The Holographic Universe
by Michael Talbot
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Book Reviews of The Holographic Universe
Book Review: Beautiful look at perhaps the ultimate reality
Summary: 5 Stars
"Sit down before fact like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing."-T.H. Huxley, as quoted by Michael Talbot
"...don't be afraid. Once you have overcome your 'fear of the water', I think you'll find swimming among quantum physics' strange and fascinating ideas much easier than you thought. I think you'll also find that pondering a few of these ideas might even change the way you look at the world..."
-page 8, Introduction
"Miracles happen, not in opposition to nature, but in opposition to what we know of nature."
-St. Augustine, as quoted by Michael Talbot, page 119
"The idea that the universe began in a single primordial explosion, or Big Bang, is accepted without question by most scientists. And this is odd because, although there are compelling reasons to believe that this is true, no one has ever proved that it is true. On the other hand, if a near death psychologist were to state flatly that the realm of light NDE-ers travel to during their experiences is an actual other level of reality, the psychologist would be attacked for making a statement that cannot be proved. And this is odd, for there are equally compelling reasons to believe this is true. In other words, science already accepts what is probable about very important matters IF those matters fall into the category of 'fashionable things to believe', but not if they fall into the category of 'unfashionable things to believe'. This double standard must be eliminated before science can begin to make significant inroads into the study of both psychic and spiritual phenomena...
...We are, as the aborigines say, just learning how to survive in infinity."
-Michael Talbot, THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
This book is so exahustively researched, so well thought out, so cleary elucidated and full of points clearly delinated such that practically anyone with any level of familiarity with the scientific ideas presented (including none whatsoever) will walk away from it having at the very least a cursory, metaphor-producing understanding... all on the most provocative and most important subjects mankind could ever talk about in this new century. If ever you questioned if we are living in transformative, paradigmatic, *apocalyptic* times the likes of which have not been experienced on earth before--with simliar ideas changing the world only centuries ago-- this book will confirm it for you.
Michael Talbot's holonomic and holistic approach to this fundamental shift in our understanding of the known universe, and what its implications are, will resonate in your heart, more than your mind. This book is a bridge to higher learning--of both a scientifc and a spiritual nature. It bridges the intuitive and the intellectual, the creative and the scientific; the scientific, spiritual, cultural, and creative persepctives on the universe into one all encompassing whole.
I highly recommend it. It is absolutely wonderful.
Book Review: Out there
Summary: 3 Stars
Holy smokes, Mulder, the truth really is out there--wa~y out there!I found the first few chapters outlining the book's theoretical basis absolutely fascinating. I'm not a physicist, so I am in no position to judge the validity of the author's position, but as a layman I found the possibilities truly inspiring.
Then I came to the chapter on 'miracles', in which Talbot cites an extensive list of so-called well-documented incidents of bonafied miracles (religious zealots being hit in the stomach with a sledge hammer so hard it cracks the mortar in the wall behind them, with no sign of injury; people walking through fire without being burned; a girl who could make an entire forest appear and disappear at will; and so on) and my willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt began to falter. So, I decided to check up on just one of his miracles, just to see what I could find.
Case in point: Sai Baba, an Indian guru who claims to be the incarnation of God. According to Talbot (who only bothered to consult one source) Sai Baba can produce holy ash out of thin air, create precious gems with the wave of his hand, pluck fresh fruit from baren trees out of season, heal the sick, and so on, etc. And he's alive today. Eager to find out more about this actual living God in our midst, I did a quick Internet search. Well, it took all of ten minutes to dig up enough dirt on this guy to fill a dump truck: eye witness accounts by people who had seen him palming objects or hiding them in his chair (backed by video tape evidence), testimony by young men who had been sexually molested by him, a suspicious multiple murder at the ashram of people who had fallen out of favor with Sai Baba, and so on. Some God! Yet Talbot refers to Sai Baba uncritically throughout his book as evidence to support his more outlandish claims.
Talbot says that if science is to develop a more complete model of the universe, it must be willing to accept subjective experience as valid evidence. But does this include being terminally gullible? His thesis seems to be that if you are willing to believe anything you hear, than anything is possible. Sorry, but in my universe, that just don't wash! This book is pseudo-science: it adopts the language and posturings of real science, without any of the intellectual rigor that lies at the core of scientific understanding.
That said, I must add that it is very good pseudo-science, interesting and intellectually provocative. I've been through a few doors myself in my life, and the theories presented in this book do give me a fingerhold for trying to understand these experiences. So, for all you Scullys out there, my advice is this: leave your shinola detector in the drawer and treat yourself to a little intellectual fantasy. It might even change your perspective on a few things.
Book Review: A Nice Historic Work
Summary: 3 Stars
This book was released in 1991 so it obviously contains very dated material. I had a difficult time reading this book simply because most of what it says has been progressed in terms of the material presented. For those who do not know, the simple stripped down definition of holograph or hologram is a laser beam of light that is split into two beams. One part is beamed onto an object and reflected on to a photographic plate. The other beam is sent directly to the same photographic plate. Then when the photographic plate is developed and illuminated from one source of light, a three dimensional image is projected and this is the hologram or holograph that most are familiar with.
Michal Talbot starts with quantum physics to prove that science can prove that everything is One and that all of matter and consciousness project light onto a cosmic photographic plate that we cannot see in physical form......or if we do see it, we experience Carl Jung's concept of what he termed Synchronicity which according the author has become the exception to our experiences when in reality it is the rule.
One of my favorite parts of the book involves how matter reacts to consciousness. Use science to measure light while a human looks at it and it behaves as a particle. Leave the room and measure it and it behaves like a wave. Thus the field of science takes the middle road and defines light properties as electromagnetic waves. Quantum physics solves the problem by accepting that matter contains "enfolded properties" or "unfolded properties". Matter can not only change form, it can be transformed by consciousness which is a subtler form of matter.
I enjoyed the concept of holographic patterns generated by consciousness; the higher the frequency, the greater the ability to tap into the collective unconscious. Apparently this can be measured by an electromyogram.
The author covers every psychic phenomenon of the 1991 time period and refers to it as holographic. This may be true but I was hoping for a more scientific or more analytical connection between these experiences and The Holographic Universe.
At any rate, in spite of my boredom with this book, I did experience what I can best explain as a strange phenomenon. I thought my eyes or glasses were going bad. As I casually looked at paintings, prints or even photographs, they appeared to move. Even when I focused my eyes on the images they became three dimensional or living images. For example after mediating for half an hour after reading a couple of chapters from this book, I opened my eyes and looked at the painting on my fireplace and the frame itself appeared to float while the image appeared to continue out towards me as if I had 3D glasses on!
Book Review: A beautiful look at what may be the ultimate reality
Summary: 5 Stars
"Only human beings have come to the point where they no longer know why they exist..."-The Lakota shaman Lame Deer, as quoted by Michael Talbot
"...The idea that the universe began in a single primordial explosion, or Big Bang, is accepted without question by most scientists. And this is odd because, although there are compelling reasons to believe that this is true, no one has ever proved this is true. On the other hand, if a near- death psychologist were to flatly state that the realm [Near Death Experience]-ers travel to during their experiences is an actual other level of reality, the psychologist wouldbe attacked for making a statement that cannot be proved. And this is odd, for there are equally compelling reasons to believe this is true. In other words, science already accepts what is probable about very important matters IF those matters fall into the category of *fashionable things to believe*, but not if they fall into the category of *unfashionable things to believe*. This double standard must be eliminated before science can begin to make significant inroads into the study of both psychic and spiritual phenomena..."
-Page 297
Talbot gives us more than a love letter to man and the universe in this painstakingly and exhaustively researched book, covering far- reaching and far-ranging subjects from parapsychology to cultural anthropology, to psychoneuroimmunology, to philosophy, to comparitive mythology and religion, to the sociology of scientific and medical communities, returning always to the central themes of quantum physics--and the unexpected way in which they ALL converge on singularly thematic and primal ideas. Talbot gives us the gift of infinity.
Talbot has created a bridge with this book: a bridge to connect the mind to the heart; the intellect to the intuition; the psychology to the soul; scientific theory to cultural experience; the individual rational mind to the collective consciousness; the enlightment of mystics, shamans and prophets of ancient times to the quantum cosmological discoveries and cutting edge theorists of today--bookending, with intellectual rigor and fortitude, the reaffirmations of the unitary voice of the human spirit, and the human heart.
This book must be experienced for its effect to be fully understood. Micheal Talbot, with this book, does exactly what he set out to do: change the way one sees oneself, and the world, forever. It is profoundly lucid, masterfully written, unapologetically challenging and revolutionary, always erudite... and just plain beautful.
Book Review: Shabby Scholarship at Best; Deceptive Scolarship at Worst
Summary: 1 Stars
Although I admit to taking a dim view of books I consider pseudoscientific, I agreed to read "The Holographic Universe" on the urging of friends. As one example of deplorable scholarship, I quote from this book: "And in his "Philosophical Essays" the Scottish philosopher David Hume wrote, 'There surely never was so great a number of miracles ascribed to one person as those which were lately said to have been wrought in France upon the tomb of Abbe Paris. Many of the miracles were immediately proved upon the spot, before judges of unquestioned credit and distinction, in a learned age, and on the most eminent theatre that is now in the world.'" (page 131)I had the good fortune of having read this passage immediately after being reminded (in "NTC's Dictionary of Changes in Meanings") that the earlier meaning of "to prove" (certainly the meaning in this passage by David Hume, written in the 18th century) was "to try" or "to test." I suppose Talbot could be excused for not knowing that Hume was reporting that these so-called "miracles" were on trial, not that they were "shown to be true," our present-day meaning of the word.
However it would be difficult to excuse the author's totally misleading and apparently intentional mis-quotation of David Hume, eminent philosopher and skeptic.
Hume's actual statement reads thus: "There surely never was a greater number of miracles ascribed to one person, than those, which were lately said to have been wrought in France upon the tomb of Abbe Paris, the famous Jansenist, with whose sactiity the people were so long deluded."
To deliberately delete a portion of quoted text and thereby twist its meaning so thoroughly is scholarship at its absolute worst.
The book just continues with more poor scholarship and unproven, pseudoscientific ramblings.
If you are looking for a thoroughly engaging and fascinating report on the latest probings into the mysteries of our world I highly recommend Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe, Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory." String Theory, though still theoretical, is nevertheless "real science."
One star for "The Holographic Universe" is too many. Unfortunately zero stars was not an option.
Warner and Christine, I still value our friendship even though I didn't like the book!