Roger D. Nelson of Princeton University’s Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) lab published a study in 1997 titled, “Wishing for Good Weather: A Natural Experiment in Group Consciousness.”
The abstract reads: “Reunion and commencement activities at Princeton University, involving thousands of alumni, graduates, family and others, are held outdoors, and it is often remarked that they are almost always blessed with good weather.
“A comparison of the recorded rainfall in Princeton vs. nearby communities shows that there is significantly less rain, less often, in Princeton on those days with major outdoor activities.”
Nelson wondered whether the collective wishes of people involved in the activities could have an effect on the weather.
Decades of research at PEAR had already suggested that the human mind can have a physical effect on its surroundings. That research focused mostly on machines known as random event generators. Statistically significant results were obtained after many trials, suggesting the “random” events could be influenced by people’s thoughts or intentions to no longer be random.
