The Holographic Universe
by Michael Talbot
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Book Reviews of The Holographic Universe
Book Review: Impressive Data Collection and Research Analysis Presented in Good Humor
Summary: 5 Stars
What a joyous and fascinating read. The author ties in everything under the sun I have studied before and combines it into a great big smorgasboard of the little gems I've collected along my growing path of intellectual exploration and spirituality. I was very excited to see authors and scientists that I've read and studied (since highschool physics and calculus days) pop up everywhere on the pages. WOW! (nostalgia taking over)
The range of players and stars in this book are quite tantalizing, from doctors, Nobel-winning researchers, scientists in pages from Encyclopaedia Britannica, physicists amongst the ranks of Einstein (or better ;)), psychologists, psychiatrists, hardcore drug addicts, shamans, monks, religious icons, cancer patients, psychosis patients, OBEs, MSDs, NDEs, celebrity authors, aliens, deities, and people from the future.
I kept bursting into laughter at the uncanny wit Talbot employed in presenting supportive/illustrative data on synchronicity (and all related holographic principals, models and postulations). Equally amusing is the craft with which he rationalized miraculous/stupendous events that occurred throughout human history and the history of science itself, all of which insinuate viability of the holographic, omnijective, holotrophic models of "reality" or "what is".
More importantly is perhaps the suggestion that WE SHOULD TAP INTO THIS KNOWLEDGE!!
Despite the numbers and cases presented being extremely suggestive of untapped powers in the human mind, just remember, Talbot did an excellent job collecting data that support the central theme (in ways that a research paper is constructed) and thus, this is more of a TOOL book than a "Truth" book.
In fact, Talbot himself repeated Bohm's philosophy that NOTHING is FINAL, NOTHING is absolute and no theories are "perfect".
Here I must express one of the themes I picked up that I find immensely helpful:
Nothing is CAUSAL... there is no "Cause and Effect." Things actually are observed to be causal from the "normal" belief system (or patterns our brains currently use to discipher codes into "reality experiences"), but when pryed and observed in a different way, there is strong evidence that things occur ACAUSALLY on a more fundamental level, time and space are fabrications of our minds and again... there is NO CAUSE AND EFFECT.
Many "things" and "processes" we believe to be otherwise may be but RITUALS and PLACEBOs. While this will definitely trigger dismay or discomfort in many people, I find it to be absolutely exhilarating.
The only thing I find to be lacking, however, is the scarcity of documentaries on "personal" achievements and events outside of subjects related to life/death issues, laboratory physics, physical health, and psychiatric health. There are no references to any holographic possibilities when it came to social achievement, building the pyramids, historical wars, leadership, financial talent, etc etc outside of the above mentioned subject matters.
Perhaps the great insight into the character, strength, and professionalism of true scientists at work touches on what I found lacking. I think it's better than a movie in aspects and portrayals of human excellence when it comes to these scientists' talent, intelligence, meticulous search for truth, and courage. =)
Well wherever you are, keep exploring! A highly recommended read that will bring you to a new level of exhilaration and will help you mold your very own scientific explorations in support of spiritual enlightenment.
Book Review: From science to the esoteric
Summary: 4 Stars
In the introduction, the author clarifies terms like Holographic Universe, and concepts like the holographic analogy, metaphor or paradigm. The physicist Bohm and the quantum physicist Pribram are the originators of the idea. In this book, the theories and the conclusions of many researchers influenced by the holographic model and its interpretations are explored. Talbot warns that some interpretations are controversial and the book indeed strays into highly esoteric territory.
Part One: A Remarkable New View of Reality, looks at the work of Pribram and Bohm and how these two scientists teamed up. These two chapters, The Brain as Hologram and The Cosmos as Hologram, examines the vastness of memory, associative memories, photographic memory, phantom limb sensations, the transference of learnt skills and our amazing ability to recall, forget and recognize familiar things.
Part Two: Mind and Body, investigates the holographic model in psychology, the body, miracles and in the ability to see holographically. Phenomena like dreams, psychosis, lucid dreaming and holographic therapy are examined, with reference to the work of Stanislav Grof amongst others. The section on healing deals inter alia with the work of pioneers like Dr Carl Simonton and Larry Dossey, with emphasis on conscious and unconscious beliefs, acupuncture and the use of imagery (visualization).
In the chapter: A Pocketful of Miracles, there are discussions of psychokinesis, the kahunas of Hawaii, the work of Carlos Castaneda and the question of whether consciousness creates subatomic particles. The next chapter explores research on the human energy field, the energy field of the psyche, the aura and the chakras, x-ray vision and the altered states of shamanism.
Part Three: Space and Time, attempts to apply the holographic model to clairvoyance, retrocognition, ghosts and apparitions. It also explores the possibility of a holographic past and future and of thought as the creator of reality. Out-of-Body experiences, Near-Death experiences and their holographic explanation are discussed and there is an interesting section on the famous mystic Swedenborg. This part also looks at a variety of phenomena like Marian appearances, UFO's, the results of taking the herb ayahuasca and various shamanic experiences.
The chapter Return to Dreamtime revisits Bohm's idea of the implicate and explicate order and compares it to Tibetan Buddhism, Zen and Hinduism. In the next one: The Future of the Holographic Idea, the author investigates holographic sound with reference to the physiologist Hugo Zuccarelli, and speculates on the implications for science of the holographic paradigm. Amongst them are new kinds of computers and puzzles in chemistry that might finally be solved. The model might be able to eventually explain telepathy, synchronicity, paranormal and mystical experiences. The text concludes with Talbot's view of mankind's evolutionay thrust towards a higher consciousness.
The book contains voluminous notes arranged by chapter, and an index. The text is well-documented. The only problem is that there are repetitive accounts of well-known historical paranormal experiences that are already very familiar from the literature. Overall, The Holographic Universe contains enough purely scientific information to serve as a starting point, but it will appeal more to those who are into the metaphysical and spiritual side of things.
Book Review: important even after a decade
Summary: 5 Stars
Talbot has created a great book. The Holographic Universe is a discourse on a new way (paradigm) for viewing life and the Universe, based primarily on revelations from quantum physics. While my copy is over 10 years old, and physics has moved forward a bit since then, most of the material in the book is as revelant today as it was when my copy was published in 1991.The basic premise of the book concerns the nature of holography, and how the Universe and our existence and experience can be viewed through a holographic model. For those who don't know, a holgram or holograph is a photographic image created by splitting a laser beam and recording interference patterns between the two beams after one has been reflected off the subject to be photographed. It has the remarkable property of containing the entire image on each piece if you cut it or break it into smaller pieces. This idea of the whole contained in each piece is the basis of the Holographic principle. It has been found to be very useful in explaining the behavior of many natural systems, hence the purpose of this book.
Talbot discusses many areas of life, including particle physics and physical health. He quotes and cites authorities like Bohm, Grof, Pribram, and many others too numerous to mention here. The book is an incredible resource for a new view of reality as well as a huge listing of people, books, and research to go into more depth on the subjects covered. It is one of my favorite books, and I have given more than one away as a gift. At one time, I kept two additional copies just to loan out.
My favorite parts of the book are the experiment in mass dreams near the end, and the section starting on page 90 dealing with the placebo effect and Multiple Personality Disorder(MPD). The fact that placebo effect can cure illness at a higher rate than many pharmaceuticals should make people sit up and take notice. If that doesn't wake you up, then the research on the health capabilities of people with MPD ought to really rattle your sense of reality darned hard.
The fact that people with MPD can turn illnesses on and off totally destroys the whole Cartesian-clockwork view of physical reality, not to mention the Western allopathic model of medicine. These people can experience radical changes in their biology just by changing which personality is "in charge" of the body. I'm talking total disappearance of diabetes, complete changes in vision (color blindness as well as refractive errors), allergic reactions, erasing the effects of drugs and alcohol; tumors, scars, and cysts coming and going, and more. All of these things are well-documented in the scientific literature (cited in the book). I personally know of a case (not in the book) of a broken bone that would not show on x-rays unless the personality who broke the bone was present! The person who recounted this to me was very much frightened by it, and reluctantly revealed it only when I raved about this sction of the book.
The MPD research alone should force a total redirection of our health research. Of course it won't, because trillion-dollar industries rely on expensive cures that don't necessarily work, and those industries couldn't care less about your and my health, only our ability to pay.
This book is a terrific read and will open your eyes to wonderful new things. It may even open you up to a whole new life, it is that powerful. It is still vital after a decade, and well worth reading. A no-holds-barred 5.
Book Review: Probable about important matters...
Summary: 5 Stars
The late Michael Talbot was fascinated by the findings in 1982 at the University of Paris that "under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It doesn't matter whether they are 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart."
David Bohm, a brilliant physicist, flew in the face of conventional science by suggesting that reality might be more than the material or "explicate order" extending to other realms that he called the "implicate order." Karl Pribram, a neurophysiologist, hypothesized that in the brain, "memories are encoded not in neurons, or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulses that crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns of laser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece of film containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribram believes the brain is itself a hologram." Talbot combines the ideas of Bohm and Pribram (both of whom are credited in the book as having been "generous with both their time and their ideas) to show how the entire universe could be a hologram, or more correctly, multiple holograms, arising out of consciousness. He delves into neuroscience, citing the fact that responses are initiated in the body before the sensory perception that triggered them has been consciously processed as indicating that (1) the brain may be filtering and altering the inputs and (2) our subconscious may be taking decisions for us.
Talbot effectively shows how such a holographic universe could explain, not only phenomena from the quantum world, but also spirituality and many paranormal phenomena including: near-death experiences (NDE); out-of-body experiences (OBE); miracles; clairvoyance; psychokinesis; and so on. The many examples of such phenomena that Talbot cites are fascinating in themselves, but it is the way in which they can be reconciled with the Bohm-Primram idea that really sets the book apart. Of course, when anyone ventures to give examples of paranormal phenomena, someone will point to the fact that a particular one has subsequently been shown to be in doubt - especially as here where almost 20 years have elapsed since the book was written. The more remarkable thing is that despite that lapse of time, most of the examples quoted by Talbot remain unexplained by natural causes.
Science typically does not take an interest in the paranormal, which is resistant to the scientific method of repeated experimentation to provide physical evidence. But as Talbot accurately states: "when vast numbers of people start reporting the same experiences, their anecdotal accounts should also be viewed as important evidence. They should not be dismissed merely because they cannot be documented as rigorously as other and often less significant features of the same phenomenon can be documented ... science must replace its enamorment with objectivity - the idea that the best way to study nature is to be detached, analytical, and dispassionately objective - with a more participatory approach." I would only take exception here to the word "replace" and say that science can continue perfectly well in its own milieu provided that we also investigate the rest of reality. This is an important book; an excellent read but also food for thought. I'd also recommend books by Irvin Laszlo to anyone who finds this one as fascinating as I did.
Book Review: High strangeness meets quantum physics: new paradigm from Michael Talbot
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is the crowning achievement of the late Michael Talbot, mystic and science fiction writer whose short life ended in 1992 when he succumbed to leukaemia at the tragically young age of 38. "The Holographic Universe" is the only work by Talbot which most people have ever read or heard of, though he wrote other books on "the new physics" and on reincarnation. This book has been influential in popularising the holographic model of reality, postulated by the respected London University physicist David Bohm who originally hypothesised it to explain the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and other quantum anomalies, and separately by Stanford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram to explain the many complex workings of the human mind.
In "The Holographic Universe" Talbot takes the original models of Bohm and Pribram, backs up his thesis with the work of psychologists like Fred Alan Wolf, Stanislav Grov and others and extends the holographic model to postulate an all-embracing idea to explain: the nature of human experience and spiritual awareness, the nature of memory, the nature of time, near death experiences, paranormal phenomena of all kinds, multiple personality disorder and religious experience no less - and this list is by no means comprehensive. It's thought-provoking stuff with some good science but manages to be at the same time racy, absorbing and accessible to the non-science reader. This is quite a trick to pull off, but Talbot succeeds splendidly.
Examples of strange and mysterious phenomena outside the classical Newtonian-Cartesian model abound, from people who see the human energy field to telepathy, stigmata, psychokinesis, clairvoyance, prophecy and spontaneous healing. Talbot's thesis tries to fit all these paranormal phenomena into the holographic model and largely succeeds.
More scientifically literate readers, especially those versed in quantum theory, have used terms like `populist' and `shallow' to describe this book, but this criticism is only partly justified. The less educated reader may take Talbot's door-opening, paradigm-shifting thesis and investigate deeper and further into the physics underpinning the theory. It's not a scientific paper: it's a layman's book about a theory, written to sell and generate widespread popular discourse about its subject.
Talbot does however exhibit the zeal of the young and over-eggs it a bit, coming across more as an evangelist for the hypothesis than an impartial investigator using the scientific method to arrive at a sustainable model of reality. The fact is, some of the underlying physics is not very thoroughly understood by the author and alternative interpretations of the anomalies found in quantum mechanics have gained stronger support from many in the scientific community in the two decades since the book was written. In the assessment of this reviewer however these developments do not invalidate this important book, and though imperfect and pushing a scientific model which is incomplete and may well soon be obsolete, reading it is still time well spent. Talbot was a good writer, is never dull, and knows how to make you think.
It is interesting to speculate if, had Michael Talbot lived, he might have revised and deepened his thesis in the light of recent discoveries in quantum physics and developments in parapsychology into a more mature and serious work. We'll never know.