physics

Lawrence LeShan

Lawrence LeShan is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lawrence LeShan rather than just read about it. In short: Lawrence LeShan (September 8, 1920 – November 9, 2020) was an American psychologist, educator, and the author of the best-selling How to Meditate (1974) a practical guide to meditation. He authored or co-authored approximately 75 articles in the professional literature and more than fifteen books on a diverse range of topics including psychotherapy, war, cancer treatment, and mysticism.

Key takeaways

Lawrence LeShan belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lawrence LeShan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lawrence LeShan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lawrence LeShan (September 8, 1920 – November 9, 2020) was an American psychologist, educator, and the author of the best-selling How to Meditate (1974) a practical guide to meditation. He authored or co-authored approximately 75 articles in the professional literature and more than fifteen books on a diverse range of topics including psychotherapy, war, cancer treatment, and mysticism. He also authored science fiction using the pseudonym Edward Grendon.

Biography

LeShan received a bachelor's degree from The College of William and Mary, a masters degree from University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. He taught at Pace College, Roosevelt University, and the New School for Social Research. He worked as a clinical and research psychologist for more than 50 years, including six years as a psychologist in the United States Army. He served in the army from 1943 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1952. During the 1960s and 1970s, LeShan conducted extensive research concerning parapsychology. In his book The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Toward a General Theory of the Paranormal, he investigated paranormal topics, mystical thought and quantum mechanics. In the book LeShan claimed to have tested his hypothesis of "clairvoyant reality". He said the results were a success and he could heal with mental power and train others to do the same. However, Tim Healey wrote that the results were not convincing as nine of his students had eight attempts at using a clairvoyant training technique and all scored four to fives misses. In World of the Paranormal: The Next Frontier, LeShan advanced his paranormal ideas further, claiming that psychic abilities such as clairvoyance, precognition, and telepathy can be explained using quantum theory. During the 1980s, LeShan's emphasis changed to the psychotherapy of cancer support, a topic for which he is considered a pioneer. LeShan lived in New York City. He was married to Eda LeShan (1922..2002), who was also a writer. He died at the age of 100 in 2020.

Publications The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Toward a General Theory of the Paranormal (1974) How to Meditate: A Guide to Self-Discovery (1974) Alternate Realities: The Search for the Full Human Being (1976) You Can Fight For Your Life: Emotional Factors in the Treatment of Cancer (1980) Einstein's Space & Van Gogh's Sky: Physical Reality and Beyond (with Henry Margenau)(1982) The Mechanic and the Gardener: How to Make the Most of the Holistic Revolution in Medicine (Introduction by Norman Cousins) (1982) Holistic Health: How to Understand and Use the Revolution in Medicine (1984) From Newton to Esp: Parapsychology and the Challenge of Modern Science (1985) Cancer As a Turning Point: A Handbook for People with Cancer, Their Families, and Health Professionals (1994) An Ethic for the Age of Space: A Touchstone for Conduct Among the Stars (1996) Beyond Technique: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century (1996) The Dilemma of Psychology: A Psychologist Looks at His Troubled Profession (2002) The Psychology of War: Comprehending Its Mystique and Its Madness (2002) World of the Paranormal: The Next Frontier (2004) Patriotism for Grownups (with Eda J. LeShan)(2005) The Pattern of Evil: Myth, Social Perception and the Holocaust (2006) A New Science of the Paranormal: the Promise of Psychical Research (2009) Landscapes of the Mind: The Faces of Reality (2012)

References

External links Cancer as a Turning Point

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lawrence LeShan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lawrence LeShan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lawrence LeShan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lawrence LeShan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lawrence LeShan

In research: Lawrence LeShan appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lawrence LeShan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lawrence LeShan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920 births, 2020 deaths, 21st-century American psychologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lawrence LeShan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lawrence LeShan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lawrence LeShan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lawrence LeShan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lawrence LeShan in simple terms?

Why does Lawrence LeShan matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lawrence LeShan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lawrence LeShan.