CHAPTER NINE
Why
On Sunday, March 4, 1973, I appeared on the stage of Zellerbach
Auditorium on the Berkeley campus before some fifteen hundred
students. The Bay area was abuzz with rumors about the heavy pressures
on SRI because of their support of research into the psychic.
The student rumor was that the government was trying to suppress
the psychic research at SRI. This, of course, was not true, but
the temper of the students was angry and I thought I detected
the faint smell of riot in the auditorium.
After giving them the basic information about Uri's powers, as
witnessed by me (no mention of IS, of course), I said the following:
"Let us accept this story at its face value without trying
to breach the credibility gap, which is enormous. What does it
mean for a piece of metal which has a definite mass, a definite
atomic structure, a definite macroscopic form, to disappear in
a human being's hand? We can write several equations, very elementary,
of what kind of energy it would take to make that coin vanish.
We can think of infinite compression and reduce it to the size
of a neutrino; a kind of neutron gravitational collapse situation.
We can think of infinite expansion where all atomic forces are
released, and the parts fly off into space. One can think of all
kinds of possibilities, but they all require enormous amounts
of energy, and the human hand could be badly damaged in the process.
There is no question in my mind or in that of my scientific colleagues
that we are dealing with a genuine phenomenon. We absolutely believe
in the validity of what we observe. Not only do our eyes tell
us that the event occurred, but recording instruments tell us
as well."
"The committee that has been formed to study Geller and to
design future experiments is made up of quite well known and distinguished
physicists, both theoretical and experimental. We have had a number
of conferences during this past year about how to handle this
kind of data. We have reached a consensus that there is no possible
physical explanation of what is going on."
"I want to give a label to this phenomenon - the intelligent
control of energy, or inergy: something related to the inner workings
of the human mind. The next event that I want to go over with
you is about the object that has disappeared parked in a space
that we cannot begin to define - and the return of that object.
To the best of my knowledge, when that object returns, there has
never been any difference in the temperature of the object compared
to the local ambient temperature. So far all studies have been
done at room temperature. This is of great interest. One realizes
that we are dealing with one of the most extraordinary phenomenon
that man has been exposed to in recent times. One physicist has
said that the Geller effect, inergy, pulls out the material platform
on which science rests, and also challenges every fundamental
principle of science. I know that this is an enormously powerful
statement to make."
"But in order to face this problem we have had to consider
this awful thought. Normally we go into hysteria when there is
even a weak violation of a principle of nature, and here I am
talking about all of them as being suspect. So we have planned
a series of studies which test Geller's inergy against known experiments
which were once used to establish the laws of physics. These will
come out over the years to come, I hope."
"The experiments done on Geller to date were carried out
within a well-established research institute, but the results
have not yet been published. I have seen the data, the movies,
and I am convinced that the proof for the reality of what I am
telling you is sound. This work was done initially in August 1972,
and then resumed in November and December 1972. You will see the
results eventually in published form. I don't want to name the
institute because a controversy has developed with respect to
this work with Geller and the claims. This is the reason I have
dropped my prepared talk for this occasion. Since I run the risk
of saying something libelous, I will refrain from using names.
But the social situation that has developed based on the Geller
phenomenon, that is, inergy, is quite extraordinary, in my opinion...."
"Now, what does this mean for all of you who are hearing
my particular position? You have to appreciate that this is my
position; it does not represent the full story, it does not represent
the truth - it is only what I see. I think that as a trained observer
my observations have some merit. I did not trust my observations
in such an important matter. I'll backtrack a bit in order to
tell you of some of the things I did to insure to myself and to
my peers that we are dealing with a valid phenomenon. I had Geller
checked in Israel by others, and by some authorities from the
government as well. I then took Geller to Germany and had scientists
check him, one of them being Dr. Friedbert Karger, of the Max
Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, who has already put his favorable
opinion in print. I also let Geller publicly work before journalists
in Germany, and a series of articles were published. I took Geller
to England where scientists of great repute examined him and reported
favorably on his work in the New Scientist of November 9, 1972.
I brought Geller to this country and introduced him to many individual
scientists, and to my knowledge to date, there is not one of these
scientists who will not vouch for the reality of Geller's effects."
"Geller is willing to submit to all the conditions of science
and prove his case. I am personally responsible for Geller's welfare
while he is in the United States. I am certainly in favor of making
any arrangements with any responsible group of scientists to continue
this study until all the facts are in. If Geller is a fraud, as
has been alleged, I will be the first to admit it, because I am
only interested in one thing and that is, the truth. I also want
to bring that truth out in the open for the advancement of knowledge,
and hopefully and ultimately, for the benefit of mankind."
"There are other implications of these effects which should
not be ignored. If one can do these things, others will surely
come along who can do the same thing. If we can study this long
enough, and it really is a formidable problem, we may open up
the fifth force in nature, we may open up new ideas of dimensionality,
of space. We may have completely new notions of how this human
transducer can tap into regions of nature that our instruments
at the moment cannot reach. This gives mankind an enormous, incredible
potential that even the gods of old did not have. In this scheme
of nature, which I foresee as true, we should really be humble.
We should look at what nature has allowed us to see and not become
fearful, not to avoid the facts, not try to get rid of the implications
before the solution is found."
The students cheered wildly in behalf of Geller's cause. The next
day I got a telephone call from New York and was read an advance
text of the Time story. My worst fears were realized; it
was a scathingly critical article. Very little comment is needed.
Time states that Hyman "also caught Geller in some
outright deceptions that Targ and Puthoff apparently did not discern."
Hyman was so observant that he wrote in his report from which
Time quotes about Uri: "His swarthy complexion sets
off his blue eyes." Any casual observer could tell you that
Uri has brown eyes. In addition to Hyman's incredible sloppiness
in observation, there was the unsubstantiated, wholly untrue statement
that "Geller left the country in disgrace."
However, all this nonsense was laid to rest when the SRI researchers
made their report to the scientific world on March 9 at the Physics
Department Colloquium in Columbia University. The tone of the
meeting is reported by Peter Gwynne, science editor of Newsweek,
in the New Scientist of March 22, 1973.
The colloquium had all the trappings of a grand scientific occasion.
The hall was crowded with physics professors, the parapsychology
establishment of New York, journalists, and graduates and undergraduates
attracted either by genuine interest or cultish curiosity. Murmurings
of excitement greeted the appearance of the SRI physicists - Russell
Targ and Harold Puthoff. Their presentation was certainly spectacular
in a scientific sense . . . According to Targ, he and his colleague
took just about every precaution imaginable - including consulting
with a professional magician - to make the experiments cheat-proof.
The audience was generally friendly, and questions were concerned
more with improving the experimental procedures than with attacking
the concept of studying psychics in the laboratory.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Targ said, "The work we've been
doing is in the field of so-called psychical, psychoenergetic
phenomena. It is our understanding that these phenomena were not
invented in the laboratory, but are found occurring spontaneously
in the field. They are found in the state of nature. And the purpose
of our research is twofold First of all, we set out to find if
these phenomena do in fact exist. And if they do exist, we want
to find out whether they can be investigated in the laboratory
under well-controlled conditions. The work that we are reporting
on today was carried out with two individuals in particular. The
two people who acted as subjects for our work were brought to
our attention as a result of experiments in which they had participated
in the New York area with other researchers."
"The two subjects with whom we worked are Ingo Swann and
Uri Geller. The work that had been done with them was done at
other universities and research organizations...."
"Now, Dr. Puthoff and I entered this research area half a
year ago and we entered it as physicists. Both of us have been
doing active research in physics for about fifteen years. For
a good part of that time we have had an avocational interest in
psychic phenomena. And it is this avocational interest that, I
think, qualifies us more than disqualifies us to do this research.
There are two things that are evident when you try to do psychical
research and interact with subjects. The first thing you discover
is that any person with whom you work who claims to psychic powers
is highly motivated to cheat [laughter] - because the thing
they are trying to do is at best making use of those perceptual
abilities over which they have the most marginal control. And
it is the universal experience of people trying to do research
in this area that the subject will try to supplement whatever
ability he might have, if any, with whatever he can get away with."
"The two criteria we had in designing experiments were as
follows: First of all, the experiment should be as cheat-proof
as possible. That is, we designed our experiment in such a way
that it was not possible to cheat. And as we went along, and we
analyzed our experiments and looked at our film and video tape
records, and if we decided that if a subject could, in principle,
could have cheated - even if there was no evidence for cheating
- we threw that experiment out as void. And we did not criticize
the subject, but considered that our own experiment was inadequate,
because it didn't have sufficient safeguards against cheating.
"The second point that was a criterion for experimental design
was that the experimental output of any work we did should contain
objectively analyzable data. The ideal kind of output from an
experiment from a physicist's point of view is graphical output
obtained with a chart recorder. And this was our favorite kind
of data...."
After some further remarks about Uri, Mr. Targ prepared to show
the SRI film: "Dr. Puthoff and I were not alone in the experiments
with Mr. Geller. In addition to the scientists listed on the film,
we had the services of a magician which is a valuable part of
any research activity [loud laughter]. All the data that
you will see was observed by the cinematographer who recorded
it on film, and by an assistant in a separate room who observed
and recorded everything with a video tape recorder. This latter
was very valuable in that it allowed us to immediately replay
that particular experimental protocol We will now let the film
record speak for itself." [The complete text of the film
appears in Appendix Two.]
Dr. Targ was, in the words of the New Scientist article,
"subdued in his conclusion." "We do not claim that
either man has psychic powers," he said. "We draw no
sweeping conclusions as to the nature of these phenomena or the
need to call them psychical. We have observed certain phenomena
with the subjects for which we have no scientific explanation.
All we can say at this point is that further investigation is
clearly warranted."
I left the crowded and cheering festival atmosphere of the Colloquium
at Columbia early so that I could report the outcome to Uri. He
had been advised by myself and many others that he should not
be present in the physics building, Pupin Hall; there were too
many press, radio, and television reporters present, and there
was a possibility that one of them might trigger Uri into some
immoderate statement.
Uri was still smarting from the false allegation by Time that
he had left Israel in disgrace. However, none of us realized how
hurt he felt by being excluded from the Colloquium.
When I reported to him that the SRI scientists had given him solid
endorsement for his work, he did not seem pleased. When I told
him that the work with Ingo Swann had been reported, and favorably
received, he pouted. When I reported in detail which of his experiments
had been reported and which had been excluded, he began to argue
with me. He said, "Why didn't they report on the experiments
when I broke the piece of crystal without disturbing its electronics?
Why didn't they report the experiment when I dematerialized the
stop watch from a doubly locked case and made it reappear on the
test platform, all of which they captured on video tape? Why don't
they have the courage to report all the things I did for each
of them personally? And the most important thing they are afraid
to tell - that I proved over and over again that I can do things
to magnetic tape. Are they afraid that the world will panic if
they know what could happen to all man-made computers that are
strangling the life out of humanity? I'm really sick and tired
of the inefficiency and weakness of scientists. I'm not going
to give myself to research anymore!"
Uri's frustration was beginning to boil over. He secretly knew
that a small group of scientists believed that his powers were
genuine, but these men and SRI walked cautiously in telling the
world. On the other hand, Time reached millions of people
all over earth, and those who would read the story could only
conclude that Uri was a clever magician at best and a fraud at
worst.
When his good friends and supporters came from the Colloquium
a little while later, Uri greeted them with stony disdain. As
they sat around discussing their individual feelings and opinions
about the Colloquium, Uri would break in with unpleasant comments,
implying somehow that everyone present had been responsible for
getting him into this terrible position before the world.
Now, everyone present knew how hard Uri had worked to produce
his effects under controlled conditions. Everyone also knew that
Uri was not responsible for what had happened with Time. We
all felt that IS had somehow contrived to bring about a controversy
and that Uri would be receiving more attention in this way than
if he were accepted as being genuine. But Uri had none of this
detached perspective. He was personally hurt, and this, too, we
all had to try to understand.
But Uri's anger mounted as he listened to the trivia of our conversation.
At one point he chose Werner to be the scapegoat for all his pent-up
frustration. He went into a shouting, towering, abusive rage.
Although Uri is very volatile and mercurial in his moods, none
of us had ever seen him truly angry. And since we all knew of
his great powers to bend, break, and dematerialize things, it
became a fearful scene. We all took the abuse in silence, knowing
that Uri had to blow off all the pressure of his emotions. We
parted from our friends around midnight in New York, and Uri and
I drove home to Ossining. I was deeply shocked at Uri's behavior,
and for the first time in our relationship began to ask the question
"What hath God wrought?" As we drove homeward in the
wintry night, Uri's gloom became heavier and heavier in its silence.
I went to sleep with a heavy heart, and did not sleep well at
all. Since IS had not produced any signs throughout all of Uri's
rage and gloom, I felt that they, too, were ashamed of his breakdown.
During the restless night the conviction slowly built inside me
that Uri's querulousness, negativity, anger, and frustration would
sooner or later defeat our work. The events of this night were
to me a foretaste of failure, that we would not be able to intervene
successfully on behalf of mankind with our superior beings out
there. Somehow I had always felt that Uri, Shipi, and I were test
subjects for the rest of man; that is, if we who knew could not
make it, then how could anyone else make it? And here we were
failing because of simple combat fatigue. In my subconscious I
realized that if I did not at once bring our human relationship
to a fruitful crisis, with a positive outcome, failure was inevitable.
In the morning my daughter Illyria, Uri, and I were having breakfast
in the kitchen. No one was saying much of anything. The gloom
of the previous day had not yet worn off. Suddenly words came
out of my mouth for which I did not feel responsible. They came
out with a vehemence that no one had ever heard from me: "Uri,
I can't go on with all this emotionality and negativity. You better
go back to Israel! Let's forget the mission!" I was shocked
by my words but made no effort to retract them. My daughter was
petrified by the power of my feelings. Shocked, Uri stared at
me, then left the room. We did not speak again until the next
day.
I isolated myself in my study. Everyone stayed away from me. Now
it was I who had become the tyrant I tried to understand what
I had done. I must have screamed out from my deepest subconscious.
I knew that I should not try to carry on the commission unless
I had complete control over myself. And here, in a short time,
Uri and I had both broken down before our mentors. I really knew
now what it meant to be a zero, a nothing.
Uri on his part was more depressed than he had been the previous
night. Not only the world but his best friend had let him down.
Through Solveig, who was a house guest, he sent me peace offers.
But I sent back word that I could not talk until I had re-examined
and weighed the entire personal situation and the value of our
work for mankind. In effect, I went over everything that is in
this book, and more volumes of experience that will never get
into books. On Sunday, March 11, at about two in the afternoon,
I was still in my study placing myself on the scale of judgment.
Was I capable of carrying this message to my fellowmen? Should
I step aside now, before it was too late, in favor of someone
stronger, wiser, and more pure than I?
As I thought these thoughts, the answer arrived on my desk top
in front of me, where there suddenly appeared the Farquhar astronomical
globe. It had been in a room across the hall, and it had somehow
entered my locked study. On my desk blotter pad nine pens appeared
and formed into this pattern:
WHY
The nine pens all belonged to me and had been on my desk in a
stone jar that contained some fifteen pens and pencils.
The globe was the same one in which had appeared some months earlier
the typed message "You are all alone now, all of you for
a long time." As I have said, the Farquhar globe is made
up of two nested globes. The small inner globe is of the earth
and is about nine inches in diameter; the outer globe is a star
map of the sky and is about twenty-four inches in diameter. One
uses this globe to identify any star or constellation. A complex
mechanism is used to align the two globes for a given day and
hour of sighting of the sky. Then, with the use of a compass to
fix direction and a goniometer to measure the angle that the star
makes with the plane of the earth, one can locate the star in
question on this outer globe. The effect of doing this is like
standing on the rotating earth and looking out into our galaxy
with a map.
To me the symbolism of this globe was clear: "Please look
out into the heavens for your answer; your earth-bias, earth-based
reasoning is too limiting." The use of "why" was,
of course, a very personal reproach, but the use of nine pens
sharply reminded me who was asking me this question.
I felt ashamed of myself for being so frail, so petty, so weak,
so childish. I called Uri into the privacy of my study and showed
him what had happened. We both looked at each other with brotherly
love and understanding, and we wept. We were thoroughly ashamed
of our emotionality and weakness. We promised not to indulge ourselves
again in such childish breakdowns. Then my ever-present tape recorder
was switched on by an invisible hand. The voice said:
What has happened? Why? We will enter Uri's brain and examine
it. [Long pause] We find everything in order and pure.
There is absolutely no negativity or evil in you, Shipi, or Uri.
AP: "Thank you. Is it possible that an outside force entered
one of us?"
It is not possible for any other power to enter the body, mind,
soul, or work of you, Uri or Shipi. We guarantee that. It must
be due to your human weakness. Both you and Uri must be stronger,
and in better control. The one who speaks to you now has come
from the farthest reaches ever, because of the seriousness of
this situation. Farewell.
As the voice ended, the tape cassette vanished immediately from
inside the tape recorder. I sat down to write the above words
from memory, and I believe that every word is accurate. As I finished
these notes, a large metal cabinet three feet high with nine file
drawers vanished from alongside of my desk. I called this cabinet
my bric-a-brac drawers, because it contained hundreds of little
objects that I treasure: jewelry, coins, stamps, special documents,
awards, mementos, and leather goods such as billfolds. Everything
that was personal or precious was there. So its disappearance
was a loss, but I was pleased at this countersignature of intelligence
and power. We searched the house to see if it was on the premises.
The last place I looked was in my second-floor bedroom, and there
it was, neatly placed alongside my bedside bookshelves. I searched
it. Everything had survived the transformation without obvious
change. There was only one thing missing - a gold Parker pen that
had great sentimental value to me.
At 3:45 P.M. I returned to my study, where I found Uri doodling
at my desk. I looked at what he had just doodled. It was a set
of very advanced tensor equations describing the nature of the
gravitational field. Uri did not know what he had just doodled,
and he asked me where this came from. Since I recognized the equations
as being of the form written by Albert Einstein, I replied, almost
facetiously, "Einstein." As I said this, there appeared
a piece of paper on the floor some ten feet away from me. I walked
over to pick it up. It was a newspaper photo of Albert Einstein!
I remembered seeing such a photo in the New York Times Magazine
some ten years earlier. I had clipped it out but had not seen
it for several years. At this vantage point I was looking at my
bed across the hall from where I was standing. In front of my
eyes there had appeared a book on the white bedspread. I walked
over to examine it. It was a book I had last seen in the basement;
it was by Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler, entitled
Spacetime Physics, published by W. H. Freeman and Company
in 1963. I looked through it carefully, but the equations that
Uri had doodled were not in this book, although the general subject
matter was there.
Throughout all this activity I had left the nine pens on my blotter
pad intact spelling out the word "why." I returned to
my study with Uri - holding the book. As we approached the desk,
right in front of our eyes the nine pens flipped simultaneously
in the air and settled down into a new pattern as follows (though
I did not understand the symbolism or meaning of the configuration
): | | | | | | /_\
Peace reigned over our household and descended into our souls.
Having walked through the seven pillars of fire, were we at last
prepared to mediate between heaven and earth?
Thy will is done, O God!
The star hath ridden high
Thro' many a tempest, but she rode
Beneath thy burning eye;
And here, in thought, to Thee -
In thought that can alone
Ascend thy empire and so be
A partner of Thy throne -
By winged fantasy,
My embassy is given,
Till secrecy shall knowledge be
In the environs of Heaven.*
* Edgar Allan Poe, Al Aaraaf (lines 106-17), 1829.
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