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  • Paranormality

  • The Science of the Supernatural
  • By: Richard Wiseman
  • Narrated by: Peter Noble
  • Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (296 ratings)
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Paranormality

By: Richard Wiseman
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Summary

Professor Richard Wiseman is clear about one thing: paranormal phenomena don't exist. But in the same way that the science of space travel transforms our everyday lives, so research into telepathy, fortune-telling and out of body experiences produces remarkable insights into our brains, behaviour and beliefs.

Paranormality embarks on a wild ghost chase into this new science of the supernatural and is packed with activities that allow you to experience the impossible. So throw away your crystals, ditch your lucky charms and cancel your subscription to Reincarnation Weekly. It is time to discover the real secrets of the paranormal.

Learn how to control your dreams and leave your body behind. Convince complete strangers that you know all about them. Unleash the power of your unconscious mind.

©2011 Richard Wiseman (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about Paranormality

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

An okay read but.....

First of all, it should be known that claims have been laid against the author for replicating scientific results for the early chapter about the dog that kept going to the window.

The compelling evidence can easily be Googled.

As for the book itself, it doesn't really do a good job of debunking facets of the paranormal.

Much of it implies that certain individuals are just plain fraudsters, in particular when the book discusses psychics and tarot readers.

While there are, in fact, many fraudster psychics and tarot readers using fraud as a complete explanation is unconvincing.

Other facets are just written about as seen as being unlikely due to the apparently high odds against them occurring.

The flippant attitude of Wiseman, as many have commented about this book on here, is typical of sceptics. It comes across that Wiseman simply thinks that the existence of the paranormal is daft, therefore it must not exist.

Also, like many sceptics do, Wiseman mentions James Randi's methods of "debunking" as proof that facets of the paranormal do not exist. It should be remembered that what he did were not truly scientific experiments. Proper science requires experiments to be performed to repetition in controlled settings. That, he did not do.

And if sceptics like Wiseman want to be seen as objective, then they shouldn't imply that the reason why many people didn't take up the Randi challenge is because they know they would be found out. That is biased thinking.

Overall, the book is still worth a read. It is interesting. But a great deal of care needs to be taken in interpreting what is being said.

I'm sure there are books out there that do a better job of attempting to debunk the paranormal.


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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Debunking the nonsense, but...

Lots of debunking in this book, and all of it justified.

But, early on I got the impression this would be more about the psychology of people's beliefs and why they followed certain ideas -- there was very little of this in the book.

Personally I'm somewhere between sceptic and believer -- I think there are a lot of strange things in this world that we can't explain, but I do get irked by people who seem to believe just about every supernatural idea going, or follow others blindly without question.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, easy listen

This covers some interesting subjects, such as 'mind reading' and telepathy, as well as looking at out of body experiences. It's a good insight into our own brains can trick us, as well as some of the tricks used by the people themselves. It's a light listen, easy to understand.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent introduction to the subject

Very useful for refuting the pervasive woo of paranormal enthusiasts. I may have to buy the hardcopy as a reference...

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous

I love this, it's full of humour, it's interesting and full of things that mean it's incredibly hard to stop listening. Also a good narration, I highly recommend this audio book to anyone.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My stars told me psychics were fake

If you could sum up Paranormality in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Informative, Clever

Would you listen to another book narrated by Peter Noble?

Overall I liked Peter's narration but he should leave doing the accents for a different type of book. I was a little disappointed that Professor Wiseman did not do it himself as on TV & Youtube he communicates his material really well.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Smile and Surpise

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The truth can be fun

second time I've listened to this book.I would recommend 100% to anyone curious about the paranormal.
The narration is the best I have listed to so far

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

mind curiosity's explained beautifully

I found this book not only very informative but very relaxing to listen to, making complex and interesting subjects described and explained in a very well presented way. i really liked this :)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen

What made the experience of listening to Paranormality the most enjoyable?

Learning lots of new stuff with Wiseman's wonderfully relaxed writing style making the learning enjoyable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Paranormality?

The 'cold reading' techniques used by Psychics

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

easy listening

The narrator seems intense as though something vital is about to be imparted, it isn't. I found I could have this book on whilst I tidied around the house, clear enunciation and steady volume. I suspect the book to be very good for those it can engage. I wonder if there exists any ology in this collection of quite engaging talks.

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2 people found this helpful