Real Magic

March 26, 2018
Radin, professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, argues that scientists should take the research on magic seriously in his lively review of the surprisingly large body of scholarship on the topic. He uses the terms magic and psi phenomena interchangeably to refer to the intentional influencing of events, knowing beyond the physical senses, and communicating with spirits. This breezy history of magic spans from the mystery cults of ancient Greece and gnostic Christians, through the Inquisitions’ suppression of magical abilities, to the 19th-century spiritualists (his inclusion of “positive thinking” shows how broadly he defines the term magic). The meat of his work is his discussion of scientific studies that, he claims, throw significant doubts on the idea that supernatural abilities are not real. He uses studies of divination, remote viewing, and voodoo massage of effigies, arguing that their success rates statistically cannot be chance. Though he worries about the potential harm in helping humans harness their innate abilities to influence the world, he ends with a call for scientists to move beyond their staunch “materialism” (which Radin uses to mean belief in only the natural sciences). Radin’s mostly convincing explanations will speak directly to those who already believe in magic and sow discussions among those on the fence.

March 15, 2018
Everyone is interested in the inexplicable?so says scientist and psychologist Radin?yet everyone pretends not to be, for fear of seeming unhinged. After rebutting obvious criticism of psychic phenomena, Radin uses humor, pop-culture references, and, most important, research to support the existence of parapsychological phenomena (telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis). He traces the history of magic, which once included religion and medicine, explaining how humanity's approach to it has changed over the eons. In his most fascinating chapter, Scientific Evidence, he cites numerous double-blind, evidence-based, statistically significant experiments that prove human consciousness does tangibly affect the natural world. Water blessed by Buddhist monks yields healthier plants than unblessed water. A woman's physiological responses (heart rate, blood pressure, and electrodermal activity) change when a man is watching her. Skeptics will remain skeptical, and occultists won't find any spells here. In the same way that science validated the once magical fields of medicine or astronomy, however, Radin methodically and skillfully argues for taking the potential powers of the conscious and the unconscious just as seriously.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)