COMMENT:Describes, from the point of view of an experimental physicist, why some basic scientific knowledge can be taken as virtually certain, and how this can be applied to paranormal claims. Discusses reductionism to particles and interactions, quantum theory, relativity and faster-than-light communication paradoxes, but the central issue is the availability of symmetry-related conservation laws and similar statements that serve as solid limiting principles. Rothman's more philosophical claims are sometimes overstated, but his physics is mainly reliable and presented understandably. However, it would have been better if he had addressed Quantum Mysticism in more detail, focusing on the lack of a basis for communication in conceptual perplexities, and if his analyses of ESP and PK in terms of conservation laws were more detailed and less disjoint. Still, flaws aside, a good introductory text for skepticism-relevant physics.
