Abstract

Discusses the Global Consciousness Project, a cooperative, international venture interested in anomalies associated with consciousness. The project examines correlations between unusual deviations from a world-spanning network of random event generators (REGs) and specified global events that are expected to create an unusual coherence of interest and attention. Special-purpose software collects data at host sites continuously and transmits it over the Internet to a dedicated server running software to archive and process the data. Broadly engaging global events are identified using relatively objective criteria such as intensity and depth of media coverage. The primary analyses address the distribution of deviations of the mean of the REG output during the identified events. Over the initial 16 mo of continuous running, the network grew to include 28 active remote REG devices. A total of 43 events had been formally specified as of January 2000. Results show a small but consistent excess of deviation corresponding to the events.