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Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions

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Michael Shermer
Why People Believe Weird Things:
Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

(New York: Freeman & Company, 1997) 306 pages
(ISBN: 0-7167-3090-1)
(Library of Congress call number: BF773.S56 1997)

A beginning guide to exploring the following themes:
science and pseudo-science, the psychology of over-belief,
near-death experiences as proof of life after death,
alien abductions, witch hunts, Objectivism (Ayn Rand) as a cult,
creationism, holocaust deniers, & racism.
The book attempts to be wide-ranging.
Therefore it is brief on most subjects.
But it gives the reader a very good start
for much deeper exploration of any of the themes discussed.
Easy to read--aimed at a wide, popular audience.
Many good examples of dogmatic thinking:
First you decide what you believe.
Then you gather all possible 'evidence' to support your belief.
And you dispute, disregard, or fail to recognize evidence to the contrary.
That's how people continue to believe weird things.

Find similar books on the Internet: "OCCULTISM AND SCIENCE".

James Leonard Park, skeptic.