Customer Reviews

Weird Science and Bizarre Beliefs: Mysterious Creatures, Lost Worlds and Amazing Inventions

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"Weird Science" is a sympathetic and interesting book about "mysterious creatures, lost worlds and amazing inventions, and about the people for whom they are real" (p. 4). Although Dr. Reece admits to be being fairly skeptical in his own world view, his book is not about critical thinking. Instead, he takes "an appreciative look" (p. 5) at the wilder and woolier frontiers of human belief.

And what a world it is! Reece begins with a discussion of the hunt for Yeti, Bigfoot, and other creatures that might (but probably don't) exist in the real world. As eccentric as such hunts can sometimes be, they seem positively down to earth compared to what follows. After recapping some of the iconic milestones of big primate cryptozoology, Reece sets off for stranger shores, examining beliefs that Bigfoot and other creatures are supernatural, interdimensional or otherwise inexplicable beings. Having separated from terra firma, the sky's the limit: the rest of the book discusses some of the very odd and even odder beliefs about Atlantis, Mu, Lemuria, the Hollow Earth, ancient wisdom, the chariots of the gods, Tesla coils, death rays and perpetual motion machines.

There are times when you can almost see Reece's eyes rolling at what he is reporting, but he does a fair job of being sympathetic to his subjects. All in all, the book makes an entertaining case for Reece's argument that "[t]he kind of diverse and idiosyncratic beliefs and theories in this book are, oddly enough, a good thing for mainstream science. It is only in a competitive marketplace of ideas that science is is forced to really make its case" (p.224). I'm not sure I buy that thesis--there are plenty examples of cults like Aum Shinrikyo whose bizarre beliefs involve trying to destroy the world or at least kill a lot of people--but the idea that science can tolerate and even benefit from a bit of odd, creative dissent is appealing.