of physical reality. The limitations of creating a device to
4
test psi phenomena were circumvented by using microelectronic circuitry to perform the
essential functions of counting, displaying, processing, and using an analogy from the Rhine
experiments, “flipping.” The Random Event Generator (REG) was created for just such a
purpose. White noise created by random events such as radioactive decay were translated into
binary pulses. The authors seem very confident in the accuracy and validity of the REG system.
By a chance of less than one part in a million, the subjects were able to alter the binary data in a
positively correlated way. A comfortable, positive atmosphere was provided for the subjects. It is
possible that consciousness may act as an entropy-reducing agent. A device called the Random
Mechanical Cascade (RMC) was created to further test psi effects. 9000 balls trickle downward
from a funnel around a quincunx array of 330 pegs, allowing the balls to bounce in a completely
random fashion. Like the RMC experiments, the effects of conscious affecting the direction in
which the balls fall is absolutely clear. A state of immersion, whenever the subject attempted to
influence the falling of the balls, was critical in the psi affects which resulted. A feeling of
resonance, not control, with the machine proved most effective in influencing its results. The
authors conclude the section with stating that such consciousness-related effects as normal
Section III deals with the topic of precognitive remote perception (PRP). Here, the
examples of a subject performing PRP were given, with fantastic statistical odds. Statistical
parameters are set, to ensure scientific validity. No evidence was found that suggested the ability
of PRP to diminish with distance. Likewise, no evidence was found that suggested deterioration
of the information with the degree of precognition or retrocognition up to several days. Once
again, the ability of the operator to “tune-in” with the machine was instrumental in the ability to
5
perform statistically significant results. Interestingly, electromagnetic affects within the range of
1-50 cycles per second, in accordance with the human brain wave spectrum, was noted as a
Section IV goes on to discuss the possible interactions of quantum mechanics with the
ability to perform psi phenomena. Quantum wave phenomena and the dual nature of
perform psi phenomena. I am interested in this proposed theory, but was disappointed that in the
entire book, the issue of quantum non-locality was never mentioned. The quantum “tunneling”
effect, proposed by de Broglie, is also cited as an explanation for the ability to perform PRP. By
using this effect, the authors propose that when a wave system in consciousness is elevated from
cavity-bound to free-wave status, it may gain access to all consciousness in space-time and thus
enables a person to be able to perform PRC. Once again, as I have observed in my research
before, the consciousness of atoms is debated. It seems possible to me, and is something I need
to research further. Resonance with other individuals is once again promoted as being
Reports of the ability to perform PRP among participants is consistent with quantum
tunneling mechanisms. For instance, subjects would report that they would shut off the external
world, and picture a blank movie screen in their head. Dream-like visions would ensue, flowing
in. I have tried this technique myself, and have perceived many things, such as various people
from around the world, or when I think about a specific person, abstract images flow into my
mind allowing me to perceive what that person is doing or not. I know for a fact that this is
caused by something more than just my imagination. Interestingly, Einstein saw the mystic
ramifications of quantum mechanics and psi phenomena: “Body and soul are not two different
6
things, but only two ways of perceiving the same thing. Similarly, physics and psychology are
only different attempts to link our experiences together by way of systematic thought.”
Section V discusses the implications of quantum mechanics and psi phenomena. The
authors' state that applying the scientific method in an atmosphere of ‘love’ (in a very broad
sense of the word, probably most akin in ancient Greek terminology as to be agape) is a valid
measure of the study of thoughts in the technical realm. The bonds of consciousness between
humans or between humans and technical devices are required for psi phenomena to occur.
“Selfless investment of self can affect physical reality.” The term ‘information’ may require
redefinition; for instance, PRP phenomena cannot be extracted from classical information
systems. Each consciousness is able to achieve psi phenomena, given its ability to resonate with
its environment.
The separation of science from mysticism, and more precisely, science from metaphysics,
is only a few hundred years old. For millennia before then, the two were intertwined. The
anomalies in psi phenomena suggest that the separation has become too extreme, in fact
counterproductive. An interesting quote from James Jeans demonstrates this; “…the physical
theory of relativity has now shown that electric and magnetic forces are not real at all; they are
merely mental constructs of our own, resulting from our rather misguided efforts to understand
the motions of the particles. It is the same with the Newtonian force of gravitation, and with
energy, momentum and other concepts which were introduced to help us understand the activities
of the world-all prove to be mere mental constructs, and do not even pass the test of objectivity.”
Morphogenetic fields, although controversial, has its basis in the fact that consciousness can
influence living organisms. Interestingly, I read that in doctor’s brains, the portion of the brain
responsible for empathy is suppressed far above the average population, suggesting that doctors
7
make decisions based on scientific, incomplete judgments and not those where an atmosphere of
‘love’ (in its most general term) is cultivated. C.G. Jung reported that in an atmosphere of
empathy, the patient and himself have experienced profound psi phenomena. In an unrelated
topic, the authors state that the entire psychological process of learning could be an entropy-
reducing mechanism. To conclude, it is the subject’s state of mind, not just his tactics, which
elicits psi phenomena. I wish I had more time to elaborate on the precise quantum mechanical
systems and how they function, including topics such as quantum wave tunneling, Heisenberg’s
Uncertainty Principle, Gödel’s Theorem (proving the greatest paradox of all; the paradox which
is within all of mathematics), and especially the Einstein-Rosen-Poldosky Paradox thus proving
quantum non-locality to be the most ‘scientifically proven theory in the history of science.’ To
briefly explain the significance of quantum nonlocality, a tiny electron in an atom is split in two,
thus forming two new electrons; if one of the pair was sent 15 trillion light years away, and
began to spin, than instantaneously without a nanosecond’s hesitation will the other electron of
the pair would spin simultaneously. This does not violate Einstein’s General or Special Theories
of Relativity, for no energy is transferred. Because the electron’s share a common bond, they
have an ‘instinctual’ connection uniting them. The significance is profound, and undoubtedly
relates in some way among humans sharing a common identity, as well as in psi phenomena.