The idea behind this experiment is fairly straightforward; if, sometime in the future (or even the present), somebody claims to be able to perceive the past, then it will be possible to test the veracity of their claim by asking them to reproduce the information I set up by way of a controlled procedure at a particular place and time in the past.
Basically, the experiment consists of displaying - at a particular time and place, and for a given duration - a string of alpha-numeric characters (i.e. letters and digits) that nobody has ever seen. The time and place of this display is then revealed to the world via this report on this Web site. Anyone from the future (relative to the time of the display) who is able to somehow view this event and read the string of characters is then invited to contact me and to tell me what they believe the string to be. The sealed folder containing the string can then be opened and the contact person's assertion checked against the actual string. If the contact person is correct, then this would be strong evidence to suggest that he or she may indeed be someone who is able to perceive the past in some detail and at any given location in time and space. Such people I will refer to as time seers.
There are a number of problems associated with this experiment. One is that if time seers do exist now or in the future (or in the past for that matter) then how will they become aware of this experiment? My hope is that by placing this report on the Web it will persist for some time and become known through specific searches or by word-of-mouth or because of general publicity. There is also the possibility that once placed on the Web, future technologies used by time seers may be able to scan this information from the past.
Another problem centres on the question of whether any genuine time seers, if they do exist, would want to actually take part in this experiment if they came across its details. Why would anyone with this capability want to prove it via their participation in my experiment? I can only hope that if such people exist then there will be compelling reasons for them to demonstrate their capability by taking part in this modest-but-objective exercise.
The third problem that I will mention here is that provision will have to be made for the verification part of the experiment to be available over a very long period. It may be many years (if ever) before anyone has the capability for which this experiment is testing. All I can say on this point is that I hope to be around for some years and that my immediate family members are fully aware of the ongoing nature of the experiment. The intention is that they will take over the sealed folder that is needed for the verification procedure, and that they will implement this procedure if and when it is deemed necessary. It is my intention that in this way my children and their children, etc. will continue the running of this final part of the experiment. If we're lucky this plan might work for a couple of generations before things are forgotten or discarded or lost.
Next: Details of the Method.