Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
Volume 5, Issue 5 , Pages 272-276, September 2009

Sensing the Sending of SMS Messages: An Automated Test

  • Rupert Sheldrake, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Perrott-Warrick Project, London, England
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding Author. Address: 20 Willow Road, London NW3 1TJ, UK
    • ,
  • Leonidas Avraamides

      Affiliations

    • Mobifi Ltd, London, England
    • ,
  • Matous Novák

      Affiliations

    • Mobifi Ltd, London, England

Objective

The aim of this study was to carry out automated experiments to test for telepathy in connection with text messages.

Method

Subjects, aged from 11 to 72, registered online with the names and mobile telephone numbers of three senders. A computer selected a sender at random and asked him/her to send a short message service (SMS) message to the subject via the computer. The computer then asked the subject to guess the sender's name and delivered the message after receiving the guess. A test consisted of nine trials. The effects of subjects' sex and age and the effects of delay on guesses were evaluated. The main outcome measure was the proportion of correct guesses of the sender's name, compared with the 33.3% mean chance expectation.

Results

In 886 trials, there were 336 hits (37.9%), significantly above the 33.3% chance level (P = .001). The hit rate in incomplete tests was 38.4% (P = .03), showing that optional stopping could not explain the positive results. Most tests were unsupervised, which left open the possibility of cheating, but high-scoring subjects were retested under filmed conditions, where no cheating was detected, with 19 hits in 43 trials (44.2%; P = 0.09).

Key words: SMS messages, telepathy, ESP, automated test, internet experiment

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 12.00 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

 This work was supported by grants from the Bial Foundation, Portugal, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California, the Perrott-Warrick Fund, administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, and Mr Addison Fischer, Naples, Florida.

 Leonidas Avraamides and Matous Novák are affiliated with Mobifi Ltd., the provider of the system used in his study.

PII: S1550-8307(09)00209-2

doi:10.1016/j.explore.2009.06.004

Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
Volume 5, Issue 5 , Pages 272-276, September 2009

Article Tools