---
aliases:
- George Lawrence
category: Skeptics & Critics
summary: George Lawrence was an ARPA project manager who, along with two civilian
  psychologists, Robert Van de Castle and Ray Hyman, traveled to SRI to test Uri Geller's
  purported psychic abilities.
tags:
- Person
- Skeptic
---

George Lawrence was an [DARPA](/organizations/darpa/) project manager who, along with two civilian psychologists, [Robert Van de Castle](/people/robert-van-de-castle/) and [Ray Hyman](/people/ray-hyman/), traveled to [SRI](/organizations/stanford-research-institute/) to test [Uri Geller](/people/uri-geller/)'s purported psychic abilities. Their conclusion, later reported in *Time* magazine, was that anyone who believed in Geller's powers was falling for the "ridiculous"[^1].

Lawrence expressed concern that [Hal Puthoff](/people/hal-puthoff/) and [Russell Targ](/people/russell-targ/)'s "own experimental bias in favor of successful outcomes is undermining their objectivity in properly controlled experimental procedures." He opined that Puthoff and Targ were guilty of the same three claims [Martin Gardner](/people/martin-gardner/) had leveled against [J. B. Rhine](/people/j-b-rhine/)'s research: loose laboratory controls, skewing of data, and the premise that the attitude of the scientists could negatively influence the subject[^1].

Lawrence told *Time* editor [Leon Jaroff](/people/leon-jaroff/) that Geller was a "charlatan" and encouraged the magazine to write an exposé. This unauthorized communication with a reporter was a violation of his security clearance, leading to an investigation by the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/). Despite Lawrence's denial of having talked to *Time*, Jaroff insisted otherwise[^1].

[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.