Applying the Scientific Method to Synchromysticism

A Collective Approach to Psychic Anthropology 

Synctank: A think tank comprised of a limited number of participants, whose aim is to create a mandala of associated ideas around a central point of inquiry, using the methods of synchromysticism.

Purpose: Synctanks are an experiment in precognition and/or the observer effect. As psychic anthropologists seeking to understand the unfolding language of the collective unconscious, participants in a sync tank aim to study and gather information flow within a data field.
Basic Method: Each synctank runs for a limited period of time. A termination point is selected in advance which serves as a revelatory nexus point; revelatory because the key speculative materials gathered during the study can be cross-referenced with the actual events on that day, allowing participants to observe, in retrospect, which of the key items could be interpreted as collective precognitive clues to future events. Following the revelatory day / termination point, a substantial period of time should be allowed for synctank participants to comb through news articles and work out their interpretations. When a satisfactory conclusion has been reached, the synctank publishes an article for the sync community to be peer-reviewed, whereupon further reflections and interpretations are invited.
Setting the Container: Depending on the nature of the synctank, participants may either work together in a physical space with the aid of physical items (books, magazines, movies, music, etc), in a blended space that combines physical space with digital materials (internet), or in a purely digital space such as an online forum, social media group, etc.
Establishing Roles: Each participant brings unique research and abstract thinking skills to the table. Members of a synctank may be hand selected by a designated leader or may self-organize according to mutual affiliation. However the group comes together, participation must be consensual and an agreement to stay with the research for the duration of the study is implied. Examples of significant skillsets includes but are not limited to:
  • Scribe: Takes the content gathered and distills it into a succinct summary including embedded references to multimedia.
  • Art specialist: Specializes in one sector of the arts, whether it’s music, movies, visual art, etc.
  • Scientist: Someone who has sufficient knowledge of science to contribute conceptual correlates to mythological themes like time travel, alien mutations, environmental crises, etc.
  • Historian: Someone who has sufficient knowledge of history and can observe mythological motifs through the lens of past events.
Social Conduct: The important thing to remember is that a synctank is a superimposition of work and play. The task should be taken seriously but also held with a light touch.
 
Impact: Through the ongoing creation and fulfillment of synctanks, participants bring order to the fragmentary-dissociative tendencies currently existing within the sync community. Synctanks may demonstrate that non-linear free-associative thought processes operating within a small collective of individuals have a creative potency, not only with regards to precognition but also for storyboarding art projects.
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For examples of synchromysticism, check out Sync Book Press.
I wrote the above synctank piece as a prelude to an experiment conducted with a group of about a dozen people. When we completed the experiment, I put together a summary of key ideas regarding our predictions and published it through Disinfo. A tribute to Robert Anton Wilson and the Discordian tradition: Saint Valentine’s Apocalypse (Disinfo,com)