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Dr. Ali Fant's Profile
Customer Reviews: 12
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Reviews Written by
Dr. Ali Fant "Computer Science Ed.D." (Kivalina, Alaska (United States of America))
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
AGREE. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS BOOK, April 12, 2009
I purchased this book last year and found it to be totally worthless to me in preparing for the TEXES 136 Science 8-12 exam. It is a clever way to memorize the test objectives and mastery lists, but no real study aid. Worse, once you purchase the book and register with the company, they will continue to send you email ads -- even if you opt out -- repeatedly. The free TEXES 136 Science 8-12 Exam Prep guide from ETS is better because the official guide gives samples test questions.
Dr. Ali Fant, WB5WAF
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
NASA's plan to protect humanity, January 13, 2008
Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs by Donald Nelson Michael (1923-2001) for Brookings Institution, 1961.
Book Review by Dr. Ali Fant, WB5WAF, 13JA2008
This review is from the perspective of a former NASA Manned Spaceflight Controller and amateur radio operator. I was employed under the STSOC (Space Transportation System Operations Contract) from 1989-1995. I first heard of the "Brookings Institution Report" in Richard C. Hoagland and Mike Bara's 2007 book, Dark Mission - The Secret History of NASA. According to Hoagland and Bara, NASA commissioned this report early in the agency's history as how best to handle evidence of any extra-terrestrial artifacts discovered by the fledging space program. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Request to the United States Government by Mr. Dan Woolman in 1996, this taxpayer-funded document is now available to the public and sold on Amazon. Thank you, Dan.
Key Findings from Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs:
1. The document has 101 pages of footnotes. You really need to read the footnotes to understand what the US Government was thinking when they advocated hiding alien information. It is this reviewer's opinion that NASA felt it was saving America's sanity by not revealing the truth.
Historical Parallel: Eighteen years earlier (1942), the British Government learned from the cracked ENIGMA code, which specific cities were to be bombed by the Germans. One time, Prime Minister Winston Churchill's daughter was in an area scheduled for attack. Government aides urged Churchill to evacuate his daughter. His reply was something along the lines of "No. We cannot risk the Germans suspecting their code is compromised." The cracked ENIGMA code was used for transmissions of false information - just prior to D-Day - to trick the Germans into false troop movements. This one time false-flag operation saved hundreds of lives by reducing troop-to-troop combat deaths. Sometimes, there are greater things at stake than the lives of individuals, or a city, or an entire nation. ENIGMA was declassified in 1974.
2. The study consists of nine chapters. Reading this document today, I am amazing at how well the document predicts the advent of Direct Satellite Television Broadcasting, geo-synchronous data satellites, video teleconferences, orbital telescopes, weather satellites, live broadcasts of the US Congress floor debates, and the United Nations proceedings. The document recommends what roles the new NASA agency should have in Social Sciences, Satellite-Based communications, Weather Satellites, Technological By-Products, Government-Operations and Personnel Use, Space Industries, International Affairs, and Attitudes & Values (AV). The many ties between NASA and Scientific Groups (like the American Astronomical Society, of which this reviewer is a member) are spelled out in detail. The last chapter, however, is the most controversial and is the only reason this reviewer could see for delaying the authorized released of this document for 36 years.
3. AV. The impact of space activities on the attitudes and values of today's children is likely to be much stronger than on those of today's adults.
4. AV. The public, considered as a whole, is probably only selectively attentive to and knowledgeable about space activities.
5. AV. Public support of the space program may not be lasting if the difficulties inherent in space efforts have not been appreciated enough to make the failure of specific projects understandable.
6. AV. The conviction that space activities will broaden man's horizons are presently based on the perspectives and special interests of a relatively few people in western societies.
7. AV. Though intelligent or semi-intelligent life conceivably exists elsewhere in our solar system, if intelligent extraterrestrial life is discovered in the next twenty years, it will very probably be by radio telescope from other solar systems. Evidences of its existence might also be found in artifacts left on the moon or other planets. The consequences for attitudes and values are unpredictable, but would vary profoundly in different cultures and between groups within complex societies; a crucial factor would be the nature of the communication between the other beings and us. Whether or not earth would be inspired to an all-out space effort by such a discovery is moot: societies sure of their own place in the universe have disintegrated when confronted by a superior society, and others have survived even though changed. Clearly, the better we can come to understand the factors involved in responding to such crises the better prepared we may be.
8. AV. It is urgent to plan studies that would provide information on what the public needs to know. And would assist in interpreting public reactions by determining the present public knowledge and expectations of the Mercury program and astronauts. Continuing studies so that the impact of events can be anticipated evaluated and planned for.
9. AV. While the discovery of intelligent life in other parts of the universe is not likely in the immediate future, it could nevertheless happen at any time. Whenever it does occur, its consequences for earth attitudes and values may be profound. Hence a long term research effort, which would aid in preparing for this possibility, could usefully begin with: A continuing determination of emotional and intellectual understanding and attitudes regarding the possibility and consequences of discovering intelligent extraterrestrial life.
10. AV. Research is recommended to determine what factors historically have entered into support or rejection of new ideas or technologies. What was and wasn't appreciated about the potentialities (or lack of them) in the innovation and under what personal and social circumstances did this occur? In particular, what were the roles of physical environment, politics, personalities, limited systems analysis capabilities, insufficient communications to decision-makers, etc.?
11. AV Footnote 4. "Despite many years of discussions and many pages of writing, the actual tole of public opinion in the making of policy decisions is an enigma." I looked it up. "tole" means "sheet metal and especially tinplate for use in domestic and ornamental wares"
12. AV Footnote 6. "But we are also going to have to deal with the dangers of mass insanity or mass imbecility, dangers that we may not recognize even in their realization. Anything we can do, therefore to keep wisdom alive will be to the good. Perhaps we should set aside some schools and some universities for the development of `generalists,' a few men with broad philosophical minds and a command of general knowledge who can survey the whole human scene in which the mindless operatives swarm, who can speak for direction and ultimate purpose, who can preserve the heritage of humanity through the period of transition. Perhaps we should build a few ivory towers against the day when we are able again to resume, whether on earth or in outer space, that progress which, rather than identifying us with the bees, distinguishes us from them." Another guiding citation for NASA was referenced as G.C. Harrap's 1956 book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds."
13. AV Footnote 34. "The positions of the major American religious denominations, the Christian sects, and the Eastern religions on the matter of extraterrestrial life need elucidation. Consider: `The Fundamentalist (and anti-science) sects are growing apace around the world and, as missionary enterprises, may have schools and a good deal of literature attached to them. One of the important things is that where they are active, they appeal to the illiterate and semiliterate (including, as missions, the preachers as well as the congregation) and can pile up a very influential following in terms of numbers.'". I disagree with this statement. I am a Christian by public profession of faith and a Methodist by reasons of convenience (a local church needed a volunteer librarian). As a Christian, I do not always agree with other Christians. As a Scientist, I do not always agree with other Scientists. My belief in God and the Scientific Method are equivalent ways of seeking the Truth. Catholics have their "mysteries" of the faith. Atheist-Scientists have their "undefined infinities." Both groups approach the limits of human understanding. Believers have Faith. Non-Believers have their "a priori" assumptions. There really isn't any difference.
"If plant life or some subhuman intelligence were found on Mars or Venus, for example, there is on the face of it no good reason to suppose these discoveries, after the original novelty had been exploited to the fullest and worn off, would result in substantial changes in perspectives or philosophy in large parts of the American public, at least any more than, let us say, did the discovery of the coelacanth or the panda. It might well be that this sort of discovery would simply not be sufficiently salient for most people most of the time to cause any noticeable shift in philosophy or perspective. If super intelligence is discovered, the results become quite unpredictable."
"It has been speculated that, of all groups, scientists and engineers might be the most devastated by the discovery of relatively superior creatures, since these professions are most clearly associated with the mastery of nature, rather than with the understanding and expression of man."
"The potentials of profound repercussions for our values and attitudes and philosophies could arise if we discovered a creature whose intelligence and behavior, by our standards, was indeterminate to the point that we were unable to decide whether or not it should be treated morally and ethically as if it were `a human being." This was the question posed in 1989 on "The Measure of a Man" on Star Trek: The Next Generation, when the android Data was put on trial to determine if he owned himself or if he was simply the property of the government.
14. AV Footnote 37: The Hadley Cantril's 1940 study, "Invasion from Mars" provides a useful if limited guide in American's response to the Orson Wells 1938 "Mercury Theater of the Air" radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." Mass panic can and does occur with such events.
I recommend readers watch the movie "The Right Stuff" prior to reading this document as the events in that film parallels the fears and expectations of the space program during initial astronaut selections by the fledging space agency.
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508 of 559 people found the following review helpful:
Key Findings, December 12, 2007
Dark Mission by Richard C. Hoagland
Book Review by Dr. Ali Fant, WB5WAF, 12DE2007
This review is from the perspective of a former NASA Manned Spaceflight Controller, so it is more technical than expository. I first encountered Hoagland's claims through the NASA Technical Alert Briefing viewed by many controllers at the Johnson Space Center in 1989-90, found his claims creditable, and then discovered the briefing tape "disappeared" from the closed JSC Technical Library - from both the open card catalog and the closed shelf listing catalog. As a former university library page, I was shocked to find all references to the briefing tape we controllers viewed were gone two years later. When I began investigating the matter, I was told in no uncertain terms to cease any search for the missing library records.
Key Findings from Dark Mission:
1. NASA is a defense agency of the US Government per the original agency charter.
2. NASA withholds data of non-human intelligence for the good of human society per "Brookings."
3. Brookings Institution advised US in 1959 report "Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs" to beware social-economic chaos resulting from alien artifacts found on the Moon or Mars as the 1938 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast traumatized America.
4. Arthur C. Clarke based the 1968 novel/film "2001: A Space Odyssey" on the Brookings Report.
5. According to Clarke's 1968 Playboy Magazine interview, Stanley Kubrick quoted from Brookings in the film. The following movie dialog being based upon the "Brookings Report":
"I'm sure you're aware of the extremely grave potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in the present situation, if the facts were prematurely and suddenly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning. Anyway, this is the view of the [Space] Council... there must be adequate time for a full study to be made of the situation before any thought can be given to making a public announcement. Oh yes ... as some of you know, the Council has requested that formal security oaths be obtained in writing from everyone who has any knowledge of this event." -- Dr. Heywood Floyd, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
6. As a Manned Spaceflight Controller for NASA's last publicly acknowledged military shuttle mission, I remember taking this formal security oath to safeguard information on such flights. However, unlike all other US Government security oaths I have had in my lifetime, the NASA oath was never "terminated." That is, I never went through a formal debriefing. I questioned this lack of a debrief with NASA Security at the time and was told the Security office was already disbanded and no debriefing would be held.
7. Hoagland's retelling of the "Monuments of Mars" matches the NASA Alert Briefing the controllers and I saw in 1989-90 in the now "non-existent" tape from the JSC Technical Library.
8. Hoagland's explanation of "hyperdimensional physics" is too complex to be included here. Suffice it to say that I have studied the data, examined the historical connections between Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925), James Maxwell (1831-1879), Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), Thomas E. Bearden (1930-), Bruce DePalma (1935-1997), and Harold E Puthoff (1936-); and found the evidence convincing.
9. The multiple-sourced, publicly available NASA photographs of the pyramids, buildings, and connecting roads between the structures on Mars demonstrate the presence of ancient peoples on the planet. This is old news to most space news junkies. Second Astronaut on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin even released a "fiction" book Encounter With Tiber (1996) incorporating many of these Mars details. Aldrin's book had a storyline about ancient lunar structures being discovered by Apollo Astronauts. Arthur C. Clarke (surprise!) even wrote the foreword to Aldrin's book. Because the story line is fiction, any revealed details would not violate Aldrin's formal security oath. This was the same approach Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) took with his book "proving" the revolution of the planets - the book was originally written as a work of fiction. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church did not appreciate the humor of Galileo putting the words of the Pope into the mouth of Simplico (the fool).
10. And, just in case you missed it, there is a connection between NASA's Werner Von Braun and the Disney World "Mission to the Moon" (later restaged as "Mission to Mars," and featured in the excellent Disney produced films "Forbidden Planet" and "Mission to Mars." The latter film's climax is the "Face On Mars." However, coincidences do not make conspiracies.
11. Hoagland does an excellent job detailing the "Operation Paper Clip" removal of Nazi Germany rocket scientists to Texas as detailed in the James Michener's book and 1985 mini-TV series "SPACE" - even including National Archives photographs of Von Braun in his black SS uniform alongside Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler. The occult history of Hitler is well documented by other authors, but Hoagland claims the occult influence extended from the SS to Von Braun to even the selection of NASA Mission Patches.
12. Hoagland sees a connection between Freemasonry (33rd degree), Von Braun\Disney production film "Man in Space," and the "fiction" film's representation of an alien base on the farside of the Moon. It is just another coincidence that CIA Remote Viewer Ingo Swann saw an operational alien base in the same location prior to 1998.
13. The spiritual aspects of UFOlogy, Adolf Hitler's birthday (April 20), 19.5 degrees location of planetary "hotspots" (on the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, etc), the number 33 (Launch Complex 33, Shuttle Runway 33, 333 degrees from Egypt's Great Pyramid at Giza leads to JPL in California), and more and more numbers are overwhelmingly discussed by Hoagland in detail.
14. Finally, the greatest surprises in Hoagland's book are in the last ninety pages. These last few pages contain the explosive description of Lunar ruins, mechanical artifacts, and even an (I kid you not) ancient robot head not unlike the one shown in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Mark Twain episode of "Time's Arrow" when Data discovers his death lies in the past of San Francisco. The color photographs Apollo 17 Astronauts Eugene Cernan (1934-) and Harrison Schmitt (1936-) took of the robot head in Crater Shorty have recently been released to Italian websites by NASA. Italy? Hey, the Catholic Church is headquartered in that nation ... just another coincidence. Hoagland postulates that the mechanical head could have easily been transported back to Earth.
15. Other NASA photographs show crystal domes once covered many of the Maria on the Moon. Apollo 10 photographed at least one unbroken crystal dome, blacked-out in the official NASA print catalog, but if ordered by anyone today shows the intact dome. Since the 1990s, many researchers are specifically ordering these "black-out" lunar catalog prints to be stunned by what actually arrives in the mail. Hoagland publishes many of the photographs.
16. Remember when Apollo 17 deliberately crashed the ascent stage into the Moon to measure the moonquakes using previously implanted seismic monitors? Such a moonquake map would show the placement of the newly revealed structures on the NASA photographs. However, after more than thirty years, the results still remain classified - on a civilian scientific Moon mission.
17. Hoagland's book is having an effect on NASA today. Last year, NASA engineers suddenly "found" high-quality TV recordings of the Apollo 11 mission in Australia. Then, high quality "close-to-the-original" Apollo photographs were released to international public websites detailing the shattered crystal domes on the Moon. Next, NASA began posting thousands of never-before-seen "best" scanned pictures. This year (2007), NASA released for the first time the truly spy-camera quality photographs of the "Face on Mars" - showing details down to 11 inches. The vehicle and wheel tracks of the Opportunity Rover are clearly visible, as is the Face.
18. Living astronauts refuse to comment on much of Hoagland's expose citing various reasons. Apparently, even the Coast-to-Coast Radio Show scheduled a "debate" between Hoagland and an astronaut, but the astronaut cancelled the engagement at the last minute.
19. Twice flown astronaut, war hero, and Senator John Glenn requested a March 2001 appearance on the television NBC comedy Frasier. In the unusual episode, Glenn makes some very-unfunny comments directly to the viewing audience (out of earshot of Frasier and Roz) that are significance enough to repeat here: "Back in those glory days, I was very uncomfortable when they asked, you know, were you alone out there? We never gave the real answer, and yet we see things out there, strange things, but we know what we saw out there. And we couldn't really say anything. The bosses were really afraid of this, they were afraid of the `War of the Worlds' type stuff, and about panic in the streets. So, we had to keep quiet. And now we only see these things in our nightmares, or maybe in the movies, and some of them are pretty close to being the truth."
20. Astronaut Neil Armstrong began his highly emotional address on 20JL1994 at the White House with the statement that he compared himself to a parrot - saying only what he had been told to say. Armstrong ended his strange remarks with the phrase "truth's protective layers."
21. Astronaut Alan Bean draws his colorful Moonscapes paintings with diagonal markings perhaps to show the presence of shattered glass domes fragments.
22. Don't be too hard on the astronauts. I know former NASA employees who have had their lives thrown into turmoil by losing retirement pensions or having unexpected deaths.
23. Dark Mission lacks an index and perhaps the second edition will include one. I am reminded of the United States Central Intelligence Agency selling their entire data collection on Remote Viewing (on CD-ROMS) without an index. An index would have made it too easy for someone, somewhere to censor Hoagland's book.
24. Recent Moon News: Japan SELENE arrived Moon 05OC2007, China CHANGLE arrived Moon 27NV2007, India CHANDRAAYAN to arrive Moon 2008, US LRO to arrive Moon 2008, Russia Lunar Rover to arrive Moon 2010, and US GRAIL to arrive Moon 2011.
25. After thirty years of no manned missions to the Moon, why the sudden race for governments to return there? Even in the midst of a major war in the Middle East, governments are making a decision to return to the Moon as soon as possible. Check out the recently released Apollo photographs on the web and decide for yourself.
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27 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
Research Findings from book, May 6, 2005
Book: Smith, Paul H., "Reading the Enemy's Mind -- Inside Star Gate, American's Psychic Espionage Program", Tom Doherty Associates, publisher, January 2005.
Precis: Dr. Ali Fant, Ed.D, EVP Literature Review Moderator, May 2005.
Findings relating to PSI, RV, EVPs and UFOs:
1. Remote Viewing (RV) operations by the US Army
2. "Spoon bending" exercises prove mind affects electronics.
3. Psychokinesis appraisal by the US Army
4. "Spoon bending" metal analysis prove mind affects metal molecules
5. Properties of tachyons
6. RV not a telepathic ability
7. Mental processing of PSI data
8. "Describing" rather than "thinking" processes
9. Electromagnetic frequencies and distance limits of PSI
10. RV from submarine, 500 miles distance and 500 feet down
11. RV of UFOs
12. RV as a perceptual channel all humans possess
13. RV and "The Matrix"
14. Differences between subconscious and unconscious states
15. "Mental noise" affecting RV
16. "Decline effect" in psychic communications
17. Why RV are impossible during geomagnetic storms
18. Mentally crashing computer circuit boards
19. Proof the Near Death Experience not a illusion from oxygen deprivation
20. Human mind not constrained to the human brain
21. RV of anomaly targets - like UFOs, ETs, etc
22. Psychic relationship between past, present, and future
23. Existence of "entities"
24. Truthfulness of "entities"
25. RV communications with "entities"
26. Use of "sleep goggles" to induce Lucid Dreaming
27. RV of future events
28. RV of Moon's surface and 1947 Roswell UFO crash
29. Public acceptance of new paradigms
30. Human consciousness and the physical body
31. RV's relationship to other PSI phenomena - like EVPs
32. PSI and the boundaries of space and time
1. Remote Viewing (RV) operations by the US Army:
"Most of what I learned wasn't strictly classified. But I came to realize that the project was still considered hush-hush; largely, I surmised, because it was so out of character for a project of this nature to exist in a no-nonsense Army.", page 30.
2. "Spoon bending" exercises prove mind affects electronics:
"John told me more. All these bent eating utensils represented a form of psychokinesis, or mind over matter. I came to know it as it 'macro-PK' because the results were substantial; you could see them with the naked eye and hold them in your hands. It had a close relative, called 'micro-PK,' which involved mentally influencing things you couldn't see such as electrons, microcircuits, computer chips." , page 31.
3. Psychokinesis appraisal by the US Army:
"Gehman had been momentarily distracted by something else going on in the room; and didn't see her own fork changing shape. 'At that instant,' Alexander said, 'General Stubblebine and I knew for sure that the stories and reports we had heard about the potential application of psychokinesis were, in fact, true.'"
4. "Spoon bending" metal analysis prove mind affects metal molecules
"Houck and others wrote a number of scientific papers on metallurgical analysis of metal that had been [mentally] bent. Houck began using the term "warm forming" to divorce it from the sensationalism that surrounded such terms as 'PK' and 'spoon bending.' One paper reported the analysis of pieces of metal that had been bent using heat, mechanical force, or warm forming. Cross sections of each piece were examined microscopically to determine what if any differences were discernible between them. As expected, the sample bent by mechanical force had tiny cracks in its structure. The one that had been deformed by extreme heat showed fusing and melting of the crystalline structure. But the metal that had been bent by warm forming reportedly looked at the microscopic level as if it had been manufactured that way. There were no detectable defects. ", page 33-34.
The scientific papers referred to are by Severin Dahlin, "Remote Annealing of High Carbon Steel Parts," in the ARCHAEUS, volume 3, (Summer 1985). General Material Genetics Institute, November 1982, p. 1; and J.B. Hasted and D. Robertson, "The Detail of Paranormal Metal-Bending," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol. 50, No. 779 (1979), 9-20.
5. Properties of tachyon:
"And if tachyons did exist, they had an interesting characteristic: they could go backwards in time. Puthoff knew that there must be a real phenomenon, then some basic parapsychological effects might involve these elusive little particles.", page 54.
6. RV not a telepathic ability:
"The PNUTS (Possible Nuclear Underground Test Site) work tells us several new things about remote viewing. First, in its basic nature remote viewing is probably not telepathic. [Remote Viewer] Price made his report on the [PNUTS] spheres when no one had any clue they [the spheres] were there. He was long dead when information about them became available. Targ concludes that Price ... could not have been reading anyone's mind. Nor could Price presumably have been precognitively seeing his own future feedback, since that did not become available until two years after his death. Price's case would show something even more remarkable than remote viewing. It would be evidence that human consciousness DOES survive physical death, and that it maintains some kind of perceptual link with the physical world.", page 77.
7. Mental processing of PSI data:
"In normal vision, input from the right visual field passes through the right optical nerve, but is then switched to the left hemisphere at a brain structure called the 'optic chiasm.' However, Puthoff suggests that remote viewing visual experiences may enter the viewer's mental processes somewhere after the optical chiasm, and therefore the visual signals are not switched left-to-right as they would be with normal vision.", page 80.
8. "Describing" rather than "thinking" processes:
"We have learned to ask our subjects simply to describe what they see as opposed to what they think they are looking at.", page 81.
9. Electromagnetic frequencies and distance limits of PSI:
"So SRI set out to determine whether remote viewing needed electromagnetism to work, and if so, what part of the EM spectrum was involved. It turned out that a large portion of this range could be excluded by using a Faraday-shielded room. Remote viewings were often done within this chamber, with no apparent decrease in success. But there were certain frequencies that a Faraday cage could not block -- above, in the microwave range, and below in the ELF part of the spectrum.
Microwave frequencies could be eliminated as carriers of remote viewing information. Information can be carried by microwave, but only for a relatively short distance before it needs a boost, and the receiver has to be in the line of sight of the source of the microwave transmission.
ELF, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic radiation, was another matter. These waves travel long distances, only gradually losing intensity. They are known for their ability to pass through shielding that would stop other forms of radiation. In fact, Russian scientists were convinced of the theory that ELF was important in extrasensory perception.", page 88.
10. RV from submarine, 500 miles distance and 500 feet down:
"The first part of the experiment was aimed at seeing if large quantities of seawater could be 'looked through' using RV. The degree of ELF in seawater could be measured; When [RV] information was compared with the bit-rate it became obvious that ELF could not be the information channel for remote viewing results. The electromagnetic spectrum was essentially eliminated as a means to explain how remote viewing, and PSI in general, worked. Apparently there was no known physical way to shield any target on earth from the prying 'eyes' of a remote viewer. Science had no way of understanding remote viewing. The result was rejection by mainstream science.", page 94.
11. RV of UFOs:
"I had read books and articles about UFOs, and my religion [Latter Day Saints] taught that intelligent life existed on other worlds (but as creations of Deity, not the stuff of flying saucers or invaders from Mars).", page 145.
12. RV as a perceptual channel all humans possess:
"Ingo Swann and Hal Puthoff's coordinate remote viewing (CRV) method wasn't intended to make anyone 'psychic,' but was instead a means to exploit a perceptual channel that humans had but didn't know they had. The research seemed to show that everyone already posses native psychic ability, but most had no idea how to tap into it. Ingo was uncomfortable with the terms 'psychic,' 'extrasensory perception,' 'parapsychology,' and the other jargon to describe seemingly exceptional human abilities. For him these abilities were not exceptional, nor paranormal, nor extrasensory. In fact, they were normal human mental functions that had been sidelined in a world run by scientists and skeptics.", page 154.
13. RV and "The Matrix:"
"The Matrix, on the other hand, is an archive in the fullest sense: indifferent, dispassionate, with no capacity for judging; just data, pure and simple. Yes, it catalogues human acts and events. But all other facts about the universe are to be found there. The Matrix may just be the whole universe, perceived at a different level through senses unknown in outward, daily life. Getting information from the Matrix rather than from the target itself allows a remote viewer to access anything about a target site, whether it involves past, present, or (to some degree) future; inside; outside, intangible or tangible, all regardless of what the target's condition or circumstance may be at the instant of the actual remote viewing.
This implies that the source of data must be unlimited by either time or space." , page 164.
14. Difference between subconscious and unconscious:
"But there is much that goes on in the human mind that is outside this conscious part, in places like the subconscious and unconscious parts of our mind. For a long time I was confused about the difference between subconscious and unconscious. According to some dictionaries, they mean virtually the same thing, and are often even listed as synonyms. For Ingo; though, the unconscious was farther away from the waking mind, and therefore mainly inaccessible to conscious awareness. The subconscious was closer, more accessible. The remote viewing signal line terminated in the subconscious unloading its cargo of information from the Matrix.", page 166.
15. "Mental noise" affecting RV:
"You know all that stuff that is always swirling around in your head when you're trying not to think -- all the memories, conjectures, stray thoughts, startled wonderings, confused speculations that are forever bubbling away behind the scenes in even the most disciplined minds? That is 'mental noise,' and it gets very much in the way whenever one tries to remote view.", page 180.
16. "Decline effect" in psychic communications:
"In the last half of the 1960s Charles Tart had been working on trying to solve the 'decline effect' in parapsychology experiments, where the scores in card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments of even stellar performers eventually fell off to no better than chance after many trails. Tart suspected that it had something to do with the lack of feedback given to the subjects. Not knowing how they were doing on an ESP test led to boredom, and made it difficult or impossible for the subjects to improve.", page 185.
17. Why RVs are impossible during geomagnetic storms:
"Ingo finally called somebody to find out what the solar activity level was, and they reported back that it was quite high -- 'K-factor' of 4, on a 0-6 scale. This tied in with a working hypothesis that long-wave electromagnetic radiation in the extremely low frequency (ELF) band might interfere with certain mental functions -- particularly remote viewing." , page 212.
18. Mentally crashing computers circuit boards:
"Lynn caught the general's eye because of a story he'd heard that Lyn had somehow mentally caused computers to crash at the field station in Augsbury, Germany, where he was assigned. Stubblebine's logic was that, if someone was involved in something 'paranormal,' they must therefore be good candidates for the remote-viewing unit.", page 215.
19. Proof the Near Death Experience not a illusion from oxygen deprivation :
The patient was a thirty-five-year-old woman undergoing a dangerous brain operation to repair a severely weakened blood vessel:
"Her blood was shunted through an oxygenation machine which began cooling it, stopping her heart and lungs. Body temperature was dropped to sixty degrees Fahrenheit, well below the threshold where death by hypothermia usually occurs. Then, not only was all the blood in her brain drained out, but all the blood in her ENTIRE BODY. Flat line. By any measure, she was clinically dead. The woman's vital processes, or, rather, the absence of them, were monitored throughout the procedure.
Her senses, her body, even her brain were profoundly stilled, yet she witnessed the operation, but not, apparently, from her body lying helplessly strapped and deadened on the table. Instead, she had the experience of emerging from the body and taking a position above and to the side of the action." [The standard Near Death Experience of tunnel passageway, bright light, and previously deceased family members welcoming her then occurred, before deciding to return to her body.]
It seems that a highly specific near-death experience occurred in the absence of any of the mechanisms proposed by skeptical scientists to explain it. Oxygen deprivation could not have accounted for what she reported -- there was no blood supply, hence no oxygen for a good portion of an hour -- meaning the woman's brain was well beyond being oxygen-deprived to the point of outright oxygen starvation. The sensitive brain-monitoring equipment was unable to register even faint activity. There was no electrical activity of any sort detectable in her brain -- especially in her sensory centers.", page 243.
20. Human mind not constrained to the human brain:
" 'Maybe our minds are really what some people call "nonlocal." That is we usually think of our minds filling our skulls in the same way our brains do. But maybe human minds really aren't confined strictly within our brains. Maybe in some way they lap over the edges and extend beyond, into the universe. This could mean that our thoughts, knowledge, ideas, and so on, once processed by the brain and the conscious mind, may end up being entered into something like Ingo Swann's Matrix. Maybe at the subconscious level there are no private thoughts. Any one person's thoughts could be accessed by any other person's mind.' ", page 278.
21. RV anomaly targets -- like UFOs, ETs, etc.:
Most of my training sessions] "had to do with 'anomaly' targets -- UFOs, extraterrestrials, modern mysteries, or ancient artifacts, such as the Ark of the Convenant. I call these anomaly targets because they are departures from known ground truth. For most of them, there is no possible way one can ever get reliable feedback. And without good feedback, sessions like these are next to worthless as training exercises.", page 284.
22. Psychic relationship between past, present, and future:
"What exactly does it mean to say the past exists just the way it is? Does it mean that somewhere in space-time everything that has already happened is in some way frozen, and all we need do is figure out how to 'go back' and look at it from any angle we want? Or does it mean that past events continue to be repeated, again and again for eternity, like some stuck record playing the same phrase over and over? I confess I don't know. All I can say is that there must be some profound difference in nature between the past and the future, because a remote viewer can describe past objects, scenes, and events much more consistently and reliably than future objects, scenes, and events." , page 315.
23. Existence of "entities":
"I can't prove that these "otherworldly" folks were not real, though I fully doubt it. But I have long since learned not to altogether reject possibilities for which one does not as yet have grounded truth.", page 351.
24. Truthfulness of "entities:"
"'How can we be sure they are who they say they are?' It was the question any good intelligence officer is supposed to ask from the very start about his sources, even if they are dead. That was all I said, but my mind was full of thoughts and concerns.", page 352.
25. RV communications with "entities:"
"Though for that moment I was treating Angela's theories [of entities channeling information] as plausible. I still leaned towards the more likely alternative, that they were a figment of her imagination, conjured up by her subconscious to facilitate her remote viewing.", page 353
26. Use of "sleep goggles" to induce Lucid Dreaming:
"La Berge presented the subjects with special goggles that flashed red lights when a sleeper's rapid-eye-movement {REM] sleep stage began. The lights aroused the subject's conscious awareness just enough to make him 'lucid' within the dream state. Unfortunately, the goggles gave Greg a persistent migraine... but overall the experiment was a reasonable success since, according to the report, 'rank-order analysis confirmed that robust AC [anomalous cognition, or ESP] occurred during the study.", page 433.
27. RV of future events:
"When Schnabel finally did call, it was to ask me some questions about the 'Stark' incident, where I had viewed the attack on a U.S. Navy frigate fifty hours before it actually took place.", page 444.
28. RV of Moon's surface and 1947 Roswell NM UFO crash:
"Starting in February 1994, I had worked a couple of sessions for him on what turned out to be anomalies on the lunar surface. When Ingo later mailed me feedback, I was pleased to see that much of my data matched what Ingo and another viewer had gotten. And the data seemed to reveal some interesting and bizarre happenings on the Moon. I won't discuss here anything more, since it was Ingo's project and he has not given me leave to do so. The same goes for a project he had tasked me on the previous year, meant to see what remote viewing could discover about the happenings surrounding the alleged Roswell, New Mexico, UFO incident." , page 447.
Personal note attached by reviewer, Dr. Ali Fant regarding Swann's lunar discoveries:
Ingo Swann's 1998 book, "Penetration" reveals he saw on the farside of the Moon 'vehicle treads, marks, domed structures, towers, machinery, lights of different colors, buildings, other 'humans.' These Lunar humans want us off the Moon."
29. Public acceptance of new paradigms:
"Contrary to the popular misconception, paradigms are seldom moved by outsiders with radical ideas, but rather by insiders with insight and imagination, the respect of their peers, and letters behind their names. This meant getting a real Ph.D. in a rigorous and accepted field." , page 466.
30. Human consciousness and the physical body:
"But there was one thing that really did matter ... That was that human consciousness is NOT locked within the narrow confines of our physical bodies, that it does NOT stop at the edge of our skins, but that within certain limits a human consciousness can roam virtually at will across the face of the planet, down the hallways of time, and into at least some of the secrets of men." , page 470.
31. RV's relationship to other PSI phenomena -- like EVP:
"Many a fortune-teller or channeler has decided that remote viewing is just another name for what he or she already does. Similarly, others try to fit remote viewing into their own long-cherished metaphysical belief structures.
"The trouble is, the premises of many of these belief systems contradict each other. They can't all be right and -- since remote viewing seems to work despite the variety of notions many out there espouse -- maybe none of them are right; maybe remote viewing fits a different model altogether. Done right, remote viewing doesn't require arcane formulas or metaphysical beliefs to work. To think that it does hearkens back to a time when many thought the planets moved because invisible angels with fluttering wings pushed them around. The fact that the belief was wrong did not stop the planets from moving. The lesson to learn from this is too often lost on those who should profit from it most: While kernels of truth may be gleaned from old beliefs and practices of 'being psychic,' the beliefs in and of themselves often aren't particularly helpful." , page 472.
32. PSI and the boundaries of space and time:
"We humans truly are more than our physical bodies -- or at least more than we have presumed our bodies can be Remote viewing and other PSI phenomena show that consciousness transcends the boundaries of space and time, giving legitimate reason to think that, whatever form our awareness may take, death is no end for us.", page 873.
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7 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Author's answers for EVERYTHING paranormal. Don't believe., February 27, 2005
I should have been forewarned when this $27.50 hardback was on the Barnes & Nobel's Bargain Table for $4.99. The author attempts to explain "scientifically" forty-seven paranormal phenomena, ranging from Spontaneous Human Combustion to Stigmata wounds. Rather than rebuff each of Mr. Nickell's explanations, I sought to find the commonality of the reasons given for each event.
A old saying is that "If you cannot attack the argument, attack the character of the person making the argument." This is very true throughout the book. For example, his Roswell Legend explanation introduces Charles Fort as "the crank named Charles Fort." Repeatedly, the author disparages the character of writers with whom he disagrees.
In his explanation of Stigmata events, Nickell mentions the 1972 Baptist, ten-year-old girl stigmata. However, Nickell fails to mention the case was discussed at length in the referred, highly respected Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol 30, Feb 1974. In the scientific literature, stigmata events are defined as psychogenic purpura. And the journal concludes that "the occurrence of psychologically induced bleeding is conclusively demonstrated."
Finally, there are 528 references cited in the book chapters (yes, I counted!). Nickell references his own publications 55 times, or 10.4 % of the time. I would not recommend this book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Somewhat boring. Read "Left Behind" series instead., December 6, 1999
Well, I finally received an advance copy of this book. It was not worth the wait. I saw the movie first (by the same title) and the movie was worth the matinee admission price, but not the evening admission price. Both the book and screenplay are by the same author -- Paul Crouch. Correction to my previous review. The actor playing Alexander Stone is not played by Simon Ward, but by another fine British actor. I do not recall his name, but he is quite famous. While the book was more exciting than the screenplay, both suffered from the same theological errors (In My Humble Opinion). 1. The Rapture of the Saints does not occur before the seven year tribulation period. It hadn't occured by the end of the book at the 3.5 year mark. In fact, the Rapture is not mentioned anywhere in book or screenplay. 2. The book makes a snide remark about the Mormon faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) on page 222. The hero of the book, Lane, says: "God told me to search the hills for a cave that had hidden golden tablets to show me the way." Cassandra: "Did you find it?" Lane: "No, it'd just be my luck that if I did, He wouldn't give me the special glasses to read them so I could understand it." While I do not share in the Mormon faith/denomination/cult, I see no reason to alienate this group of believers. The members may be misguided, but they still profess a belief in Jesus Christ. 3. In this book, the spirit of the Anti-Christ does not enter into Alexander Stone until he is wounded in the head, dies, and then is resurrected. 4. As a Computer Science professional, I have a hard time believing that the Bible contains a three dimensional holographic computer program. 5. My biggest complaint is non-logical statement on page 180. The non-Christian hero of the book (Lane) says: "Alexander then found his name encoded all throughout the Code's prophecies. When he did what the prophecies said, they came true ... one after another." This is the usual time paradox of causal events, but handled very poorly. Mark Twain did a much better job in his explanation of "The Boss's" arrival in King Arthur's Court from the future. Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" has a better written description of that causal time paradox. Final comment: I would buy this book in paperback, but not in hardback. The normally higher hardback price is not worth its contents.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Correction: Book 1 is NOT included with Book 2 & 3, November 24, 1999
Dear Readers: I just received Books 2&3 of "The Gospel of the Essenes". Based upon a misreading of the Table of Contents, I thought Book 1 was included with Books 2 & 3. In fact, the Table of Contents of "The Gospel of the Essenes" state that Book 1 (The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ) is published separately. Sorry about my previous comment(s).
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8 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Original traditions of Reiki for Total Beginners, November 24, 1999
I had never heard of Reiki until an advanced Amdahl computer science student of mine demonstrated it for me during a class lab in 1997. I was intrigued. The student told me he was a Level 2 Reiki Student and that one became a Level 1 Reiki Student after only one weekend class. So, I searched through the San Jose CA public library and found that Reiki Classes taught by Ms. Fran Brown were in a nearby town. I went and found that Ms. Brown was using "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings" as the final teaching tool in her weekend class. This book makes the most sense if one has just recently attended (or will be attending) a Reiki class taught by a live instructor. According to the book, Reiki was "re-discovered" by a Christian seminary professor in Japan during the late 19th century. This professor (Dr. Usui Sensei) was asked by his students to be taught how Jesus did His "laying on of the hands" miracles. Dr. Ursui did not know, but promised to study the question. He did this for the next several years. Dr. Ursui taught many students over the years and chose Dr. Chujira Hayask to carry on the work. At Dr. Chujira's death, he chose Mrs. Hawayo H. Takata (1900-1980) to be his successor. Takata chose twenty-two people to succeed her in carrying on the tradition of manual healing. Mrs. Fran Brown was the seventh "Reiki Master" selected by Takata. So, this book is very close to the original teachers of Reiki and includes many personal recollections of Fran Brown she learned over the years. I highly recommend this book from a scientific and Christian perspective.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Partial book only, buy the complete book instead, November 21, 1999
I have not yet formed an opinion on "The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ,", but I wish I hadn't bought it. It turns out that this book is only a portion of a larger book by the same translator. It saves money and time to go ahead and purchase the complete "The Gospel of the Essenes" (which includes "The Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ") rather than the incomplete, earlier published version. The difference in costs between the two books is relatively small.
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18 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
The book quotes God, but the words match those of the Devil., October 30, 1999
First my biases. I am a Christian and have studied extensively Islam, Judism, Sikhism, and other world religions. This book is different from all other Sacred Writings because the three Walsch books bear an uncomman likeness to the words spoken by the Devil in the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, and other sacred books. For example: In Book One, God said that love is not at all concerned with what others are doing/having, but only what Self is being, doing, and having. This contradicts the various religious and dictionary definitions of love. God's explanation is that Walsch's book is the truth, all other writings are in error. This smacks of many cults where they believe the truth has only been revealed to their members. And when this "truth" contradicts historical facts, you simply rewrite history to redefine words to fit your present circumstances. In Book Three (page 6-7), the following dialog appears: God: There is no devil. Walsch: That's something else the devil would say. God: The devil would say everything that God says, is that it? Walsch: Only more cleverly. God: The devil is more clever than God? Walsch: Let's say, more cunning. God: And so the devil "connives" by saying what God would say? *** and so forth for many more pages. Any student of religion (even the cults) will tell you that the Devil often quotes God -- like when Jesus was tempted in the desert. The Devil does NOT say everything that God says. To do so would prove the devil's existent is ungodly. Finally, in Book One, Walsch records "God" speaking the same four sins that resulted in the Devil being kicked out of Heaven. Compare Walsch's "God's" statements with Satan's words recorded in Isaiah 14:12-17. Christianity, Islam, Judism, and Sikhism all teach Isaiah recorded the words of the Devil as follow: "I will ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne. I will preside on the Mount of Assembly in the far north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High." Summary: I strongly suspect that the "God" speaking to Walsch is the Devil, based on studies of the primary world religions. The world's different Sacred Writings differ on the nature of God, but they all agree on the nature of the Devil.
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(Kivalina, Alaska (United States of America))
