ISBN 0-9745261-0-X, $19.95 Paperback, 307
pp.
Poseidia Press, 2003
Review by Eugene F. Mallove
From Infinite Energy #55, May/June 2004
The Synchronized Universe is a courageous,
audacious, and very sophisticated catalog of seemingly interrelated
phenomena—such as psychokinesis, ESP, remote viewing,
etc.—which, if they are real, transcend currently accepted models of physics;
they are thus, for now, called “paranormal.” It is an almost unique work of
synthesis and skilled documentation, coming as it does from a physicist who was
rigorously trained at MIT and Princeton in mainstream physics.
I must confess that I view Dr. Swanson as a kindred spirit,
though I did not know him personally when we were in the same entering MIT
class, the one graduating in 1969; he majored in physics, and I in aero/astro engineering. But Dr. Swanson, whose heretical views
about the process of science happened—independently—to converge with my own,
formerly would have been highly skeptical of the cornucopia of paranormal
experiments and observations that he so ably weaves together. Though I may not
accept all of his conclusions about many of these (to me) unfamiliar phenomena
and the beginnings of the cross-phenomena theoretical understanding that he
proposes, I give this significant work my highest recommendation. It is a
landmark book that deserves wide recognition.
After MIT, Claude Swanson went to Princeton University, where
he obtained his Ph.D., also in physics. For many years he worked in R&D on a
host of conventional research projects (and he still does), never imagining that
one day he would find himself pursuing deep scientific heresy, in fact many heresies. Some of these are far
more threatening to the present scientific enterprise than “mere” new energy
sources, such as LENR and vacuum energy.
What is most refreshing about the approach he takes in this
book are the very great efforts he has made to verify first hand some of the
so-called paranormal phenomena he and others have explored. For example—horror
of horrors, literally—he has taken what turned out to be photographs of
anomalous phenomena at an alleged “haunted house”! Furthermore, while it has not
been possible for him to have had first hand experience with the many classes of
phenomena that are dubbed “paranormal,” I give the author enormous credit for
having dug up and referenced a huge body of original material, so that
interested readers can explore these areas for themselves. The aspect of such
phenomena that had caught my attention earlier are the seemingly bullet-proof
psychokinetic experiments, which have been conducted
for over two decades by Prof. Robert Jahn (formerly
Princeton’s Dean of Engineering) and his colleagues at the Princeton Engineering
Anomalies Research (PEAR) group. The author covers these too, of course.
Swanson’s experience as a heretic apparently began when he
was forced to conclude that some “remote viewing” experiments, which had been
reported to him, appeared to him to be very sound. He recalls, “That was the day
I came face to face with information that I could not dismiss and could not
explain.” The troubling thought began to enter his mind: “But what if modern
science still has a few things to learn? What if present-day physics is leaving
out a few important truths about the universe as well.” So well understated!
His answer, after years of exploration: “This seems to be the
case. There are many phenomena which have been proven in the laboratory [yes, he
also lists among these cold fusion], yet which mainstream physics steadfastly
refuses to admit or recognize. Why? Because if it did, it would turn the present
world view of physics upside down. But there is good news too. It would bring a
golden age of new discoveries and new technology, undreamed of today. And, it
would bring modern science and modern religion much closer to healing the
ancient rift which separates them.”
Swanson’s microscope is sharply focused on some of the
preposterous affectations of modern physics. About the current view of physics
that up to 95% of the “matter” of the universe is supposedly “dark” and unknown,
Swanson quotes Princeton’s Prof. James Peebles, “It is
an embarrassment that the dominant forms of matter in the universe are
hypothetical. . .” He approvingly quotes Peebles’
antagonist, astronomer Halton Arp: “The tradition of ‘peer review’ of articles published
by professional journals has degenerated into almost total censorship.
Originally, a reviewer could help an author improve his article by pointing out
errors in calculation, references, clarity, etc., but scientists, in their
fervid attachment to their own theories, have now mostly used their selection as
a referee to reject publication of any result that would be unfavorable to their
own personal commitment. . .The result is that real investigative science is now
mostly an underground activity.” (Arp, 2000)
This work is quite impressive, even though I am far from
confident that Dr. Swanson’s outline of a theory to encompass the phenomena he
catalogs is going in the right direction. But, no matter—pun intended—if even a
small fraction of these phenomena are valid, the answer to how they occur will certainly have to be
in the massless, i.e. “non-inertial matter” or “no
matter” realm.
This is a marvelous book that I am proud to recommend to
anyone. It is apparently only the first volume of a much larger series of works
on anomalous phenomena in general that the author has planned, and which may
require deep alterations in physics. We should wish him well and await his
further insights. He has just begun a new lifework.
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