Francis Hitching
Encyclopedia
Francis Hitching is a British author
, journalist
and filmmaker; he is also a parapsychologist and a dowser.
, dowsing
, paranormal
and ley lines. In his book Pendulum: the psi connection(1977) he came to the conclusion that dowsing is genuine, he listed a number of alternative explanations such as electromagnetism
and psychic ability which he thought were associated with dowsing. Stuart Fleming in the New Scientist
gave Hitching's book Earth magic (1978) a positive review; the book linked many of the megaliths around Europe to groups of men whom he called "megalithic mathematicians" who - according to Hitching - could connect with a spiritual energy from the universe.
Hitching also wrote The world atlas of mysteries (1981); an atlas which listed many earth mysteries from around the world. The book was criticised in the New Scientist
for some of his conclusions such as linking animal
extinctions to reversals in the earth's magnetic field
.
Hitching is a non-Darwinian evolutionist. He wrote the book The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong (1983) in which he criticised both creationism
and Darwinism
, instead supporting a form of Neo-Lamarckism.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and filmmaker; he is also a parapsychologist and a dowser.
Biography
Hitching has written on earth mysteriesEarth mysteries
The term Earth mysteries describes an interest in a wide range of spiritual, quasi-religious and pseudo-scientific ideas focusing on cultural and religious beliefs about the Earth, generally with regard to particular geographical locations of historical significance.The study of ley lines...
, dowsing
Dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
, paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
and ley lines. In his book Pendulum: the psi connection(1977) he came to the conclusion that dowsing is genuine, he listed a number of alternative explanations such as electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
and psychic ability which he thought were associated with dowsing. Stuart Fleming in the New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
gave Hitching's book Earth magic (1978) a positive review; the book linked many of the megaliths around Europe to groups of men whom he called "megalithic mathematicians" who - according to Hitching - could connect with a spiritual energy from the universe.
Hitching also wrote The world atlas of mysteries (1981); an atlas which listed many earth mysteries from around the world. The book was criticised in the New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
for some of his conclusions such as linking animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
extinctions to reversals in the earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's inner core to where it meets the solar wind, a stream of energetic particles emanating from the Sun...
.
Hitching is a non-Darwinian evolutionist. He wrote the book The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong (1983) in which he criticised both creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
, instead supporting a form of Neo-Lamarckism.
Books published
- Pendulum: The Psi connection (1977)
- Earth Magic (1978)
- The Mysterious World: An Atlas of the Unexplained (1979)
- The World Atlas of Mysteries (1981)
- The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong (1983)