Debunked!: ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience
Written in a jaunty tone, this excursion upon the seas of superstitious belief is a light, amusing voyage. Had the authors aimed their Nobel-caliber guns (Charpak received the 1992 physics award) at astrology and mental telepathy and blown them to smithereens, such bludgeoning would not have held the humor in the more adroit tack they do take. Charpak and Broch instead examine those fields within their own terms of reference for signs of validity. For example, astrology, allegedly able to determine human fate according to signs of the zodiac, is bogus if only because the precession of the earth's axis shifts those signs over time. Looking at the psychic power enabling one to levitate, walk safely across red-hot coals, or make astounding predictions, the authors point out how physics or simple probability explains things more convincingly than do amazing brain waves. Exposing the gullibility charlatans rely on, the authors' sardonic spirit will amuse readers even as it inducts them into the scientific mode of thought.Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved