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Real Magic: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science, and a Guide to the Secret Power of the Universe
The chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) turns a critical eye toward such practices as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and psychokinesis. Are such powers really possible? Science says yes.
According to noted scientist and bestselling author of The Conscious Universe, Dean Radin, magic is a natural aspect of reality, and each of us can tap into this power with diligent practice.
But wait, aren't things like ESP and telepathy just wishful thinking and flights of the imagination? Not according to the author, who worked on the US government's top secret psychic espionage program known as Stargate. Radin has spent the last forty years conducting controlled experiments that demonstrate that thoughts are things, that we can sense others' emotions and intentions from a distance, that intuition is more powerful than we thought, and that we can tap into the power of intention (think The Secret, only on a more realistic and scientific level). These dormant powers can help us to lead more interesting and fulfilling lives.
Beginning with a brief history of magic over the centuries (what was called magic two thousand years ago is turning out to be scientific fact today), a review of the scientific evidence for magic, a series of simple but effective magical techniques (the key is mental focus, something elite athletes know a lot about), Radin then offers a vision of a scientifically-informed magic and explains why magic will play a key role in frontiers of science.
According to noted scientist and bestselling author of The Conscious Universe, Dean Radin, magic is a natural aspect of reality, and each of us can tap into this power with diligent practice.
But wait, aren't things like ESP and telepathy just wishful thinking and flights of the imagination? Not according to the author, who worked on the US government's top secret psychic espionage program known as Stargate. Radin has spent the last forty years conducting controlled experiments that demonstrate that thoughts are things, that we can sense others' emotions and intentions from a distance, that intuition is more powerful than we thought, and that we can tap into the power of intention (think The Secret, only on a more realistic and scientific level). These dormant powers can help us to lead more interesting and fulfilling lives.
Beginning with a brief history of magic over the centuries (what was called magic two thousand years ago is turning out to be scientific fact today), a review of the scientific evidence for magic, a series of simple but effective magical techniques (the key is mental focus, something elite athletes know a lot about), Radin then offers a vision of a scientifically-informed magic and explains why magic will play a key role in frontiers of science.
222 pages, Paperback
Published April 10, 2018
934 people are currently reading
5228 people want to read
About the author
Dean Radin
25 books363 followersDean Radin is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), Associated Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and cofounder and chairman of the neuroengineering company, Cognigenics. He earned a BS and MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 2022 he was awarded an Honorary DSc from the Swami Vivekananda University in Bangalore, India.
Before joining the IONS research staff in 2001, Radin worked at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and SRI International. He has given over 830 talks and interviews worldwide, is co-inventor on 12 patents, and is author or coauthor of 350+ scientific and popular articles, book chapters, and five books, all of which have been translated into foreign languages, 15 so far: The Conscious Universe (1997), Entangled Minds (2006), Supernormal (2013), Real Magic (2018), and The Science of Magic (2025).
Before joining the IONS research staff in 2001, Radin worked at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and SRI International. He has given over 830 talks and interviews worldwide, is co-inventor on 12 patents, and is author or coauthor of 350+ scientific and popular articles, book chapters, and five books, all of which have been translated into foreign languages, 15 so far: The Conscious Universe (1997), Entangled Minds (2006), Supernormal (2013), Real Magic (2018), and The Science of Magic (2025).
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January 24, 2020
I was lent this book by our friend Fabrice, who is very interested in paranormal phenomena. He said I would be surprised. Well, for the first few chapters I was sure he was wrong. It seemed to be more of what I had seen before in various places: unverifiable anecdotes, implausible claims, quotes diligently mined from the usual suspects (I was interested to see that Max Tegmark has joined the gang), and really unconvincing interpretations of quantum mechanics. It's not like I know anything much about quantum mechanics, but the few books I've read are enough to let me say with some certainty that it doesn't work this way. There was a period, quite a long time ago now, when physicists were too fond of saying that the notorious measurement problem had something to do with consciousness. And Einstein was unwise enough to call quantum entanglement "spooky action at a distance". But it is wrong to infer from this that quantum mechanics says your mind is directly able to influence everything else. It says nothing of the kind. Far from making respectable the notion of universal consciousness as the ground of all being, quantum mechanics has more or less abandoned this line of investigation. If you open a modern book on quantum mechanics, you won't see anything about minds or consciousness.
So I was getting ready to throw the book at the wall when I reached the chapter on scientific evidence for paranormal phenomena. (The book treats "paranormal phenomena", "psi" and "magic" as more or less interchangeable). And here I really was surprised, and wondered how it was possible that I hadn't heard of Daryl Bem before. Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, the case of Bem is extremely interesting. It shines a bright light on the way science is currently done and exposes some important things that many scientists would really prefer not to talk about. Bem, a highly respected psychologist with an excellent track record, set out to investigate empirically whether paranormal phenomena exist. He carried out a bunch of experiments over a period of several years, and at the end claimed he had solid, reproducible evidence that there are paranormal phenomena. But when he tried to publish his results, journals that had previously been happy to accept his papers wouldn't take them, or accepted them and then later withdrew them with unconvincing excuses. Bem said he'd carried out his experiments with the same level of rigour he always had and obtained strongly significant results according to the statistical tests he'd always used. It didn't help.
The author of Real Magic says the scientific establishment is biased against research into paranormal phenomena, which is indeed a fair conclusion. When you put it like that, it kind of implies that paranormal phenomena exist, so scientists get defensive. The problem is that it's true irrespective of whether these phenomena exist or not. What's disquieting is that Bem seems to have been telling the truth. He did do his ESP experiments as carefully and responsibly as his previous ones, indeed as carefully and responsibly as most published scientists in the field. One way to read the results, the one presented here, is that it demonstrates the existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientists, as noted, will not accept this. But the alternative they're left with is only slightly more palatable: the results of a great deal of published research are not reliable at all. It's hard to escape the logic of the argument. If they were produced using methodologies which can demonstrate the existence of precognition and telepathy, why should we trust them? I work in the academic world myself, and I'm afraid there's a great deal of truth to this accusation. Academics are sloppy, academics use bad methodology, quite often academics straightforwardly falsify results. When they produce anodyne, unremarkable conclusions that look like things people have seen before, the cops wave them on. When they say they've found telepathy, the cops pull them over, tell them to put their hands against the wall, and strip-search them. This is not how a democratic system is supposed to work.
Note that I'm not saying all published results are unreliable. For example, we've seen enough of the way CERN carry out their research to be pretty sure that they're doing it right. They have two separate groups for each major experiment working independently of each other, the data analysis methods are defined in advance, and the data processing is carried out by people who didn't collect the data and as far as possible are blinded to what it might be saying. Other big scientific organisations are able to put similar procedures in place. In computer science, an effective way to prevent fraud is to use only open source code and data-sets: then anyone who thinks you're cheating can just download your material and run the experiment themselves. The machine learning world runs mainly on this paradigm, which I think is one of the reasons they've made such amazing progress recently. But a great many people in psychology, life sciences and the social sciences (etc) can't easily safeguard themselves. And the unfortunate conclusion is that much of their research is suspect.
Nice work, Daryl Bem. If you want to find out more, there's a Slate article about him here, which I thought was well worth looking at. And next time you're about to throw a book at the wall, consider reading on for a bit. It may surprise you.
So I was getting ready to throw the book at the wall when I reached the chapter on scientific evidence for paranormal phenomena. (The book treats "paranormal phenomena", "psi" and "magic" as more or less interchangeable). And here I really was surprised, and wondered how it was possible that I hadn't heard of Daryl Bem before. Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, the case of Bem is extremely interesting. It shines a bright light on the way science is currently done and exposes some important things that many scientists would really prefer not to talk about. Bem, a highly respected psychologist with an excellent track record, set out to investigate empirically whether paranormal phenomena exist. He carried out a bunch of experiments over a period of several years, and at the end claimed he had solid, reproducible evidence that there are paranormal phenomena. But when he tried to publish his results, journals that had previously been happy to accept his papers wouldn't take them, or accepted them and then later withdrew them with unconvincing excuses. Bem said he'd carried out his experiments with the same level of rigour he always had and obtained strongly significant results according to the statistical tests he'd always used. It didn't help.
The author of Real Magic says the scientific establishment is biased against research into paranormal phenomena, which is indeed a fair conclusion. When you put it like that, it kind of implies that paranormal phenomena exist, so scientists get defensive. The problem is that it's true irrespective of whether these phenomena exist or not. What's disquieting is that Bem seems to have been telling the truth. He did do his ESP experiments as carefully and responsibly as his previous ones, indeed as carefully and responsibly as most published scientists in the field. One way to read the results, the one presented here, is that it demonstrates the existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientists, as noted, will not accept this. But the alternative they're left with is only slightly more palatable: the results of a great deal of published research are not reliable at all. It's hard to escape the logic of the argument. If they were produced using methodologies which can demonstrate the existence of precognition and telepathy, why should we trust them? I work in the academic world myself, and I'm afraid there's a great deal of truth to this accusation. Academics are sloppy, academics use bad methodology, quite often academics straightforwardly falsify results. When they produce anodyne, unremarkable conclusions that look like things people have seen before, the cops wave them on. When they say they've found telepathy, the cops pull them over, tell them to put their hands against the wall, and strip-search them. This is not how a democratic system is supposed to work.
Note that I'm not saying all published results are unreliable. For example, we've seen enough of the way CERN carry out their research to be pretty sure that they're doing it right. They have two separate groups for each major experiment working independently of each other, the data analysis methods are defined in advance, and the data processing is carried out by people who didn't collect the data and as far as possible are blinded to what it might be saying. Other big scientific organisations are able to put similar procedures in place. In computer science, an effective way to prevent fraud is to use only open source code and data-sets: then anyone who thinks you're cheating can just download your material and run the experiment themselves. The machine learning world runs mainly on this paradigm, which I think is one of the reasons they've made such amazing progress recently. But a great many people in psychology, life sciences and the social sciences (etc) can't easily safeguard themselves. And the unfortunate conclusion is that much of their research is suspect.
Nice work, Daryl Bem. If you want to find out more, there's a Slate article about him here, which I thought was well worth looking at. And next time you're about to throw a book at the wall, consider reading on for a bit. It may surprise you.
March 18, 2021
Summary: As a statistician, this was so hard to read. The mis-inference of statistics made me want to scream. It completely eclipsed anything he was saying that was good. I wanted to cry.
There is so much that Radin is saying that is unique and interesting. But if you are a stats major who actually does know how to do inference, a part of you dies every single time he infers any study. It's just not correct, which is sad, b/c what the study does say is actually kind of interesting. For that reason, cannot abide by the fact this book has a 4+ rating when it really does a disservice to those that are trying to prove psi exists. It's just too obvious to real practitioners of any scientific field.
p. 8, The first page of the book: He lists 3 types of fo magic (force of will, divination, and theurgy). I wish he'd stuck to his guns on just these topics without all the stats.
p. 43 He talk sabout Giordano Bruno who before 1600 wrote about De l'infinito universo e mondi. Needless to say, he's pretty early to the game on the idea of parallel universes.
p. 47 - He mentions Eliphas Levi who talks about lower levels vs. higher metaphysical levels of spiritual worlds. There are many who have expounded on this subsequently and I find it interesting that he's talking about it being of 1810-1875.
p. 53, he brings the idea of magic to current times where we have a lot of manifestation and positive thinking creation.
p. 55 - He introduces Gnosis as relates to magic. He talks about how meditation is a core part of this. Intriguing its important to understand that Gnostic Christianity is likely one of the big practices of this. That goes missing in this book and is an unfortunate thing. I mean it is an opportunity to connect even this religion to those that are more Eastern.
p. 58, Affirmation Magic - 1) know what you want 2) Review what you want, 3) maintain secrecy 4) Accept the outcome and strengthen your beliefs
It is that simple, but these things are hard. I again see a missed opportunity to expound on these important points.
p. 84/85 - He's got a study about people being able to influence where a ball goes. The results show that after 100, he's got about 54% of the balls on one side vs. his control at 50. In truth that's high, but it's not magically high. When you then present the results as 1 in 1000, that's both true and not true. All you can really do is keep running it to get the numbers higher and estimate a p-value. Alternatively, you can try to lean into those that are believed to be more powerful to see if individuals who are more mental have a greater ability to influence the ball. But you can't really say the odds are 1:1000. That's not quite what that means.
p. 78 - He has a chocolate study in which people chocolate that was blessed/placebo. I'm going to assume this was done as a true placebo, though there are some oddities in how he describes it. But you do not interpret results the way he does. There is no stat that will ever tell you that 1:10,000 chance. It can ONLY possibly tell you a p-value associated with rejecting the null hypothesis. I hear people say it this way all the time, but it's statistically a wrong way to infer the results are telling you.
I'm not going to go through every single place he takes liberties with inference. If you know how to properly infer stats, that's all you'll be able to concentrate on, which takes away from what he's saying.
p. 142, I like this chart on physics vs. consciousness vs. symbolic language.
I really loved the front. Struggled with everything in the back. Maybe work with a different math nerd next time.
There is so much that Radin is saying that is unique and interesting. But if you are a stats major who actually does know how to do inference, a part of you dies every single time he infers any study. It's just not correct, which is sad, b/c what the study does say is actually kind of interesting. For that reason, cannot abide by the fact this book has a 4+ rating when it really does a disservice to those that are trying to prove psi exists. It's just too obvious to real practitioners of any scientific field.
p. 8, The first page of the book: He lists 3 types of fo magic (force of will, divination, and theurgy). I wish he'd stuck to his guns on just these topics without all the stats.
p. 43 He talk sabout Giordano Bruno who before 1600 wrote about De l'infinito universo e mondi. Needless to say, he's pretty early to the game on the idea of parallel universes.
p. 47 - He mentions Eliphas Levi who talks about lower levels vs. higher metaphysical levels of spiritual worlds. There are many who have expounded on this subsequently and I find it interesting that he's talking about it being of 1810-1875.
p. 53, he brings the idea of magic to current times where we have a lot of manifestation and positive thinking creation.
p. 55 - He introduces Gnosis as relates to magic. He talks about how meditation is a core part of this. Intriguing its important to understand that Gnostic Christianity is likely one of the big practices of this. That goes missing in this book and is an unfortunate thing. I mean it is an opportunity to connect even this religion to those that are more Eastern.
p. 58, Affirmation Magic - 1) know what you want 2) Review what you want, 3) maintain secrecy 4) Accept the outcome and strengthen your beliefs
It is that simple, but these things are hard. I again see a missed opportunity to expound on these important points.
p. 84/85 - He's got a study about people being able to influence where a ball goes. The results show that after 100, he's got about 54% of the balls on one side vs. his control at 50. In truth that's high, but it's not magically high. When you then present the results as 1 in 1000, that's both true and not true. All you can really do is keep running it to get the numbers higher and estimate a p-value. Alternatively, you can try to lean into those that are believed to be more powerful to see if individuals who are more mental have a greater ability to influence the ball. But you can't really say the odds are 1:1000. That's not quite what that means.
p. 78 - He has a chocolate study in which people chocolate that was blessed/placebo. I'm going to assume this was done as a true placebo, though there are some oddities in how he describes it. But you do not interpret results the way he does. There is no stat that will ever tell you that 1:10,000 chance. It can ONLY possibly tell you a p-value associated with rejecting the null hypothesis. I hear people say it this way all the time, but it's statistically a wrong way to infer the results are telling you.
I'm not going to go through every single place he takes liberties with inference. If you know how to properly infer stats, that's all you'll be able to concentrate on, which takes away from what he's saying.
p. 142, I like this chart on physics vs. consciousness vs. symbolic language.
I really loved the front. Struggled with everything in the back. Maybe work with a different math nerd next time.
December 20, 2025
This is one of the best book I have read on specific areas of the paranormal. Radin's historical knowledge as well as his scientific knowledge makes this a terrific read. I highly recommend for both the new to real magic as well as those who have long been initiated.
August 20, 2018
The most scientific approach to "magic" or psychic ability that I've read. This is a great book for making a clear-headed argument that magic is real, backed up by numerous scientific studies, and that the reason that there's any doubt about it is because we've been steeped in centuries of Christian fear and pain when it comes to anything magical. To this day, my scientist friends get very uncomfortable when I discuss the subject because they're so trained to believe it's all complete nonsense. Except the evidence shows otherwise, and it's that evidence that forms the heart of this book.
Interestingly, Real Magic also argues that magic isn't that strong -- except for perhaps the one in a million of us who, like Charlie Goldsmith, can do extraordinary magic -- but it's something that everyone has some ability in if they choose to try it. He gives some things to try that are variations on manifesting, or using your intention to affect reality.
For myself, I'm interested in whether people like me, without any obvious natural talent for psychic or energy healing disciplines, can learn so-called magical skills. In that respect, this book is less useful for learning how to practice these kinds of skills than say, Martha Beck's Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.
But there are gems such as: "The single most important aide to developing magical skills is to learn how to enter the state of consciousness known as gnosis. The time-honored and safest way to do this is through meditation." I recommend Anna Wise's book, The High Performance Mind, which details her work in studying the brainwave patterns of meditators and healers using EEG and that helps you create a meditation practice that should be ideal for practicing magic.
Radin also says: "The essence of magic boils down to the application of two ordinary mental skills: attention and intention. The strength of the magical outcome is modulated by four factors: belief, imagination, emotion, and clarity." He goes on to explain how, in experiments, they discovered that belief matters hugely in terms of effectiveness, which makes being a skeptical scientist and student magician a tricky proposition.
In any event, I enjoyed the book and particularly appreciated Radin pointing out how the skepticism that the scientific and academic community presents about magic is outdated and full of hypocrisy. It's long past time that we moved this into the mainstream and studied it properly.
Interestingly, Real Magic also argues that magic isn't that strong -- except for perhaps the one in a million of us who, like Charlie Goldsmith, can do extraordinary magic -- but it's something that everyone has some ability in if they choose to try it. He gives some things to try that are variations on manifesting, or using your intention to affect reality.
For myself, I'm interested in whether people like me, without any obvious natural talent for psychic or energy healing disciplines, can learn so-called magical skills. In that respect, this book is less useful for learning how to practice these kinds of skills than say, Martha Beck's Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.
But there are gems such as: "The single most important aide to developing magical skills is to learn how to enter the state of consciousness known as gnosis. The time-honored and safest way to do this is through meditation." I recommend Anna Wise's book, The High Performance Mind, which details her work in studying the brainwave patterns of meditators and healers using EEG and that helps you create a meditation practice that should be ideal for practicing magic.
Radin also says: "The essence of magic boils down to the application of two ordinary mental skills: attention and intention. The strength of the magical outcome is modulated by four factors: belief, imagination, emotion, and clarity." He goes on to explain how, in experiments, they discovered that belief matters hugely in terms of effectiveness, which makes being a skeptical scientist and student magician a tricky proposition.
In any event, I enjoyed the book and particularly appreciated Radin pointing out how the skepticism that the scientific and academic community presents about magic is outdated and full of hypocrisy. It's long past time that we moved this into the mainstream and studied it properly.
August 10, 2023
Everyone should read this book; I used to be a huge skeptic and Real Magic played a role in my spiritual awakening. I've experienced telepathy and clairvoyance many times but have dismissed my own experiences due to lack of science. Yep, that's how skeptical I was. However Dean Radin provides great evidence for these things that show how strange reality can be.
March 2, 2019
Estupendo recorrido por la historia de la magia, sus implicaciones y la acumulación de evidencia científica que demuestra su existencia real. La claridad de la escritura de Radin permite ordenar los conceptos, entender las divergencias y saber por qué una materia tan delicada como el ocultismo y sus relación profunda con los estudios de la psique y la búsqueda por definir la conciencia, puede ser tan clara y tan comprensible. No deja Radin de incluir una crítica y una advertencia muy importantes contra el dogmatismo en la comunidad científica, la prevalencia de los conceptos asumidos como naturales sin cuestionamiento y la persecución y el descrédito que sufren aquellos que se atreven a pensar diferente. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.
P.D. No hay ningún posicionamiento religioso de parte del autor, sino una clara perspectiva racional, basada en la comprobación de sus hipótesis en los experimentos basados en el método científico y la rigurosidad necesaria en este tipo de eventos.
P.D. No hay ningún posicionamiento religioso de parte del autor, sino una clara perspectiva racional, basada en la comprobación de sus hipótesis en los experimentos basados en el método científico y la rigurosidad necesaria en este tipo de eventos.
May 28, 2018
Best book on magic I've read in a really long time! There's even a little bit of "how to", which I think should be turned into the sequel. John Dee would be proud. I really enjoyed reading about the "disturbance in the Force" that was picked up by the Random Number Generators project at the shocking result of the Presidential election of 2016, and how "blessed" chocolate can really make you feel better. Time for a Department of Psychic Research! Thank you Dr. Radin for furthering humanity's understanding of "magic" and the human potential.
October 19, 2017
Real Magic contends that a variety of psychic phenomenons are real magic. The book shows there is truth in this statement and in the phenomenons themselves.
The book details a variety of studies that show quantifiable evidences of esp, clairvoyance, etc. Coming from a background of scientific method, most are sound as a beginning experiment and the experiments continue to grow to removing some of the complaints from the earlier experiments. These experiments show the merit of these phenomeons and the study of them. In fact, the book shows experiment that prove already determined psychological variables. The "sheep-goat" hypothesis is that believers will see more psi response and those who don't won't. This has been proved many times over in all areas of belief in psychological study and is referred to as biases. This shows that the researchers are well aware of such an important biases in their experiments.
I have two issues with the book as a whole. The first is that the first two-thirds of the book spends its time trying to make the argument that these experiences ae real and quantifiable. While the descriptions of this can be called magic, using the terms lessens the scientific side of it. There is aa discussion that woo-woo is not widely accepted. While I believe it can be scientific and respected calling it magic doesn't really help in the scientific world. The second is that the last third of the book gets more philosophical and light leaving behind the scientific side. Which like my first issues, confuses me of the intent. Does Radin want this as science or not? Or is he trying to bring in the "woo-woo" side into the scientific view.
FYI: I looked up the research article mentioned in the book that was retracted. Radin and a team created an experiment to see if psychics could tell if someone was alive or dead. A variety of ages, genders, and races were converted into black and white photos and shown to the psychics. Half of the pool of pictures were alive and the other half dead. Psychics were able say the outcome at only slightly better than chance. From reading about it, it seemed like a start for a further rigorous study. It was published in a journal but was later retracted with out the authors given concise answers on the reasons why. After reading the article, the only thing I found objectionable is that it did not meet the hypothesis of the paper: it claimed that there was a facial characteristic that would predict morality. The experiments does not do this at all. I am assuming this was a scientific "beard" because they were worried they would not be published if they centered too much on the clairvoyance part.
Psi activities are always of interest to me. I believe there is something we don't know yet and many of these experiences are real (though I don't believe they are anything like you see in the movies).
I received an ARC from NetGalley; all opiniosn are my own.
The book details a variety of studies that show quantifiable evidences of esp, clairvoyance, etc. Coming from a background of scientific method, most are sound as a beginning experiment and the experiments continue to grow to removing some of the complaints from the earlier experiments. These experiments show the merit of these phenomeons and the study of them. In fact, the book shows experiment that prove already determined psychological variables. The "sheep-goat" hypothesis is that believers will see more psi response and those who don't won't. This has been proved many times over in all areas of belief in psychological study and is referred to as biases. This shows that the researchers are well aware of such an important biases in their experiments.
I have two issues with the book as a whole. The first is that the first two-thirds of the book spends its time trying to make the argument that these experiences ae real and quantifiable. While the descriptions of this can be called magic, using the terms lessens the scientific side of it. There is aa discussion that woo-woo is not widely accepted. While I believe it can be scientific and respected calling it magic doesn't really help in the scientific world. The second is that the last third of the book gets more philosophical and light leaving behind the scientific side. Which like my first issues, confuses me of the intent. Does Radin want this as science or not? Or is he trying to bring in the "woo-woo" side into the scientific view.
FYI: I looked up the research article mentioned in the book that was retracted. Radin and a team created an experiment to see if psychics could tell if someone was alive or dead. A variety of ages, genders, and races were converted into black and white photos and shown to the psychics. Half of the pool of pictures were alive and the other half dead. Psychics were able say the outcome at only slightly better than chance. From reading about it, it seemed like a start for a further rigorous study. It was published in a journal but was later retracted with out the authors given concise answers on the reasons why. After reading the article, the only thing I found objectionable is that it did not meet the hypothesis of the paper: it claimed that there was a facial characteristic that would predict morality. The experiments does not do this at all. I am assuming this was a scientific "beard" because they were worried they would not be published if they centered too much on the clairvoyance part.
Psi activities are always of interest to me. I believe there is something we don't know yet and many of these experiences are real (though I don't believe they are anything like you see in the movies).
I received an ARC from NetGalley; all opiniosn are my own.
September 24, 2018
Given my scientific training, I don’t believe anything, but go with the evidence. This has led me to a tentative model of reality, which I modify as I am forced to accept new findings.
The worldview I have developed over the years has been supported and strengthened by reading Real Magic by Dean Radin. However, I have also needed to modify it. In clear and often humorous language, Dean presents the case for the reality of “paranormal” abilities. The experiments, observations and examination of historical records are convincing evidence that people can use mental force to affect objects, influence other people, change the future, and foresee what is going to happen. There is even the case of one person reported to be able to influence large-scale weather events.
As with another of my interests, evidence for reincarnation, the reaction of many people is dismissal. It can’t be true, because it is unscientific.
This is “scientism,” and is illogical. Science is not a body of beliefs, but a method of inquiry that can be applied to any field -- and we need to go with the findings regardless of where they take us.
About my only criticism of this amazing book is overkill in two chapters. Chapter 4 on the history of magic, and chapter 8 on the opinions of contemporary scientists, are full of names, each an appropriate documentation, but too many of them. This eagerness to document is understandable when facing the prejudice of scientism, but even without all those allies, Dean’s case is indisputable.
There is also the examination of how such things are possible. The conclusion is the same as that of quantum mechanics, and of the study of reincarnation: The Universe is One, and is Consciousness. The material universe we sense, of matter, energy and time, is a derivative of this Consciousness. And the Universe is indivisible, whole, so your consciousness is part of All, and separation is an illusion. When you can tune into the Universal Consciousness you are, you can do things that make no sense from an isolated, materialist perspective.
Every intelligent person, and especially every scientist, should read this book.
The worldview I have developed over the years has been supported and strengthened by reading Real Magic by Dean Radin. However, I have also needed to modify it. In clear and often humorous language, Dean presents the case for the reality of “paranormal” abilities. The experiments, observations and examination of historical records are convincing evidence that people can use mental force to affect objects, influence other people, change the future, and foresee what is going to happen. There is even the case of one person reported to be able to influence large-scale weather events.
As with another of my interests, evidence for reincarnation, the reaction of many people is dismissal. It can’t be true, because it is unscientific.
This is “scientism,” and is illogical. Science is not a body of beliefs, but a method of inquiry that can be applied to any field -- and we need to go with the findings regardless of where they take us.
About my only criticism of this amazing book is overkill in two chapters. Chapter 4 on the history of magic, and chapter 8 on the opinions of contemporary scientists, are full of names, each an appropriate documentation, but too many of them. This eagerness to document is understandable when facing the prejudice of scientism, but even without all those allies, Dean’s case is indisputable.
There is also the examination of how such things are possible. The conclusion is the same as that of quantum mechanics, and of the study of reincarnation: The Universe is One, and is Consciousness. The material universe we sense, of matter, energy and time, is a derivative of this Consciousness. And the Universe is indivisible, whole, so your consciousness is part of All, and separation is an illusion. When you can tune into the Universal Consciousness you are, you can do things that make no sense from an isolated, materialist perspective.
Every intelligent person, and especially every scientist, should read this book.
September 25, 2018
This book was really fun to read and the concepts really stuck. I’ve often felt that certain people seemed to have a magical air about themselves. Radin also lays out practical experiments the armchair enthusiast, like myself, can try. In fact, I have! I tried the remote viewing experiment with my brother and shared the results on our paranormal blog, Letters About Real Conspiracies, which is a part of the Science Fantasy Hub. He and I both got very promising intuitive notions about what the other was hiding. Then we kind of muck the developmental drawings up in the process, but I imagine that with practice, either one of us could develop the skill.
Normally I read fiction, mostly fellow indie authors, but since I’m doing the paranormal video blog and writing an urban fantasy about a guy who discovers cryptids and conspiracies are real, I thought it would be sound research to read up on real magic. Not the Harry Potter stuff, but still very exciting!
Radin’s background in psychology really adds to the credibility of his work as does his adherence to experimentation over dogmatic belief. I’m going to continue experimenting and certainly having a good time flexing my imagination! I enjoyed this book so much that I’ll likely listen to it every now and then (I bought the audiobook).
Normally I read fiction, mostly fellow indie authors, but since I’m doing the paranormal video blog and writing an urban fantasy about a guy who discovers cryptids and conspiracies are real, I thought it would be sound research to read up on real magic. Not the Harry Potter stuff, but still very exciting!
Radin’s background in psychology really adds to the credibility of his work as does his adherence to experimentation over dogmatic belief. I’m going to continue experimenting and certainly having a good time flexing my imagination! I enjoyed this book so much that I’ll likely listen to it every now and then (I bought the audiobook).
September 22, 2023
Ugh, I went in with an open mind as I do think there are plenty of things that we do not know nor understand but I feel like Scully.
The tantalizing bits regarding some of the research results could have been an interesting journal article. The rest of the book is based on conjecture and the desire to believe.
Quantum physics is fascinating and it may open doors to things we cannot yet imagine but it is still not well understood nor easily explainable for/to most. If you want a book on that, I would suggest Chad Orzel’s How to Teach Quantum Physics to your Dog.
The tantalizing bits regarding some of the research results could have been an interesting journal article. The rest of the book is based on conjecture and the desire to believe.
Quantum physics is fascinating and it may open doors to things we cannot yet imagine but it is still not well understood nor easily explainable for/to most. If you want a book on that, I would suggest Chad Orzel’s How to Teach Quantum Physics to your Dog.
March 4, 2019
This book is about parapsychology (study of psi). This is a field of study that is not supported by the science community. This field of study is hard to prove with tangible proof.
I did not fully understand parapsychology. I felt like it was a broad study of understanding the "things that are unseen," such as spirits, conscience, clairvoyance, telepathy, forces of this universe, etc. I apologize if I did not explain psi accurately. ^^
Pros:
I found it interesting how the author explained about psi in terms of telepathy.For instance, before your friend is about to mention a thought, your friend and you both simultaneously talk about it. Overall, it opened my perspective of how psi is present in our daily life without realizing it.
Cons:
I did not understand the scientific verbiage in the book. Overall, it was an enjoyable book. I would definitely need to eduacate myself into this topic to gain a better understanding.
I did not fully understand parapsychology. I felt like it was a broad study of understanding the "things that are unseen," such as spirits, conscience, clairvoyance, telepathy, forces of this universe, etc. I apologize if I did not explain psi accurately. ^^
Pros:
I found it interesting how the author explained about psi in terms of telepathy.For instance, before your friend is about to mention a thought, your friend and you both simultaneously talk about it. Overall, it opened my perspective of how psi is present in our daily life without realizing it.
Cons:
I did not understand the scientific verbiage in the book. Overall, it was an enjoyable book. I would definitely need to eduacate myself into this topic to gain a better understanding.
August 19, 2023
“If you don’t believe in magic, no magic for you!”
This was the perfect first book for the new year. Such a fun history of magic and an interesting argument for magic actually existing.
I think magic is just science that we don’t understand yet. We are still in our infancy in regard to our knowledge of existence, consciousness and the universe. We still know so very little about our world and scientists are discovering things that we never thought possible.
I used to be a huge skeptic and believe in nothing, but it’s impossible to really look at our existence and no be awed by it. If you read anything about space or quantum physics, it’s hard not to be amazed by the complex universe in which we live.
I think there’s a much bigger link between our minds/thoughts /consciousness and our reality than we realize. The observer effect and quantum entanglement prove this.
And as out-there as this book is, it’s one of the more convincing texts on the subject and I believe some of what the author is saying. You could call some of it pseudoscience I guess, but science is about having an open mind and changing your views when you’re presented with new information. It’s not about stagnation and believing the world is the way it is because that’s what we’ve always believed. Any religion, scientist or person who tells you they have the answers should never be trusted, because no has all the answers.
All I know is what I’ve experienced, and this past year I’ve changed my thoughts and done a lot of affirmations, meditations and visualizations. I’ve read a lot of books that changed the way I see the world and it’s completely transformed my life. Things happened that I never thought possible and that feels pretty magical to me.
“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” ― Eden Phillpotts
This was the perfect first book for the new year. Such a fun history of magic and an interesting argument for magic actually existing.
I think magic is just science that we don’t understand yet. We are still in our infancy in regard to our knowledge of existence, consciousness and the universe. We still know so very little about our world and scientists are discovering things that we never thought possible.
I used to be a huge skeptic and believe in nothing, but it’s impossible to really look at our existence and no be awed by it. If you read anything about space or quantum physics, it’s hard not to be amazed by the complex universe in which we live.
I think there’s a much bigger link between our minds/thoughts /consciousness and our reality than we realize. The observer effect and quantum entanglement prove this.
And as out-there as this book is, it’s one of the more convincing texts on the subject and I believe some of what the author is saying. You could call some of it pseudoscience I guess, but science is about having an open mind and changing your views when you’re presented with new information. It’s not about stagnation and believing the world is the way it is because that’s what we’ve always believed. Any religion, scientist or person who tells you they have the answers should never be trusted, because no has all the answers.
All I know is what I’ve experienced, and this past year I’ve changed my thoughts and done a lot of affirmations, meditations and visualizations. I’ve read a lot of books that changed the way I see the world and it’s completely transformed my life. Things happened that I never thought possible and that feels pretty magical to me.
“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” ― Eden Phillpotts
May 13, 2018
This book takes Dean Radin's Entangled Minds one step further to its logical conclusion: magick is real. He walks the reader through the history of magic and science -- which I found upsetting because of all the information held back from me in school -- and goes on to discuss experiments supporting his hypothesis and conclusions drawn from it. This has less repetitious discussion of experiments, which, to be fair, are necessary when attempting to persuade people. The author seems to have found his IDGAF mode and just goes for it. I appreciate that because Entangled Minds felt slightly apologetic, whereas this one feels slightly bitter that scientists are still skeptical of what has been proven over and over in experiments.
February 20, 2018
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
A well written overview and history of magic. There were times were the author felt less than objective, but all in all he seemed to approach his study in a scientific way.
Radin is a PSI scientist. He runs experiments testing whether different aspects of PSI are legit.
This book mostly answers the question of "How Much of Magic is Real", both using his research and that of his peers. Although the title promises otherwise, their isn't much how-to do magic content here. While there are exercises scattered about (this book encouraged me to try a sigil), they didn't feel like the focus of the book
A well written overview and history of magic. There were times were the author felt less than objective, but all in all he seemed to approach his study in a scientific way.
Radin is a PSI scientist. He runs experiments testing whether different aspects of PSI are legit.
This book mostly answers the question of "How Much of Magic is Real", both using his research and that of his peers. Although the title promises otherwise, their isn't much how-to do magic content here. While there are exercises scattered about (this book encouraged me to try a sigil), they didn't feel like the focus of the book
May 28, 2018
Profound
Deep, thoughtful, and provocative, I really enjoyed Radin’s style and approach. One of my favorite passages: “Many scientific and scholarly disciplines are slowly coming around to the idea that consciousness is far more important than previously imagined. This shift of opinion, combined with the idea that reality is a form of information, provides a renewed appreciation of ancient esoteric legends about magic.”
Highest recommendation to read for anyone interested in psi and/or magic.
Deep, thoughtful, and provocative, I really enjoyed Radin’s style and approach. One of my favorite passages: “Many scientific and scholarly disciplines are slowly coming around to the idea that consciousness is far more important than previously imagined. This shift of opinion, combined with the idea that reality is a form of information, provides a renewed appreciation of ancient esoteric legends about magic.”
Highest recommendation to read for anyone interested in psi and/or magic.
April 22, 2018
I've always wondered about Radin's take on magick, and how it relates to his fascinating psi research. He shows a good knowledge of the subject from a historical standpoint, and includes loads of interesting lab data. In the end he seems to favor the information model of magical action, which has always been my own view.
Great book. I couldn't put it down.
Great book. I couldn't put it down.
May 18, 2018
Terrific book
Dean Radin, PhD, weaves in the science of Magic, spirituality, psi as we learn more and more, overcoming old restrictive paradigms of “science” that turn out to be a form of dogma. Some in science are now opening up more to continuing to learn vs being stuck in a worn out paradigm.
Dean Radin, PhD, weaves in the science of Magic, spirituality, psi as we learn more and more, overcoming old restrictive paradigms of “science” that turn out to be a form of dogma. Some in science are now opening up more to continuing to learn vs being stuck in a worn out paradigm.
March 22, 2020
Chapters five and six contain the meat of the book in the form of scientific studies. Remarkable stuff.
Chapters 8 and 9 features the authors speculations which are worthwhile.
The anecdotes whilst stimulating are less interesting for the actual intellectual findings.
Great book.
Chapters 8 and 9 features the authors speculations which are worthwhile.
The anecdotes whilst stimulating are less interesting for the actual intellectual findings.
Great book.
July 15, 2018
Magic is real.
Except without the wands and cool spell words you would find in Harry Potter which I knew wasn't going to happen.
Real Magic was a fascinating and the first scientific based book about the paranormal that I have ever read.
Author Mr. Radin is a scientist and his prose is easy to read and not quite objective, since he is a believer in psi. But I don't need any more convincing arguments that psi abilities and most of the episodes I saw in The X-Files is real.
I've always been a believer.
Mr. Radin offers a historical background about psychic abilities and our government and religious institutions to suppress anything that wrests control or power from them. Some things never change in history.
He supplies psychological experiments that have been replicated by numerous labs and respected scientists that prove the existence of psi abilities inherent in most people, though not Professor X powerful (and that's a good thing) but is inherent in most of us, but thanks to evolution, has been quashed for survival and adaptation to our modern society.
The author also offers intriguing mini biographies of talented psi individuals from the past, and this chapter was my favorite. I wished he had included most bios of such unique and unknown people.
The Kindle version did not provide hyperlinks and graphs (boooo!!!) and made Chapter 6 hard to understand and keep up with these case studies Mr. Radin offered.
This was a good read, humorous and scary (e.g.: robot wizards, psychic arms race), but not woo woo in any way.
Except without the wands and cool spell words you would find in Harry Potter which I knew wasn't going to happen.
Real Magic was a fascinating and the first scientific based book about the paranormal that I have ever read.
Author Mr. Radin is a scientist and his prose is easy to read and not quite objective, since he is a believer in psi. But I don't need any more convincing arguments that psi abilities and most of the episodes I saw in The X-Files is real.
I've always been a believer.
Mr. Radin offers a historical background about psychic abilities and our government and religious institutions to suppress anything that wrests control or power from them. Some things never change in history.
He supplies psychological experiments that have been replicated by numerous labs and respected scientists that prove the existence of psi abilities inherent in most people, though not Professor X powerful (and that's a good thing) but is inherent in most of us, but thanks to evolution, has been quashed for survival and adaptation to our modern society.
The author also offers intriguing mini biographies of talented psi individuals from the past, and this chapter was my favorite. I wished he had included most bios of such unique and unknown people.
The Kindle version did not provide hyperlinks and graphs (boooo!!!) and made Chapter 6 hard to understand and keep up with these case studies Mr. Radin offered.
This was a good read, humorous and scary (e.g.: robot wizards, psychic arms race), but not woo woo in any way.
October 16, 2018
Noted Psi researcher Dr. Dean Radin makes a big leap in this book, as the parapsychologist declares our studies of psi phenomena are actually studying humankind's magical abilities - psi is simply the descriptive term we use now for those human abilities once labeled "magic". He makes a convincing case! Radin charts the correspondences between what we now call psi and what we used to call magic. He examines the potential of the human will, and how psi is the modern expression of the working of the human will in reality. Radin also explores how today's parapsychological studies of Psi have shown scientifically that psi exists, despite some in science's best efforts to dismiss and ignore the scientifically reproducible evidence Radin and his colleagues have bought to the table.
A plausible and convincing argument that, not only does magic exist, but we have been studying it scientifically for decades. A realization and reorientation like this paves the way for future scientific examination of faculties we may not realize we possess.
A plausible and convincing argument that, not only does magic exist, but we have been studying it scientifically for decades. A realization and reorientation like this paves the way for future scientific examination of faculties we may not realize we possess.
November 13, 2018
What is magic, really? Why are we so attracted to the idea of it? Can it be real?
Dean Radin is one of the few who spent enough time and energy looking for answers to these questions. In the last 40 years he conducted countless experiments, got criticized along the way a lot, so he made the conditions of those experiments so strict, that not even a hardcore skeptic could find an error.
Although many of them just simply discard Radin's discoveries as illusions, you will learn from this book, that for example detecting if someone is watching you, changing your food by blessing it or even sensing the potential future are provably existing phenomena.
This book serves a very important role: it proves (using strict scientific methods) that there are things which are not yet accepted or discussed enough by our mainstream researchers, so until then we have to call these phenomena magic.
In this sense, there is no question about it: magic is real!
Dean Radin is one of the few who spent enough time and energy looking for answers to these questions. In the last 40 years he conducted countless experiments, got criticized along the way a lot, so he made the conditions of those experiments so strict, that not even a hardcore skeptic could find an error.
Although many of them just simply discard Radin's discoveries as illusions, you will learn from this book, that for example detecting if someone is watching you, changing your food by blessing it or even sensing the potential future are provably existing phenomena.
This book serves a very important role: it proves (using strict scientific methods) that there are things which are not yet accepted or discussed enough by our mainstream researchers, so until then we have to call these phenomena magic.
In this sense, there is no question about it: magic is real!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2018
Interesting introduction to the parallels of psi-phenomena and the history of magic. Packed with intriguing stories and scientific experiments, Radin gives a convincing account of his argument. Four stars because by the time I was at the end of the audio I was little daunted by the sheer conviction and the amount of convincing that comes with it. Personally, I find the argument convincing with the historical facts and scientific findings presented side by side, and therefore I did not see the degree of stripping and bashing of the materialist worldview as being very necessary.
Radin does have my respect, and I am very grateful for his work and what he is trying to do by bridging the esoteric and scientific paradigms.
Radin does have my respect, and I am very grateful for his work and what he is trying to do by bridging the esoteric and scientific paradigms.
April 28, 2018
Wondering if magic is real? Then Real Magic by Dean Radin may be for you. If you are interested in the meat of the book, I highly suggest reading the lengthy chapter 6, which details many of the studies conducted on the subject. The writing is good, the science isn't bad, and the ideas may open the door to a new worldview in which science and magic come together. I highly recommend Real Magic to both Layman and Academic alike.
April 27, 2018
This is a fascinating book as the author manages to seamlessly connect concepts of traditional magic with the results of cutting edge science. Anybody interested in modern scientific experiments that statistically prove the reality of magic will get a lot out of this enlightening but also highly entertaining book.
January 13, 2021
my favourite non-fiction i've ever read. i'm sad to have finished it and i'll probably re-listen to some chapters despite already being behind on my 2019 challenge. i've learned so much, and to have such an interesting and elaborate book exist about something i've been fascinated by all my life, something i never imagined there would be a real science around, is so exciting!
January 22, 2019
Conjecture based on selective experimental results which supposedly are not in peer reviewed publications or repeated to show accuracy because the subjects are taboo. Therefore it must all be correct and true.
April 26, 2018
Good summary
Does a solid job thing together multiple fields of thought and begins to make the case for idealism instead of scientific materialism.
Does a solid job thing together multiple fields of thought and begins to make the case for idealism instead of scientific materialism.
September 25, 2022
Dr. Radin is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Before joining the research staff at IONS in 2001, he held appointments at AT&T Bell Labs, Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, and SRI International. He is the author or coauthor of over 250 technical and popular articles, three dozen book chapters, and three books including the award-winning The Conscious Universe (Harper One, 1997), Entangled Minds (Simon & Schuster, 2006), and the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award winner, Supernormal (Random House, 2013).
This book has the potential to change the way you view magic, science, the world as we currently know it, and human capabilities. The author has a unique gift for entertaining even as he educates. The arguments and experimental results are stimulating, entertaining, and in some instances, shocking.
I found this to be a very intriguing book and it held my attention throughout. I have read other books by Dr. Radin and enjoyed them immensely. I chose Real Magic for the review because it is his most recent book and it contains references to his other works. While I readily admit to being a “science geek”, let me assure you that it is not necessary to be a science geek to enjoy this book. I did find the entire title to be somewhat disturbing because the last part of the book title contains the words “secret power of the universe”. In every case, I am skeptical when I see a title that purports to reveal some esoteric secret power. If I had not read previous works by Dr. Radin, as well as journal articles he has published, I probably would have passed on this book just because of the title. I am glad I did not pass it up. More about the last part of the title later.
The very first sentence in Chapter 1 begins, “this book is about magic”--and so it is. When we think of magic, many of us think about the Harry Potter type with spells and wizards and the ability to do powerful and miraculous things. Magic has been a part of human experience as far back as we are able to know of human history. Anything that we did not completely understand was often relegated to the realm of magic. Disease, for centuries, was believed to be the result of evil spirits requiring sacrifices, a magic potion, or the intervention by some powerful holy person to release us from its grip. As technology developed and microscopes were invented, it could be shown that small organisms that came to be known as germs, and later viruses, were the actual causes of disease. However, even showing other physicians the living microorganisms was not enough to immediately convince them. The preexisting beliefs were strong and it took time, a scientific approach, and convincing evidence (read this as data) to bring about the change.
The author gives some excellent historical references to the story of magic, but he is more interested in helping us to give up our preexisting beliefs about what might, or might not, be real. We should use scientific methodology to study the issue and look at the data before jumping to a conclusion. He implores us to be willing to look at the data regarding many of the things that he refers to by the title “Real Magic”. Topics he has been studying, using scientific methodology, for the last 40 years. Many of the findings he discusses will cause you to question how it could be possible, or to doubt the data, and that is exactly his point. Just because we do not understand how it could be possible, does not keep something from being real. Conversely, just because one study shows a significant result, does not mean the finding is definitive.
Have you ever had the feeling that someone is staring at you, only to look around and find that someone really is? Is it just coincidence or is there more to it than that? There have been many scientifically conducted studies (more than 60) and a meta-analysis (a statistical technique for looking at the overall effects of multiple studies that investigate the same topic) indicates that the individuals were able to correctly identify when they were being stared at much better than chance. In fact, the odds of being so accurate above-chance were calculated to be 202 octodecillion (2x10-59 ) to 1. As the author says, “that should have settled the issue” but of course, it did not. This is only one of the many documented studies referenced by the author as he attempts to raise awareness of the various types of studies that have been done on “real magic” including things such as precognition, retrocognition, remote viewing, remote mental influence on another person’s physiological responses, etc. I found it enlightening just to find out how many studies have been, and are being, done in these areas and how consistent the results seem to be across studies.
Earlier, I mentioned being uncomfortable whenever I see the words “secret power of the universe” in any book title. In this case, the secret is simply that, based on the author’s 40 years of research, and the results of numerous studies, to which he provides references, it appears that we (humans) may have powers that go unrecognized, ignored, or unused. In many of the studies regarding extrasensory perception (ESP), mental influence at a distance, being stared at, etc., the studies were conducted using ordinary people who had no preconceived idea that they might be able to perform the tasks with above-chance accuracy. Additionally, there are many seemingly magical things that can be investigated using scientific methodology if we will shed our biases, allow ourselves to ask the appropriate questions, and be willing to let the resulting data provide an answer. The author makes a convincing argument that human consciousness (which we still do not understand) is capable of being influenced by, and influencing, many things in our environment, including other people. It is his belief, that we all may have the capability to do miraculous things and that instead of denying the possibility, we should embrace it, investigate it, and use it to benefit ourselves and our fellow humans.
This book has the potential to change the way you view magic, science, the world as we currently know it, and human capabilities. The author has a unique gift for entertaining even as he educates. The arguments and experimental results are stimulating, entertaining, and in some instances, shocking.
I found this to be a very intriguing book and it held my attention throughout. I have read other books by Dr. Radin and enjoyed them immensely. I chose Real Magic for the review because it is his most recent book and it contains references to his other works. While I readily admit to being a “science geek”, let me assure you that it is not necessary to be a science geek to enjoy this book. I did find the entire title to be somewhat disturbing because the last part of the book title contains the words “secret power of the universe”. In every case, I am skeptical when I see a title that purports to reveal some esoteric secret power. If I had not read previous works by Dr. Radin, as well as journal articles he has published, I probably would have passed on this book just because of the title. I am glad I did not pass it up. More about the last part of the title later.
The very first sentence in Chapter 1 begins, “this book is about magic”--and so it is. When we think of magic, many of us think about the Harry Potter type with spells and wizards and the ability to do powerful and miraculous things. Magic has been a part of human experience as far back as we are able to know of human history. Anything that we did not completely understand was often relegated to the realm of magic. Disease, for centuries, was believed to be the result of evil spirits requiring sacrifices, a magic potion, or the intervention by some powerful holy person to release us from its grip. As technology developed and microscopes were invented, it could be shown that small organisms that came to be known as germs, and later viruses, were the actual causes of disease. However, even showing other physicians the living microorganisms was not enough to immediately convince them. The preexisting beliefs were strong and it took time, a scientific approach, and convincing evidence (read this as data) to bring about the change.
The author gives some excellent historical references to the story of magic, but he is more interested in helping us to give up our preexisting beliefs about what might, or might not, be real. We should use scientific methodology to study the issue and look at the data before jumping to a conclusion. He implores us to be willing to look at the data regarding many of the things that he refers to by the title “Real Magic”. Topics he has been studying, using scientific methodology, for the last 40 years. Many of the findings he discusses will cause you to question how it could be possible, or to doubt the data, and that is exactly his point. Just because we do not understand how it could be possible, does not keep something from being real. Conversely, just because one study shows a significant result, does not mean the finding is definitive.
Have you ever had the feeling that someone is staring at you, only to look around and find that someone really is? Is it just coincidence or is there more to it than that? There have been many scientifically conducted studies (more than 60) and a meta-analysis (a statistical technique for looking at the overall effects of multiple studies that investigate the same topic) indicates that the individuals were able to correctly identify when they were being stared at much better than chance. In fact, the odds of being so accurate above-chance were calculated to be 202 octodecillion (2x10-59 ) to 1. As the author says, “that should have settled the issue” but of course, it did not. This is only one of the many documented studies referenced by the author as he attempts to raise awareness of the various types of studies that have been done on “real magic” including things such as precognition, retrocognition, remote viewing, remote mental influence on another person’s physiological responses, etc. I found it enlightening just to find out how many studies have been, and are being, done in these areas and how consistent the results seem to be across studies.
Earlier, I mentioned being uncomfortable whenever I see the words “secret power of the universe” in any book title. In this case, the secret is simply that, based on the author’s 40 years of research, and the results of numerous studies, to which he provides references, it appears that we (humans) may have powers that go unrecognized, ignored, or unused. In many of the studies regarding extrasensory perception (ESP), mental influence at a distance, being stared at, etc., the studies were conducted using ordinary people who had no preconceived idea that they might be able to perform the tasks with above-chance accuracy. Additionally, there are many seemingly magical things that can be investigated using scientific methodology if we will shed our biases, allow ourselves to ask the appropriate questions, and be willing to let the resulting data provide an answer. The author makes a convincing argument that human consciousness (which we still do not understand) is capable of being influenced by, and influencing, many things in our environment, including other people. It is his belief, that we all may have the capability to do miraculous things and that instead of denying the possibility, we should embrace it, investigate it, and use it to benefit ourselves and our fellow humans.
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