Mesmerized by Magnetism

An 18th-century investigation into mesmerism shows us how to think about 21st-century therapeutic magnets

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Michael Shermer is publisher of Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com) and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. His new book is Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia (Henry Holt, 2018).

More by Michael Shermer
Scientific American Magazine Vol 287 Issue 5This article was published with the title “Mesmerized by Magnetism” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 287 No. 5 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican112002-7iKiHxjB6ZDgNscnu4eOu9

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