Why People Believe Weird Things
LC Class Q172.5.P77 S48 2002 | | |
Preceded by | Cycling: Endurance and Speed | |
---|---|---|
Followed by | Teach Your Child Math and Mathemagics |
Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time is a 1997 book by science writer Michael Shermer. The foreword was written by Stephen Jay Gould.
Summary
In the first section, Shermer discusses the ideas that he has towards
In part two Shermer explains paranormal thinking and how one comes to believe in things without evidence. He uses Edgar Cayce as an example, and while he agrees with parts of Ayn Rand's Objectivism, he criticizes its moral absolutism and argues that many follow her philosophy unquestioningly, which he believes contradicts free thinking.[1]
Part three begins with Shermer describing several debates he had with Duane Gish. He lays out some creationist arguments in 25 separate claims, and attempts to debunk each one with his own evidence. He closes retelling how a constitutional ban on teaching creationism in public schools was narrowly upheld at the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987.
Shermer shows that the Holocaust deniers reject proven facts for, as he states, ideological reasons. Like the creationists, he asserted, many Holocaust deniers believe that the evidence sides with them. He describes meeting and arguing with the deniers and lays out their arguments then shows evidence to support his own statements.
In part five Shermer relates Frank J. Tipler to Voltaire's character Pangloss to show how smart people deceive themselves. Shermer explores the psychology of scholars and business men who give up their careers in their pursuit to broadcast their paranormal beliefs. In his last chapter, added to the revised version, Shermer explains why he believes that "intelligent people" can be more susceptible to believing in weird things than others.
Reception
According to
The Independent Thinking Review wrote, "This is a book that deserves to be widely read. Skeptics and critical thinkers can learn from it, but more importantly, it's a book to give those who maybe aren't as skeptical as you, those who need some clear and reasonable arguments to gently push them in a more critical direction. Read this book yourself: buy it for someone whose mind you care about."[5]
See also
References
- Skeptic. 2 (2): 74–81..
- Reason magazine. November 1997. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ "Why People Believe Weird Things Review". popularscience.co.uk. 2008. Archived from the original on 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ "Why People Believe Weird Things Review". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 1997.[verification needed]
- ^ "Why People Believe Weird Things Review". Independent Thinking Review. October 1997.
External links
- Why People Believe Weird Things excerpt of the book of author's website
- Why People Believe Weird Things review from The Skeptic's Dictionary
- Why People Believe Weird Things review from Reason magazine