engineering

Institute of Noetic Sciences

Institute of Noetic Sciences is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Institute of Noetic Sciences rather than just read about it. In short: The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N.

Key takeaways

Institute of Noetic Sciences belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Institute of Noetic Sciences to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Institute of Noetic Sciences from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple and others interested in psychic phenomena, in order to encourage and conduct research on noetics and human potentials. The Institute conducts research on topics such as psychic abilities, channeling, mind matter interaction, energy healing, intention, consciousness, and spontaneous remission. They have a long history of studying meditation, alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychokinesis and survival of consciousness after bodily death. The Institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet, with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga. IONS is now headquartered in Novato, California, after previously being situated on a 200-acre (81 ha) campus in Petaluma that included offices, a research laboratory and a retreat center. Researchers associated with it include Dean Radin, Helané Wahbeh and Rupert Sheldrake.

History

Edgar Mitchell has reported that on his return to Earth, after the 1971 Apollo 14 Moon landing, he had an experience comparable to savikalpa samādhi. He also says that he conducted ESP experiments with earthbound friends during spaceflight. In 1973, along with investor Paul N. Temple and some others, Mitchell co-founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). It was founded as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1973. Willis Harman served as president from 1975 until his death in 1997. The word noetic derives from the Greek nous, meaning "mind or ways of knowing." Writing in The Huffington Post, the Institute's director of research pointed to philosopher William James' 1902 definition of the word as:

... states of insight into depths of truth unplumbed by the discursive intellect. They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority. ... The Institute figures prominently in The Lost Symbol, a 2009 work of fiction by best-selling author Dan Brown. Twitter postings on the day before the book's release led Institute director Marilyn Schlitz to purchase the book and read it in one sitting. She told NPR that she found ten experiments conducted by the real-world Institute referred to in Brown's fictional account. NPR reported that after its publication "traffic to [the institute's] website ... increased twelvefold", applications for membership increased and "journalists from places like Dateline NBC — not to mention NPR ..." were seeking interviews with Schlitz. "Noetic science" remains a major plot point in Brown's 2025 novel The Secret of Secrets. The annual Linda G. O'Bryant Noetic Sciences Research Prize awards $100,000 to groundbreaking scientists.

Research Projects sponsored by the Institute include a bibliography on the physical and psychological effects of meditation and yoga, and a spontaneous remission bibliography. The Institute has also conducted a number of parapsychological studies into extra-sensory perception, lucid dreaming, telekinesis, and presentiment. According to The Roanoke Times, the Institute is "... devoted to exploring psychic phenomena and the role of consciousness in the cosmos." The Roanoke Times also noted that co-founder Mitchell's assertions "... have often been criticized by skeptics." Told "your research goes into a number of territories that are regarded with skepticism in some circles", Mitchell replied:

That's what's fun about it. We're breaking down barriers and finding things. That's what science is all about: new discovery. ... There's nothing that we have done or have demonstrated that doesn't have good science behind it. Skeptics be damned. The Institute is listed on Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch website, for its research on fringe topics.

Documentaries and publications In 1994, TBS broadcast a three-part, six-hour documentary based on work at the Institute, entitled The Heart of Healing and narrated by actress Jane Seymour. Since 2009, the Institute has published a semi-annual bulletin, The Noetic Post. From 2003 to 2009, it published a quarterly magazine, Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness. IONS continues to advance the field of scientific discovery through regularly publishing peer-reviewed papers in established journals. A comprehensive list can be viewed at https://noetic.org/science/publications/

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Institute of Noetic Sciences

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Institute of Noetic Sciences claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Institute of Noetic Sciences before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Institute of Noetic Sciences ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Institute of Noetic Sciences

In research: Institute of Noetic Sciences appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Institute of Noetic Sciences in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Institute of Noetic Sciences is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1973 establishments in California, American organizations established in 1973, Buildings and structures in Marin County, California, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Institute of Noetic Sciences outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Institute of Noetic Sciences in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Institute of Noetic Sciences means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Institute of Noetic Sciences out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Institute of Noetic Sciences in simple terms?

Why does Institute of Noetic Sciences matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Institute of Noetic Sciences?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Institute of Noetic Sciences.