SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable [Hardcover]

Bruce M. Hood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

The majority of the world's population is religious or believes in supernatural phenomena. In the United States, nine out of every ten adults believe in God, and a recent Gallup poll found that about three out of four Americans believe in some form of telepathy, déjà vu, ghosts, or past lives. Where does such supernatural thinking come from? Are we indoctrinated by our parents, churches, and media, or do such beliefs originate somewhere else? In SuperSense, award-winning cognitive scientist Bruce M. Hood reveals the science behind our beliefs in the supernatural.

Superstitions are common. Many of us cross our fingers, knock on wood, step around black cats, and avoid walking under ladders. John McEnroe refused to step on the white lines of a tennis court between points. Wade Boggs insisted on eating a chicken dinner before every Boston Red Sox game. President Barack Obama played a game of basketball the morning of his victory in the Iowa primary and continued the tradition on every subsequent election day.

Supernatural thinking includes loftier beliefs as well, such as the sentimental value we place on photos of loved ones, wedding rings, and teddy bears. It also includes spiritual beliefs and the hope for an afterlife. But in this modern, scientific age, why do we hold on to these behaviors and beliefs?

It turns out that belief in things beyond what is rational or natural is common to humans and appears very early in childhood. In fact, according to Hood, this "super sense" is something we're born with to develop and is essential to the way we learn to understand the world. We couldn't live without it!

Our minds are designed from the very start to think there are unseen patterns, forces, and essences inhabiting the world, and it is unlikely that any effort to get rid of supernatural beliefs, or the superstitious behaviors that accompany them, will be successful. These common beliefs and sacred values are essential in binding us together as a society because they help us to see ourselves connected to each other at a deeper level.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A handful of recent books disparaging religion by atheists such as Richard Dawkins have largely put the blame on culture for humanity’s widespread unscientific beliefs. Yet what if the greatest influence on our supernatural convictions is the built-in wiring of our brains? Hood is an internationally renowned neuroscientist who has developed a revolutionary new theory to explain why, in the face of dubious evidence, humans so readily put their faith in supernatural forces. Dubbed supersense, Hood’s theory traces religious inclinations to how the brain processes information: a hardwired tool kit for making sense of the world that begins in childhood. In 10 engaging and informative chapters with titles like “Could You Wear a Killer’s Cardigan?” and “Would You Let Your Wife Sleep with Robert Redford?” Hood lays out the evidence for the mind’s penchant for seeing patterns in disconnected events and cultivating sacred values that bind humans together. Hood’s treatise provides a much-needed counterbalance to hard-core skeptics by arguing that supersense, while not exactly grounded in rationality, ultimately gives our lives meaning. --Carl Hays

Review

[A] fascinating, timely and important book. . . . Hood’s presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging. (New Scientist )

In an account chock full of real-world examples reinforced by experimental research, Hood’s marvelous book is an important contribution to the psychological literature that is revealing the actuality of our very irrational human nature. (Science )

“...a fun and illuminating book.” (Newsweek )

“Hood’s treatise provides a much-needed counterbalance to hardcore skeptics by arguing that supersense, while not exactly grounded in rationality, ultimately gives our lives meaning.” (Booklist )

Dr. Hood, a world-class scholar in the field of cognitive science, explains the many weird and wonderful ways that we humans naturally view the world as ruled by supernatural phenomena. Bruce Hood’s SuperSense is sensational. (Susan A. GelmanSusan A. GelmanSusan A. Gelman, author of The Essential Child )

Read this beautifully written book, and you will lose some childhood innocence about how the world works. But, it will leave you wiser about yourself, and what it is to be human. (Guy Claxton, author of Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less )

If we understood our own irrationality, and why so many people believe in ghosts, spirits, and invisible powers, then we might be able to improve the way we think. With quirkily fun examples and fascinating experiments Bruce Hood explains why we can’t always escape our Supersense. (Dr. Susan Blackmore, author of Conversations on Consciousness )

In recent years, there has been a lot written about religion, superstition, and faith, but there has never been a book like this. . . SuperSense is a joy to read--beautifully written, deeply clever and funny, replete with brilliant insights and observations. (Paul BloomProfessor, Department of Psychology, Yale University Author of "Descartes' Baby: How the science of child development explains what makes us human" )

Magical thinking is a defining feature of the human mind – the source of all that is sublime and absurd about our species. In this timely exploration of the psychology of irrational belief Bruce Hood pulls off the rare feat of being both authoritative and wonderfully entertaining. Brilliant. (Paul Broks, author of Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology )

A compelling account of how beliefs in the supernatural world spring from the natural way our minds make sense of our experiences. (Daniel M. Wegner, Harvard Professor of Psychology, author of The Illusion of Conscious Will )

Supersense is a terrifically fun read. But it is much more: though we may forever believe in ghosts, goblins and the beneficent deities, with a dose of skeptical scientific realism, a la Hood, there is hope that sanity will prevail. (Marc Hauser, Harvard College Professor, author of Moral Minds )

An intriguing look at a feature of the human mind that is subtle in its operation but profound in its consequences. (Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought )

Reading SuperSense is like having lunch with your favorite professor--the conversation spans religion, biology, psychology, philosophy, and early childhood development. One thing is for sure, you’ll never see the world in the same way again. (Ori Brafman, New York Times bestselling author of Sway )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061452645
• ISBN-13: 978-0061452642
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce the Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre in the Experimental Psychology Department at the University of Bristol. He undertook his Ph.D. at Cambridge University followed by appointments at University College London, MIT and a faculty professor at Harvard. He has been awarded an Alfred Sloan Fellowship in neuroscience, the Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Infancy Researchers, the Robert Fantz memorial award and recently voted to Fellowship status by the society of American Psychological Science. "SuperSense: From Superstition to Religion- the Brain Science of Belief" is his first book written for a general audience.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SuperSense - Unbelievably Useful And Awesome!, April 15, 2009

By 

Pod Black "Researcher" (Perth , Western Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable (Hardcover)

Bruce M. Hood's SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable is the kind of book that is excellent for those after a thorough overview on superstitious belief or an enjoyable dip into issues and ideas like creationism, essentialism, dualism, intuitive reasoning and its limitations and so forth - and yet not feel as if they're slogging through a academic tome (there's just too much personality for it to be that dry... which may be the only criticism that I could raise if you expected this to be a book of just straight facts and references).

"This book is not meant to make you feel foolish or to encourage you to abandon your supersense [which, as Hood defines it, are naturally occurring irrational beliefs that are a by-product of human development]. Many facets of our behaviour and beliefs have no rational basis. Think of everything that makes us human, and you soon realize that there is much that calls into question our ability to be rational. Love, jealousy, humor and obsession, for instance, are all present in all of us, and even though we know that our beliefs and actions stemming from them can be unbalanced, we would still not want to lose our capacity to experience them. The same can be said for the supersense. So embrace it, learn where it comes from, and understand why it refuses to go away. Oh, and if you are a skeptic reading this book, thanks for getting this far". [page 36].

That last part is appears to be more addressed to readers who suit what Dr Caroline Watt (co-author of 'An Introduction to Parapsychology') discussed in a Skeptic Zone interview as a 'counter-advocate' to what could possibly be paranormal or supernatural events. The open-mindedness that skeptics pride themselves upon is most definitely being called upon in this book. If one does take on the book's thesis that this is a 'natural consequence' that results in 'shared sacred values' that may not draw upon rational behaviour - then one has to recognise that the counter-advocate stance needs to be abandoned. This makes it a book that will most definitely make the hard-core 'atheist equals skepticism' sorts blanch - but hopefully not deter them from getting the cultural and social education that Hood proffers (and one I personally think is much needed in terms of opening up dialogue and common ground regarding goals like human rights and consumer protection, et al).

Whilst keen readers (and researchers) on the topic of belief in the supernatural may have noticed that Robert L Park's 'Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science' was printed late last year, I would say Hood's SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable delves into current practices with an eager attitude and is plainly more extensive for essentially a similar price (nearly a hundred pages more in Supersense?). Maybe it's my judgment of the construction of a UK as opposed to a US text (although references within Supersense draw on international examples too), but as an Australian, I was more 'at ease' with Hood's overall tone and approach to anomalistic psychology. As researcher who is familiar with the likes of Stuart A. Vyse's seminal work 'Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition' and the perennially popular text by Michael Shermer, 'Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time', I would say that this is really more akin to Vyse's work with a straight-forward, confident approach that reminded me of Dr Ben Goldacre's extremely accessible Bad Science.

Although Park's 'Superstition', Shermer's 'Weird Things' and Hood's 'Supersense' all feature personal narrative flavoring the scientific references, 'Supersense' draws upon more recent news items and pop-culture references, along with the required historical background to 'why we believe as we do'. That's something Shermer, despite the re-release of 'Weird Things', hasn't really incorporated to a detailed extent. 'Supersense' also features a thorough index and footnotes that serve more than well enough for checking the source of quotes and examples. I should also point out that the breakdown of chapters, structured with subheadings and occasional photos (the chirpy-looking author standing outside a 'Bric-a-Brac' store, used to illustrate a rather poignant tale about the lure of 'collectibles') creates a lively mixture of academic prose and anecdotal examples. I wish more books drew upon these strengths when structuring a text on what can be a rather heavy psychology investigation.

It's a book that nods to the likes of Dr Richard Wiseman's Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things and yet has a far more philosophical message about acknowledging the pervasive but not necessarily 'requires windmill-tilting' superstitious beliefs prevalent across cultures, ages and creeds. Highly recommended if you're sick of trying to figure out how to politely settle some of the more garrulous distractions of the fundamentalist 'counter-advocate' sort.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Critical Thinking Meets The Lucky Fountain Pen, April 15, 2009

By 

SkeptiKitty "-Meow, Meow,Meow" (Atlanta,GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable (Hardcover)

"I can believe anything provided it is incredible." - Oscar Wilde

I have always been fascinated by the things that people believe especially when faced with rational explanations that make belief an exercise in the suspension of disbelief. When I am feeling particularly smarmy about the fact that I am a skeptical and rational creature who thinks critically, I remind myself that as I sit down to write anything of import, I always pull out my *lucky* fountain pen.

I ordered this book long before it was available because I enjoyed reading Bruce Hood's blog and was thrilled when it was finally published. The book was well worth the wait - it is a great read that makes a serious subject very approachable.

There is all manner of research showing how we believe including some fairly interesting research by NIMH, and while some would argue that learning the mechanism is the first step towards abolishing belief, I think that there is something to be said for having our lucky pens.

Bruce's book presents us with the whys, wherefores and need for beliefs that would on the surface appear to contradict the serious need for critical thinking.

I didn't agree with everything... but I am going to give it a place of honor on my favorite bookshelf between "Breaking the Spell" and "Why People Believe Weird Things".

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good pop-science summer read, June 15, 2009

By 

T. Megginson (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable (Hardcover)

SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable

I read a lot of popular evolutionary psychology, anthropology, history, and related books by people like Steven Pinker, Geoffrey Miller, Matt Ridley, Bryan Sykes, Jared Diamond and Richard Dawkins. If you're into these authors too, then this book is for you.

Hood's overview of the research behind our natural inclination towards superstition is well-written and easy to digest. He starts by pointing out that even the most intellectual among us has to contend with irrational fears and mystical beliefs -- the example being how most of his students will refuse to wear a sweater he tells them was once worn by a serial killer.

What I really liked about this book was Hood's position that we will never remove superstition from our lives, that it's just as much of a hard-wired instinct as language or pattern recognition. He takes a much more moderate stand on religion that Dawkins, who believes raising a kid with supernatural beliefs is intellectually abusive. Instead, Hood is one of those scientists who accepts that the best we can do is to better understand our irrational impulses and thereby improve the way we deal with them.

If you're a human nature geek like me, then put this book on your summer reading list. It's conversational and witty, with just enough new information to make it all worthwhile.

Hood is also a pretty accessible guy. I made a comment on his blog at http://brucemhood.wordpress.com/ , and he got right back to me.

So here's your review, Bruce, as promised!