The paranormal equation

Stein is a logical man and a major paranormal sceptic, but this does not mean he doesn’t believe in the paranormal. In fact, it is Stein’s logical mind that leads him to conclude that it is entirely possible for there to be many natural occurrences that science has yet to explain. Including the aforementioned phenomena.

However, Stein does not follow every tom, dick and harry who claims to have psychic powers. He admits that many of the so called psychics are nothing more than charlatans taking money from vulnerable people in their time of need. That said, he also admits that some psychics can perform feats that seem to have no rational explanation (at the moment), or do they?

When reading this book I had to acknowledge that Stein makes a lot of sense. I’m not saying I think he is right on everything, but I do feel strongly that his approach to the subject is correct. With an intelligent insight Stein provides the manual from which further scientific studies of the paranormal should be based.

Throughout the book it is reasoned that it may well be possible to explain some strange phenomena using the mathematics and science discovered during the last century. The author, being a mathematician, uses complex equations to explain his ideas. But don’t worry if you find mathematics challenging, this is not a book of maths, it is a book about it.

James D. Stein was born in New York City in 1941. He majored in maths and minored in physics at Yale University, afterwards receiving a doctorate in mathematics from the University of California in Berkeley. After an initial teaching stint at UCLA, he joined the faculty of California State University at Long Beach, where he is still employed. Stein is the author of more than thirty research articles in maths, and has served on several state and national committees on mathematics education. He and his wife live in Redondo Beach, California, where they enjoy theater and movies. Last year they traveled to Taiwan, where his wife was born, and they look forward to other trips when he retires.

Overall, this is a great book. I really did enjoy reading it and some of the ideas within will stay with me I’m sure. Don’t be put off by the maths involved, Stein does a brilliant job of explaining it all in laymen’s terms so that even the least numerically minded people can get to grips with it.