BOT-78: Ultra‑High‑Rigor Protocol for Intention Influence on Soil Electrical Conductivity
Year: 2026
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Protocol BOT-78 implements the unified metrological framework of Protocol 9.0 to test the claimed phenomenon of intention‑induced changes in soil electrical conductivity (EC) – the alleged ability of a person (the "intender") to modulate the ionic composition, moisture status, or microbiological activity of soil, reflected in its ability to conduct electricity, through intention alone, without physical contact or known physical forces. The primary observable is the change in electrical conductivity (EC, µS/cm) of a standardised soil sample, measured by a precision conductivity meter with temperature compensation, during active intention periods, compared to control periods (sham, trap, or no‑intention). The experimental design includes standardised soil samples (same origin, sieved, homogenised, and adjusted to a fixed moisture content), precision EC measurement (four‑electrode or two‑electrode AC method with automatic temperature correction), comprehensive environmental control (temperature, humidity, vibration, electromagnetic fields), triple blinding (intender, experimenter, and analyst are blind to condition), trap conditions (the intender is told to "intend" but the soil sample is a dummy or is disconnected from the meter), sham conditions (the intender is told to "intend" but is actually resting), catch conditions (a known perturbation, e.g., a 0.1 mM NaCl solution added to the soil, to validate the measurement system's sensitivity), positive controls (known effects, e.g., drying or wetting, to calibrate the system), comprehensive environmental monitoring (temperature, humidity, vibration, EMF), and automated logging (every 10 seconds). The protocol mandates a pilot phase to calibrate the conductivity meter, establish baseline EC variability, and validate the blinding procedure. The primary analysis uses a Linear Mixed Model (LMM) comparing EC between active and control conditions, with α = 0.025 (two‑tailed) and power ≥ 0.90 for a moderate effect (Cohen's d ≥ 0.15). The sample size is N = 30 soil samples per condition (baseline, with adaptive increase to N = 50 if pilot shows high variability). Statistical analyses are preregistered, include Bayesian inference (BF₁₀), permutation tests, and multiverse robustness checks (≥70% of 12 forks). The aim is to detect a reproducible intention‑induced effect on soil EC or to establish an upper bound on the effect size with unprecedented rigor.
Author: Streltsov, Vadim
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203530245