Doc 0000022003

Mr. Cleve Backs!er has, sine(! 1966 (1•4), presented to the lay and sdentH!c c~ity cla~s that • tars• variety of living materials (primarily plants, but also includtng hen'• eggs, par~c1um, amoeba, mold cultures, scrapings from the roof of a human couth, and yeast) vtll produ~e characteristic elee• tr1cal signal& when connected to a polygraph machine. ~e eignala obtatned, in Mr. &aekster'• opinion, closely resemble the outputs seen when human beings undergo lie dete:tor tests. That such _aignals are indeed produced is not tur• prtsing. What ia unexpected is Mr. lacketer'a contention that they result from the perception capabilities of the materials. The processes af life are such that in living eysteml a large variety of con• ditions exist ~hich give rise to electrical charge separations with attendant electrical potentials. These potentials are interconnected by the aalt con~ taining fluids of living aystems \lhf.ch in turn are eont&1ned in matedah having diversified electrical properties. The result 1s.an extremely complicated electrical circuit conshtins of a multiplicity of parallel and ser~.es connected potentials. resistances, cap~citances. and reactances. Thus. if current flow in such a system h tDO"aitoud by connectin& it to a psycho•integroammeter (lie detector) one ahould not be surprised to see a large variety of current changes many of which vill resemble typical polygraph outputs. A multitude of seemingly insignificant events can conceivably change the i~edance of. .such a circuit through their lnfluence on the resistance. capacitance. reactance or potential generating characteristics of the system. ror example. a change in the position o~ st~ength of any nearby electrical or magnetic field =an induce a voltage tn a critical par~ of the ~ircuit which will result in a large change ln the current flov as read by the attached ammeter. Such changes can be brought about by the ~re repositioning of the observer•• body or motion of his limbe. Likewise. small changes in the chemi~al makeup of the system due to such :hings aa adsorption of odors or vater vapor can appreciably change the resist~ce or capacitancQ of the system which vill change the matching characteristics 1 '-~ !_( ~ -f _.;: • '• ,";.·' .' ' ,; I e between the readout and the circuit giving rise to ammete~ ~edance mts~ matches and £ consequent change in readout. In addlt!on, the internal en• vironment of a living system is constantly undersotn~ change due to cell division, el~ngation, and maturation. These ch•nges ~y The provided image is a screenshot of a webpage, not a declassified document itself. It features a stylized graphic of a vault door on the left side, with a title "THE BLACK VAULT" rendered in a distinctive, rough font at the top center. The right side of the page contains text explaining that the document was obtained from "The Black Vault," an online database of declassified government documents, specifically mentioning the MKULTRA/Mind Control Collection. The text also provides a URL for accessing the collection. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, stamps, forms, diagrams, tables, redactions, or any visual evidence of experimental procedures or facilities. The page is filled with printed text detailing "THE BACKSTER EFFECT" and its relation to living materials and electrical signals. There are two handwritten annotations: a circled number "158" in the top right corner and another circled "158" near the bottom right. The text itself is the primary visual content, describing scientific concepts and observations related to the Backster Effect. There are no images, diagrams, stamps, forms, or redactions visible. '• ,";.·' .' ' ,; I e between the readout and the circuit giving rise to ammete~ ~edance mts~ matches and £ consequent change in readout. In addlt!on, the internal en• vironment of a living system is constantly undersotn~ change due to cell division, el~ngation, and maturation. These ch•nges ~y also alter the imped4nce and voltage generating characteristics of t~e living ~ystem and result in a variety of changes in the current readout. Figure 1 shaws some voltage changes ~hich have been induced at • distance of 1 meter in a human hair (stretched between t~ platinum electrodes and made to be semiconducting by coating it with atycero1 and a liquid soap) by a vibrating barium titanate crystal. It is evident that the vibrating crystal induces a voltage in the hair preparation is related to the first deriva• ~bleb tive of the frequency of the vibration and therefore. it is probably a reflec• t1on of the change in the electric field at the barium titanate crystal. Since the batr preparation ls derived entirely from materials found in living systems and its structure is due largely to the hair (a former living material) it 1s reasonable to expect that this preparation has .'111 equivalent electrical circuit ~hich resembles, in many ways, that found in living tissues. thus, . if voltage ehanges can be induced in this preparatlont is reason to expect the~e that they c~ also be induced Ln living systems. There seems to be no reason to doubt Mr. Backster's observations of polygraph readouts from a variety of living materials. On the ~ther band, his explana• tion for theGe observations ~arrant some comoents. ~Y of the experiments ~lch Mr. Backster has conducted appear to lack adequate controls and almost all of his explanations or implied explanations for the results are at best impulsive. He concludes that his readouts are the result of single cell ac• tivtties and, the~efore, poseessed by all living systems. However, his expert• ments are often des1gned to show a one to one corre$pondence between a poly• graph readout and a specific event which is really only one example of a con• stantly occurring phenomenon. For example, to order to show that plants are sensitive ~o the death of other organisms, even at a distance. he dumps brine shrimp into boiling ~ater and observes the polygrap\ responses of plants 2 loc3tcd in another room. But if, as The document is a typed page with dense paragraphs of text. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, signatures, stamps, forms, diagrams, schematics, organizational charts, tables, or structured data visible on this page. There are no redactions or obscured content. The page primarily consists of printed text, with a small number "2" at the bottom center, likely indicating it's page two of a longer document, and a few faint dots scattered throughout the page. one example of a con• stantly occurring phenomenon. For example, to order to show that plants are sensitive ~o the death of other organisms, even at a distance. he dumps brine shrimp into boiling ~ater and observes the polygrap\ responses of plants 2 loc3tcd in another room. But if, as he purports, this experiment shows that plants are sensitive to the death of other organisms, ~hy are the plants atuned only to the death of these pnrti~ular organisms? Certainly, there are millions of microorganisms dying in the same room vith the pl~•ts and un• doubtedly a number of household pests such ~s ants. flies, and the like are also dying in various parts of the hous~ not to centioa the variety of fresh vegetables and meats being prepared in the ne1gbbo~hood kitchens. Likewise, Mr. Back~ter hau a marked tendency to look for t ~ e le< ?J~rJi1a le xplanations for his "WOrk. He al~ays relatP-s his polygraph patterns to psychic or physical phenomena seen in blJI'I'I<Ul being&; i.e., emotional sti~Wlation, "fainting" 1 heartbeat, nervousness. even prayer, This is a basic error which can mask and distort tbe ~~ssibility that the observed phenomena can be used for useful and perhaps unique purposes. It is not necessary to resort to explanations which transcend the physical laws we know now. An approach which seeks to interpret the results \Oitbin th.e framework of knovn phenomena will be fu ~re ~seful. Consider the possibility that the house plant, for example. acts not only as a biased electrical circuit, but also ~ctions as a high impedance antenna. Such a system can be disturbed by changes in small elecr trical fields, perhaps even d~ the magnitude produced by brain waves and blood ~ circulation. After all devices are available that can detect at a d!stanee magnetic fields generated by blood circulation and brain waves (5·6). Also, the surface area of a plant is quite large and well adapted to gas exchange reactions so that trace amount:$ of chemicals emitted from anlr.ials can be absorbed.by the plant and lead to pronounced changes in plants and their elec- trtcal circu~try. For example, plants change their metabolism and undergo leaf epinaaty in response to a concentration of ethylene of as little as 0.002 ~tcroliters ~er liter of air (7-8). The events triggered by conscious or un• conscious nervous reactions (odor emission, increase in heart rate, change in brain wave p&ttern, The declassified document is a typed page containing text about plant sensitivity and biological explanations for observed phenomena. There is a single digit "3" centered at the bottom, likely a page number. The document has a perforated edge visible on its left side, suggesting it was part of a larger binder or report. There are no images, handwritten annotations, stamps, forms, diagrams, or redactions present on this specific page. circu~try. For example, plants change their metabolism and undergo leaf epinaaty in response to a concentration of ethylene of as little as 0.002 ~tcroliters ~er liter of air (7-8). The events triggered by conscious or un• conscious nervous reactions (odor emission, increase in heart rate, change in brain wave p&ttern, etc.) on the part of an observer, Which go undetected by him, could conceivably cause changes 1n delicately balanced electrical circuits including those existing in living systems, Under these circumstances, the electrical readout from an instrumented plant could chenge in response 3 ···----- ... --·----__,-------~ to the elllCit:f.jnal or physical state of an observer. Ho..,ever, the response would in no ~ay be a caee of the plant reading the individuat•s mind. lather. it would be due to change~ in the plants environment brousht about by the ob~ server and resulting 1n a change in the electrical characteristics of a delicately balanced system. The possibillty that very subtle change9 tn the environment alter the elee• trteal p~operties of plant tissues is not unreasonable. everyday phe~omena in animal sensory organs and the structures and electrical status of plant cells have many features in common wi:h nervous tissue. the most essenti~l difference ~Y aetu~lly be tn the org~~itation cf the cells. In the animal, the cells are arranged to provide quic~ reaction times, centralized Information depository and specialized tnformatlon sorting toe with and compensatory raactione. In plant, on the other gethe~ feedba~k ~he hand, the cells are not organized in thi• manner and although their electrical properties may change with the,_.,environment~ the phenomenon is of Umited use to the plant. However, if man ~nitors these eleetrieal changeb, he may be able to corralace the~ with subtl~ changes 1a environmental factors ~ieh are of inte~est to him much in ~e same "Way thae the reee?tor potentials of various nervous tiss·.1es (visual, otfa"ctory, tactile, etc.) ea:. he used to supply in4 formation on. for example, odor concentration, light intensity, and pressure. It is suggested i:hat a s-rogra111 be carried out to investigate th~ possibility that changes in~e electrical properties of plants ara induced by subtle changes in t~e environment. Methodologies which ar~ similar to those now used to receptor potentials in nervous tissues cr 1ld be employed and expl~re the characteristics of any signals observed correlatel with such things as trace amounts of Qdors tt.txoduced into the environraent or minuc:e changes in electrical and magnetic The document is a typed page of text with a small number "4" at the bottom right. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, signatures, official stamps, forms, diagrams, schematics, organizational charts, tables, structured data, redactions, or visual evidence of experimental procedures, equipment, or facilities. The page contains an approximately 26-line passage of legible text discussing electrical properties of plants and their potential correlation with environmental factors, drawing parallels to animal sensory organs and nervous tissue. changes in t~e environment. Methodologies which ar~ similar to those now used to receptor potentials in nervous tissues cr 1ld be employed and expl~re the characteristics of any signals observed correlatel with such things as trace amounts of Qdors tt.txoduced into the environraent or minuc:e changes in electrical and magnetic fields. 4 FlGtiR! 1. lesponse of Human., Hair Coated with Liquid Pot:assium So3p and Doped 1o1ith Octanol. In each case, trace A is the response fron the hair and traec a is • record of the signal driving the barium titanate transducer. The numbers indicate the frequency of the driving signal. ~aces A and B were made simultaneously with a dual be~m oscilloscope. s A 0.1C I - I 8 - A1QKC Ate 8 . i, A SOKC I 8 l -- -- - -- - A 100KC A- 100C -- -- -- -- . ' ' ~CES 1. Ba~ks~er, c. The Man Who Read Nature's Secret Signals. National Wildlife. 1969. February~March, 2. BacksteT, C. Do Plants Think? Science of Mind. ·June, 1969. 3. !ackster, c. £vidence of a Primary Perception in Plant Llfe. International Journal of Parapsychology, Winte~, 1968. 4. Backster, C. Be lind to Your Plants ~ Else You Could Cause a Violet to Shrink. Wall Street Journal. About January, 19?2. s. Rosen, A• • et al. Magnetic Recording of the Heart's Electrical Ac1tivity with a Cryogenic ~~gnetometer. tRW System Group~ Redondo Beach, Californ~a. NIH Report No. 69-2243, June 26, 1970. 6. Cohen. D. E. A. Edelsack and J. !. Zimmerman. Applied Physics Letters J!:278, 1970. . 7. Leather, G. R., L. E. Foirence, P. B. Abeles. Increased Ethylene Production during Chcmostat Experiments May Cause Leaf Epinasty. Plant Physiology ~:183-186, 1972. 8. Reid, M. s. and H. K. Pratt. Effects of Ethylene on Potato Tuber Respiration. Pl4nt P,ystology 49:2S2·2SS. 1972. The page displays a technical diagram caption and a series of text blocks, along with some page-level markings. At the top, there are two black dots against a white background. The main content consists of a figure caption starting with "FIGURE 1." followed by descriptive text. Below this, there are several paragraphs explaining the experimental setup and data interpretation, mentioning "trace A" and "trace 3" (likely a typo for "B") related to a "barium titanate transducer" and "dual beam oscilloscope." A page number "5" is visible near the bottom center. The left and bottom edges of the page have the distinct visual texture of a scanned document, suggesting it might be from a physical file that has been digitized. The image displays a collection of oscilloscope traces organized into a grid. Each cell in the grid shows two waveforms, labeled "A" and "B," with accompanying frequency indicators such as "A 0.1C," "A 1KC," "A 10 KC," "A 10C," "A 50K C," and "A 100KC." The traces exhibit various patterns, including square waves, sine-like waves, and decaying curves, possibly illustrating differing signal responses at different frequencies. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, stamps, forms, or redacted content visible on the page. The overall presentation suggests a technical document related to signal analysis or electronic testing. This page is a typed document containing a list of references. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, stamps, forms, diagrams, schematics, organizational charts, tables, structured data, or evidence of experimental procedures visible on this page. The content is solely text, presented as a numbered list of citations with authors, titles, publication details, and dates.