The Holographic Universe
by Michael Talbot
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Book Reviews of The Holographic Universe
Book Review: Fascinating at times, but ultimately collapses
Summary: 3 Stars
The first part of this book is fascinating as the author explains a theory of how the brain works like a hologram. Apparently if you cut a piece of holographic film, each piece still contains the entire object. The theory states that each section of the brain contains all of our memories and knowledge. Then it moves on to a theory of the universe as a hologram, stating that every electron actually contains all the matter and time of the universe. I'll admit I found the physics theory hard to comprehend. Fascinating, but hard to believe. These theories have been suggested by highly intelligent, well respected men in their fields which adds some gravitas to them.
The book started to lose me after this though. The author goes on to explain how you can perceive any number of phenomena through the lens of a holographic universe, including your health, miracles, psychokinesis, out of body experiences, near death experiences, stigmata and the list goes on. It started to sound like an infomercial selling you on the merits of the holographic theory. The biggest problem was no real distinctive proof was offered. The book collapses under the weight of all the anecdotal evidence. Dozens of studies done by dozens of doctors are cited. Historical legends about mystics and holy men and women from the past being able to create things out of mid-air and leave their bodies whenever they wanted to.
I have always been fascinated by paranormal sciences and the possibility that it is possible to leave your body or see things of the future in your mind or that you can influence events just by thinking about it. But I haven't seen any real proof of much and this book doesn't offer it. The stories from 700 years ago can't be held accountable because of the length of time and the predilection for hyperbole from the people who recorded these events. The anecdotes from more modern history seem to be heavily from India and Indonesia. Why not more from industrialized countries?
By the end of the book you find out the author himself claims to have some of these paranormal abilities and then you realize why there isn't a counterpoint in the book. The author believes these theories whole heartedly and he's just trying to get you to wise up. This is a well written book and at times fascinating and hard to put down. However, I would have liked a more balanced approach and more solid attempts at proof.
Book Review: A stimulating revelation of an incredible theory of reality
Summary: 5 Stars
i have not even finished half of this book and i am already in awe of this holographic paradigm. perhaps it is because i have always been wary of the confidence we put into modern scientific theory. i am quite certain that we are far from a "complete" theory of physics, and that we may never find an end to the dynamics of the universe. anyone who feels that science is a ladder you climb to get to the top, you probably won't even try to read this book -- and i think that is probably a good idea.never have i learned of such a unique and simple explanation for so many phenomena i have heard of, and some that i have witnessed myself. because of this, i hungrily progress through this book.
i have a comment on a review posted by "Joseph Pierre, Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity."
he mentions that the 'analogy' of how a hologram is produced confuses him somewhat. i think that this is an inaccurate interpretation of the meaning in the book. i believe that the analogy used is not to the production of a hologram but how the "illusion" of a 3D image can be perceived from a seemingly random interference pattern.
i believe the lesson to learn is that what we SEE as reality is in fact an ILLUSION created by our brain, which inputs the interference patters through our senses and interprets them into what we see as reality. this is similar to Plato's analogy of "The Cave". however, since this is only an illusion, any theories of physics that we base on it will only be explaining reflections of the true physics of the universe. thus, we can never fully explain all phenomena with such a shallow perspective. if we ever want to understand what's really going on "out there", we will have to explain it in terms of its TRUE fabric, and not in terms of the reflection of the fabric that we THINK we see.
thus, there is not necessarily a "reference beam" of the universe that is split and reflected off of a cosmic object. this is taking things too literally. rather, the universe is a sea of interference patterns, and sentient life has the unique ability to interpret the patterns into perception. in a sense, there is no laser that creates the original image, but our brains are the laser that creates the illusion of a 3d reality out of these NATURALLY occuring interference patterns.
best regards, dave
Book Review: Holographic Universe ... sculpted solid by Consciousness
Summary: 5 Stars
In this riveting, mind-bending book about the REAL nature of reality, Michael Talbot forces the readers to look beyond the rational/common-sense/"scientific" view of our universe and delve deeper into the subtler, more "real" nature of our universe. Mr. Talbot's bases his argument on the version of quantum reality as interpreted by physicist David Bohm. David Bohm theorized that our universe - which he called the explicate order - is actually a 3-D holographic projection of a deeper, more subtle reality calling it the implicate order. Talbot further takes into account the holographic nature of our brain/mind as propounded by Karl Pribram.In quantum physics, the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, where a pair of photons traveling in opposite direction display the same angle of polarization when measured at any moment of time, seems to give the impression of communication between them at speeds greater than 'c'. This in effect violates the universal ban imposed by Einstein on the max speed any object/particle can undertake. The other way around this paradox is to view the process in a holographic way. Even Neil Bohr in his famous argument with Einstein on the EPR paradox proposed that the two particles were not separate but part of the indivisible system which in turn strengthens Bohm's Holographic Universe viewpoint of the deep interconnectedness of each particle in this universe with every other.
The apparent solidity, colors, spatial locality and causality associated with our universe is but a perception of our brain which presents a blinkered and veiled view of our world and thus the illusion. The nature of the implicate order - from which our universe has come into being - is non-local and non-causal. The book then takes into account the experiences of the NDE'ers (near-death-experiences) and OBE'ers (out-of-body-experiences) and myriad mystics and shamans, who have described this implicate order/heaven as a place of immense peace and joy, where time and space as we know it ceases to exist, a place populated by being/beings of light/God and constructed by pure thought.
Readers who are interested in gaining insights and philosophies into the nature of our universe and the very purpose of our existence on this planet should definitely give this book a read. Very enriching, insightful and equally entertaining.
Book Review: A Paradigm Shifting Book
Summary: 5 Stars
If you liked the films "Mind Walk", and "What the Bleep..." and are interested in the spiritual repercussions of the latest findings in quantum physics, and Unified Field Theory then you will probably love this book too. If you are unfamiliar with these concepts know that although not religious, this book explores some recent discoveries made by science that may have seemingly spiritual repercussions. Talbot elegantly explains the very intriguing Holographic Theory coined by Bohm. It's a theory that the universe, our memories, even our senses are based on the idea that fractales exist in our lives that are similar to a hologram.
A true hologram looks like a series of squiggles and lines. You need to shine a laser through it to produce a 3-D image. Imagine the image is of an apple. Even if you cut the hologram into pieces, and shine a laser through, the image of the apple is visible and intact. The smaller the holographic piece, the fuzzier the image becomes, but it still creates the entire image, not a portion of it.
There are several other examples of this principal throughout the book as applied to other fractales in nature. Similarly, if you remove 1/8 of the brain, you don't remove 1/8 of a memory, the whole memory simply becomes fuzzier, but you still remember the whole experience. A holographic image emerges from the seemingly chaotic patterns of interference in wave patterns, yet when a laser is shone through an image appears. The brain appears to be organized on the same principal of criss-cross patterns as well. One chapter provides additional examples to suggest that there are several chaotic patterns in nature that when studied closer, actually have an exceptionally high order. This suggests a more infinite order to the universe than previously realized. There are several examples of mathematics and quantum physics in this book that are used to explain this theory more clearly.
Despite the fact that I am more oriented toward the arts, linguistics, and biology, I found this book to clearly explain some very paradigm shifting concepts. This is one of those pieces that I had to own so that I can refer to it throughout my life as well as reccommend to friends, because it is hard to see the world the same after considering the concepts within.
Book Review: DON'T FORGET YOUR PARACHUTE
Summary: 4 Stars
Talbot opens up some fascinating doors to understanding the duality aspect of man's physical nature. Man as both a separate solid person and a "wave person" connected to all the rest of the waves in the universe. This is consistent with the dual nature quantum theory of the subatomic particles: electrons, protons and photons out of which man appears to be composed. After introducing us to the holographic model formulated by Bohm and Pribram, Talbot then proceeds to take the reader on a whirlwind tour of every abnormal event listed in the Britannica.Talbot started down the runway on solid ground for 100 pages and then left planet earth for a more dreamy flight into an array of meandering minds. We are given glimpses of aura peepers, clairvoyants, distant viewers, ESP, LSD trippers, materializations, multiple personality disorders (MPD), near death experience (NDE), out of body floaters (OBE), phantom limb sensations, psychokinesis (PKE), stigmata, psychic channelers, psychic healers, precognitive dreamers, reincarnations, remote viewers, schizophrenics, shamans, religious hallucinators, and and then whisked far into the Swedenborg stratosphere of biblical interpretation. Obviously there was no height the author would not reach for to escape the boring tranquility of 90% of mankind. However to fit all of this into one holographic model takes some stretching. Talk about someone who got caught up in the material, Talbot closes the dramatic script with the suggestions that scientists become participatory in their studies instead of mere observers - take the LSD, take the Out of Body trips, sign up for the Near Death Experiences and line up for a UFO abduction. What would any of this prove except the power of mass hypnosis and the silly putty nature of one's dreams. Illustrating that when the mind reaches a dead end, escape into fantasy waits patiently.
Author a prodigious note taker (700 notes in 300 pages) and name user. Hundreds of names got their 15 seconds of fame here. What started out as reasonable survey of the efforts of Bohm and Pribram (a neat, compact metaphor of the hologram as organizing model of man's perceptions) steadily, chapter by chapter, leaped into the skies of speculation. Certainly a mind expanding read but bring along a parachute.