The history of science is filled with ideas and theories that were heretical or even nonsensical at the time they were first proposed - only to be accepted late

The history of science is filled with ideas and theories that were heretical or even nonsensical at the time they were first proposed - only to be accepted later as part of mainstream science. That is how science progresses. Just a century ago, wave-particle duality was a heretical idea, as was the notion that gravity bends space-time, or black holes exist, or even that the universe is expanding, and so on. Even Einstein could not accept the "spooky action-at-a-distance" implications of quantum mechanics - a theory he helped formulate early on. In fact, every major shift in our worldview has come from such paradigm shifts that start with fringe ideas that challenge conventional wisdom or dogma - starting with Galileo challenging the Church's dogma about a geocentric universe. Every age has its own sets of dogmas and beliefs that preclude other ways of viewing the world. The current scientific dogma is that the universe consists of stuff and phenomena that are entirely explainable by a materialistic, mechanistic worldview. It is dogma because it is an unshakable belief that automatically excludes any other ways of looking at the world. And even more revealing, in every age, it is just a handful of scientists - never the majority - who challenge our most sacred assumptions, and overturn the old paradigm to usher in a new way of looking at the world. That said - does not mean or imply that every heretical idea should be embraced. But at least let us consider them first before dismissing them out of hand - just because they challenge our most cherished notions about how the world ought to work. That is all Sheldrake is asking us to do here.....