Charles Panati | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Panati (1943-03-13)March 13, 1943 (age 82) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Occupation | Physicist |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | Active:20th Century |
| Genre | |
| Literary movement | Paranormal |
| Notable works |
|
Charles Panati (born March 13, 1943) is a former college professor, industrial physicist, author and science editor ofNewsweek.[1]
Panati was born inBaltimore, Maryland, and raised inAtlantic City, New Jersey. After graduating fromVillanova University (1961–65) with a B.S. in physics, Panati obtained a master's degree in Radiation Health Physics (1966) fromColumbia University and worked in cancer research at theColumbia Presbyterian Hospital. Panati is openly gay.[2]
After joiningNewsweek in 1971, Panati became interested inparapsychology and published his first book,Supersenses: Our Potential For Parasensory Experience (1974), which described parapsychological research intoextrasensory perception. The book was described in a review as a respectable survey of psi phenomena but "the skeptic will remain unconvinced... because the subject is not amenable to rational, empirical scrutiny."[3] Panati later met the Israeli psychicUri Geller, who suggested Panati collect and publish 22 research papers by scientists around the world who had investigated thespoon-bender's alleged abilities.The Geller Papers (1976), edited by Panati, caused controversy when it was published. Several prominent magicians came forward to demonstrate that Geller's so-called psychic talents could be easily duplicated by stage magicians. Science writerMartin Gardner wrote that Panati had been fooled by Geller's trickery andThe Geller Papers were an "embarrassing anthology".[4] InDeath Encounters (1979), Panati investigated the phenomenon ofclinical death, in which subjects report being drawn toward a white light while wrestling with the will to live.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Wendy Thompson Warner wrote that, "His views on parapsychology have, rightly or wrongly, been the target of widespread skepticism in the scientific community."[5]
Panati has written a series of books about the origins of ordinary, everyday things, beginning in 1984 withThe Browser’s Book of Beginnings. He wrote a second book,Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things in 1987 that was praised as "excellent bathroom reading".[6] Subsequent books in the series werePanati’s Parade of Fads, Follies and Manias: The Origins of Our Most Cherished Obsessions in 1991,Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites and Rituals of the World’s Religions in 1996,Sexy Origins of Intimate Things in 1998, andWords To Live By: Origins of Common Wisdom Expressions in 1999.
His bookExtraordinary Origins of Everyday Things has been described as a "handy reference".[7] Panati'sSacred Origins of Profound Things received a positive review and was described as "an informative and entertaining book on the origins of religious ideas, sacred items, worship practices, holy symbols, and holidays."[8]
In 1981, Panati and his brother, Michael Hudson, wroteThe Silent Intruder: Surviving the Radiation Age, a book that seeks to examine the interaction of radiation and human tissue.[5]
Panati has appeared as a guest onOprah, Regis andLetterman.
