7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AT LAST, June 12, 2006
This review is from: Parapsychology In The Twenty-First Century: Essays On The Future Of Psychical Research (Paperback)
At last here is a serious book about parapsychology. This book is written by researchers, mostly parapsychologists, who have spent years conducting experiments on the paranormal - i.e., extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, and a chapter by Vernon Neppe and John Palmer on out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Other than that chapter, there's not a lot of material on life after death because Storm and Thalbourne have a book especially on this topic coming out this year called "The Survival of Human Consciousness" which can also be ordered on Amazon. "Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century" has 17 contributors, including a Foreword by Nobel-prize winning physicist Brian Josephson who happens to believe in the paranormal. He claims that it is not so much the parapsychological findings that inhibit the acceptance of parapsychology by a skeptical community as much as it is the emotional discomfort that sets in when they are faced with paranormal phenomena. But as Josephson says: "Science is not about being comfortable".
This is not an anecdotal account of paranormal experiences like most 'parapsychology' books. I don't think you can rely on books like that because they are full of opinion based on subjective experience, and there is no objective scientific evidence that those accounts are genuine; that they really happened in the way they are portrayed - not that those accounts are mistaken, but I think a serious reader who wants to get to the truth needs to access more reliable material than is presented in those "guess-what-happened-to-me" kind of books. "Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century" is pure science, and don't let skeptical sources tell you otherwise. In my opinion there's to much cover-up and denial. The only way you're going to get at what's really happening in parapsychology is to avoid the popular 'spin-doctoring' by skeptical authors and go directly to the horse's mouth. That is because parapsychological experiments and research at universities and other research institutes are conducted with the highest integrity by well-educated and trained individuals, and Thalbourne and Storm's "Twenty-First Century" is about the work of those individuals. It is based on nearly a century of scientific investigation conducted in the professional manner that is expected of academics.
Thalbourne and Storm's book takes a look at what has been achieved in parapsychology in the last century, and perennial authors like William Braud, Stanley Krippner, Gerd Hovelmann, Fiona Steinkamp, and the late Robert Morris, all propose possible avenues of future research in the field. I do get the feeling with these kinds of books (i.e., prospective accounts) that they sometimes are touch-and-go because it can be hard-going trying to predict what lies ahead, but these authors a very competent and seem to know what they are talking about. However, there are younger researchers always coming along, paradigms do shift from time to time, and in most cases research can only be conducted if there is funding - something Dean Radin comments on in Chapter 1. I was appalled at the shenanigans that went on at Stanford University. Apparently, parapsychologists get treated like this quite often.
"Twenty-First Century" is divided into sections (experimental, theoretical, and sociological) so there's something for everyone. I thought the experimental chapters would be heavy going, but the editors have made sure that things don't get too demanding. Chapter 5, for example, has some deeper statistical analyses placed in an Appendix, so the reader can skip these few pages without missing the point of the chapter. I was surprised how easy it can be to test ESP at home - all you need is ping pong balls, an opaque bag, and a score sheet! However, there are more technical studies being conducted on, for example, altered states of consciousness using the autoganzfeld set-up, which uses a computer and specially written software. The autoganzfeld experiment gets its name from the German word 'ganzfeld', which means 'whole-field' because the hearing and vision of the participant are suppressed so that ESP can be encouraged.
The theoretical section includes a new theory by Michael Thalbourne called 'psychopraxia' that makes 'psi' (i.e., paranormal effects) look like magic until you realise that "necessary conditions" have to be set in place before psi can happen. Some of these conditions - like relaxation - are known to be psi-conducive (and even necessary at times), but ongoing experiments are being conducted to find more necessary conditions. A chapter by Christine Hardy considers the human mind to be made up of a field of words and thoughts (she calls it a "semantic field"), and psi takes place because this field interconnects all living things.
The final section looks at the cultural significance of ESP and PK. Paranormal phenomena is as old as our species, and exists in every culture. James McClenon presents an interesting chapter on the role that ESP and PK plays in our lives, and it seems that it gives our species a healing advantage whenever we experience extreme crisis. Lance Storm has a close look at skepticism, and he argues that skeptics should be pointing their critical fingers at conventional science, before they take pot-shots at parapsychologists. Robyn Wooffitt tells us that the talk that transpires during a psychic event is part of the psi process, and just as important as psi itself. Similarly, Pamela Rae Heath, in the final chapter, looks at how people talk about their paranormal experiences. This chapter is very intriguing and most important, not just because it offers new avenues of research for parapsychologists, but also because we get an understanding of what it feels like when something psychic happens. I found it very surprising to learn that psychic experiences may be taking place all the time - even in sports like golf and basketball.
I recommend "Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century" to the curious reader interested in what is really happening in the world of parapsychology. The book is broad ranging so personal opinions and the constant repetition of a single author don't hamper you down. The book explores multiple viewpoints and a variety of approaches that make parapsychology an extremely interesting science. I am convinced myself that the future of parapsychology will grow and flourish, and one day - maybe soon - it will be accepted by the mainstream sciences. If you want to know where modern parapsychology is today, you can't go far wrong with "Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century".
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From the Editors, Dr. Michael A. Thalbourne & Dr. Lance Storm, June 8, 2006
This review is from: Parapsychology In The Twenty-First Century: Essays On The Future Of Psychical Research (Paperback)
This book was compiled by Michael and I with a very clear purpose in mind - to combat the unsubstantiated accusations that are passed off as healthy skepticism against the psi hypothesis. What you probably don't know is that university studies show that believers in the paranormal tend to be above average in intelligence; they are strong-minded and think critically - a far cry from the much-touted accusation that believers are weak-minded and superstitious. What you also probably don't know is that university parapsychologists - yes, they exist! - are doctors and professors; they are respected by their peers (as long as their peers are not hard-line skeptics!); they follow the conventions of the scientific method, their experiments are scrutinised and approved by university ethics committees, and their research papers are peer-reviewed by experts before they are ever published. On the other hand, skeptics consider themselves to be fair-minded in their criticisms against psi, yet many still re-iterate so-called `normal' scientific explanations for psi that they know have been proven wrong for decades. They do not conduct their own laboratory experiments to test psi for themselves, but instead they knit-pick over fine details, preferring to avoid the bigger issue of the incontrovertible reality of psi. They have even been caught cheating in lab-tests of psi, when brought in to be tested for their self-proclaimed psychic ability, and then made claims before a naive public that they fooled the scientists! - anything to bring doubt and mistrust to a world-wide community of scientists who pursue their science with honesty, diligence, and good-intent. There is documented evidence for all these claims. But trust me on this - "Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century" sets the record straight. It is cutting edge research into phenomena that will ultimately change the world's future for the good. Find out how - buy the book. Don't deny your own power to unearth the truth about parapsychology. Don't believe the distortions and unbridled rhetoric of skeptics and overly-opinionated reviewers. Accept our invitation and find out for yourselves.
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