The Science of Magic

There is an idea that shakes the core of our scientific principles: That our consciousness participates in creating our physical reality. It’s an idea that runs counter to the materialist worldview we’re all taught in school. But the outer edges of scientific inquiry bleed into what can only be called ‘magic.’

IONS Chief Scientist Dean Radin, MS, PhD, is at the forefront of researching magic from a scientific standpoint. In The Science of Magic, he shines a light on today’s scientific breakthroughs, from quantum mechanics to the mind-body connection to telepathy, that can best be explained by what we currently call magic (or psi). In short, today’s magic is the science of tomorrow. He shares his own groundbreaking research on psi phenomena, and explains how you can start utilizing these findings in your own life today.

With his uniquely science-backed approach, Dean guides you through testing magic on your own, for example through dream precognition, evoking synchronicity, and more. The Science of Magic is a journey to the outer edges of our understanding of the universe, showing where science is leading us: namely, to magic.

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Dean Radin, MS, PhD, is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Science (IONS) and Associated Distinguished Professor of Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). His original career track as a concert violinist shifted into science after earning a BSEE degree in electrical engineering, magna cum laude and with honors in physics, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and then an MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. For a decade he worked on advanced R&D at AT&T Bell Laboratories and GTE Laboratories. For over three decades he has been engaged in research on the frontiers of consciousness. Before joining the research staff at IONS in 2001, he held appointments at Princeton University, SRI International, and other academic and industrial facilities.

He is author or co-author of hundreds of scientific, technical, and popular articles, four dozen book chapters, and four best-selling books including The Conscious Universe (recipient of the Scientific and Medical Network’s 1997 book award), Entangled Minds, Supernormal (recipient of the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award), and Real Magic. Dr. Radin’s books have been translated into over a dozen languages.

His 150+ academic articles appear in peer-reviewed journals ranging from Foundations of Physics and Physics Essays to Psychological Bulletin, Psychology of Consciousness, and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. He was featured in a New York Times Magazine article and he has been interviewed by dozens of television programs worldwide. He is a sought-after speaker, and has given over 750 talks for prestigious schools, government, military, business, scientific, and other groups around the world.

His invited talks for industries have included Merck, Google, Johnson & Johnson, and Rabobank. His government talks have included the US Navy, US Army, the Naval Postgraduate School, DARPA, the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (India), the International Center for Leadership and Governance (Malaysia), and the Australian Leadership Retreat (Australia). In 2017 he was named one of the 100 most inspiring people in the world by the German magazine, OOOM, and as of 2025 his filmography on IMDB lists 36 documentaries he’s appeared in.

“Dean Radin’s The Science of Magic is a luminous exploration of consciousness, showing that what the mystics intuited, science is now beginning to measure. With rigorous scholarship and an open heart, Radin reveals that mind and matter are threads in one cosmic tapestry, inviting us to reclaim our innate power to shape reality with intention, awe, and compassion. Read this book and awaken to the boundless possibilities that arise when spirit and science dance as one.” — Deepak Chopra, MD

“With his characteristic mix of wit, scholarship, and ability to make complex science understandable, Dean Radin has produced another must-read book for anyone curious about psychic phenomena. The Science of Magic not only validates the reality of magical experiences in every-day life, but also explores theories for how they occur, with suggestions for manifesting more of them in your life.” — Jessica Utts, PhD, Professor Emerita of Statistics, UC Irvine, former President of the ASA

“Dean Radin is one of our most trusted and storied parapsychologists. Here is a punchy, funny, and deeply personal summary of the science and effects of mind over matter, particularly minds from the future influencing the present. Such remarkable abilities can be both scientifically studied and put into daily practice. Magic works. Magic is real. It is also very funny. At least Dean Radin is.” — Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else, and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University.

“Dean Radin, a leading expert on the scientific study of psi phenomena, has taken his research one step further by exploring the mechanisms and practice of real magic in his accessible and revelatory new book The Science of Magic. Thousands of experiencers of both psi and magic, who have been radically changed by what they know firsthand despite the denials of materialism, now have a meaningful context and a solid foundation of support for the reality of “the impossible”.  Skeptics beware! Radin has provided laboratory data, analysis, and practical advice for anyone interested in the provable manifestations of non-local consciousness, moving us towards a new scientific paradigm. I learned a great deal from The Science of Magic. In multiple ways, it enriched and illuminated my own journey into the fascinating, expansive world which Radin articulates with unique expertise, simplicity, and outstanding clarity.” — Leslie Kean, author Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife and other books. 

“This is research at its best: drawing from the latest knowledge in physics and biology, Dr. Dean Radin describes an ongoing, radical restatement of ancient knowledge into the practical tools of modern thought. Critical experiments of the last decades have resolved long running controversies between skeptics and believers regarding the mind’s ability to grasp reality in its most essential layers: as the bewildering evidence of information physics comes alive in these pages, it echoes the wisdom 
from centuries past.” — Jacques F. Vallée, PhD, Documatica Research, San Francisco.

“Another great read from Dean Radin, surely one of the premier researchers in the entire 150-year history of experimental parapsychology. I was especially impressed with the massive chapter 2, summarizing an enormous range  of laboratory studies in a fashion that is authoritative and trustworthy, profoundly informative, and uncommonly insightful, but at the same time genuinely entertaining. The book as a whole clearly demonstrates the deep connections of this research not only with traditional ideas about magic but also with revolutionary developments in leading-edge contemporary physics and biology. Highly recommended!” — Edward F. Kelly, PhD, Professor in the Division of Perceptual Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine, and lead author of Irreducible Mind (2007), Beyond Physicalism (2015) and Consciousness Unbound (2021).

“Dean Radin’s The Science of Magic is a thrilling, paradigm-shifting journey that invites readers to reconsider the very foundations of reality. With wit, scientific rigor, and a storyteller’s grace, Radin dismantles centuries of cultural taboos around psychic phenomena and reclaims magic —real magic—as a serious topic worthy of scientific inquiry. From submarine telepathy to the physics of consciousness, Radin draws on decades of data and his own experiments to show how the mind weaves the fabric of reality itself. As someone immersed in exploring the edges of communication, particularly in non-traditional and non-verbal forms, I found this book electrifying. It gave language and structure to experiences we often dismiss as coincidence or imagination. This is the book to give your most skeptical friend—one part science, one part wonder, and all heart. A must-read for anyone curious about the untapped powers of the human mind.” — Ky Dickens, Creator, The Telepathy Tapes

“Dean Radin’s book certainly provides a wealth of material and inspiration for practical experimentation and the advance of magical and scientific theory. I recommend this ideas-rich and entertainingly written The Science of Magic to every open-minded scientist and to every serious magician on the planet.” — Peter J Carroll, physicist and sorcerer, Past Grandmaster Illuminates of Thanateros