The Sense Of Being Stared At: And Other Aspects of the Extended Mind [Paperback]

However, Sheldrake follows an impeccable scientific approach. The writing in this book is very clear, and the evidence for the reality of the phenomenon is very impressive. The empirical sections of the book are the most persuasive. His theoretical explanations will likely generate the most controversy among those scientists and philosophers who are willing to drop their prejudice and concede the reality of the sense of being stared at.

Sheldrake combines his theory of the 'extended mind' with his idea of morphic fields - regions of influence not currently recognized by mainstream physics, but (it is argued) necessary to explain the growth and regeneration of organisms. Those readers interested in this will want to read Sheldrake's best and most important work, The Presence of the Past.

Where this explanation of ESP in terms of fields may falter is that all of the other fields recognized by physics decline with distance. Parapsychology experiments have demonstrated that ESP is not affected by distance, or by shielding of any sort. Explanations of ESP in terms of electromagnetic fields, for example, have been convincingly falsified by such experiments. Morphic fields, if they exist, must have very different properties from the known fields if they are to explain ESP. Some physicists feel that the non-local quantum mechanical effects that have been corroborated in physics experiments may more plausibly explain ESP. If there is any shortcoming to this book, it is that related profound issues - such as the mind/body problem or the implications of quantum mechanics - are dealt with only briefly. Again, this is not true of Sheldrake's masterwork, The Presence of the Past.

So, readers who wish to delve more deeply into Sheldrake's theories know where to look. Sheldrake is a bold scientist, one who never lets convention or dogma interfere with his explorations.

As Sheldrake writes in the Introduction,

"I believe it is more scientific to explore phenomena we do not understand than to pretend they do not exist. I also believe it is less frightening to recognize that the seventh sense is part of our biological nature, shared with many other animal species, than to treat it as weird or supernatural."

Sheldrake is a daring and imaginative theorist, and his ideas deserve to be taken seriously. This is an important work, well-worth reading.

Sheldrake is a pariah. He is fully signed up to parapsychology, a "quack science" if ever there was one. Yet Sheldrake - and it's hard not to feel his irritation here - insists HE is the scientific one. There is so much data in this book it is overwhelming. There are only three possible conclusions from the wealth of results here from literally tens of thousands of vaild experiments. Either 1) he is a witting or unwitting liar. 2) There is an elusive flaw to his (many) methods or 3) there is something in it. (Incidentally, another reviewer called his results having "only minor effects", which apparently reveals a staggering lack of understanding of both science and statistics).

Human nature being what it is, your own response to his experiments is predictable depending on your world view. Indeed, this is Sheldrake's point that he discusses at length - it is possible to dismiss evidence by simply dismissing evidence.

In the meantime, the book is extremely readable and raises a lot of fascinating observations, experiments and theories for anyone who might define themselves as open-minded. For me, it would be productive indeed if mainstream sceptical scientists would engage in proper dialogue with people such as Sheldrake. Let them fight it out. Both groups claim to be true scientists, but only one will be right.