Why Did Remote Viewing Use Target Numbers?

Introduction

Remote-viewing experiments often began with a seemingly meaningless target number rather than the name of a place, object or event. This was not a trivial administrative detail. Supporters argued that neutral identifiers prevented viewers and experimenters from being influenced by expectations, while critics acknowledged that such procedures at least resembled established methods of blind experimental design. The use of target identifiers therefore became one of the features that distinguished remote viewing from traditional psychic readings or fortune-telling. It did not demonstrate that remote viewing worked, but it helped present the practice as a structured test of a specific claim rather than an open-ended paranormal performance.[CIA+2The Black Vault Documents]cia.govDIRECT PERCEPTION OF REMOTE GEOGRAPHICAL…Working alone, the analyst visited each target location in turn and in a blind fashion rat…

From names and places to neutral identifiers

Early remote-viewing researchers argued that a target should be represented by a neutral code rather than an informative label. Instead of asking a participant to describe “the Eiffel Tower” or “a Soviet submarine base”, an experimenter might provide a random numerical identifier or a set of map coordinates. The participant was instructed to focus on that identifier while recording impressions before learning the target’s identity.[The Black Vault Documents]theblackvault.comdocuments2.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsCIA-RDP96-00788r00130028000'2-77 Aug 2000 — Coordinate supplied to interviewer Puthoff. 2. Remote viewer and int…

The reasoning was straightforward. If a target were described in ordinary language, it could activate memories, expectations or unconscious associations. Even a place name might reveal its country, climate or historical significance. A meaningless number, by contrast, carried no obvious descriptive information. In theory, this reduced opportunities for ordinary inference and made any successful description appear more difficult to explain by conventional means.[CIA]cia.govDIRECT PERCEPTION OF REMOTE GEOGRAPHICAL…Working alone, the analyst visited each target location in turn and in a blind fashion rat…

Some early protocols used actual geographic coordinates, leading to the expression “coordinate remote viewing”. Later approaches also employed arbitrary target reference numbers that had no inherent geographical meaning. The important procedural feature was not the number itself but the separation of the participant from any descriptive information about the target.[Wikipedia]WikipediaIngo SwannIngo Swann

How procedural language changed credibility

Target identifiers were only one part of a broader effort to make remote viewing resemble laboratory research rather than stage psychic performance.

Researchers adopted terminology such as:

• Target instead of “vision” or “psychic impression”.
• Viewer instead of “psychic”.
• Monitor or interviewer instead of “medium” or “reader”.
• Session transcript instead of a recollected story.
• Blind or double-blind protocol instead of relying on trust alone.

This vocabulary mirrored established scientific practice, where blinding, coding and standardised procedures are common ways to reduce bias. Declassified government documents repeatedly describe viewers and interviewers being blind to the target while only a numerical reference or coordinate was supplied during the session.[The Black Vault Documents+2CIA]theblackvault.comdocuments2.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsCIA-RDP96-00788r00130028000'2-77 Aug 2000 — Coordinate supplied to interviewer Puthoff. 2. Remote viewer and int…

The use of coded identifiers also gave experiments a repeatable appearance. Researchers could assign target numbers in advance, preserve written records, compare transcripts with predetermined targets and ask independent judges to score the matches afterwards. These procedural elements made remote viewing look more like an experiment that could be audited than an informal psychic demonstration.[CIA]cia.govDIRECT PERCEPTION OF REMOTE GEOGRAPHICAL…Working alone, the analyst visited each target location in turn and in a blind fashion rat…

What identifiers could and could not control

Neutral target numbers addressed one specific problem: preventing obvious informational cues before the session. They could help reduce conscious guessing based on names or locations and fit naturally within blind experimental designs.[CIA]cia.govDIRECT PERCEPTION OF REMOTE GEOGRAPHICAL…Working alone, the analyst visited each target location in turn and in a blind fashion rat…

However, identifiers could not eliminate every source of bias. Critics pointed out that scientific credibility depends on the entire experimental system, not on one procedural feature. Problems could still arise through:

• subtle cues from experimenters;
• weaknesses in target selection;
• flaws in judging methods;
• incomplete blinding;
• information leaking through transcripts or session records.

These issues became central to later critiques of remote-viewing research. Psychologists David Marks and Richard Kammann argued that some early experiments contained sensory cues within transcripts that allowed judges to identify targets without invoking paranormal perception. Their criticism was not that target identifiers were useless, but that they were insufficient if other parts of the protocol allowed ordinary information to leak into the experiment.[Wikipedia]WikipediaRemote viewingRemote viewing

More recent experimental work attempting to replicate remote-viewing protocols has likewise retained concealed target identifiers while also introducing stronger randomisation and forced-choice designs to address earlier methodological criticisms. This reflects an important distinction: using neutral identifiers remains compatible with good experimental practice, but it does not by itself establish that remote viewing produces genuine paranormal information.[PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCFollow‐up on the U.SCentral Intelligence Agency's (CIA…by Á Escolà‐Gascón · 2023 · Cited by 10 — For Group 2, the same envelope procedure used for conceal…

Why target numbers became symbolically important

The target identifier ultimately served two purposes: a practical one and a symbolic one.

Practically, it was intended to minimise ordinary sources of information by replacing descriptive target names with neutral references. Symbolically, it communicated that remote viewing was attempting to follow scientific conventions such as blinding, standardisation and controlled testing.

That symbolic effect was significant. Remote viewing became associated with laboratories, government-funded research and written protocols rather than crystal balls or fortune-telling. Even many sceptics acknowledge that this procedural framing made remote viewing appear more scientific than traditional psychic claims. The continuing dispute concerns not whether coded identifiers were a sensible experimental precaution, but whether the remaining evidence supports the extraordinary claim that meaningful information can be acquired without the known senses.[Wikipedia+2Wikipedia]WikipediaRemote viewingRemote viewing

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

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The Demon-Haunted World

By Carl Sagan

Provides broader context for evaluating experimental controls.

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Limitless Mind

By Russell Targ

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

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Real magic

By Dean I. Radin

First published 2018. Subjects: Parapsychology, Magic, Telepathy.

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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 WorldLimitless MindReal magic

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Endnotes

1. Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000200080008-6

2. Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001800040001-9

3. Source: Wikipedia
Title: Ingo Swann
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann

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

5. Source: Wikipedia
Title: Parapsychology research at SRI
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapsychology_research_at_SRI

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

7. Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapsychology

8. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
Link:https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/cia/[stargate

9. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
Link:https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/cia/stargate/STARGATE%20%231%20173/Part0002/CIA-RDP96-00787R000500010001-7.pdf

Additional References

10. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403178755_The_Star_Gate_Archives_Reports_of_the_United_States_Government_Sponsored_Psi_Program_1972-1995_Volume_4_Operational_Remote_Viewing_Memorandums_and_Reports

11. Source: mchip.net
Link:https://www.mchip.net/libweb/u2D907/243655/Project%20Stargate%20And%20Remote%20Viewing%20Technology%20Th.pdf

12. Source: reddit.com
Title: Interesting declassified CIA remote viewing
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/HighStrangeness/comments/1apuh1d/interesting_declassified_cia_remote_viewing/

13. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/100090372200308/posts/during-the-[cold-war

14. Source: academia.edu
Link:https://www.academia.edu/95285973/The_Star_Gate_Operational_Remote_Viewing_Program_A_Human_Intelligence_HUMINT_Collection_Platform

15. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMkqIlR0-fI

16. Source: youtube.com
Title: Thomas Mc Near on Ingo Swann & Remote Viewing
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjYMKtt9hV4

17. Source: youtube.com
Title: Stargate’s Gatekeeper: DIA & Remote Viewing with Dale E. Graff
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRAsTmT_nQo

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

19. Source: youtube.com
Title: Guide: How to Build Targets for Remote Viewing Training
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRJpWBIDUOs