Book Reviews
The Blue Island
By W.T. Stead Through the Mediumship of Pardoe Woodman and Estelle Stead. http://www.attackingthedevil.co.uk/spiritualism/island1.php
In this short book, W.T. Stead describes his experiences in the spirit world after dying on the Titanic.
People From the Other World
By Henry S. Olcott
http://survivalebooks.org/#People From the Other World
From survivalebooks.org:
Henry S. Olcott, cofounder of the Theosophical Society, was a hardnosed investigative lawyer and agricultural scientist who accepted the assignment of two New York newspapers to investigate the spirit materializations being produced by the Eddy brothers of Chittenden, Vermont in 1874. During his sixteen week investigation Olcott witnessed the materialization of over 400 different entities from the next realm of existence. His reports, together with Sir William Crookes similar experiences, produced a sensation throughout the United States and Europe.
In addition to investigating the Eddy brothers, Olcott describes two other important investigations in this book. He investigates accusations of fraud against the Holmes mediums of Philadelphia and finds that those accusations were baseless. Olcott uncovers evidence that opponents of Spiritualism had paid a woman to confess to helping to fake the materialization of a spirit. The confession is discredited by a letter written by the woman herself stating she was being tempted to commit fraud by those who paid her, and by witnesses to materializations of the same spirit when the woman was know to be elsewhere.
His third investigation involved a transfiguration medium. This medium was transfigured into a spirit form weighing 77 pounds while the medium in the normal state weighed 121 pounds. This is an important observation because there have been cases when an attendee at a seance has grabbed hold of a materialized spirit and found that they were holding the medium. This investigation by Olcott explains why charges of fraud are unfounded in these cases.
The Psychic Mafia
By Lamar Keene and Allen Spraggett
This book should be read, but read with care and perspective. It is a warning to those who are interested in investigating spiritualism and mediums to be wary of frauds. However it is one sided and if the reader is completely unfamiliar with spiritualism and mediums he will get the incorrect impression that it is all fraud.
The book is about the experiences of Lamar Keene who started investigating spiritualism and decided he wanted to make money impersonating a medium. He sought out other frauds and became part of their network, their mafia. I've been to a few spiritualist churches and I've never seen anything like what he is writing about. I can only conclude that there are two spiritualisms. One involves flamboyant mediumship and physical phenomena that is rife with fraud, and another with mostly mental mediumship that is sincere and mostly genuine if unspectacular. The clear give away to the fraudulent type is that they are in it for the money and the "spirits" tell the sitters to give money to the mediums and their churches. Mental mediumship by itself doesn't draw in much money because it is not very spectacular and so the con-artists don't use it.
This book has two distinct aspects to it. One part is the story of Lamar Keene who for many years impersonated a medium and conned large sums of money from people who believed in him. He had a change of heart and regretted his misdeeds and wrote this book to expose the fraud others are still perpetrating. This part is credible because it is the first hand account of the personal experiences of one of the authors. Another side to the book is by a co-author who gives a one sided and negative account of the history of a number of mediums. He make many assertions, accusations, and assumption without explaining how they are known to be true or exploring other possible explanations. It must be assumed that the veracity of this material is much lower than Lamar Keene's description of his own experiences. One must be just as skeptical with accusations of fraud as with claims of paranormal phenomena. If you know nothing about spiritualism and mediumship, this book will give you the absolutely wrong impression that it is all fraud. However it is useful to read this book because if you don't know that such fraud exists you may be vulnerable if you wind up in a situation were someone is trying con you.
This book also demonstrates something that skeptics don't usually mention which is that significant numbers of ordinary people (not just flamboyant skeptics) are able to detect the frauds. The frauds exist not because they are able to fool every one, but because they are able to fool enough people (chronic believers) to stay in business. They don't even need to fool most people, in a country with large cities, even if they fool just a small percentage of the total population - that can still be a large enough number of gullible people to support their enterprise.
This book should be read with the understanding that fraud exists but also that genuine and sincere mediums also exist.
Another book by a supposed charlatan who pretended to be a medium is "Revelations of a Spirit Medium". Unfortunately, the identity of the charlatan is unknown. While the book may be a forgery, reading about the tricks that may be used is still informative.
http://www.archive.org/details/revelationsofspi00farriala
Entangled Minds
By Dean Radin
Entangled Minds was a very interesting book. It reviewed the evidence for psi phenomena and then explored different theories to account for that evidence. It was particularly impressive to read that experimenters are able to identify subjects and conditions that give a higher effect size such as the Ganzfeld experiments with creative arts students. This is a very practical result of knowledge obtained through experiments and nicely illustrates that parapsychology is yielding more than proof of phenomena but also knowledge that can be applied in predictable ways.
However, I do have a different outlook on theories of psi.
I would not start developing a theory of psi by trying to explain how the brain could be a detector of quantum effects. That approach seems to me to assume that psi and consciousness are phenomena that come from the brain. That may not be a correct assumption.
I would start by assuming the spirit has psi abilities, that they are the natural means by which spirits communicate and interact with their environment, and then try to identify the role the brain and body play in the consciousness of a spirit incarnated in a human body.
It may be that the spirit communicates with the body through quantum effects on the brain, or that in an incarnated person, the brain really is responsible for psi, so modeling brain as quantum event detector/actuator may be useful but I don't think it is the most direct way to the truth about consciousness and psi.
The author seems open to the possibility of survival of consciousness after death but does not discuss it much in the book. In fact, there are a lot of good reasons for believing the evidence for survival is really due to spirits and not just ordinary psi phenomena from living persons. The best recognized evidence for this widely held to be the cross-correspondence experiments. Also, very pronounced psi effects are reported to occur with some mental and physical mediums. One might consider this strength of effect as an indication that spirits are behind those phenomena and not just living persons who otherwise generally show weak psi abilities. In my own experience, I have taken classes in mediumship, and on one occasion, in a class, I felt a certain spirit I knew well come to me to give a message. It wasn't my turn yet, so I didn't say anything about it, and the spirit moved off. A few seconds later someone with less compunction interrupted to give the same message from the same impatient spirit. It seemed to me that when I refused to give the message, the spirit went off and found someone more cooperative. Because of this experience, while I can think up a convoluted way it might be psi from a living person, to me it seems obvious that spirits are real, independent, purpose driven, and intelligent beings. Given my belief in spirits I approach theories of psi from that perspective.
It was also interesting to read in the book that in experiments where group consciousness was measured, psi effects were correlated with positive and cooperative conditions among the group. These conditions are also believed to be helpful in conducting successful seances.
One of the reasons for the decline effects that occur in individual test subjects mentioned in the book, may be due to the fact that doubt can become a self fulfilling prophesy. If a subject has a low score in one trial that might cause doubt which results in negative expectations that affect his ability to succeed in the experiments. At one time I had a personal experience like this in studying mediumship. I knew it was happening and that it was purely psychological but I couldn't do anything about it. I suspect it is possible that others might be effected the same way. If self fulfilling doubt is found to be a factor in the decline effect then psychological techniques might be found to reverse this type of decline or even to enhance the abilities of test subjects.
A question I have about the possibility of developing the technology for a psi based switching device relates to the independence or dependence of psi through time and space. If psi were independent of time and space then anyone anywhere anywhen in the universe from the beginning of time to the end of time could flip that switch. There might even be a lot of noise from billions and billions of psychic beings that may have existed or will exist that could cause the switch to flip accidentally or could prevent the switch from being flipped by the intended operator. (Could all this noise from all those beings explain why there is such a small effect size for psi?) For a switch to be useful, it would seem that psi must be limited by distance and as indicated in the book there is some evidence that it may. But if psi is limited by distance than it would also seem that for practical purposes it must also be limited by time since the earth is moving through space. Is this why presentiment experiments show a presentiment of only a few seconds? Does the earth move so quickly in a few seconds into the future, the earth is beyond the distance range of psi? A related question is how, when psi is working across time does it also find the right place to act or retrieve information given that the earth is moving through space?
Another possibility, relevant to the theory of psi, is that psi and entanglement share similarities not because psi is based on entanglement but that they both occur because of the same underlying phenomena whatever that feature of space time might be (a holographic model of the universe is one possible explanation). For example, wireless telegraph and AM radio both work through radio waves, but AM radio doesn't require a wireless telegraph sending the information using morse code which is then somehow converted into music and voices.
There seems to be an assumption that the global effects on random number generators (RNGs) are caused by the human mind and or human presentiment. Might not other forces be responsible for those effects in some cases? If there is a collective consciousness that has it's own individuality and therefore it's own will, might not it influence RNGs? In particular, I'm thinking of the 2 hour presentiment for 9/11. What if cosmic forces beyond our comprehension were involved in that event or even struggling amongst each other over that event? Might not those forces working in the world have an effect on the RNGs. The RNGs might be able to detect the "hand of God", or intelligent designers at work if such entities work through psi.
Lastly, it may be that the observation that introverts are more likely to experience psi can partly explain the slow pace at which psi is accepted by society. It seems possible that the greatest skeptics who are obstacles to the acceptance of psi are skeptical because they are extroverts whom it is found tend to have weaker psi abilities. Because of their extroverted nature they may be particularly enthusiastic about in influencing others to believe the way they do. On the other hand, believers in psi may be believers because they are introverts who are found to have greater psi abilities and who therefore may have psi experiences that lead them to believe in psi. However, because of their introverted nature they may have little enthusiasm for influencing others to believe the way they do.
The God Experiments
By Gary Schwartz
This book discuses evidence that there is a Guiding, Organizing, Designing (G.O.D.) process in the universe. The most convincing evidence in the book for G.O.D. is the discussion of the author's experiences of synchronicity. He also tries to demonstrate that a G.O.D. process is the only reasonable explanation for order in the universe but does not make a very strong case for that inference.
The book says that self-organization cannot explain the order we find around us (including ourselves) and that this provides compelling evidence for G.O.D.. The author starts this line of reasoning with long explanation of why random chance cannot create order. He gives as an example the fact that you can make a sand painting with different colored sand but if you put colored sand in a pot and shake it, you won't get a sand painting out.
The book says:
However, if interdependence is the rule, not the exception, in the universe, then the conditions necessary to produce a normal distribution are not present in the universe. It logically follows that we cannot, with integrity, use chance or randomness as an explanation for the origin and evolution of order in the universe if the conditions necessary to produce randomness are not present in the first place.
If chance cannot be an explanation for order, then the existence of some sort of Guiding-Organizing-Designing process must be hypothesized.
However, saying that chance cannot occur because events are not truly independent does not provide evidence that there is a G.O.D.. Just because one event depends on another does not mean they are controlled by an intelligence.
Also, the probabilities of random combinations are not entirely relevant. Grains of sand don't interact. Atoms and molecules do. Self reproducing molecules may self assemble under early earth conditions and then natural selection can come into play after that. Self assembly and natural selection are different from random combination. As indicated in the book, self-organization seems to be an obvious alternative to G.O.D..
The chance argument is therefore a strawman argument. The term "chance" is just a convenient short hand many people use, but saying order in the universe is a result of chance" is not representing the scientific view. The scientific view would be that the fine structure constants that give us natural laws arose by chance. Complexity in the universe is a result of natural laws. In this view, since life will only develop where it is possible, we don't know how many universes there are without us in them, and we don't know that the the fine structure constants occurring the way they did is beyond chance.
The book says:
It is a fact that some systems appear as if they self-organize; it is also a fact that the earth appears to be flat. The key term in both cases is “appear.” One approach is to posit that there are two classes of phenomena in nature, one class or set of evidence that requires some sort of an external Guiding-Organizing-Designing process (e.g., sand paintings), another class or set of evidence that seems not to (e.g., clouds). A second approach is to include and integrate all of the evidence—including the existence of invisible fields that interconnect everything that exists in the universe—and posit that a single explanation, the G.O.D. process explanation, accounts for both classes of phenomena. This is the approach of Ockham’s Razor.
Before you can logically apply Ockham's razor and G.O.D. to rule out self organization as a viable alternative to G.O.D. you have to give evidence for G.O.D. in the first place. But the whole purpose of this paragraph seems to be to give evidence for the existence of G.O.D. by ruling out self organization as an alternative explanation to G.O.D.. This is circular reasoning.
The book also says:
The conventional explanation offered by skeptics, is that the existence of natural laws, plus randomness, can account for both creativity and evolution of orders in the universe. However, these scientists do not address the question about where the laws and their essential organization and compatibility come from (chance is not a viable explanation), nor how random sampling—which requires independence— could exist to foster creative orders in an interconnected universe.
This can be interpreted in two ways. It means that either that natural laws are the direct action of G.O.D., or G.O.D. created the universe with applicable natural laws.
If it means that the action of natural laws are really due to the direct action of G.O.D. then that is the same as saying that there are no natural laws at all and G.O.D. controls everything, including us, like puppets. I don't think this is this what is meant.
If it means that the self organization model doesn't explain how the natural laws and matter came into being in the first place and this requires a G.O.D. to create those natural laws, this is a completely different theory from G.O.D. Is G.O.D. responsible for the design, and creation, and evolution of life, or is God responsible for creating a universe in which life can self organize? Hypothesizing God created a universe where self organization is inevitable doesn't help demonstrate that G.O.D. plays a active, continuing role in the design, creation, and evolution of life.
Furthermore, this line of reasoning doesn't get one anywhere. If you ask how did the universe come into existence? (implying it must have been created), the skeptic will just ask where did the creator come from? Using the logic that complex things must have been created, there must be an infinite regression of creators. This line of reasoning is not really useful for either side since we don't really know which came first: matter or consciousness, and we don't know how the first of them came into being.
(On the other hand scientists who want to study questions such as: "If something such as a flint arrowhead, the universe, or life on earth, were the result of intelligent action could we detect it?" and "Is there evidence that what are usually considered unintelligent phenomena are actually the result of intelligent design?" are reasonable questions and such scientists who want to study them do not deserve to be persecuted.)
One thing that wasn't discussed which relates to the author's work described in another book written by him, "The Afterlife Experiments", is the role of spirit guides. It seems likely that the tasks assigned to the job description for God: creator of the universe, the creator of life on earth, and the answerer of our prayers are carried out by different entities or groups of entities. We have spirit guides and our guides have guides and the hierarchy goes up and up - what is at the top is probably beyond human comprehension but I call it God. It is highly probable that what the author calls the G.O.D. process is really this celestial bureaucracy. When one asks a question of God, it is probable that the request gets routed to the appropriate department in the bureaucracy which most of the time probably means one's spirit guides.
The recommended reading for "The Afterlife Experiments" includes a book titled "Mediumship and Survival" which is about the history of scientific research on mediumship. Therefore it is probable that the author knows that many reputable investigators have asked spirits through reliable mediums about the afterlife, God, and humankind's role in the scheme of things. The theory of the G.O.D. process does not seem to include this type of information and it would seem that that the author has not considered this information when forming his views on these subjects.
