Seven Experiments That Could Change the World: A Do-It Yourself Guide to Revolutionary Science - Softcover

Sheldrake, Rupert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573220140 ISBN 13: 9781573220149

Publisher: Riverhead Books, 1995

Synopsis

A distinguished biologist presents simple experiments anyone can perform, experiments that prove the existence of mysterious phenomena that traditional science has been unwilling to acknowledge and unable to explain.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is former director of studies in biochemistry and cell biology at Cambridge University.

Reviews

A specialist in biochemistry and cell biology formerly at Cambridge University, Sheldrake questions many tenets of the mechanistic-materialistic orthodoxy governing most science today and proposes certain practical experiments to raise further doubts about it. He presents experiments by which we can determine how some pets know when their owners are coming home, how homing pigeons find their way, how insect colonies operate, how people know that they are being stared at from behind and how phantom limbs sometimes seem to amputees to be still attached. Then he turns to the more abstract area of the philosophy of science, pointing out that the fundamental "constants" of nature are not really constant and that the so-called experimenter expectancy effect may skew the results of any test. Finally, he offers details of experiments by which even those who are not trained scientists can measure some of these possibly paranormal phenomena. A well-reasoned, accessible and provocative book. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As is perhaps proper for a book by a scientist, this one works on several levels. At its most concrete, it proposes, in a number of fields, experiments that could lead to upheavals in the way we think about things and to results at odds with conventional science. Subjects of such proposed inquiries include how pets know when their owners are returning, the sense of being stared at when one is supposedly alone, and possible variations in such fundamental "constants" as the speed of light. At a more rarefied level, the book delves into the philosophy of science to consider how the structure of an experiment can bear on its results and even what the very nature of science is. Whether or not you agree with Sheldrake's views on these matters, his book excites thought and stimulates debate, and it enables nonscientists to partake in the dialogue. Dennis Winters

Edition details

• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1573220140
• ISBN 13: 9781573220149
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288