Science and the Paranormal: Probing the Existence of the Supernatural

edited by George O. Abell and Barry Singer

copyright 1981 - Charles Scribner's Sons

This is a book that includes writings from some of the big names in skeptical writing.  It includes Martin Gardner, Carl Sagan, Philip Klass, James Randi and others.  The topics covered are wide-ranging, including some occult beliefs that seem to have lost some of their popularity since the book was published.  However, the fact that some of these topics might be more obscure now, doesn't mean that they won't return in the future, since such beliefs rarely die out completely.  For example, I had almost no knowledge of Kirlian photography when I read this book, and I figured that the book was just a little dated referring to this topic.  Ironically, not long after reading this, an episode of the Fox show "The X-Files" had some discussion and use of that very technique!  It is always good to be knowledgeable about pseudoscience, both old and new, because it is often the case that new pseudoscience is just old pseudoscience with a different name.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in occult/paranormal phenomena.  Of particular interest (at least to me) was the chapter on psychic healing.  Given the explosion of "alternative" medicine and techniques, it is important to realize that some of these "alternative" techniques are fraudulent, and have been shown to be so for quite some time.

Below is a listing of all the articles in this book to give you an indication of the types of topics this book covers.

Abell, G.O.  (1981b).  Moon madness.  pp. 95-104  

Abell, G.O. and Singer, B.  (1981).  Introduction.  pp. 1-5  

Asimov, I.  (1981).  The subtlest difference.  pp. 149-158  

Cohen, D.  (1981).  Monsters.  pp. 24-39  

Drake, F.D.  (1981).  Intelligent life in the universe.  pp. 329-348  

Galston, A.W. and Slayman, C.L.  (1981).  Plant sensitivity and sensation.  pp. 40-55  

Gardner, M.  (1981).  Parapsychology and quantum mechanics.  pp. 56-69  

Hyman, R.  (1981).  Scientists and psychics.  pp. 119-141  

Khalil, T. and Kurucz, C.  (1981).  Biorhythms.  pp. 105-118  

Klass, P.J.  (1981).  UFOs.  pp. 310-328  

Krupp, E.C.  (1981).  Recasting the past: powerful pyramids, lost continents, and ancient astronauts.  pp. 253-295  

Kurtz, P.  (1981).  Believing the unbelievable: the scientific response; a foreward.  pp. vii-xi  

Kusche, L.  (1981).  The Bermuda Triangle.  pp. 296-309  

Morrison, P.  (1981).  Wonderful things: a perspective.  pp. 349-362  

Nolen, W.A.  (1981).  Psychic healing.  pp. 185-195  

Randi, J.  (1981).  Science and the chimera.  pp. 209-222  

Sagan, C.  (1981).  An analysis of "Worlds in Collision".  pp. 223-252  

Siegel, R.K.  (1981).  Life after death.  pp. 159-184  

Singer, B.  (1981a).  Kirlian photography.  pp. 196-208  

Singer, B.  (1981b).  On double standards.  pp. 142-148  

Singer, B.  (1981c).  To believe or not to believe.  pp. 7-23