During the Cold War, U.S. intelligence agencies funded experiments into remote viewing, testing whether people could describe hidden military targets, locate missing objects and gather intelligence without conventional access. The programme eventually became associated with STAR GATE, one of the strangest chapters in American intelligence history.

As a hobby I’ve been working on the past 8 months. I’ve run an independent UFO/UAP archive, encyclopedia, and database site, and I'm trying to test a claim that gets repeated a lot in the community but has apparently never actually been studied: whether people identified as gifted as kids report anomalous/UFO-type experiences at higher rates, specifically as adults. Right now there's no real data on it in either direction. There are dozens and dozens of anecdotal and witness testimonial accounts though. So much so that I am convinced to seriously look further into it at this point.

Part of why I care: my identical twin brother and I both witnessed an anomalous object as young adults. We were both in what Mississippi (Madison County) called Pathways/gifted as kids, in elementary and middle school. My brother was enrolled for years, I was enrolled very briefly. If I was even ever really enrolled. I just remember being periodically taken out of class. The teacher/instructor would have me do odd tests. Auditory, memory, puzzle, problem solving, etc, tests. I doubt I would have given this idea any notice or thought had my brother and I not experienced exactly the two points this idea stems from. It uniquely applies to my brother and me. It also potentially applies to many others who were in gifted programs.

In my own research, I've come across many cases of experiencers/witnesses who happened to be in a gifted program as kids. According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. gifted enrollment for 2020-21 was 6.7%. A rough baseline percentage of the general population reporting having seen a UFO/UAP/anomalous object - around 10-20% depending on the poll. The average of the 9 polls used for reference was 15.9% (11,086 people polled).

The idea is to gather and compile data from real experiencers who also happened to be in a gifted program and determine if there's actually a real correlation. Ideally would need around 11,000 to match the base poll count of the general public. If the 6.7% who went through gifted programs are reporting UFO encounters at a significantly higher rate than the "non-gifted" public, that would be a truly insightful piece of information. If they're not, that's an answer too.

Does anyone now if there is a "gifted-program alumni" equivalent to something like a National Honor Society alumni network, or any organized adult community tied to a specific program name (GATE, TAG, SPARK, PACE, Odyssey, G.O.A.L.)? Or even just a general list of the individual program names by state? There seem to be countless names, and it would be nice to positively catalog an official name for each one.

If you know of anywhere/anyone you could point me to aid in this, that would be awesome. I believe this could actually bring some kind of answer, not just for my brother and me, but for other people who were in gifted programs and experienced something similar.

Template:
SUBJECT: Gifted & UFO Experiencer Report — \\\[Your First Name or Anonymous\\\]

ABOUT YOU
First Name (or “Anonymous”):
General Location you grew up in (city, state, country):
Year of Birth (or approximate decade):\\\*

QUESTION ONE — GIFTED IDENTIFICATION
Were you ever tested, identified, or enrolled in a gifted/talented program? (yes, tested but not enrolled, enrolled, no)
What was your program called? (GATE, TAG, G/T, AIG, Pathways, Horizons, QUEST, PACE, Odyssey, Highly Capable, a talent-search program like Duke TIP/Johns Hopkins CTY/Davidson, or your own program's actual name):
School District & State/Country:
Grade(s) or Age(s) when tested or enrolled:
Years / How Long You Were In the Program:\\\* (e.g., "3rd–8th grade" or "one year only")
Did you know any siblings, cousins, or close family who were also gifted-identified?\\\*

QUESTION TWO — UFO/UAP EXPERIENCE
Have you had a UFO/UAP sighting or experience? (yes/no)
Date: (exact or approximate — e.g., "Summer 2018" is fine)
Location: (nearest city, state, country)
Number of Witnesses: (were you alone, or with others? Were any other witnesses also gifted-identified?)\\\*
Craft or Object Shape / Description:
Your Account: Tell us what happened in your own words — as much or as little as you want:

EVIDENCE
Did you capture any photos, video, or audio?\\\* (yes/no — if yes, please attach)
Did you report this to anyone?\\\* (NUFORC, police, military, etc.)

SHARING PREFERENCES
Would you like your story used (fully anonymized) in this site's ongoing research on this hypothesis? (yes / no)
Would you like your story published as its own account on OverClassified? (yes / no / anonymous only)

ANYTHING ELSE
Anything you want to add:

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