View source for Harold E. Puthoff

{{Short description|American parapsychologist and engineer (born June 20, 1936)}}
{{POV|date=February 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox academic
| name               = Harold Edward Puthoff
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1936|06|20}}
| birth_place        = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
| othername          = 
| education          = {{plainlist|
* [[University of Florida]]
* [[Stanford University]]
}}
| doctoral_advisor   = Richard H. Pantell<ref>{{Cite website |last=Puthoff |first=Harold E. |date=1967 |title=The Stimulated Raman Effect and its Application as a Tunable Laser |url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.13670.63046 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.13670.63046}}</ref>
| thesis_year        = 1967
| thesis_title       = The stimulated Raman effect and its application as a tunable laser
| thesis_url         = https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/775683
| known_for          = Paranormal research
| occupation         = [[Engineer]] and [[parapsychologist]]
| workplaces         = [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]]<br>Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin
}}

'''Harold Edward Puthoff''' (born June 20, 1936),<ref>{{Cite web |title=HAROLD E. PUTHOFF &vert; CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov) |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001200300004-3.pdf |access-date=9 December 2024|website=www.cia.gov}}</ref> often known as '''Hal Puthoff''', is an American [[Electrical engineering|electrical engineer]] and [[parapsychologist]] known for his work in laser physics, remote viewing research, and theories on zero-point energy.<ref name="Melton_2001">{{cite encyclopedia|editor=Melton, J. Gordon|editor-link=J. Gordon Melton|entry=Puthoff, Harold E.|year=2001|title=Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology|volume=2|edition=5th|page=1264-5|publisher=Gale}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Puthoff was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. He received a BA and an MSc in [[electrical engineering]] from [[University of Florida]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Mind wars: the true story of government research into the military potential of psychic weapons |last=McRae |first=Ronald M |url=https://archive.org/details/mindwarstruestor00mcra |date=1984 |publisher=New York, St. Martin's Press |page=92}}</ref> In 1967, Puthoff earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from [[Stanford University]] with a thesis, "The [[Stimulated Raman spectroscopy|stimulated Raman effect]] and its application as a tunable laser".<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Puthoff |first1=Harold E. |title=The stimulated Raman effect: and its application as a tunable laser |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/775683 |access-date=7 May 2024 |date=1967}}</ref><ref>Jack David, Michael Park. (1978). ''Playback: Canadian Selections''. McClelland and Stewart. p. 68. "Hal Puthoff, has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He worked for the Naval Security Group in Washington and then for the National Security Agency."</ref><ref name="Urban">Hugh Urban. (2013). ''The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion''. Princeton University Press. p. 113. "A physicist with a PhD from Stanford University, Harold Puthoff joined Scientology in the late 1960s and quickly advanced to the OT VII level by 1971."</ref> Puthoff then worked on tunable lasers and electron beam devices and co-authored (with R. Pantell) ''Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pantell |first=Richard H. |url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofqu0000pant |title=Fundamentals of quantum electronics |date=1969 |publisher=New York, Wiley |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-471-65790-3}}</ref> (Wiley, 1969). Puthoff also published papers on [[polarizable vacuum]] (PV) and [[stochastic electrodynamics]].

== Parapsychology and pseudoscience ==
{{seealso|Remote viewing}}
Puthoff took an interest in the [[Church of Scientology]] in the late 1960s and reached what was then the top [[Operating Thetan#OTVII|OT VII]] level by 1971.<ref name="Urban"/> Puthoff wrote up his "wins" for a Scientology publication, claiming to have achieved "remote viewing" abilities (called [[Scientology beliefs and practices|exteriorization]] in Scientology).<ref>Puthoff, Hal, ''Success Story'', Scientology Advanced Org Los Angeles (AOLA) special publication, 1971.</ref> In 1974, Puthoff also wrote a piece for Scientology's ''Celebrity'' magazine, stating that Scientology had given him "a feeling of absolute fearlessness".<ref>''Celebrity'' magazine, Minor Issue 9, February 1974.</ref> Puthoff severed all connection with Scientology in the late 1970s.<ref>Harold Puthoff, "Harold Puthoff Responds on Zero-Point Energy," ''Skeptical Inquirer'', September/October 1998.</ref>

In the 1970s and 1980s, Puthoff directed a program at the [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) to investigate [[paranormal]] abilities, collaborating with [[Russell Targ]] in a study of the purported [[psychic abilities]] of [[Uri Geller]], [[Ingo Swann]], [[Pat Price (remote viewer)|Pat Price]], [[Joseph McMoneagle]] and others, as part of what they called the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]]. Both Geller and Swann convinced Puthoff and Targ that they possessed psychic powers,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Targ |first1=Russell |last2=Puthoff |first2=Harold |date=Oct 1974 |title=Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/251602a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=251 |issue=5476 |pages=602–607 |doi=10.1038/251602a0 |pmid=4423858 |bibcode=1974Natur.251..602T |s2cid=4152651 |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>Russell Targ, Harold Puthoff. (2005). ''Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Abilities''. Hampton Roads Publishing Company.</ref> though Geller employed [[sleight of hand]] tricks.<ref>Ben Harris. (1985). ''Gellerism Revealed: The Psychology and Methodology Behind the Geller Effect''. Calgary: Micky Hades International.</ref>

Puthoff and Targ studied [[Uri Geller]] at SRI, declaring that Geller had psychic powers, though there were flaws with the controls in the experiments, and Geller used [[sleight of hand]] on many other occasions.<ref>[[James Randi]]. (1982). ''The Truth about Uri Geller''. Prometheus Books.</ref><ref>Charles M. Wynn, Arthur W. Wiggins. (2001). ''Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends... and Pseudoscience Begins''. Joseph Henry Press. p. 163. "In reality, however, Geller, an experienced magician and showman, simply bends the objects when no one is watching. But, you may argue, millions of people were watching him on TV! Geller is a master at an essential tool of the magician: misdirection or distracting peoples' attention. He is quite good at projecting an air of innocence that belies his actions. That he can fool so many people is a tribute to slight-of-hand (sic) artistry, not psychic power."</ref> According to [[Terence Hines]]:

{{quote|Geller turned out to be nothing more than a magician using sleight of hand and considerable personal charm to fool his admirers. The tests at SRI turned out to have been run under conditions that can best be described as chaotic. Few limits were placed on Geller's behavior, and he was more or less in control of the procedures used to test him. Further, the results of the tests were incorrectly reported in Targ and Puthoff's Nature paper.<ref>[[Terence Hines]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 126</ref>}}

Psychologists [[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]] and Richard Kammann attempted to replicate Puthoff and Targ's [[remote viewing]] experiments. In a series of thirty-five studies, they could not replicate the results. While investigating the procedure of the original experiments, Marks and Kammann discovered that the notes given to the judges in Puthoff and Targ's experiments contained clues as to which order they were carried out. Examples included referring to yesterday's two targets or the inclusion of the date of the session written at the top of the page. They concluded that these clues were the reason for the experiment's high hit rates.<ref>[[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]], Richard Kammann. (1978). ''Information transmission in remote viewing experiments''. Nature 274: 680–81.</ref><ref>[[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]]. (1981). ''Sensory cues invalidate remote viewing experiments''. Nature 292: 177.</ref> Terence Hines has written:

{{quote|Examination of the few actual transcripts published by Targ and Puthoff show that just such clues were present. To find out if the unpublished transcripts contained cues, Marks and Kammann wrote to Targ and Puthoff requesting copies. It is almost unheard of for a scientist to refuse to provide his data for independent examination when asked, but Targ and Puthoff consistently refused to allow Marks and Kammann to see copies of the transcripts. Marks and Kammann were, however, able to obtain copies of the transcripts from the judge who used them. The transcripts were found to contain a wealth of cues.<ref>[[Terence Hines]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 135</ref>}}

Marks noted that when the cues were eliminated the results fell to a chance level.<ref>[[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]], Richard Kammann. (1980). ''[[The Psychology of the Psychic]]''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|978-1573927987}}</ref> [[James Randi]] noted that controlled tests by several other researchers, eliminating several sources of cueing and extraneous evidence present in the original tests, produced negative results. Students also solved Puthoff and Targ's locations from the clues that had inadvertently been included in the transcripts.<ref>[[James Randi]]. (1997). "[http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/remote%20viewing.html Remote viewing]" in [[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural]]. St. Martin's Griffin.</ref> Marks and Kamman concluded: "Until remote viewing can be confirmed in conditions which prevent sensory cueing the conclusions of Targ and Puthoff remain an unsubstantiated hypothesis."<ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. (1980). ''ESP and Parapsychology: A Critical Reevaluation''. Prometheus Books. p. 293</ref> According to [[Martin Gardner]], Puthoff (and Targ) "imagined they could do research in parapsychology but instead dealt with 'psychics' who were cleverer than they were".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Ray |title=The Martin Gardner Correspondence with Marcello Truzzi |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=57–59 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry}}</ref>

== Business ventures ==
In 1985, Puthoff founded The Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin (IASA), later incorporated under EarthTech International, Inc., in 1991, which pursues energy generation and propulsion research.<ref>No relation to Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. [http://archived.parapsych.org/members/h_puthoff.html Harold Puthoff at the Parapsychological Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509053143/http://archived.parapsych.org/members/h_puthoff.html |date=May 9, 2014 }}</ref>

Puthoff and EarthTech were granted a US Patent<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=5845220 |status=patent}}</ref> in 1998, with claims that information could be transmitted through a distance using a modulated potential with no electric or magnetic field components. While "the invention does appear to rest on solid, albeit somewhat obscure, physics principles", the case is used for educational purposes in patent law where "the examiner failed to make a prima facie case for inoperability or lack of enablement".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rislove |first1=Daniel C. |title=A Case Study of Inoperable Inventions: Why is the USPTO Patenting Pseudoscience |journal=[[Wisconsin Law Review|Wis. L. Rev.]] |volume=2006 |year=2006 |at=1304-1306 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wlr2006&div=34 |access-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925131935/http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/lawreview/issues/2006-4/rislove.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2015 }}</ref> According to the Wisconsin Law School case study, "The lesson of the Puthoff patent is that in a world where both types of patents are more and more common, even a competent examiner may fail to distinguish innovation from pseudoscience."

In 2017, he co-founded the [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]]-dedicated company [[To the Stars (company)|To the Stars]] with [[Tom DeLonge]].

== Zero-point energy==
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Puthoff co-authored papers<ref>{{Cite Q|Q77838067}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Q|Q21709034}}</ref>
using the model of [[stochastic electrodynamics]] that leads to a model of inertia as an ''electromagnetic drag force'' on accelerating particles produced by interaction with the [[zero-point field]].<ref name=Millis1>{{cite journal|url=http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/2005-J_ANYAS_AssessBPP.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509060933/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/2005-J_ANYAS_AssessBPP.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-05-09|title=Assessing potential propulsion breakthroughs|journal=Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.|volume=1065|pages=441–461|last=Millis |first=Marc G.|date=2005|doi=10.1196/annals.1370.023|access-date=January 10, 2014|bibcode = 2005NYASA1065..441M|pmid=16510425|s2cid=41358855|hdl=2060/20060000022|hdl-access=free}}</ref> This concept built on [[Andrei Sakharov]]'s proposal in 1968 that the gravitational constant was a consequence of zero-point fluctuations in the vacuum.<ref name=Gillies>{{Cite journal |last=Gillies |first=George T |date=1997-02-01 |title=The Newtonian gravitational constant: recent measurements and related studies |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/60/2/001 |journal=Reports on Progress in Physics |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=151–225 |doi=10.1088/0034-4885/60/2/001 |bibcode=1997RPPh...60..151G |s2cid=250810284 |issn=0034-4885|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|162}} 
[[Steve Carlip]] disputed one of Puthoff's 1989 papers for containing a serious computational error which makes the effect negligible;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carlip |first=S. |date=1993-04-01 |title=Comment on ''Gravity as a zero-point-fluctuation force'' |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.47.3452 |journal=Physical Review A |language=en |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=3452–3453 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.47.3452 |pmid=9909333 |bibcode=1993PhRvA..47.3452C |issn=1050-2947|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Puthoff responded that a different parameter value in the model would restore its usefulness.<ref name=Gillies/>
The 1994 paper was the subject of a news article in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Matthews |first=Robert |date=1994-02-04 |title=Inertia: Does Empty Space Put Up the Resistance? |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.263.5147.612 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=263 |issue=5147 |pages=612–613 |doi=10.1126/science.263.5147.612 |pmid=17747645 |bibcode=1994Sci...263..612M |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Subsequent analysis by Yefim S. Levin raising numerous questions concerning the mathematical correctness of the formula and the use of non-relativistic treatments of magnetic effects, concluding that model does not show inertia as a result of zero-point-field effects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levin |first=Yefim S. |date=2009-01-27 |title=Inertia as a zero-point-field force: Critical analysis of the Haisch-Rueda-Puthoff inertia theory |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.012114 |journal=Physical Review A |language=en |volume=79 |issue=1 |page=012114 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.79.012114 |bibcode=2009PhRvA..79a2114L |issn=1050-2947|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The cosmological implications of a different 1989 paper by Puthoff<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Puthoff |first=H. E. |date=1989-11-01 |title=Source of vacuum electromagnetic zero-point energy |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.40.4857 |journal=Physical Review A |language=en |volume=40 |issue=9 |pages=4857–4862 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.40.4857 |pmid=9902742 |bibcode=1989PhRvA..40.4857P |issn=0556-2791|url-access=subscription }}</ref> on the origin electromagnetic zero point energy  was examined by [[Paul S. Wesson]]<ref>Wesson, Paul S. [https://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1991ApJ...378..466W "Cosmological constraints on the zero-point electromagnetic field."] Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 378, Sept. 10, 1991, p. 466-470. Research supported by NSERC. 378 (1991): 466-470.</ref> Among numerous difficulties, [[general relativity]] requires that such energy not gravitate, so it cannot be similar to electromagnetic radiation.

Building on earlier theoretical work by [[Robert L. Forward]] leveraging the [[Casimir force]] to extract electrical energy,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Forward |first=Robert L. |date=1984-08-15 |title=Extracting electrical energy from the vacuum by cohesion of charged foliated conductors |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.30.1700 |journal=Physical Review B |language=en |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=1700–1702 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.30.1700 |bibcode=1984PhRvB..30.1700F |issn=0163-1829|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Daniel Cole and Puthoff analyzed the thermodynamics of a simple hypothetical Casimir force device.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Daniel C. |last2=Puthoff |first2=Harold E. |date=1993-08-01 |title=Extracting energy and heat from the vacuum |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.48.1562 |journal=Physical Review E |language=en |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=1562–1565 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevE.48.1562 |pmid=9960749 |bibcode=1993PhRvE..48.1562C |issn=1063-651X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The hypothetical devices discussed in these articles are [[capacitors]], multiple layers of charged conductors sufficiently close for the short-range Casimir force to compress the structure. This works against the mutual repulsion of the conductor's electrical energy stores; external electricity would be needed to recharge the device. Other authors have studied mechanical and thermal devices based on Casimir forces.<ref>See references in: {{Cite journal |last1=Nie |first1=Wenjie |last2=Lan |first2=Yueheng |date=2012-07-09 |title=Thermally driven Casimir ratchet-oscillator system |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.011110 |journal=Physical Review E |language=en |volume=86 |issue=1 |page=011110 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevE.86.011110 |pmid=23005371 |bibcode=2012PhRvE..86a1110N |issn=1539-3755|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Sarabadani |first1=Jalal |last2=Miri |first2=MirFaez |date=2006-08-02 |title=Mechanical response of the quantum vacuum to dynamic deformations of a cavity |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.74.023801 |journal=Physical Review A |language=en |volume=74 |issue=2 |page=023801 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.74.023801 |bibcode=2006PhRvA..74b3801S |issn=1050-2947|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

[[Massimo Pigliucci]] called Puthoff's hopes to extract zero-point energy as running contrary to the [[laws of physics]]: "a proposition... that violates basic principles of thermodynamics and that is considered [[pseudoscience]] by credentialed physicists."<ref name="mp">[[Massimo Pigliucci]]. (2010). ''Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk''. University of Chicago Press. p. 90.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*[[Henry Gordon (magician)|Henry Gordon]] (1988). ''Extrasensory Deception: ESP, Psychics, Shirley MacLaine, Ghosts, UFOs''. Macmillan of Canada. {{ISBN|0-7715-9539-5}} 
*{{cite book|author=James Randi|author-link=James Randi|title=[[Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions]]|location=New York| publisher=Prometheus Books|year=1982 |isbn=0-87975-198-3|pages=131–160}}

==External links==
{{Scholia}}
*{{IMDb name|1991610}}
* [https://earthtech.org/team/ Profile at Earthtech International]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puthoff, Harold E.}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American physicists]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:American parapsychologists]]
[[Category:Pseudoscientific physicists]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:Remote viewers]]
[[Category:American former Scientologists]]
[[Category:University of Florida alumni]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:People from Chicago]]