Why Notes Before Feedback Matter So Much

Introduction

A remote-viewing session only has evidential value if the viewer’s impressions are recorded before the correct target is revealed. This principle is one of the clearest distinctions between a protocol-based remote-viewing experiment and an informal psychic claim. A dated transcript, sketch or audio recording creates a fixed record that can later be compared with the target without relying on memory or retrospective interpretation. Whether one believes remote viewing is a genuine phenomenon or a misinterpreted psychological effect, researchers on all sides agree that preserving the original record before feedback is essential to any meaningful evaluation.[CIA]cia.govAN EVALUATION OF THE REMOTE VIEWING PROGRAMUtts and Hyman were asked to discuss the nature of the disagreements, determine why they di…

Without such a record, there is no reliable way to distinguish a genuine prediction from an impression that has been unconsciously altered after the answer became known. The importance of “before feedback” is therefore methodological rather than philosophical: it is about preserving evidence.

The problem of retrofitting impressions

Human memory is reconstructive rather than photographic. Once people know an outcome, they often remember earlier thoughts as having been more accurate or more specific than they actually were. Psychologists refer to related effects as hindsight bias and memory reconstruction. In remote viewing, these normal cognitive tendencies make undocumented recollections virtually impossible to evaluate objectively.

For that reason, remote-viewing protocols generally require participants to write or draw every impression before any feedback is given. The transcript becomes the primary evidence rather than the viewer’s later recollection.

This helps address several common problems:

• Selective remembering: striking “hits” are remembered while incorrect impressions are forgotten.
• Retrospective interpretation: vague descriptions can be unconsciously reshaped to fit the revealed target.
• Confirmation bias: both viewers and judges may focus on matching features while overlooking contradictions.
• Disputed wording: a fixed transcript prevents later claims that an impression was “really meant” in a different way.

These concerns are not unique to remote viewing. Similar precautions are standard in many scientific fields whenever observations must be preserved before an outcome is known.

Sketches as time-stamped claims

Remote-viewing sessions often include sketches alongside written descriptions. These drawings are not intended as artwork but as contemporaneous records of what the viewer claimed to perceive at that moment.

Because sketches are created before feedback, they function as time-stamped claims that can later be assessed against the target. If a participant draws a circular structure, a bridge or a mountain shape before learning the target, that drawing can be evaluated directly rather than relying on memory.

Many historical remote-viewing protocols therefore emphasised:[Wikipedia]WikipediaRemote viewingRemote viewingRemote viewing (RV) is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with t…

• recording impressions continuously;
• avoiding later editing;
• preserving the complete session, including mistakes;
• separating the recording stage from the judging stage.

This separation matters because it limits opportunities for unconscious revision after the target becomes known. The original transcript—not the participant’s explanation afterwards—is the evidence to be judged. CIA documents describing operational and experimental remote-viewing procedures likewise emphasised written reports, transcripts and later comparison with the target rather than post hoc recollections.[CIA]cia.govA SUGGESTED REMOTE VIEWING TRAINING…(U) This report constitutes Objective D, Task 1: Design, develop, and improve training protocol…

How feedback can reshape memory

Feedback is the moment when the viewer learns the correct target. It serves an important role in many remote-viewing protocols because it allows scoring and, in some training systems, is believed to help participants refine future performance.

However, feedback also introduces a major methodological risk.

Once the target is known, participants may unintentionally:

• reinterpret ambiguous words as successful matches;
• overlook incorrect details that no longer seem important;
• believe they had impressions they never actually recorded;
• merge genuine session notes with later reflections.

This is why serious evaluations distinguish carefully between session data and post-feedback commentary. The first is treated as evidence; the second may be useful for discussion but cannot establish what was originally claimed.

Why preserved records matter in later judging

Remote-viewing experiments commonly use independent judging, in which a transcript is compared with multiple possible targets rather than only the correct one. That process depends entirely on having an unchanged record created before feedback.

If notes were altered after the target became known, even slightly, the judging process would lose its value because the comparison would no longer test a genuine prior claim.

Critics of early remote-viewing research argued that even subtle sources of information leakage or ambiguity in transcripts could inflate apparent success rates. Analyses by reviewers such as Ray Hyman and later evaluations commissioned for the U.S. government stressed the importance of rigorous documentation, cue elimination and preserved records when assessing claims.[CIA+2National Security Archive]cia.govAN EVALUATION OF THE REMOTE VIEWING PROGRAMUtts and Hyman were asked to discuss the nature of the disagreements, determine why they di…

Why both supporters and sceptics agree on this point

The existence of remote viewing remains highly disputed. Some researchers report statistical effects that they argue exceed chance, while many psychologists and scientists conclude that methodological weaknesses and ordinary cognitive processes provide more convincing explanations.[PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCFollow‐up on the U.SCentral Intelligence Agency's (CIA…by Á Escolà‐Gascón · 2023 · Cited by 10 — Since 1972, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) co…

Despite these disagreements, there is broad agreement on one procedural issue: if remote-viewing claims are to be evaluated at all, impressions must be fixed before feedback.

For proponents, pre-feedback records are the only way to demonstrate that information allegedly existed before the target was known. For sceptics, the same records are essential for detecting hindsight bias, subjective matching and information leakage. In either case, the transcript, sketches and notes created before feedback are what transform a personal impression into something that can be independently examined, criticised and, where possible, objectively scored.

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

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The Demon-Haunted World

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Bad Science

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Discusses bias introduced after results are known.

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Limitless Mind

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First published 2004. Subjects: Remote viewing (Parapsychology), Extrasensory perception, Spiritual life, Peace of mind.

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Phenomena

By Annie Jacobsen

First published 2017. Subjects: Military research, Parapsychology, Extrasensory perception, Psychokinesis, History.

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Browse more on Amazon:The Demon Haunted WorldBad ScienceLimitless Mind

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Endnotes

1. Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200180005-5.pdf

2. Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002200070001-0.pdf

3. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: PMCFollow‐up on the U.S
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10275521/

4. Source: nsarchive2.gwu.edu
Title: doc 57
Link:https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB438/docs/doc_57.pdf

5. Source: Wikipedia
Title: Remote viewing
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing

Additional References

6. Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/Mars/comments/hpwnm9/cia_transcript/

7. Source: researchgate.net
Title: 369604750 Remote Viewing a 1974 2022 systematic review and [meta analysis]({{ ‘meta-analysis/’ | relative_url }})
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369604750_Remote_Viewing_a_1974-2022_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis

8. Source: scribd.com
Title: CIA RDP96 00791R000200180006 4 1 pdf
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/395167398/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200180006-4-1-pdf

9. Source: e-space.mmu.ac.uk
Title: Manuscript Symplectic system Explore
Link:https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/632411/3/Manuscript_Symplectic_system_Explore.pdf

10. Source: youtube.com
Title: Remote Viewing Session Utilizing Telepathy Module Protocol
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6V2_DPhHSQ

11. Source: youtube.com
Title: The CIA Filed a 9-Page Report Describing Pyramids on Mars
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGenw1l8rjk

12. Source: ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu
Title: sa jan02srm01
Link:https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_jan02srm01.html

13. Source: youtube.com
Title: Remote Viewing Basic Stage 1-3 Protocol Explained
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTZsCX7FoQs