[Tenspace]

I don't know what to make of this. Anyone care to comment on their methods? How 'scientific' is this?

http://noosphere.princeton.edu/

What are the data made of, how are they generated, and what do we measure?

The data come from electronic random sources called random event generators, abbreviated as REG or sometimes RNG, for random number generator, which produce a steady stream of unpredictable bits. They are the equivalent of high-speed electronic coin flippers. We simply record the actual value of 200 coin flips every second at each device, expecting it will be about 100 (50/50 chance for a bit to be 1 or 0). The resulting count is a varying quantity, of course, depending on chance fluctuations. We record these trial counts continuously at each node in the network, every second, every day over months and years. Thus, we have data to examine for changes correlated with events in the world. From the statistics, especially the variation in the mean or average count, we can determine the relative randomicity of the datastream, and thereby identify unexpected structure that might be correlated with global events of importance to humans.

What does the actual measurement look like and what does it mean?

We look for anomalous structure or order in what is normally expected to be random data. The most common measure of such structure is based on differences from theoretical predictions, in particular, deviations from the mean or average that is expected for the trial scores. If there is a persistent tendency for the data to differ from expectation, this will show up in statistical measures. The idea that we can use the scale of such variations in the data as a measure of some aspect of "consciousness" is derived from three decades of laboratory research indicating that conscious intention can affect the randomness of REG devices in controlled experiments. What the GCP/EGG project is doing is a direct extension of such work. A more extended discussion of how we do the measurement is available.

How do you jump from there to "global consciousness" measuring the effect of organized meditations or major public events around the world?

In "field" studies with REGs we have found consistent deviations from expected random data sequences taken in situations where groups become integrated. During deeply engaging meetings, concerts, rituals, etc., the data tend to show slightly greater order, and we are able to predict this deviation with small but significant success. In the GCP case, exactly the same thing is done -- we predict a detectable ordering (in the form of slight meanshifts, or changes in the variability of the mean) in otherwise random data during world-class events that are likely to engage the attention of large numbers of us around the globe. The continuous data streams registered by the EGG network have a well-defined statistical character, namely, random expectation, and we simply look at the empirical statistics to see whether our predictions of structure are supported by the data. That is, we predict differences from the random expectation that are correlated with the events, and use standard statistical tests to see whether the predicted structure exists in the data.

[edit] - didn't mean to quote the whole damn FAQ.