In Memory #2

Random Event Generators Predict the Future - This is a classic Damn Interesting article which originally appeared on 10 December 2005.

"For the past seven years, random number generators have been running all over the world, electronically flipping 200 coins each second, with the intention of measuring a global consciousness. The Global Consciousness Project (GCP), originating from Princeton, have named these random event generators Electrogaiagrams (EGGs) and are using them to test whether a human consciousness extends a field around the earth which can change the results of random events. They claim that when an important event occurs, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the Indian Ocean tsunami, the random event generators start to display patterns that should not exist in truly random sequences. Not only does the GCP detect spikes of less-than-random activity around some important events, but according to the project it actually predicts them, too."