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156 of 176 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing and Up-to-Date, August 24, 2003
This review is from: The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions (Paperback)
Let's get the quibble out of the way first. I don't like the words "skeptic" and "dictionary" in the title (the "the" is ok!). The tone is not skeptical, it is simply fact-oriented. And the book is in encylopedia format, not dictionary format. Now as to content. The author is a professor of philosophy, and
he tends to discuss the various topics from the standpoint
of logical and factual consistency, rather than from a scientific
standpoint. Since the topics under discussion generally have
no scientific aspects whatsoever, despite their pretenses, this
is hardly a defect. Entries tend to be a bit brief and terse,
as might be expected since most of the material appeared first
on the author's very useful website. I teach a course in
pseudoscience, and it covers a very, very wide range of topics
in this nearly bottomless field. I found accurate entries
on almost every one of those topics here, with very few
exceptions. Discussion of medical quackery is always problematical in a book
of this kind, because of the tendency of quacks to sue authors,
not on the issue of false claims about the quack, but rather
on the narrow legal issue of "restraint of trade"--- in other
words, factual discussion of quacks and alternative healers
makes it harder for those quacks and alternative healers to find
paying suckers, or so their lawyers claim. But the author has
managed to discuss many common forms of quackery, and a number
of prominent quacks, nonetheless. More power to him and to
his publisher. I don't know of another book exactly like this, with the same
broad sweep of content. I recommend it highly to anyone who is
interested in the facts, if any, behind some of the most
familiar myths of our time.
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121 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Informed, measured, and warranted skepticism, September 16, 2003
This review is from: The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions (Paperback)
Robert Carroll has compiled an impressive collection of short articles defining and explaining ideas that warrant careful critical examination; that is, ideas deserving a thorough going over by a thoroughgoing skeptic. Carroll pulls no punches in his criticism of whacky cultish ideas, yet he does not brazenly skewer all sacred cows. Rather, he sets out to expose a wide range of ideas to the light of healthy skepticism, exposing blatant charades for what they are, explicating ideas that are often misconstrued or irrationally rejected, and casting doubt where doubt is due. I believe he largely succeeds in these endeavors. The book is organized like a dictionary with an alphabetical listing of various words that Carroll sets out to explore in depth. I think the book is better described as an encyclopedia, however, because of the length and style of the articles, which are not terse definitions, but mini-essays. Here is a sampling of the "A" words to give you an idea of the range of topics that Carroll addresses: acupuncture, agnosticism, alien abductions, ancient astronauts, angel therapy, anthroposophy, argument from design, argument to ignorance, aromatherapy, astral projection, astrology, atheism, automatic writing, and avatar. (This is roughly one third of the entries under "A"). Even within this short list there are some whacky ideas (angel therapy and alien abductions), some borderline ideas (acupuncture and anthroposophy), and some words that are simply in want of a careful definition (agnosticism, atheism, and avatar). Carroll deals with them all rather even-handedly, at least from the perspective of a naturalistic worldview. Other topics covered in the book include Bible codes, Bigfoot, chiropractic, confirmation bias, crystal power, ESP, holistic medicine, karma, levitation, magnet therapy, miracles, Noah's Ark, etc. I think Carroll did a rather good job in selecting his topics as they cover such a panoply of beliefs; he is just as likely to find fault with one cult as any other. With respect to Carroll's intentions, as he states in the introduction, "this book is a Davidian counterbalance to the Goliath of occult literature. I hope that an occasional missile hits its mark." Thus, Carroll apparently intends to instill a bit of healthy skepticism into those minds willing to accept it. And who might that be? Carroll identifies his intended audience as those uncommitted to occult claims (open-minded seekers), those who believe in them but have doubts (believing doubters), those who are more prone toward doubt than belief (soft-skeptics), and those who strongly disbelieve in occult ideas (hardened-skeptics). But, "The one group this book is not aimed at is the 'true believer' in the occult. If you have no skepticism in you, this book is not for you." I suspect that Carroll is quite right in his assessment; if you are an ardent believer in any of the cultish ideas that Carroll debunks, then you are unlikely to find his arguments compelling; The reason for that, of course, remains open to debate. Here are a few short snippets from Carroll's entries. Under "acupuncture," Carroll first describes the history of the technique, its variants, and the types of claims made for it. His brief analysis suggests that there is little reason to believe that the anecdotal successes of the technique amount to anything more than regression toward the mean. In Carroll's words, "An alternative treatment such as acupuncture is sought only when the pain is near its most severe level. Natural regression will lead to the pain becoming less once it has reached its maximum level of severity." Under "agnostic," Carroll carefully defines the often-misunderstood word, explaining that "The agnostic holds that human knowledge is limited to the natural world, that the mind is incapable of knowledge of the supernatural. Understood this way, an agnostic could be either a theist or an atheist." Under "numerology," Carroll explores the idea of ascertaining a person's characteristics from numerical data based on name and birth date, and exposes it as a total sham. He links the perceived success of numerology to the "Forer effect", which he defines in another entry as "The tendency to accept vague and general personality descriptions as uniquely applicable to oneself without realizing that the same description could be applied to just about anyone." This is a fun book to read, both because of its wide range of topics, and because of Carroll's no-nonsense pragmatic approach. I hope that the book will cajole at least a small minority of readers into critically examining some of the outlandish beliefs that surround us, and to wisely insist on something more than anecdotal evidence, wishful thinking, or arguments from ignorance before accepting them.
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36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Taken for what it is, an excellent introduction to Skepticism, January 31, 2006
This review is from: The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions (Paperback)
First off, this book is not impartial. It is opinionated, and honest about its intentions. Carroll declares, right off the bat, he is a hardened skeptic writing for a general audience. He isn't trying to appeal to devotees of the groups he sets out to rebuke, and he isn't trying to be objective or academic. Carroll gives occasional credit where credit's due to topics such as chiropractics, which are on the fence in terms of scientific merit and not over it, but most of the articles are curt. He aims to either provide ammunition to the already skeptical, or tilt an undecided person a notch more towards skepticism.
Provided you buy this understanding its honest intentions, and not expecting total objectivity or gentleness, you will find Skeptics Dictionary an informative and very readable book. Carroll's occasional touches of wit and humor combined with tight, quality writing make it a pleasing read. The articles are just long enough to give a good general overview of a subject, yet short enough to cover a tremendous range of topics. And Carroll helpfully provides references for further reading. The examination of a questionable belief may come from historical, logical or scientific angles, or a combination. The criticisms can be a bit repetitive ("ad hoc hypothesis" and "cold reading" accusations repeatedly stated), but only because most gurus are repetitive in their promises and rhetoric.
Carroll's skeptical eye is cast over topics as diverse as: alternative/quack medicine, alien-related intrigue, pseudoscience, new age mysticism, classical occultism, known political and spiritual hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and motivational pedagogues. He also explains underlying concepts relevant to all these fields, such as confirmation bias and communal reinforcement. And he touches on real science in various forms, as well as atheism and agnosticism. Though Carroll has little mercy for cult organizations and religious ideologues, such as creationists, there is a minimum of slander towards mainstream, moderate religious practices such as Judaism and non-fundamentalist Christianity.
Occasionally an article here or there may lack depth or leave a bad taste in the mouth, but on the whole I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is already at least marginally skeptical.
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