Science Confronts The Paranormal

A Gallop poll surveyed 506 American teenagers, aged 13 to 18 and discovered the following:- 69% believe in angels - 59% believe in ESP- 55% believe in astrology - 28% believe in clairvoyance- 24% believe in Bigfoot - 22% believe in witchcraft- 20% believe in ghosts - 18% believe in the Loch Ness MonsterCarl Sagan has said that the wonders of real science far surpass the supposed and imagined mysteries of fringe science. Yet, as statistics show, the paranormal is still an endless source of fascination for people around the world.This collection of critical essays and investigative reports examines virtually every area of fringe science and the paranormal from a refreshingly scientific and clear-minded viewpoint. The authors are noted scientists, philosophers, psychologists, and writers. All bring to the task a determination to sift sense from nonsense and fact from fiction in an area notorious for misinformation, misperception, self-delusion, and wishful thinking. They do so in a way that highlights the differences between real science and pseudoscience. They've made special efforts first to find the actual facts behind numerous claims that have popular appeal, and then to explain and communicate what scientific investigation and reasoning reveal about them. Subjects treated to incisive and entertaining examination include astrology, ESP, psychic detectives, psychic predictions, parapsychology, remote-viewing, UFOs, creationism, the Shroud of Turin, coincidences, cult archaeology, palmistry and fringe medicine.There are also explorations of the implications of paranormal beliefs for science education.

Speculations about paranormal phenomena and how they might be reconciled with modern scientific knowledge.

Headlines and television news reports feature accounts of reincarnation, the predictions of astrologers, and psychic "miracles." Citizens report UFO sightings. Police departments call on psychics to provide clues in baffling crimes. From every available information source, the public is bombarded with unsubstantiated claims of paranormal phenomena. How much of the evidence is reliable? What is the truth behind these claims? Paranormal Borderlands of Science is an exciting, well-informed examination of the most publicized and exotic claims of astrology, ESP, psychokinesis, precognition, UFOs, biorhythms, and other phenomena. Written by respected psychologists, astronomers and other scientists, philosophers, investigative journalists, and magicians, the 47 articles in this superb collection present a skeptical treatment of pseudoscientific claims - an aspect often sorely neglected in sensationalized media reports. This book is an effort to help readers sort fact from fiction and sense from nonsense among the astonishing variety of assertions labeled "paranormal." Never before published in book form, the essays in this anthology originally appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, a leading magazine devoted to the critical investigation of pseudoscience from a scientific viewpoint. Among the contributors are: Isaac Asimov (distinguished science fiction author), Martin Gardner (Scientific American columnist), James Randi (The Amazing Randi), Philip Klass (noted UFO skeptic), Scot Morris (Omni), and James Oberg (NASA). An essential contribution to skeptical literature, this book will be of lasting value to all those wishing to balance the case for paranormal claims by reading the dissenting critics.

Documents case studies of paranormal research failures while explaining why and how mainstream science rejects the paranormal, in a provocative report that outlines the principles for revitalizing research in the areas of clairvoyance, mediumship, and psychic healing. Original.

The author of the controversial bestseller Brain Trust brings his scientific expertise to the chilling true story of unexplained phenomena on Utah's Skinwalker Ranch -- and challenges us with a new vision of reality. For more than fifty years, the bizarre events at a remote Utah ranch have ranged from the perplexing to the wholly terrifying. Vanishing and mutilated cattle. Unidentified Flying Objects. The appearance of huge, otherworldly creatures. Invisible objects emitting magnetic fields with the power to spark a cattle stampede. Flying orbs of light with dazzling maneuverability and lethal consequences. For one family, life on the Skinwalker Ranch had become a life under siege by an unknown enemy or enemies. Nothing else could explain the horrors that surrounded them -- perhaps science could. Leading a first-class team of research scientists on a disturbing odyssey into the unknown, Colm Kelleher spent hundreds of days and nights on the Skinwalker property and experienced firsthand many of its haunting mysteries. With investigative reporter George Knapp -- the only journalist allowed to witness and document the team's work -- Kelleher chronicles in superb detail the spectacular happenings the team observed personally, and the theories of modern physics behind the phenomena. Far from the coldly detached findings one might expect, their conclusions are utterly hair-raising in their implications. Opening a door to the unseen world around us, Hunt for the Skinwalker is a clarion call to expand our vision far beyond what we know.

“Ellison was . . . a dedicated paranormal researcher who believed the science was too narrow to account for things like out-of-body experiences” (io9). In facts, not fiction, this book presents the case for the paranormal. Changing the way we look at the universe is not easy, and requires a true openness to exploration and experiment. Professor Ellison suggests that most of us are conditioned by our Western science-based education to think that the universe is much simpler and ‘material’ than it really is. He argues that we should recognize the limits of the current scientific worldview that fails to account for genuine paranormal experiences, including phenomena such as out-of-body experiences (OBE), reliably reported by thousands of people. Science and the Paranormal is part of The Paranormal, a series that resurrects rare titles, classic publications, and out-of-print texts, as well as publishes new supernatural and otherworldly ebooks for the digital age. The series includes a range of paranormal subjects from angels, fairies, and UFOs to near-death experiences, vampires, ghosts, and witchcraft. “A most valuable work and a lasting testimony to the author’s remarkable contribution to the field.” —Bernard Carr, Scientific and Medical Network Review “Written for the lay person in down-to-earth language . . . this book is for those who want a broad-brush of matters like the evidence for telepathy, near death experiences, survival research etc. without having to plough through a century-high stack of scientific papers. A welcome introduction to human nature’s further reaches.” —Christian Parapsychologist