Think Different

“Commander, it is possible to commit no mistakes -- and still lose.”
Jean Luc Picard, Peak Performance, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

As every NFL Head Coach knows, and what the android Lt. Commander Data discovered playing Strategema against an alien Grand Master, is that it is possible to execute your game plan perfectly…and still lose.

In situations like this, it is important to learn to Think Different.

In the Star Trek episode, Peak Performance, Commander Data adapted his strategy from one of “trying to win”…to a strategy to play to a stalemate. In doing so, he sustained the game play for hours until the Grand Master became exhausted and quit.

In the late 1980s, the cyber crimes department of the federal government used a similar strategy when, during a two year period, there were a series of hacker break-ins to a variety of US Military Computers, including the computers of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories. The federal investigators initially implemented a traditional strategy of putting up a variety of firewalls and other security measures...which failed to stop the unknown hacker(s). In addition, the intruder’s connections lasted less than 5 minutes and were therefore unable to be traced.

The lead investigator, Dr. Clifford Stoll then decided to think different and allowed the hacker to easily break into a specific computer at Lawrence Berkeley Labs. Dr. Stoll ensured the computer held interesting documents on the Strategic Defense Initiative and other department of defense projects so the hacker stayed connected a long time reading and downloading these documents. This allowed the feds to trace the connection across the globe to Hanover, Germany and to identify the hacker and his accomplices who were ultimately brought to justice.

Sustaining the Signal

In Remote Viewing, the strategy is very similar. The main idea behind classic remote viewing is to sustain the signal.

If you have watched any movies or TV shows on psychic phenomena or what they call remote viewing, the process appears to be very dramatic as the psychic suddenly reacts as if being struck by lightening and then tells the audience of a dramatic revelation.

The TV strategy for psychic phenomena appears to be to conquer the signal line with lightning bolt clarity in a single step.

In reality, watching someone perform a remote viewing session is akin to watching paint dry. All you just see someone sitting at a table continuously writing and sketching on lots of pieces of paper.

The main idea behind all (or most) Remote Viewing Protocols is to sustain the signal for as long as possible. The first step in the protocol is to make a connection to the signal line…and each subsequent step in the protocol is designed to maintain the connection to the signal line for as long as possible while gleaning bits of information from the signal line…one piece at a time....to be pieced together later to (hopefully) form a complete picture.

The information gleaned by sustaining the signal is usually quite accurate…it is just not as sexy as conquering the signal with a melodramatic lighting bolt.

Reference:

Neuman, P.G. (1988) Forum on Risks to the Public in Computers and Related Systems.
Retrieved June 3, 2008, http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/6.68.html