September 5, 2004: Unusual Perceptions - Dr. Rupert Sheldrake

Art Bell discusses a Reuters report on a mysterious radio signal detected three times by the Arecibo telescope at the hydrogen frequency of 1.420 gigahertz, a potential marker for extraterrestrial communication. He also covers NIDS research on silent black triangle craft spotted over American highways and cities, a recurring crop circle in Tennessee grass, and a UFO debris fragment collected by police in Brazil.

Rupert Sheldrake, Cambridge-trained biochemist and author of "The Sense of Being Stared At," joins to present his theory that vision is a two-way process. He proposes that when we look at someone, a perceptual field extends outward and touches the person observed, explaining why over 90 percent of people report sensing when they are watched from behind. Sheldrake describes experiments conducted in schools, through plate glass, via closed-circuit television, and even through binoculars, all yielding positive results.

The discussion expands to precognition and animal behavior. Sheldrake details his 300 trials with a dog named Jaytee, who anticipated his owner's return 85 percent of the time regardless of random scheduling. He proposes a toll-free hotline for tracking unusual pet behavior before earthquakes and describes laboratory experiments showing that human bodies register emotional responses to images several seconds before they appear on screen.