Russell Targ is a physicist and author, a pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, and a cofounder of the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) investigation of psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s. SRI is a research and development think tank in Menlo Park, California. Called remote viewing, his work in the psychic area has been published in Nature, The Proceedings of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), and the Proceedings of the American Association the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

He is author or co-author of nine books dealing with the scientific investigation of psychic abilities and Buddhist approaches to the transformation of consciousness, including Mind Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability (with E. Harold Puthoff, 1977, 2005); Miracles of Mind: Exploring Nonlocal Consciousness and Spiritual Healing (with Jane Katra, 1998); and Limitless Mind: A Guide to Remote Viewing and Transformation of Consciousness (2004). He also wrote an autobiography, Do You See What I See: Memoirs of a Blind Biker, in 2008. His current book is The Reality of ESP: A Physicist’s Proof of Psychic Abilities.

As a senior staff scientist at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Targ developed airborne laser systems for the detection of windshear and air turbulence. Having retired in 1997,  he now writes books on psychic research and teaches remote viewing worldwide.

Below is a planned talk by RusseLl for TED that was cancelled by TED. Not surprisingly, some of the most interesting TED talks have been cancelled, author Graham Hancock’s “The War on Consciousness” was banned, and so was scientist Rupert Sheldrake’s, titled “The Science Delusion.”

When it comes to topics within the realms of parapsychology, like ESP, they often fiercely oppose the belief systems of many, despite the fact that publications in peer-reviewed scientific literature have examined this topic for more than a century, with some fascinating results.

*Originally entitled: “CANCELLED TED TALK: PHYSICIST CONTRACTED BY CIA SHARES EVERYTHING HE KNOWS ABOUT ESP”