Mary Roach

Of all of the controlled scientific research about ESP, experiments called ganzfeld ("uniform field") have shown the most possibility of providing incontrovertible proof that ESP exists. Ganzfeld experiments involve two participants: a sender and a receiver, also called a viewer. The receiver is placed in an environment in which sensory stimulation is prevented as much as possible. For example, the receiver's eyes may be covered, and the room may be dark and soundproof except for a kind of background noise called white noise, which covers up distracting sounds. The sender, in another location, tries to telepathically send an image to the receiver-that is, by mind power alone. During the 1990s several series of Ganzfeld experiments yielded positive results. The author of this article, Mary Roach, is a magazine reporter who wanted to find out more about how Ganzfeld experiments work-and...