The Shape of Love: Discovering Who We Are, Where We Came From, and Where We're Going
Even the most open-minded reader will become frustrated with Emoto's follow-up to his bestseller, The Hidden Messages in Water, in which he observed how different conditions-in particular, the exposure of water samples to different words, thoughts and feelings-influence the formation of ice crystals. Here, Emoto explains the metaphysical implications of those observations, and proves too fascinating by half; certainly, mysteries at the core of modern physics might be elucidated if his results were replicated by other researchers, indicating an empirical link between human thought and what we perceive as material reality. But the "doctor of alternative medicine" jumps the gun, stretching those untested results to the breaking point in the service of broad and ultimately unsupportable conclusions. Though the moral philosophy he offers is in fact laudable, it isn't clear at all how it stems from his examination of ice crystals; the same can be said for the cosmology explicated in the book's second half. Though readers may find some inspiration, Emoto's decision to ground so much far-out speculation in scientific observation will turn off any serious researcher who might wish to reproduce Emoto's admittedly fascinating experiments.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.