Is the day approaching when mind reading, psychokinesis and telepathy, once thought impossible, are regarded as real?
      Lawrence LeShan has been at the forefront of psychical research for nigh on 30 years. In his latest book, A New Science of the Paranormal: The Promise of Psychical Research, LeShan lays down the law and sets the stage for a not-too-distant future where we are dealing with the reality of psychic powers.
      First, people have to come to terms with the idea that such a paradigm shift is possible. As St Augustine said, “There are no such things as miracles which violate the laws of nature. There are only events which violate our limited knowledge of the laws of nature.” Or as LeShan puts it more simply, “impossible events don’t happen.”
      LeShan begins by discussing the war waged in philosophy for the past three and a half thousand years. The eternal debate of what is Reality and how to measure it.
      All schools of philosophy had methods of inquiry, and all adapted, changed, absorbed, assimilated, lived and died over the course of human history. The method of inquiry used today, the Scientific Method, faces the same precariousness as any previous school of thought. One hundred percent accuracy is not guaranteed and all theories are subject to change. LeShan reminds the reader that it pays to remain open minded, or else one might fall into dogma.
      LeShan’s seemingly slight book is a great introduction to the world of parapsychology and psychical research.
      It is recommended readers gain an understanding of the basics. One such basic that this reviewer did not know is the two ways to collect data in order to conduct psi-based research.
      The first is called ‘Need Determined’ data. This form of data is collected from personal recollections of paranormal events, and in particular, events that drive an unknowing participant towards a goal.
      Telepathic or clairvoyant communication between individuals (either living or dead) is one example. Such as when a dead relative contacts a living family member with a dire warning and the living member finds the warning accurate. LeShan uses the classic ‘Carrington Episode’ as an example of ‘Need Determined’ Data.
      The ‘Carrington Episode’ is named after an event in which world renown psychic Eileen Garrett was contacted in her sleep by her dead colleague Hereward Carrington. Carrington told Garrett to help his wife. After the second night and another communication in which Carrington supposedly kicked Garrett’s body out of bed, Garrett took steps to contact Carrington’s wife. After getting a local constable to check her house (she lived alone and far away from Garrett), she was found badly hurt three days after a fall. Any longer and she would have died.
      This form is data is open to criticism simply because it is not collected under controlled circumstances and cannot be repeated.
      The second is ‘Flaw Determined’ data, the type preferred by sceptics. The easiest way to collect Flaw Determined data is under strict laboratory conditions. Card guessing games are an example of this: When a subject consistently scores higher than the odds, what one would expect from chance alone, then psychic abilities are evident.
      This is just a small taste of LeShan’s book. For those with an interest in parapsychology, the compact and info-dense A New Science of the Paranormal will prove to be an indispensable text.