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Oil on canvas, by Ingo Swann |
From the 1970’s until 1995, the US military ran a series of projects under the umbrella name Stargate. The Stargate Project attemped to gather intelligence using a technique called remote viewing (“RV” for short). Psychics were asked to divine information on faraway people, places, and things. (An example: what was going on inside a large Soviet building. It turned out, as supposedly predicted, to be the construction of a submarine.) Googling “remote viewing” yields fascinating results – sites and forums supporting and debunking it, and numerous instructional courses taught by former Stargate operatives. (Prominent ones include Ingo Swann, Joe McMoneagle, and Ed Dames.) New-agey graphics and primitive site design abound.
Alarum – Remote ViewingCephalic Carnage – Scientific Remote ViewingTerminal Function – Remote Views
To my knowledge, three metal bands have addressed remote viewing. Australia’s Alarum did so on 2004’s Eventuality. They’re unabashed Cynic acolytes, and the jazz fusion/elevator music tones of “Remote Viewing” are pure Cynic, with a splash of later Death. Cynic, “Gaia,” “and “Universal Intelligence” seem appropriate in the same sentence. Cephalic Carnage also tackled the topic on 2005’s Anomalies; vocalist Lenzig Leal is an avid sci-fi buff. Sweden’s Terminal Function ended their brilliant debut this year with a song about RV. Swirling in eerie synths and unanswered questions, it’s the best sonic treatment of the subject so far. It’s uncertain which is creepier – the fact that the US government sank $20 million into remote viewing, or the possibility it might not be bunk.
Come on, Cosmo! All pseudo-science is bullshit!
Dave, for some hard science, you might appreciate the blog of my astrophysicist friend at the South Pole. I mentioned him in my last post. Here’s the link:
http://icewife.blogspot.com/
As soon as you said astrophysics at the South Pole, I immediately thought “Cosmic Microwave Background”. That’s what he’s doing.
If you wanna read a whole lot about the “remote viewing” program, and a whole bunch of other unsettling uses of government funds, check out Jon Ronson’s book The Men Who Stare At Goats. Fascinating stuff.