An enthusiastic but ultimately unconvincing discussion of a wide-ranging idea.
A former academic describes his concept of the “Light Body,” an energy framework with seemingly supernatural properties.
Gain, who was trained in biology and psychology research and has degrees from Princeton University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, combines elements from various scientific disciplines, pseudoscience, and cultural practices to define the Light Body. The author asserts that humans only evolved with the capacity to perceive a limited spectrum of natural occurrences. The Light Body, he asserts, represents a component of every human being that’s difficult to perceive and co-evolved with the material body, operating primarily in the realm of quantum mechanics. The author proposes that all humans have this Light Body and that most are aware of it to some degree, via experiences such as precognition or remote viewing. Gain invokes anthropologist Donald E. Brown’s concept of “human universals” and proposes that most cultures display features consistent with the Light Body concept, especially in culture-making and complex social organization. The bulk of the text describes the characteristics of the Light Body, human behaviors that involve the concept, and how it may contribute to culture formation and transmission using “Thought Forms” in a shared, nonphysical “shamanic space.” The final section voices concerns about how ignorance or misuse of the Light Body in the modern era may have negative social effects involving cult activity, new media, and even national security. Gain expresses his hope to inspire scientists to investigate these phenomena and his belief that the Light Body theory may be practically applicable to fields as diverse as energy healing and classroom management. The author offers an earnest and spirited argument over the course of the book, and his ideas will be of interest to some readers. His case, however, lacks the rigor required to animate scientific interest. His self-run, self-reported experiments and appeals to personal self-perception fail to acknowledge the effects of human subjectivity. The text also cites sources such as “channeled” literature as evidence, despite acknowledging that such sources are untrustworthy, and also uncritically cites data sources such as CIA memoranda.
An enthusiastic but ultimately unconvincing discussion of a wide-ranging idea.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9798998986888
Page Count: 197
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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