Holographic Universe

Rating:
Summary: This is it
Review: Too bad Michael Talbot is dead so he doesn't have to read the previous review. Of all the books I've read on physics and spirituality--from Michio Kaku's "Hyperspace" to Gary Zukov's "The Dance of the Wu Li Masters"--this book takes the prize for its elegance, readability and ability to shock the sleepy mind. They say that reality is just a habit we fall into. To see a new reality, we need to be jarred awake. This is the book that rings the alarm clock.

Rating:
Summary: Shabby Scholarship at Best; Deceptive Scolarship at Worst
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: the best, fanclub needed
Review: This book is better at explaining synchronicity than anything I am aware of. It presents comprohensive evidence backing the theory, which validates many unprovable spiritual ideas. It should be read by anyone unsure of the meaning of life. A new dedicated website to promote the book is needed, but url's don't belong here. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: An interesting theory and a good read
Review: Ill refrain from any emotional exclamations but this book is a breathtaking and inspiring account of a universe which many people either claim to be too mysterious to explain or too dull to ponder. At times, the ideas do take a stretch of the imagination as do most new theories like say, that the earth isnt flat or the center of the universe. I wounldn't recommend it to the close-minded but if you like new ideas and dont mind the questioning of your beliefs, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Hallucinations, they say....
Review: It's funny how people throw away new ideas just because they couldn't be prooved yet. Speculation, of course, how can he proove something like that in our times, doesn't mean he can't talk about his ideas, that can be right. Why not? Every scientific discovery start with hypothesis, they have to start from somewhere. If we were in ancient times speaking of the possibility of the man going to the moon, these same people would be badmouthing this idea, based on their limited minds and beliefs... What he presents in this books may not be the truth, but how can we know without instruments and with a primitive science? There's this possibility that it is. Chemistry is a science now, but it started as the "mystic" alchemy. And just because New Age groups speak of these type of phenomenons and most of these groups believe in anything, it doesn't mean these subjects can't be true, they come "oh new age people believe in this, then this is not true". Speaking of uncritic statements...

Rating:
Summary: I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time
Review: In short I found this book to be an intriguing possible explanation of what are often considered paranormal experiences in a more mundane context. Mass hysteria, out of body experiences, ESP, and even stigmata are all dealt with as well many other wierd, supposedly occult or religious occurences that have proven very palpable and "real" to participants. This book does not attempt to validify belief in either a God or the supernatural but merely explains how these mythological or supernatural occurences, inconsistent with the laws of nature, could be explained by interpreting existence and the universe as holographic in nature. It is an extremely interesting read and has me redefining my views on the physical and spiritual nature of reality and even my own ability to control these things.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent description of the reality of SPIRIT
Review: The Holographic Universe is an excellent book in that it confirms the non-material aspect of reality, beyond the materialistic views of the human race. It is a view of the reality of SPIRIT. This book will help a person to realize that there is more to reality than we are able to perceive with our five senses. The phenomenon of the holographic principle is an excellent indication of how intimately we are connected with the Infinite Creator.

How The Holographic Universe by Micheal Talbot is perceived depends on a person's degree of Spiritual perception. I think that science has done an excellent job on describing the reality of Spirit but not viewing it as such. The required "proof" of scientific evidence by many people is a typical western attitude that limits western thinking to the materialistic side of reality and they fail to recognize the non-material aspect of reality. When a person maintains that he or she must have scientific proof, they will never be able to aspire beyond the established scientific consciousness of western civilization. Not that I speak against scientific evidence, not at all, but we must be aware that science has its limits in what it can and cannot "proof." To make science the "god" of your life or to have it as your only means of proof can become a fatal mistake.

The Spiritual aware person who has read The Holographic Universe will realize that our so called "material world" is in truth not as physical or material as we think is. The fact that atomic particles have a waveform side to their existence indicates that there is a reality beyond our physical world which the material world, that which we perceive with our five senses, has to rely upon for its existence. It cannot exist without the energy field (Spirit) that manifests the atomic particles of which the universe is composed including our bodies and our surrounding reality. It has been stated that humans only use 10% of the capacity of their brain. It means that the perception of reality in the current state of human development is only perceived in that 10% capability. What will the other 90% of our brain capacity do for us? Will we see things that we are not able to see at the moment? Are there shapes in our reality that exist which the current undeveloped human mind is not capable of perceiving with its 10% of intelligence? It may be best to keep an open mind so that we can learn and progress faster than to think that we already know it all. The evidence of psychic phenomena and other unexplainable anomalies is proof that a something exists which science is not capable of analyzing, not even with the combined power of their super computers. They see it, analyze it, but cannot explain what they are viewing. I think that most humans fail to recognize the enormity of God's infinite presence in our reality and is obscured by personal, scientific, and religious conditioned thinking. God definitely does not exist between the covers of the Bible. If it did, that would invalidate the word "Infinite" which means that nothing can escape its presence because it is neither here, nor there, but EVERYWHERE.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: I think it's a great book. I'm not going to go into detail about it since so many others have, but I will say that allthough some of it gets farfetched, it remains interesting and gives you questions you never even thought about before.

Rating:
Summary: Why was this in the Physics Section of the book store...
Review: ...i got it at? Well, much to my dismay this volume of science-fiction has been the foundation for many occult beleifs. Truly a compilation of new age "wooie wooie" ... If you like the X-files, then this book is for you, otherwise inquire with your physics instructor before spending your money.

Rating:
Summary: Is The Holographic Universe really "occult" in nature?
Review: I have read this book over and over and though one may disagree with some of the conclusions reached by Michael Talbot, it is my opinion that he raised some crucial questions which science should look into and investigate. It is easy to relegate some of these areas to the "occult" mainly when one has not had some experiences which science cannot explain. Many years ago, I had 2 dreams at 4 months interval and in each of these dreams I had lost a sister. The day following each dream I received message from home that the sister I dreamt about had indeed died. I had no prior news that anyone of them was sick. At that time I was attending university about 2000 kms away from home. So how can we explain this by science? Michael Talbot views are very challenging and I think that science should now investigate them dispassionately and sift the shaft from the substance instead of throwing away everything off hand.