Hearing Voices? Could Be the Lasers

An anonymous reader sends us to Wired for a piece about some declassified Pentagon research from 1998 that has been revealed in a freedom-of-information filing. Apparently the Pentagon has investigated lasers that put voices in your head, among other non-lethal technologies such as microwave heating. The report suggests the techniques could be useful for controlling crowds or in negotiations. There is no context for the research or any indication whether it has continued, although the microwave heating bit sounds rather like the Active Denial System we have discussed recently.

Someone's been reading Philip K. Dick

[Anonymous Coward]

Valis, anyone?

microwave negotiations

[sssmashy]

The microwave heating technique was tested on a Rhesus monkey, where a 225 MHz beam caused an increase in the animals body temperature. Depending on the dosage level, the temperature increase occurred within a time of 15 to 30 minutes. After the beam was removed, the animals body temperature decreased back to normal. The report suggests the technique could be useful for controlling crowds or in negotiations.

"What's that, you say? Getting a little hot in here? We'll get you a cool glass of water... but first, let's finish negotiating the terms of your unconditional surrender."

Re:obligatory

[spun]

For those who don't know, or those who think it's just a reference to an R.E.M. song, read the story behind the song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_the_Frequency,_Kenneth%3F [wikipedia.org]

Basically, some crazy dude beat the crap out of Dan Rather because he thought the networks were beaming voices into his head, and he thought Dan knew the frequency.

Old News + Kucinich Called it

[Essron]

see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001399.html [washingtonpost.com]

you know, economically speaking it is inevitable these things will be researched, like chemical weapons (some of which turn you gay in the foxhole), pentagon contingency plans for aliens showing up and cheating with electronic voting. too much upside to ignore the possibility, or too ominous to not aggressively understand.

it does sound like an interesting line of research, no?

Re:If torture wasn't unreliable enough

[93 Escort Wagon]

Torture isn't a reliable means to obtain information.

I see/hear this repeated whenever the subject of torture comes up... but I've never read a convincing explanation of why this would be the case. The standard arguments (e.g. "They'll say whatever you want to hear, just to make you stop") aren't particularly well reasoned - they don't really work unless you assume the torturer comes into the session knowing absolutely nothing related to the information they're trying to obtain.

FWIW I think torture is wrong, and should not be used just based on that fact. But I wonder if the parent statement has some actual basis in fact, or if it basically amounts to another wikiality.

How do we know they're not just fucking with us?

[Anonymous Coward]

How hard would it be for some random Air Force flunky to classify a document referring to using lasers to put voices in people's heads, knowing that it would get declassified later?

And he's now off somewhere just laughing his ass off.