The ganzfeld effect, Also called the ganzfeld experiment, it is a technique used in parasychology to test the telepathy and extrasensory experiences of individuals. To achieve this, the deprivation or limitation of the senses is required, to provoke the reception of information from other sources, generally images.
Although his study has become popular today, this experiment was made known in the 1930s thanks to the German psychologist Wolfgang Metzger. This psychologist is one of the most important figures in Gestalt theory, a current that emerged in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.
However, it is worth mentioning that some scholars of the subject point out that this technique lacks veracity due to the lack of preparation of the subjects, the conditions of the space used and the skepticism that revolves around telepathy.
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The investigation of the altered states of the mind of man corresponds to a search that has its origins in ancient times, by the hand of the Greeks, and that extends to the time of the Tibetans..
However, the first studies on sensory perception and extrasensory experiences were introduced by means of the German psychologist Wolfgang Metzer, who raised the possibility that man was capable of reaching these states under certain conditions..
From its inception, Metzger raised the importance of deepening the knowledge and internal experiences that man should have to achieve an understanding of the outside world.
However, it was in the 1970s when the first formal experiments on the subject were carried out in the hands of the American parasychologist Charles Honorton, in order to analyze dreams and discover if telepathy existed..
To achieve these objectives, Honorton used the ganzfeld effect, an experiment that consists in the deprivation or limitation of the senses of the determined subject.
-The experiments began to be carried out in 1974 in different laboratories to verify the existence of extrasensory perception regardless of the environment in which it was carried out. These were continued until 2004.
-In 1982 Honorton presented an article confirming a success rate of 35%, which hinted at the existence of extrasensory experiences.
-However, before the presentation of these results, the psychologist Ray Hyman pointed out a series of failures that, according to him, appeared during the process, thus altering the results.
-Both Honorton and Hyman studied these results separately in order to deepen their analysis. Hyman's hypothesis was later confirmed, which required more controls during the experiment..
-A new process format was designed to avoid past drawbacks, identified by Hyman and Honorton.
-The results obtained in 1989 were more or less similar to the first obtained by Honorton. At this point, Hyman called on the community of experts and psychologists to carry out these experiments independently, in order to draw more precise conclusions on the matter..
-Despite the continuation of the processes and the intervention of a series of laboratories and scholars, the existence of telepathy, as well as other extrasensory processes, has not been fully verified. In fact, some results are inconclusive or criticized for the lack of rigidity in the experiments..
The main objective of the ganzfeld effect is to check extrasensory perception. To do this, it is necessary to follow a series of steps:
-Have an empty room, which must be soundproof and dark. In some cases the investigator puts a red light.
-Have a comfortable chair or bed so that the subject can lie down.
-Split a ping pong ball in half and place each fragment over the subject's eyes.
-Subsequently, put on headphones that emit a soft and continuous noise without interference.
In some cases, three people are needed to carry out the experiment:
-The receiver, who is in the room.
-The emitter, whose location will be in another space, away from the receiver.
-The researcher, whose role will be to review and monitor the results.
The senses of the receiver will be limited for 15 or 30 minutes, in order to remain in a state of relaxation, but not sleep..
The subject is able to relax without the need to fall asleep. This is because he has trained for it from the first phase.
The sender will begin to see images that he will send telepathically to the receiver, while the researcher will record the reactions that are achieved at the moment..
In the end, the receiver must identify which images were sent by the sender. At that time the researcher will have some decoys, in order to confirm the success or failure of the experiment.
As noted above, some scholars have found flaws in the process, which has led to a series of criticisms in this regard:
-In the first experiments, not all the rooms were soundproof or completely empty, so they could affect the perception of the study subjects.
-The method of choosing the subjects was not carried out in a rigorous or methodical manner..
-Those results considered successful rather question the veracity of the experimentation process. Telepathy is not fully confirmed due to flaws in the experimental design.
-It is not clear if the ganzfeld experiment will be a reliable process at some point..
The objective of the ganzfeld experiment is to show the existence of telepathy and extrasensory experiences.
However, thanks to the fact that the subject is subjected to the limitation of their senses in the middle of a dark room, it is believed that it is possible that they present hallucinations and sensations that are not really happening..
These hallucinations and sensations will vary depending on the people who are part of this experiment. Some have even used this tool as a channel to verify that they are capable of feeling the effects of drugs when they have not consumed substances of this type..
In a video made by the Scam school they test the possibility of having hallucinations by means of the ganzfeld experiment with the use of materials that can be found at home.
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