They can dish it out, but they can't take it
Kirkus Reviews has offered a review of a prerelease version of Entangled Minds. Overall it's not a bad review. But there are a few remarks I'd like to respond to. My responses are in blue text.
"An attempt to enlist quantum mechanics to explain ESP phenomena. Radin (Institute of Noetic Sciences) begins by describing quantum entanglement, in which subatomic particles separated by large distances appear to exchange information about their physical states almost instantly. He then detours into an attack on ESP debunkers."
The last sentence apparently refers to a chapter about who believes in psi, and why. It focuses on differences between what mainstream science believes vs. what the public believes. It has nothing to do with debunkers. When I see defensive phrases like "an attack on ESP debunkers," I know that the person writing regards him or herself as the attackee.
"A history of psychic research follows (neglecting to mention that some of the pioneers later admitted faking their results)."
This is a cheap shot. I could just as easily say that the reviewer neglects to mention that the history of psychical research also includes Nobel Laureates and the surprising origins of modern scientific methods. Yes, there are indeed a few cases of known or suspected faking that took place a century ago, and a few cases in the 20th century. But the fact is that occasional cases of fraud occur in all areas of science, including several notorious cases recently in physics and medicine.
"Radin then presents a summary of ESP experiments he feels meet the strictest standards of repeatability, careful design and high reliability. The experiments include attempts to send images to dreaming subjects, to influence the roll of dice and to predict future events; Radin describes the experiments and gives detailed summaries of the results. This is the most impressive section of the book; while some results can undoubtedly be explained away, many are not easy to dismiss. Radin then steps back to examine the theoretical basis for ESP, granting that the evident factuality of certain results does not justify the assumption that all psychic phenomena are therefore true. A brief history of physics leads up to Bell's theorem, a 1964 proof that quantum paradoxes cannot be explained by any "higher logic," as Einstein had long hoped. Here, Radin pins his hopes for the eventual vindication of ESP: If distant objects are related by quantum effects, then psychics may be tapping into the quantum realm to gain their insights. A final chapter reiterates the claim that ESP has been proven to a degree of certainty that no fair-minded person can deny; attempts to refute the skeptics; and predicts that, in the future, ESP will be the subject of university/scientific studies. A good summary of current ESP research, though the writer's defensiveness detracts from his core of thought-provoking data. Take it with several grains of salt."
This reviewer is disturbed that I take skeptics to task. The "defensiveness" comment refers to a section in which I discuss skeptical myths about parapsychology. These are false or misleading statements made so often that they take on an aura of truth through sheer repetition. Such statements are bunk and deserve to be forcefully debunked. Skeptics can dish out criticism, but many can't stomach it in return.
"An attempt to enlist quantum mechanics to explain ESP phenomena. Radin (Institute of Noetic Sciences) begins by describing quantum entanglement, in which subatomic particles separated by large distances appear to exchange information about their physical states almost instantly. He then detours into an attack on ESP debunkers."
The last sentence apparently refers to a chapter about who believes in psi, and why. It focuses on differences between what mainstream science believes vs. what the public believes. It has nothing to do with debunkers. When I see defensive phrases like "an attack on ESP debunkers," I know that the person writing regards him or herself as the attackee.
"A history of psychic research follows (neglecting to mention that some of the pioneers later admitted faking their results)."
This is a cheap shot. I could just as easily say that the reviewer neglects to mention that the history of psychical research also includes Nobel Laureates and the surprising origins of modern scientific methods. Yes, there are indeed a few cases of known or suspected faking that took place a century ago, and a few cases in the 20th century. But the fact is that occasional cases of fraud occur in all areas of science, including several notorious cases recently in physics and medicine.
"Radin then presents a summary of ESP experiments he feels meet the strictest standards of repeatability, careful design and high reliability. The experiments include attempts to send images to dreaming subjects, to influence the roll of dice and to predict future events; Radin describes the experiments and gives detailed summaries of the results. This is the most impressive section of the book; while some results can undoubtedly be explained away, many are not easy to dismiss. Radin then steps back to examine the theoretical basis for ESP, granting that the evident factuality of certain results does not justify the assumption that all psychic phenomena are therefore true. A brief history of physics leads up to Bell's theorem, a 1964 proof that quantum paradoxes cannot be explained by any "higher logic," as Einstein had long hoped. Here, Radin pins his hopes for the eventual vindication of ESP: If distant objects are related by quantum effects, then psychics may be tapping into the quantum realm to gain their insights. A final chapter reiterates the claim that ESP has been proven to a degree of certainty that no fair-minded person can deny; attempts to refute the skeptics; and predicts that, in the future, ESP will be the subject of university/scientific studies. A good summary of current ESP research, though the writer's defensiveness detracts from his core of thought-provoking data. Take it with several grains of salt."
This reviewer is disturbed that I take skeptics to task. The "defensiveness" comment refers to a section in which I discuss skeptical myths about parapsychology. These are false or misleading statements made so often that they take on an aura of truth through sheer repetition. Such statements are bunk and deserve to be forcefully debunked. Skeptics can dish out criticism, but many can't stomach it in return.
Comments
The review uses 'ESP' but I would expect Dr. Radin to use 'psi' more often.
When I see 'ESP' and 'psychic powers' used in critiques of psi and parapsychology, I start to wonder if what I'm reading is credible.
All references are contained within the chapter endnotes. I put the bibliography on the website for those who'd rather see it in a more traditional format.
> Also, I looked for references to a critic of yours ... I haven't finished reading Entangled Minds but do you specifically respond to these critiques in the new book?
Yes.
The movie is available almost instantly via an excellent web-streaming technology, and the production value is top notch.
He is a very intelligent radio host with the world's most extensive and erudite vocabulary and interviews a host of interesting people on topics of science, politics, environment, sociology etc
However he is a big skeptic of psi and has a visceral aversion to religion and parapsychology - which at moments of self disclosure seem to reflect issues relating to his vicar father. But a lot of his criticisms are germaine.
Anyway occasionally something supportive of psi is sometimes discussed on his show and I recall a few years ago he was talking to a British scientist who was quite a skeptic too who had investigated Yuri Geller - the famed spoon bender Israeli psychic. Anyway Philip Adams and this British scientist were poo pooing some of Geller's stuff and how a magician had exposed him. But then the scientist remarked on how he'd found Geller to be a warm and genuine person who made some uncanny remarks about the scientist's life, and when the scientist got home that night he found his door key in his pocket had become bent!!
I wish Philip Adams for all his intelligence and insight would seriously face the implications of this - and other similar things mentioned on his program. Australians who listen to him will know what I mean.
Sorry if this was a wordy aside but I'm sure there are other prominent intellectuals around the globe who see the defence of materialism allied to the defence of rationality. In a world of fundamentalist loonies, new age alien abduction cultists and creation scientists and apocalyptic US and Iranian presidents - a lot of very intelligent and well meaning people don't want to believe in any psi reality for superficially good reasons. Convincing them that psi reality doesn't mean irrational mumbo jumbo is the key for a true paradigm shift.
Well said. One of the markers I use to gauge a skeptic's critique is the emotional tone in their argument. Many scientists secretly imagine that they're like Mr. Spock from Star Trek -- pure intellect. No nasty emotions to distract from rational thought.
But humans aren't Vulcans, and scientists in particular tend to repress emotions. An emotional response against psi often reflects underlying fears. Charles Tart has written about this extensively. My favorite reason for why scientists so vehemently resist telepathy is (I don't recall where I first heard this remark) that they don't want to know what other people think about the way that they dress.
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