The 1973 CIA Intelligence Evaluation of Uri Geller: Declassified Psycho-Energetics Research

Experimental Parameters at SRI

In August 1973, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sponsored a series of tests at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) to evaluate the capabilities of Uri Geller. These tests were conducted under the supervision of physicists Dr. Harold Puthoff and Dr. Russell Targ. The primary objective was to determine if Geller could perceive information from a distance or influence physical objects without contact. The declassified report, titled 'Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI,' outlines the rigorous protocols used, including the use of double-blind targets and shielded rooms (Faraday cages) to eliminate the possibility of electromagnetic signaling or trickery.

Documented Results and Observations

According to the declassified CIA memo RDP96-00787R000700110003-0, Geller was able to accurately reproduce drawings that were created by researchers in a separate, electronically shielded room. In one instance, a researcher drew a bunch of grapes; Geller, without any possible visual or auditory contact, drew a nearly identical representation. The report states: 'As a result of Geller's success in this experimental period, we consider that he has demonstrated his paranormal perceptual ability in a convincing and unambiguous manner.' The documents also discuss his alleged ability to influence sensitive laboratory equipment, including magnetometers, though the results in those areas were noted as more sporadic but nonetheless statistically significant.

Intelligence Implications

The significance of these records lies in the CIA's internal admission of the validity of the phenomena. While the public-facing narrative often dismissed psychic research as 'pseudoscience,' the internal records reveal that the intelligence community viewed 'anomalous cognition' as a potential national security factor. These 1973 experiments served as the foundation for what would later become Project Stargate. The declassification of these files in the late 2010s and early 2020s via the CIA Reading Room has provided historians with a rare look into how the U.S. government applied scientific methodology to the paranormal during the height of the Cold War.