reviews
May 12, 2013
Koestler looks at the evidence for ESP, psychokinesis, telepathy, etc and suggests possible partial explanations. This involves a brain-hurting chapter on atomic physics and quantum theory, Jung apparently causing "detonations" in Freud's bookcase, the endearingly weird and disgusting animal that is slime mould and just about everything else. Koestler doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but it's a fascinating journey and it certainly makes you think.
Jul 15, 2011
We picked this up in New York City, but I didn't read it until completing C.G. Jung's Collected Works and writing a thesis about Kant's influence on him. The reference in the title is to Jung's Synchronicity ("meaningful coincidence") theory which hinges on a metaphysical bridging of the physical and the psychic which the psychiatrist called "the psychoid." Koestler discusses this and ranges at some length into parapsychological research and modern physics in order to suggest its plausibility.
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Oct 07, 2010
I can't help it, I love coincidences. So did Koestler. Just to prove how incredibly clever he is despite this, I offer from Theodore Dalrymple:
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Someone who had known Arthur Koestler told me a little story about him. Koestler was playing Scrabble with his wife, and he put the word vince down on the board.
“Arthur,” said his wife, “what does ‘vince’ mean?”
Koestler, who never lost his strong Hungarian accent but whose mastery of English was such that he was undoubtedly one of the twentieth century’s
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Aug 28, 2012
Facts and data presented about the phenomenons and the current academical research on them are useful. The analysis and reasons behind some rationalizations seem poor.
Sep 25, 2009
This book changed my view of the universe and humanity.
It is out of print and can likely only be found at University libraries.
It is out of print and can likely only be found at University libraries.
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Aug 06, 2008
Along with Secrets of the Great Pyramid, this was one of the most mind-blowing books of the early seventies. Koestler combines explorations into ESP and psychokinesis with quantum mechanics and Jung's theory of synchronicity in an effort to explain life, the universe and everything. I found this book great fun, and am curious to discover how well it has weathered the past few decades.
Mar 04, 2012
surprised how this book never got reprinted.
it is still relevant today, after 40 years.
it is still relevant today, after 40 years.
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