Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality (A Study on Parapsychology)

Dean Radin is one of those rare scientists who are not afraid of being out at the frontier of science, that lonely place where history can be made if you first don't die of professional neglect. This book rivals his last one, The Conscious Universe, in presenting persuasive, scientifically rigorous evidence for psi, in this case focusing on nonlocality (action at a distance) and consciousness. It's one thing to say everything is connected, and another thing to provide rigorous evidence to support that speculation. Radin does it again, not only contributing through his own research but by amassing the evidence from a host of researchers in a way that is satisfying to both the scientifically literate and the relative newcomer to the subject. The title of the book speaks for itself, and other reviewers cover the details, so I won't go into a review of the actual studies cited in the book. For readers trying to make up their minds about purchasing this book, here are some other reasons why this book is worth your time. First is balance: Radin is neither the dry academic nor the ambiguous metaphysician; he maintains a balance between scientific rigor and respect for the startling implications of this research on every aspect of who we are and what we are capable of. He recognizes the import of this research, but he doesn't ever get carried away. Accuracy: while maintaining that undercurrent of awe and enthusiasm, he also doesn't allow readers to get sloppy in their thinking. For instance, he continually points out the difference between "cause" and "correlation," a crucial distinction that is often overlooked by many writers on this topic. He's not defensive: Radin offers no apologies for his, and his colleagues', choice of research, but he doesn't feel the need to dismiss critics. In fact, he speaks to their criticisms of psi research and theory with respect, and in the process manages to continue to build the case for psi without marginalizing or insulting anyone. No mean feat. Finally, Radin is no stuffed shirt, and his humor shines through here and there, at just the right moments to keep things from getting heavy. Those of us who already believe in the reality of psi or have experienced it ourselves benefit from knowing that scientists such as Radin are working diligently to provide the scientific foundation upon which our experience and belief can rest; those who are undecided will find few other books that provide more credible evidence; and, well, those who are skeptical probably won't read this book. If you stay on top of psi research, there will be plenty here you will have already heard about but enough new information to keep you satisfied. If you are new to the subject, you will be amazed at the abundance of impressive evidence Radin gathers to support the reality of psi. Either way, Radin's book deserves your attention. Highly recommended.

I've been waiting for this book for a long time. Driven by a passion to understand my own experiences, I have over the last 30 years read thousands of books about unusual phenomena and altered states of consciousness, and I thought that I'd seen and read everything. But this book by Dean Radin breaks new ground. Many of us have become frustrated by the overuse of metaphor by many writers: "Mystics said almost the same thing as quantum physics, so that proves mystical insights," or worse yet "physics says that everything is energy, so that means that we are all energy." People have sometimes taken rare phenomena occurring at the subatomic level and extrapolated from them to make extraordinary claims about human interactions, little realizing that many quantum phenomena cannot occur at the level of a whole organism. Dean avoids such risky approximations and has instead written a precise account of experimental work that strongly supports the existence of parapsychological phenomena, and has created an imaginative model to account for it. It has become quite well known that Carl Jung and the Nobel Laureate Wolfgang Pauli were not only interested in extrasensory phenomena, but also believed that a synthesis of physics and psychology was both possible and necessary. Dean has taken their insights, and many others, run with them, and created a remarkable synthesis. From personal experience and a thorough review of the literature, I am in no doubt that Dean's central hypothesis - that our minds are interlinked - is absolutely correct. If enough people were to realize and understand the implications of this interconnectedness, our world would be transformed in an instant. For this is no academic exercise: these are insights that cut straight to the heart of our personal relationships, the interactions of businesses and governments, and even such moral and ethical issues as free will and the consumption of animals. The book is well written, and interspersed with a great many illustrations. I hope that it is extremely widely read, and that we all ponder the implications of what Dean has to say. Highly recommended. Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

Radin's first book, The Conscious Universe, is the book that first convinced me that there is something to the science of parapsychology. This book is even stronger. Entangled Minds is excellent. There are a number of books available on psychic phenomena, but all the others I know of are either out of date, dry, or flakey. This one is based largely on solid science and is a really enjoyable read. The book is jam-packed with information, but doesn't feel that way because of the breezy style of writing and because much of the technical detail is tucked away in the end notes. Therefore it can be pleasant bed-time reading, or if the reader wants to go more into detail on any topic, the wealth of references can point the way. Radin builds the case for the existence of psi (psychic phenomena) from experiments in telepathy, psychokinesis, precognition and clairvoyance. But he doesn't stop there. He describes physiological experiments in which the effects of psi are evident in the brain and at the cellular level. But he doesn't stop there. After a survey of theories of psi and the basics of quantum entanglement, Radin pulls all the observed phenomena together as a grand entanglement of minds. Some of the strengths of the book are also its weaknesses. Radin is so enthusiastic about the psi experiments that he sometimes comes across as a cheerleader for psi rather than a balanced observer. By focusing in detail on some isolated experiments (often carried out by him) he leaves some readers with the impression that the phenomena are more weakly supported by experiment than is the case - even though he does survey other experiments. Finally, my view is that it is premature to point to quantum entanglement as the underlying mechanism behind psi, but it certainly is attractive. I heartily recommend this book to the mystic, the skeptic, and anyone who has maintained a sense of curiosity.

What will it take to shift the current scientific paradigm to include work at the frontiers of consciousness, such as evidence of psychic abilities? Your first answer might be evidence. But, as it turns out, we have more than a century of scrupulously-controlled scientific evidence for psi (the technical term) that cumulatively deliver results far beyond trillion-to-one-against-chance. In this book, Entangled Minds, you'll get an expert and entertaining tour of hundreds years of work studying these as-yet-unexplained abilities of mind. You'll learn about evidence for psychic precognition before 9/11, changes in randomness in response to collective events like the O. J. Simpson trial, as well as the inside story on some of the most famous psychics in history. All of this makes for great reading and gives the sense that we're at the cusp of a revolution with Copernican-like implications. But by itself does it shift a paradigm? Evidence is important but not sufficient. An explanatory framework is required that accounts for the new data and bridges to our existing scientific understanding of reality. That's what Dr. Radin begins to provide in this book, demonstrating how the concept of quantum-entangled minds can be compatible with the concept of quantum-entangled particles, an already established fact. Our consciousness may be literally linked so that even small perturbations in one mind instantaneously jostle other minds. This bubbles up to our conscious awareness in the form of intuitions, gut feelings, images, or knowings. Nothing is transmitted: We're simply interconnected at the root of consciousness in something beginning to resemble a global mind. Very weird, but perhaps true. And it gets even weirder when we bring in the data on precognition indicating that this entanglement is not dependent on time. What you have in your hand, then, goes beyond intellectual entertainment. It's a vital tool for creating a paradigm shift in science.